*** Official Kentucky vs #6 IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***
- Thread starter CycloneRulzzz
- Start date
I think it qualifies as an excuse. We could certainly lose this game with Joshua too, but the odds would certainly become more favorable with him
Right there with you my friend
Pleta, Heise, and Batemon are the swing players for me. If we get the Toure that we've had the last 3 games, that would be ideal as well, but assuming he plays to his mean, the 3 guys I mentioned are key I think. They are the 3 guys with the most variance in their performance imo. They are all capable of double figures but have also had games where they barely appear in the box score
With Pope as their coach, Kentucky doesn't carry the same air of arrogance with them that they did with Calipari. I feel like that benefits them today. They respect us, Pope has coached against TJ when he was with BYU, I just think there really won't be any catching them sleeping.
If they drop this one, while understandable with JJ out, that would also be a massive what-if. It'd sting.
Losing in the S16 with this team would be a bit of that too, but I can accept that any team can get beat in the second weekend.
No one is talking about this it's a huge advantage for them imo.
I’ve been saying JELLY BEANS a lot this morning.
If Kentucky's name was “Idaho” with the same roster and record you guys would feel a lot better 
But the 6'11" guy they start is a stretch-4 freshman who shot 28% from 3 this year. He's a plus rebounder, but he's not a post player.
They don't really play through the post much - the bigs are not good scorers, 60+% of their scoring comes from the 3 guards.
Last year they had a reputation for turning the ball over a lot - but that really hasn't been an issue this year. On the other hand, they don't have a true PG in any sense - it will be fascinating to see how Oweh/Aberdeen/Chandler handle the pressure from Toure/Lipsey/Heise to start the game.
Their season high in turnovers is 15 against St Johns (a 12-pt win). They had 14 @Vandy, @Florida and @South Carolina. We'll need to get into that range to win today. (for reference, we turned the ball over 10 times against St Johns)
Cyclones currently -5. For some reason I've had this song in my head all morning long...
They don't really play two post players much. I don't see Jelavic having success inside against Milan - and if Dioubate is in the game, Heise will probably guard him. Both of those guys who nominally play the "4" are plus offensive rebounders, so that's the area where my biggest concern is. Toure did such a great job rebounding in that first game, we'll need the guards crashing like that again.
I'd also like to see us push the pace off of rebounds - its one way to punish them for going hard to the boards, plus I think when this team pushes the pace, it gets them more aggressive and engaged and the defense picks up. And you have a chance to get to the rim before the shotblocker is back in position.
I posted that back in 2012 because that is what it felt like. Kentucky was a towering Goliath.
This time it is different. ISU is the better team. Hard stop folks-ISU is the better team, the better seed, and had been more highly ranked all season.
Could ISU lose? Of course. Is Iowa State diminished by the loss of Jefferson. Absolutely.
But there is no need to whine and piss and moan about what scares us. If ISU plays like it is capable, even without JJeff, ISU will win the ******* game. IS what TJ has in place capable of compensating for the loss of an All American player? Will the players rise up to the moment. I don't know, but Im excited to see what happens.
We should fear no one this year.
The way ISU's D doubles in the bottom corners gives some open looks to the opposite corner 3. If UK is making those, we are in trouble. UK is an average 3 pt shooting team that made 9 3's last game and barely escaped. Keep that number under 10 today and we win. I think Kentucky's height down low is negated by how we defend the post. But we also need to have all 5 guys crashing on the defensive glass.
