Haaland: The perfect storm

[Max57]

We had a two-point lead with the ball when these things happened.

(From ESPN Box Score)
2:08 Nick Weiler-Babb missed Jumper. 66 - 64 (contested pull-up)
1:19 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (drive into traffic)
0:46 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (held ball)
0:38 King McClure Offensive Rebound. 66 - 67 (Missed Baylor FT)
0:23 Talen Horton-Tucker missed Three Point Jumper. 66 - 69 (Questionable shot)

 

[exCYtable]

C'mon Haaland. You should know by now, logic is not allowed on this board! Either the sky is falling, or we are winning the dang national title. There is no middle ground!

 

[HardcoreClone]

I feel like every year we forget how much more variable basketball is than football. The difference in shooting percentage from game to game and randomness of close games makes upsets much more likely.

This exactly. Basketball is a game of flow, rhythm, and obviously, scoring runs. 1 team can be a little off and the other a little better than normal, and losses happen.

It's not out of the equation we lose to KSU and TTU. Sure, home games are historically easier, but you can't completely sleepwalk your way into wins. That's why it would have been nice to steal the Baylor game on the road, in case we slip up at home somewhere. Plus if you truly want to win conference, you need to win the vast majority of the close games, regardless of home or away.

 

[ComCY]

They haven’t had Konate is their close losses against TT, Texas, and KSU. Plus, Culver is a load, and offensively putting up similar numbers against legitimate competition. If Konate were to come back alongside Esa and Culver, WVU would have the best frontcourt in the conference.

Yeah and Okie State just beat Texas... I'm not convinced that KSU, WVU, or Texas are actually as "good" as advertised yet.

 

[ComCY]

Ok but don't be surprised if it's a really tricky win.

Baylor was one of the worst 3 point shooting teams coming in. They didn't shoot too much higher than average, but it was a difference maker.

I won't be surprised. The big thing about Baylor is their shot way better from FT than they normally do. And also a decent amount better from three.

 

[ComCY]

We had a two-point lead with the ball when these things happened.

(From ESPN Box Score)
2:08 Nick Weiler-Babb missed Jumper. 66 - 64 (contested pull-up)
1:19 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (drive into traffic)
0:46 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (held ball)
0:38 King McClure Offensive Rebound. 66 - 67 (Missed Baylor FT)
0:23 Talen Horton-Tucker missed Three Point Jumper. 66 - 69 (Questionable shot)

"held ball" is more like it.

 

[RonBurgundy]

We had a two-point lead with the ball when these things happened.

(From ESPN Box Score)
2:08 Nick Weiler-Babb missed Jumper. 66 - 64 (contested pull-up)
1:19 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (drive into traffic)
0:46 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (held ball)
0:38 King McClure Offensive Rebound. 66 - 67 (Missed Baylor FT)
0:23 Talen Horton-Tucker missed Three Point Jumper. 66 - 69 (Questionable shot)

Yep, not going to win with four straight empty possessions in crunch time and giving up an offensive rebound off a FT.

Very disappointing loss. It's early, but this loss could easily cost us a shot at the conference title. It was there for the taking.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

We had a two-point lead with the ball when these things happened.

(From ESPN Box Score)
2:08 Nick Weiler-Babb missed Jumper. 66 - 64 (contested pull-up)
1:19 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (drive into traffic)
0:46 Marial Shayok Turnover. 66 - 66 (held ball)
0:38 King McClure Offensive Rebound. 66 - 67 (Missed Baylor FT)
0:23 Talen Horton-Tucker missed Three Point Jumper. 66 - 69 (Questionable shot)

This was absolutely our worst possession of the game. We had an opportunity to extend the lead and we never even got into an offensive set.

 

[KKramer]

I do think we are seeing some fan frustration with the round robin conference schedule. Frustration might not be the right word. Annoyance maybe? Aggravation?

While annoying, this is one of the main attributes to the Big XII being the #1 RPI conference every year. Road losses don't hurt much, and road wins are gold.

 

[amishclone]

The difference between the big 12 teams and Kansas is Kansas goes on the road and has ticky tack calls go their way instead of against them. Against Baylor, Okie State and those type of teams. That is why they have won the big 12 so many times (And they pay players but that's a different story). KU loses to good teams on the road but normally beats the teams they should beat on the road.

fify

 

[FinalFourCy]

Yeah and Okie State just beat Texas... I'm not convinced that KSU, WVU, or Texas are actually as "good" as advertised yet.

How good are they advertised? As good as the teams we’ve lost to?

Back to your original comment of they’re terrible- they are not, and not having Konate doesn’t change that. They are more than good enough to beat us. Based on our play thus far, on the road, and at home if we’re off.

 

[Cloned4Life]

I wrote some stuff about the difficulty of road games, how close games are decided, and projecting the season based off the Kansas game. Hopefully you enjoy it.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2019/01/haaland-the-perfect-storm/

Right on queue, another dorky Cyclone-loser article from Cyclone Fanatic.

No one's jumping off the ledge. Folks are pissed because the team lost a game it should have won. "It's hard to win on the road" - such a Cyclone excuse. Nothing that's happened in the past matters. Kenpom doesn't matter. Just beat the team's you're supposed to beat. Baylor's going to finish in the bottom 3rd of the conference. Iowa State is better than Baylor, more talented than Baylor, deeper than Baylor. Show the toughness needed to beat them. Stop making excuses. This team has the tools to win the regular season conference title. This team should have expected to start 4-0 conference.

The "gee golly it's perfectly OK to lose these games and there's a lot of season left!" crowd is so annoying. Demand to win that game. Be pissed when we don't win that game, because the team that wins those types of games will win this conference this season, a season when the path to the regular season conference crown is as open as it has ever been.

 

[ComCY]

How good are they advertised? As good as the teams we’ve lost to?

Back to your original comment of they’re terrible- they are not, and not having Konate doesn’t change that. They are more than good enough to beat us. Based on our play thus far, on the road, and at home if we’re off.

The only team of those three I'm even remotely worried about having a chance to beat us in Hilton is Texas. For the road, we either win 1 or 2 of the three (if healthy).

WVU, even though being 0-3 in B12 and barely above .500 on the year, is still regarded as a top-5 team in the B12. Right now they aren't. Even their fans see that Esa is a bust, and they are helpless without Konate (and severely missing Jevon).

 

[Pat]

I think I just need to curve my expectations with this team. After the KU game I was thinking Big 12 championship and a close resemblance of the year 2000. I don't see that happening now and I might have over estimated our ability.

Things are never as good as they seem, and they are never as bad as they seem. I don’t think this team matches up with the 2000 team, but that group DID lose to Drake...

 

[FinalFourCy]

WVU, even though being 0-3 in B12 and barely above .500 on the year, is still regarded as a top-5 team in the B12. Right now they aren't. Even their fans see that Esa is a bust, and they are helpless without Konate (and severely missing Jevon).

They aren’t regarded that even in Morgantown. They’re not helpless without Konate, particularly now that Culver is playing at a high level.

 

[Jerms]

Right on queue, another dorky Cyclone-loser article from Cyclone Fanatic.

No one's jumping off the ledge. Folks are pissed because the team lost a game it should have won. "It's hard to win on the road" - such a Cyclone excuse. Nothing that's happened in the past matters. Kenpom doesn't matter. Just beat the team's you're supposed to beat. Baylor's going to finish in the bottom 3rd of the conference. Iowa State is better than Baylor, more talented than Baylor, deeper than Baylor. Show the toughness needed to beat them. Stop making excuses. This team has the tools to win the regular season conference title. This team should have expected to start 4-0 conference.

The "gee golly it's perfectly OK to lose these games and there's a lot of season left!" crowd is so annoying. Demand to win that game. Be pissed when we don't win that game, because the team that wins those types of games will win this conference this season, a season when the path to the regular season conference crown is as open as it has ever been.

I demand that we win all the remaining games! There. I'm going to have fun celebrating the conference and national titles this spring!

 

[cyclones500]

Are you questioning the existence of home court advantage or more seeking why it exists in the first place?

Arena familiarity, crowd influence, human bias of officials, etc.

That's a good list of "Why?" factors. I might rank "travel effect" higher than human bias of officials, but that's only an opinion.

Something I realized more after reading the analysis and thread comments here, when I think of home vs. road difficult, my first thought tends to be crowd influence/impact, home team riding momentum, fueled by home-court enthusiasm. But the familiarity aspect might be more influential. You play something like two-thirds of your games each season at your arena, only once in true road games vs. each conference opponent. If you're a freshman or transfer, it's the first time you've even been to that venue.

I don't know how to assess the psychology of familiarity, but it seems obvious it has a degree of impact.

 

[ComCY]

That's a good list of "Why?" factors. I might rank "travel effect" higher than human bias of officials, but that's only an opinion.

Something I realized more after reading the analysis and thread comments here, when I think of home vs. road difficult, my first thought tends to be crowd influence/impact, home team riding momentum, fueled by home-court enthusiasm. But the familiarity aspect might be more influential. You play something like two-thirds of your games each season at your arena, only once in true road games vs. each conference opponent. If you're a freshman or transfer, it's the first time you've even been to that venue.

I don't know how to assess the psychology of familiarity, but it seems obvious it has a degree of impact.

Not having to have traveled x number of miles recently, or sleep overnight in unfamiliar beds/places. Also, gotta account for the home team being more hyped and focused.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Right on queue, another dorky Cyclone-loser article from Cyclone Fanatic.

No one's jumping off the ledge. Folks are pissed because the team lost a game it should have won. "It's hard to win on the road" - such a Cyclone excuse. Nothing that's happened in the past matters. Kenpom doesn't matter. Just beat the team's you're supposed to beat. Baylor's going to finish in the bottom 3rd of the conference. Iowa State is better than Baylor, more talented than Baylor, deeper than Baylor. Show the toughness needed to beat them. Stop making excuses. This team has the tools to win the regular season conference title. This team should have expected to start 4-0 conference.

The "gee golly it's perfectly OK to lose these games and there's a lot of season left!" crowd is so annoying. Demand to win that game. Be pissed when we don't win that game, because the team that wins those types of games will win this conference this season, a season when the path to the regular season conference crown is as open as it has ever been.

What's dorkier? Understanding that road games aren't a given? Or DEMANDING a win?

Who is demanding? Who is expecting? The fans? Does it matter if we demand a win? Beat Baylor or what?

Talk about a dork.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Ohio State should have DEMANDED to win at Rutgers last night.