Tech also played on Saturday and may be just as shorthanded as we are injury wise. Always tough on the road but if we can somehow win the turnover battle that "should" be the way to victory
*** Official #13 IOWA STATE vs Texas Tech Game(Day) Thread ***
- Thread starter CycloneRulzzz
- Start date
We did poorly in a couple, a couple others we played well enough to steal a win against good teams and just didn't get it done.
Except OU and TCU. The caution is because some don't expect to win games that should be won. This is one of the few conference games that a loss would justify some of the defeatist BS that happens after every loss. It's a game that should be won and should be won decisively for a team that is a legitimate contender for a conference title.
This is probably the worst team they have played on the road. Tech is not Mizzou or Iowa in terms of shooters, Grill cannot play 2nd half vs OSU. Lost a close one in Kansas.
Can ISU lose, sure but unless Tech is able to make major adjustments to the ISU defense assuming Grill plays ISU should win this game.
There's no "should be won decisively" roads games in the BigXII!! What conference are you watching? The line is basically a pick'em and the analytics sites have us a 2-3 point favorite, depending how much you put into home court.
It's a tough game, period. Pretending otherwise is foolish.
I think a big thing is the shifting of expectations. When I look at this team and what we’ve done this season do I think “Big 12 regular season” champs? Nope.
When I look at our current record? Yep.
My initial expectation has only changed from overachieve and make the tourney (although I predicted we would miss pre-season) because going .500 overall and missing the tournament is pretty much impossible at this point.
I’m not going to change my wish list for the team or what I consider a good season (making the tourney) though before any season. Make the tournament, see what happens. Anything above that is gravy (high seed, conf champ, conf tourney champ).
Tech went 11-18 from 3 @LSU Saturday, and that's without their most prolific 3-pt shooter in Pop Isaacs.
They may not be Mizzou or Iowa, but if they get hot from 3, we'll be in just as much trouble.
Statistical outlier. You do need to cover Walton he is a hot 3 point shooter right now.
LSU is a Quad 3 win for them. LSU was losing by double digits at home in SEC play on a regular basis
Their best win on the year is Eastern Washington. The competitive games they played in the Big 12 were when Issacs and Aimaq were on floor and major contributors. It sounds like they won't play tonight if they do certainly can change dynamic
If ISU is truly a contender for the top of the conference you need to win at a struggling Tech team. If you lose does not mean you are out of it, but it is fair to say Baylor, Texas, and KSU are better teams and probably present more of a challenge to win in their cribs
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CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
No, but yes. The stuff @NorthCyd said, and you're a Cyclone, so yes, but no because there's a gap between the two teams for good reason.
I’ll clarify earlier comments. Would a loss at Tech be a bad loss? Not really when you consider it is Quad 1. Especially not without Grill and Jaz.
Would it be our worst loss of the year? Using similar logic, yes. Others are are top 45 on NET.
My point is simply that if you’re the type that is talking about a conference title or a 2-seed then this is the kind of game you really need to win. I don’t think this is an “easy” game. No such thing exists in the Big 12 and especially not on the road.
Just saying that I find it interesting to see people both optimistic about a conference title and a 2-3 seed while at the same time seeing people stressing this much about a game against last team in the conference.
As others have said, I agree this is largely about expectations. They’ve shifted significantly for the fan base as a whole, but they still very depending who you’re talking to.
Would it be our worst loss of the year? Using similar logic, yes. Others are are top 45 on NET.
My point is simply that if you’re the type that is talking about a conference title or a 2-seed then this is the kind of game you really need to win. I don’t think this is an “easy” game. No such thing exists in the Big 12 and especially not on the road.
Just saying that I find it interesting to see people both optimistic about a conference title and a 2-3 seed while at the same time seeing people stressing this much about a game against last team in the conference.
As others have said, I agree this is largely about expectations. They’ve shifted significantly for the fan base as a whole, but they still very depending who you’re talking to.
And them getting hot hinges heavily on Grill playing, our best perimeter defender and general rotator around the floor
Bottom line, ISU is the better team and should win. But it's a game, and stuff happens. If that stuff goes the wrong way, better teams can and do lose - all the time.
I'd put ISU winning at 60% tonight.
I'd put ISU winning at 60% tonight.
And if you arent panicked about it, you don't care and are content with mediocrity.
what a great year, very special team. They were so tough and so fun to watch. Should have been national champs.
I know we talk about "bombing badly" against Missouri, but it wasn't just a repeat of the Iowa game. In the Iowa game, we couldn't buy a bucket from 3, hitting only 13.6%. Against Missouri we actually shot 40% from 3. The big difference was that Iowa out rebounded us, hit and shot more free throws and passed the ball well. Iowa shot over 50% from three. In the Missouri game, we outrebounded them, but shot a dismal percentage free throws, and uncharacteristically lost the turnover margin by 50%. Gabe and Jaren both had trouble handling ball pressure from Missouri early. While Missouri cooled off later in the game from 3 from a % standpoint, they still knocked down 14, and most when the game was still being decided to kill our runs. Thus, similar embarrassing results, but quite different games.
Mizzou exposed a new weakness with Grill out. They tried to keep Lipsey from getting the ball after made buckets and then forced turnovers from Gabe and Jalen handling the ball. They hurried us up, but the two things most troublesome were how many missed free throws we had, and then how many turnovers where the ball just slipped through our hands, or in once case legs, out of bounds that weren't really forced.
I like Grill's defense, but I would call Gabe our best defender and also best perimeter defender
