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Please, not #9!

In looking at some of their conference box scores the clear keys to beating Cinci are keeping them out of the lane (let them shoot their way out by bombing 3s....which they are NOT good at doing) and rebounding. Probably our biggest weakness as a team is our bigs are fundamentally bad rebounders (as a whole). Not blocking out (TRE!!!), bad hands (BRE), mistiming jumps (Tre is terrible with this), etc are problematic with the degree of which varying amongst the 3. Cinci is typically an excellent rebounding team and hits the glass hard. If our bigs seal off and prevent the easy boards I think we win this. But other than Houston, Cinci has generally won (or been neutral) rebounding, but often win the offensive rebound batter thoroughly.

One stat that can be telling is EFG (effective field goal percentage) and using it as a comparison tool to gauge shot selection, especially in regards to the 3 ball. In our last 4 games our EFG has been equal to (KSU game was dead even) or better than our 2 pt FG percentage. This typically indicates you are getting good looks at the basket and being judicially smart with the selection. Usually the team that wins that battle wins the game.
What's interesting for us is that we have STILL been able to win games despite being out EFG'd. In those instances (Houston as a prime example) the key is having that team's EFG be below their 2 pt percentage (meaning they are missing too many 3s either because of good defense, poor shot selection, and or bad shooting).

Cinci on the other had consistently posts EFGs WELL below their 2 point percentage. Basically if you play your game they will shoot themselves out of the gym if you let them. I like our odds there.

In doing some glances I caught the BYU box score, a VERY good road win for Cinci. Out of 64 shots BYU shot 46 threes, making only 13 of them. That's ******* insane. Too bad they didn't shoot like that against us, lol.
 
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alarson said:
This is pretty much it. A lot of times in the past when we have gotten up to number 9, it's because maybe we combined one attention getter win along with beating a bunch of "should win" games. Combined with poll inertia that's a recipe for rising into the low end of the top 10, but not much higher because as you get higher than that you have teams that have proven their resumes and also have their own poll inertia (and, often, have the right names that give them a bit of a bonus). And we tend to have "bad luck" at #9 because that's when reality hits in.

A big difference here would be that it's now February. A #9 in February is a lot different than a #9 in December or early January as we built that ranking on the meat of the big 12 schedule and not upon the scrubs we play in December.
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All this is accurate...
I'll just add the Captain Obvious statement this years team is much different than previous the past 2 years where the team had issues scoring and won basically on defense. The starting lineup doesn't have the holes with much better depth to help the 2nd unit and foul trouble. Basically the margin for error is much larger this year.

I say bring on the #9 rank and let the players use it for motivation tomorrow.
 
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The paranoia or superstition around this is weird.

First, you get into the top ten if you aren't the handful of blue bloods by winning games, and you usually start at 9-10.

Second, since ISU has been in the best conference in the country for the past 15 years, the odds are pretty high that the upcoming week you are going to lose one of the two games.

Lastly, because you are in the top 10, the standard to remain there is really high. A split isn't going to cut it.

ISU isn't Purdue, Gonzaga or Arizona. They aren't going to get to play two turds most weeks like they would if they were in the Big 10, WCC or PAC.

It's just odds and life in the Big 12.
 
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I bet we’re 11, anyway. TN at 9 and they’ll put Baylor at 10 since they beat us head to head (not taking into account that it was by .2 seconds at Baylor)
 
Just put AI in charge of rankings and be rid of all the human silliness and folly.
 
AuH2O said:
Lastly, because you are in the top 10, the standard to remain there is really high. A split isn't going to cut it.
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As long as we're talking conspiracy theories, could it be that Cincy backers want them to be able to say they beat a Top-Ten Team?
 
If I weren't such a moral man, I would blame Jenny...

Something, something, something, something, something, OH! NINE.

 
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alarson said:
Well, for all those who were worried, we came in at #10

apnews.com

NCAA College Basketball Rankings: AP Top 25 Basketball Poll

The official page for the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll. Keep up to date and view the latest NCAA men's basketball ranking updates each week for the 2023-24 season.
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Voters are still hanging with Wisconsin. #20 aligns closely w/ UW's metrics and bracket matrix, but rankings shouldn't always reflect that.

Wisconsin lost 2 straight to non-tournament teams (and 4 straight overall) and has only 3 wins vs. probable/possible tournament teams this calendar year.
 
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