Yeah those were my thoughts as well. I think one big difference on offense this year compared to last is the ball movement. Our offense does tend to get stagnant like it did last year.
Jeff Goodman has ISU #11
- Thread starter dahliaclone
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Yeah those were my thoughts as well. I think one big difference on offense this year compared to last is the ball movement. Our offense does tend to get stagnant like it did last year.
I'm guessing around 15 in the AP. Honestly, I worry every time we get some hype and attention because feels like it sets us up for a letdown. I'd rather fly under the radar for a while and be the underdog as I think we tend to play better when we don't have that ranking next to our name. I have no doubt we are going to see a few clunker games on offense this season where we struggle to make it to 60. I just hope that we don't see what we did last season where we broke the fewest points in a game in Hilton record more than once in the same season. The bar is set pretty low on that one now when we lost 53-36 to OSU. Sure hope we are past that kind of futility but a game where we score in the 50's I would not be shocked to see happen at least once this year.
Was encouraged to see so many points in the paint against TCU. Last year it seemed to be such that either Brockington or Gabe had to get hot from midrange or three to win. This year has seemed to hinge in part on our three point shooting.
If you would have told me Saturday we’d make that fee threes and see that kind of FT differential I would have bet anything we lost. And possibly by a large margin.
Our offense is clearly limited but give credit to TJ and the team for finding a way. Seems to be something/someone different every game.
Have been thinking this since early in the seasons. Last year - probably after Brooklyn - it seemed like a lot of standing around waiting for IB or Hunter to create a shot. Ball definitely stuck a lot more last year.
Which has really opened up those back door lobs and entry passes to Osun and Bob.
If Batcho is out, Tech’s going to be pretty small in the front court. Our bigs getting position and finishing down low will be huge.
We aren't a chuck ball team this year though. Our early dry spell against Iowa were quality looks just not going down. This team loves to get the ball inside and make the defense work.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
I'm not sure anyone has figured out what is going on there, but staying in warmups tells me he might be dinged up or something.
As painful as that Iowa game was, it really was a game of two extremes. We couldn’t make anything and they could not miss. Even had they shot around 40% from 3 and us 25% that game is a close one. Another huge FT differential which is an ongoing problem.
It was all in the first 10 minutes... People pretend like Iowa drug us up and down the court the entire game but it really wasn't the case.
The chances of even playing 2 #1s has to be very small although maybe more likely now with holiday tourneys vs. P6 teams and how rickety college basketball is.
ISU couldn't dribble down the court or guard or pass or anything to do with basketball that night.
And they lost to #1 KU in the Big 12 torunament--they could have beaten #1 twice in a season that year.
Offical ISU #14 AP
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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 2025-26 season.
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I feel like Gonzaga and Alabama are overrated. Alabama's shining star is the road win against Houston. That's a pretty big star, but they haven't exactly played well against other quality opponents (beat a struggling NC team, beat an up and down MSU team, beat Miss St who was a paper tiger). I know a lot was expected going into the year (lofty preseason ranking playing a major part) but I've seen them ranked as high as #2 in some power rankings and polls and don't think they've done nearly enough to justify it.
College basketball rankings: Houston back atop AP top 25 poll - Sports Illustrated
There are no more undefeated men’s teams.
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I don't think Jones and Kunc are appreciably better, they are just playing more minutes (in Jones' case taking more shots). Jones has a really nice quick hook when he is decisive and quick about his moves. Last year he was spotty with it but this year he is more consistent. He also has the benefit of Lipsey feeding him (and everyone else) the ball which has creating more easy baskets (for everyone). Kunc is almost exactly the same as he was, just playing 6 more minutes a game.
I agree with almost everything else. I would maybe go as far to say Lipsey is >> Hunter and Grill is >> than himself last year. Lipsey feels like the driver while Grill feels like the engine that makes us go. The big shots, the consistent all out effort, the massive improvement on defense...it's utterly infectious. I also agree, at least in terms of capabilities on Conditt, a guy who likely would have been a REALLY solid player had he played for a guy like TJ for 4 years. Prohm completely ruined him (and his trajectory) as a player.
