*** Official Virginia Tech vs #4 IOWA STATE Game(day) Thread ***
- Thread starter CycloneRulzzz
- Start date
Just got back from the game. Gym was really hard to find because there wasn't much of signage anywhere. Floridian (?!) doesn't believe in street lights. It's pitch black everywhere (on the way, and the parking lot).
Great Iowa State crowd. Pretty good energy from the start to finish. It was entertaining basketball game as they played really awesome team ball.
Great Iowa State crowd. Pretty good energy from the start to finish. It was entertaining basketball game as they played really awesome team ball.
This isn't the same Illinois team that lost to the Mocs. This will be a test of our supposedly improved defense. Hopefully they are engaged the whole game and don't lose focus like they did halfway through the second half against VT
Black averaged 5 ppg and Nunn barely shot 40% for a very average Illinois team last year, not sure who the third new guy is but those two guys aren't making Illinois a good team.
Illinois isn't good, even with everyone healthy, they are a below average B10 program, they haven't had a winning conference record since 2010 and weren't picked to finish in the top half again this year. We're a top five team, this should easily be a double digit win.
When we play team ball, we are unstoppable. When we play individual one on one basketball, they make runs like it did against Virginia Tech.
Hope we can continue with flawless team basketball.
If we rebound and defend this should be a W..if we don't it'll be a lot closer than people want it to be.
Very rarely do we blow decent teams out on a neutral court, even when we're good...it amazes me that people would just assume we'd blow out Illinois.
Very rarely do we blow decent teams out on a neutral court, even when we're good...it amazes me that people would just assume we'd blow out Illinois.
Illinois has talent..they aren't world beaters but Hill and Nunn are skilled perimeter players and they have length down low to give us trouble on the boards if we stand and watch instead of boxing out.
We should beat them, but it's not going to be anywhere near as easy as you make it out to be.
It'll help Illinois to be back to full-roster. My hope is they won't become night-and-day immediately, so ISU can win that but it'll look like an even better win by the end of the season (And ISU should win even if immediate impact o returnees is good, but I wouldn't mind a lag, to make it a more manageable win at this point).
Are the 3 players suiting back up for Illinois Dee Brown, James Augustine, and Deron Williams?
ISU is ranked #4, has 3 All-Big 12 players, an All-American, one of the nation's best PG's, and one of the nation's best front courts. Have some confidence people! This isn't one of McDermott's teams.
ISU is ranked #4, has 3 All-Big 12 players, an All-American, one of the nation's best PG's, and one of the nation's best front courts. Have some confidence people! This isn't one of McDermott's teams.
Hadn't gotten a chance yet to comment on the ISU-VT game itself. The lull in the final 10 minutes was annoying, after getting the 30-point lead, but you probably can't expect to keep focus with such a big lead. ISU went away a little bit from what had worked throughout the game, a good inside-out mix with the spacing and 3's. That worked to perfection in first 30 minutes, and defense was solid ... from about 8-minute mark, it was a little too focused on driving to the hoop and inside game.
During post-game interview on CBS, Prohm said it would've been good to get a few more minutes for the deep bench. If they could've put together an additional 2 or 3 minutes keeping it at 30, that probably would've happened.
During post-game interview on CBS, Prohm said it would've been good to get a few more minutes for the deep bench. If they could've put together an additional 2 or 3 minutes keeping it at 30, that probably would've happened.
I do have confidence, and I expect us to win but we're playing a middle of the pack power 5 team. Not a SWAC school...
Very, very, very rarely are these games blowouts. Look no further than this year's Colorado game and last year's Alabama and South Carolina games.
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By the way, it wasn't Higgins making/not making the foul calls tonight. It was the other 2. They make Higgins look downright good.
Statistical Stuff:
- ISU shot 57.8% from the field. Only one player shot under 50% — it was Niang (!); but he was 2-of-3 from 3.
- Morris: 7 assists, 0 turnovers
- Six players in double-figures
- 61.9% from 3-point line. That won't happen every game, but 7 players hit at least one.
- Nader double-double.
If we played in Alaska or Hawaii tournaments, what chance that Higgins makes it out there? 90%?
