IMO it's what-are-you-made-of time for Iowa State's offense. While the crowd will be amped and Dybansta will probably get his, BYU can't defend. Are you going to grind to a halt and start handing them the ball like you've done in other games, or trust your passing and shooting? Tech being top 25 in defensive efficiency surprised me, but without Toppin you should have an advantage in the paint. So, similar point, can you execute, or will you revert to playing aimless?
2025-2026 MBB computer projections thread
- Thread starter Sigmapolis
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IMO it's what-are-you-made-of time for Iowa State's offense. While the crowd will be amped and Dybansta will probably get his, BYU can't defend. Are you going to grind to a halt and start handing them the ball like you've done in other games, or trust your passing and shooting? Tech being top 25 in defensive efficiency surprised me, but without Toppin you should have an advantage in the paint. So, similar point, can you execute, or will you revert to playing aimless?
I honestly think Batemon was one play away from maybe sitting (not for bad reasons, just normal rotation factors, then he forced a turnover on Flemings. For some reason, he was a better fit defensively in that particular instance than Toure. Can't remember who said it, but Toure had some bouncy feet in that game which Houston exploited for penetration
Houston is a really bad matchup for Momcilovic defensively. He basically has to guard Uzan who is tough to stay in front of, or chase Sharp around screens all day. Batemon seems like he's not quite as quick as Toure defending on the ball, but his effort chasing off the ball is awesome.
Things can change but as of right now a lot of metrics point to Michigan, Duke, Arizona, and Iowa St being the 4 teams that deserve to be 1 seeds.
To be fair, I thought Momcilovic did a hell of a job in the last 2 games defensively. Did NBA caliber players hit some shots over him? Of course they did. But Milan stayed in front of them and got a hand in their face. I honestly think it probably raised his stock in the eyes of NBA scouts. He's never going to be asked to shut down a top offensive player, but I think he proved he wouldn't get humiliated if he did get switched onto someone.
ISU and Houston look the strongest to my eye for the 4th 1 seed right now.
Neat way of looking at it.
UConn's "neutral" annoys me on this for some reason. Still great wins but TD Garden and 2x in MSG are not "neutral" in the least. I know that's how they count, but they definitely game the metric with that.
Yeah, I wanted the ability to see that visually a couple years ago, so I wrote some Python code then to do it. Turned out pretty well, I think.
Kenpom dropped UConn to 14th. Not sure where they were before but that seems awful low for a 1 seed.
So, I watched the whole clip now.
The ironic thing about Batemon is TJ was trying to get him out of there.
Milan was supposed to go in after Uzan makes the free throw -- an understandable defense-for-offense substitution when you think you're about to get the ball after he makes 'em.
Instead he misses the front-end and Batemon is "stuck" out there.
He immediately drills the three to take the lead (nice feed from Buchanan on that one).
Oh boy did we luck into something there.
The camera is far away from and doesn't frame up whatever went down between TJ and Milan very well, but I think our reading from the context clues they decided to let Batemon "cook" is correct.
They nearly lost to The Hoyas the previous game….that was also in Storrs, CT
Torvik has them down on the #2 line now behind Iowa State in the snake.
Michigan and Duke are close to locks for a #1 seed. Arizona isn't far behind.
Last spot is probably going to be a second Big 12 (more likely) or Big Ten (less likely) team.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
If we are patient enough to test the defense, pass it when it's not there, test it again, wash, rinse, repeat, we will find plenty of easy shots against BYU. Dybantsa will certainly get his, even against a defense designed to stop him, but if you do just enough to slow him down, while keeping an eye on Wright, the rest of their players are unlikely to beat us given their lack of defense.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
I do think he is a good defensive player, and a good all around player, and all that is more than good enough considering that he is an elite offensive player.
Our way to a 1 seed is winning out and beating Arizona in the process. If we knock them off in Tucson then that should flip us with them.
Here's the Dream Scenario, Possible but unlikely.
