***Official ISU vs Drake Gameday Thread***

[istater7]

Butler , Creighton and several mid majors are looking good though...

This will be the year of the mid-majors in the NCAA's. Missouri Valley could get 4 bids..A-10 could get 4 too.

 

[ajk4st8]

I certainly dont feel much worse about this team than I did with last years team after the end of the non conf season. Hope is still flickering

 

[andymhallman]

Having watched every game this season, some more than once. I am concerned, mostly with the following.

1st: We are not as good of shooters as I thought we are. Instead of having a "bad" game, we are consistantly shooting poorly from the perimeter. Sure, sometimes our guys have a good night but there are many more that have bad nights than good. To me, shot selection has been awful. Sure we miss some open looks, but half our shots from 3 probably shouldn't even be attempted due to a defender playing good defense, or the player shooting a fade. Or worse yet, contested fade.
2nd: Our defense in the post is bad. Not just Percy, Booker has been way under par as well. Unless we play help defense, our guys get schooled constantly. Ejim is a great defender most of the time but he is often matched up with a guy larger than him.
3rd: When we have guards not stepping up, why is Naz not getting any chance to prove himself. Sure, the other guards have more skill, but when they consistantly fire dumb shots or turn the ball over again and again, I think Naz should get more than 1 minute in the game prove himself. Afterall, he will be very important to us next season.
4th: For god sakes stop letting Clyburn play point. Every time he comes up the court under pressure, I keep expecting a steal.
5th: Percy... For those that think he is a good player and don't think we desperately need a game changer in the post have to wake up. He is a great finisher around the rim, but every other aspect of his game is lacking. He doesn't really have a jumper (At least doesn't use it), very rarely passes out regardless of double/triple teams down low, and worst of all, can't seem to go right at all. Defenders know he will go left and he just does it anyway. I am holding out hope he will improve in the coming seasons but we need someone else to split minutes with him in the coming years.

As far as positives go, I love what Niang brings to this team. I am more convinced than ever that he will have the Royce factor in the coming years. Wont have the same athletic ability, but he will be an excellent facilitator with a better shot.

Well said, State43.

I agree our shot selection is bad but we are the best team at making three's in the league. Certain players like Clyburn and Niang should only shoot threes when they're wide open. Otherwise, they should be driving to the basket and let McGee and Babb hit the threes. Ejim and Booker should only shoot threes as a last resort. They can both hit them but they should be playing down low and not around the perimeter.

I agree completely with our post defense being bad. That's what hurt us so much against Iowa. We couldn't stop Aaron White and had to go to zone. That worked only as long as the Hawkeyes remained cold from the outside, which didn't last into the second half.

Clyburn has shown himself to be a poor ball handler. I noticed it a little in previous games but especially today against Drake. He so often dribbles into traffic or dribbles the ball off his foot.

Percy's biggest problem is his reluctance to pass. There have been a few times this year when he has turned into a defender, who forces a jump ball, instead of kicking it out to a guard.

 

[tee1up]

I disagree. I almost guarantee 11-7 gets us in. 10-8 and we're 50/50. There just aren't that many good teams around to choose over a 10-8 Big 12 team. The Pac 12 is still weak, the SEC sucks, the ACC is struggling...

The point is we have missed opportunities to get a better seed. After 3 losses, even a decent conference record will net us a 8-9 seed again. It isn't just getting to the tournament, it is being able to do something once we are there.

 

[cyclones500]

I disagree. I almost guarantee 11-7 gets us in. 10-8 and we're 50/50. There just aren't that many good teams around to choose over a 10-8 Big 12 team. The Pac 12 is still weak, the SEC sucks, the ACC is struggling...

I still think it’s too early to get a good guess at W-L requirement for tournament, because we aren’t quite to the stage when the range would be within reasonable, "typical expections" (e.g., 13-5 in a super-6 conference is probably safe, 9-9 or below is danger zone).


But since you said “almost guarantee” 11-7 will do it, I wanted to get a sense of the comfort level of that.


I wish I had more time right now to crunch more hard numbers. As you said, we can’t look exclusively at ISU and the Big 12 — but for speculative purposes of this discussion, let’s assume ISU finishes 10-3 in non-conference and all non-league opponents stay close to current status. Headed into conference play, that means no bad losses and SOS is (most likely) non-terrible.


This 11-7 Big 12 performance probably gets ISU in:
2-0 vs. TCU
2-0 vs. Tech
3-1 vs. UT/WVa
1-1 vs. OU
1-1 vs. KSU
2-4 vs. KU/OSU/Baylor


An overall split in that last line is preferable, but I’m not sure how well it would balance a “tradeoff-L” below it.


10-8 would make me nervous at this point.

 

[awd4cy]

Yes and maybe no. Can this year's team do this? Last year with White in control, obviously. This year I feel there is yet an individual to take over. It can happen, but who is it gonna be.

Royce han't taken over at this point in the year last year.

 

[Cy94]

I had to turn the tv off and listen to the game on the radio. MC22 is painful to watch.

 

[Peter]

If this year's team played last year's team in December, I think this year's team wins. We are currently rebounding and playing (slightly) better defense.

 

[mitten1975]

If this year's team played last year's team in December, I think this year's team wins. We are currently rebounding and playing (slightly) better defense.

I agree with you. I actually think Corey Lucious may make a really good point guard by the end of the year, he never had much of a chance at Mich. St. It is a learning process, but he is making leaps and bounds. Too bad Fred couldn't have had him longer. I don't know how the end product will be, but tend to be more optimistic than most of those on the forum because of the players attitudes. They all seem to be trying their best to make it work and doing their best to assume the roles that the coach is designing. It is fun to watch it.