To be fair, they followed up their last loss after a win streak with another loss. I'll take KU straight up on this one. Just don't think we are as good as I once thought.
Onto KU!
- Thread starter GoSTATE71
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Cyclonepride
Thought Police
Following it up with a team that you should absolutely beat is a totally different mindset and motivation level than following it up with a top ten team that beat you earlier.
And they're almost certainly better than you thought at the beginning of the year. Just enjoy the ride, the final assessments of quality are most accurate at the end of the year after the dust settles.
Thing is, I've been a Cyclone fan for more years than some of the people here have been alive. I have been waiting to get over the hump for so long. Every year that a conference championship hope dies, a part of my fan life does too. Same goes with "early" bumps out of the tournament.
I just want a conference championship or Final Four appearance. Just once...
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
Well, you should have been around for 99/00 and 00/01 right? I've been a fan for about 45 years and I'd love nothing more than to see a Final Four as well. The key IMO is getting to the tournament as often as you possibly can with a team capable of getting there and eventually matchups and luck will fall our way. It's frustrating when it doesn't year after year, but we are as well positioned in that regard as we've ever been right now to have consistent shots at it.
We're due for breaks happening our way, that's for sure. Nightmares that I still think about:
1) The loss to Mich State, which was as close as a home game for them as you can get (and the "homer" refs).
2) The Hampton loss, were Eustasy's team just ran out of gas for the season. No other description for it.
3) The UAB loss, were we just met the perfect "Kryptonite" for our team; three big guys to shut down our inside out game (the parallels to our current team is pretty scary).
That was a blast and the loss to MSU took me years to get over. The Hampton loss barely bothered me. It was clear we weren't going to make a run anyway. That team was gassed...or something.
Yeah, there was an old "cowboy" expression (maybe out of books, don't know) that a cowboy, in bad times, can ride a horse until it collapses. Then, a Comanche will come along and ride it until it dies. Eustasy was that Comanche. He got more out of that team than any other coach could. It just "died" of exhaustion by the time the tournament rolled around.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
Both made me sick to my stomach for a couple years. Didn't help that we followed up the best period in program history with the Eustachy scandal and then several years of irrelevance.
I know he shouldn't have, but dang, as an older guy, I totally get it! I mean college women at his age at the time? And drinking like he was back in college? Totally get it.
Ok, now back to the mantra: Bad Larry! Bad boy.
I prefer to believe this team is really good and will bounce back on Saturday. The TCU game was disappointing, but let's not overlook the ISU defense for most of the game. With 2:34 left, TCU had scored 50 pts, ending with a still low 62. ISU forced 15 turnovers and held them to 40% from the field, 28% from 3.
Offense lost the game. I still believe this team is capable of putting up points. Obviously, turnovers were the killer. You can't score if you don't even get a shot off. Secondly, at least one, of Lipsey, Heise, Toure and Batemon has to contribute from the outside, for the points, but also to open space for Milan and Jefferson. Finally, I don't know what to say about FTs, other than you have to get to the line more than 8 times and you have to make a hellofalot better than 25%!
Do I predict a victory over KU? I don't know. I do predict a much better performance, in all the offensive areas I mentioned above, than I saw Tuesday.
Offense lost the game. I still believe this team is capable of putting up points. Obviously, turnovers were the killer. You can't score if you don't even get a shot off. Secondly, at least one, of Lipsey, Heise, Toure and Batemon has to contribute from the outside, for the points, but also to open space for Milan and Jefferson. Finally, I don't know what to say about FTs, other than you have to get to the line more than 8 times and you have to make a hellofalot better than 25%!
Do I predict a victory over KU? I don't know. I do predict a much better performance, in all the offensive areas I mentioned above, than I saw Tuesday.
The 14/15 group was allegedly also pretty dysfunctional as was 00-01 at the end.
Unfortunately, that was after 2 losses. Glad these next 2 are at Hilton. I still see at least 2 more losses on the schedule, let's not make them at home.
I hadn't heard of the '15 team being dysfunctional, they seemed like a pretty tight group. A more recent team comes to mind (but the "Fan Thought Police" still don't let you talk about that).
Kansas has won eight straight. I'm not saying they have no chance, but if you think they're going to win because "they're just better" you must not gamble much, is all I'll say
"If we take advantage of everything we do well and neutralize everything they do well I like our chances." Brilliant commentary
I don't know if "they're just better" or not (I suspect they are, though), but they are a bad match-up for us. Kansas seems to take a bit of their seasons to "gel," then they just steam-roll (Kentucky used to do the same thing). Our teams seem to start off at their peak and slowly decline due to not keeping up with other teams improvements.
I'm sure it wasn't the first time something had gone on but one of your players reportedly exploding and throwing a chair at halftime of a tourney game isn't great for morale (neither is needing babysitters for players as has been mentioned in previous years).
Iirc Fred's voice was shaky in a halftime interview while coaches were still talking to BDJ in the background.
Bball wise they would also just kind of get pretty defunct if an opponent got into them defensively.
Things can get weird with a team no matter who the coach is or how great things are going at any point in the season.
Fans get pretty blind to that concept and either act like a team will just stay as they are early in the year when things are going well or ascend in a straight line to peak at the end.
