Why? Just why?

It’s called character building…

Iowa State fandom prepares you for the nut kicking that is life a lot of the time.

Or it’s a great reminder how good we have it…that a MBB loss is one of your biggest problems.

Not how you’re gonna eat tomorrow, or your kid is starving to death, or your wife was murdered, or your house and village burned to the ground.
 
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Why does anything happen the way it does to our fanbase?

I don’t know how much I can keep caring. It’s just one nut punch after another. Choking again and watching Iowa go to the elite 8 is just the finishing touch. It’s clear we’re meant to be unhappy as a fanbase. Accept it I guess
You know what's funny about this entire sports year? We dominated Iowa in every sport that matters...football, men's and women's basketball, got our first wrestling dual win over them in YEARS, and when it's all said and done we...

a) lost the best football coach in school history with tons of our roster leaving with him
b) wrestling team had more injuries and didn't do all that well at nationals
c) women's team completely fell apart during the regular season and was a 1st round exit in the big dance
d) men's team had a great season but had their best player go down to an injury (hello 2014 called) and our season ended in the Sweet 16..........again..........while our arch rival who has a new HC is in the Elite 8 with a solid chance of making a Final Four

You can't come up with a more cursed fandom than being an Iowa State fan.
 
Earlier I posted that last year’s team was better prior to all the injuries and I still feel the same way. We only have 1 plus athlete on this team (Toure) and it shows when we play teams with length. We need a forward with some bounce and ability to play above the rim, Buchanan did ok but his lack of strength is a huge problem, gets blocked all the time on dunk attempts.


Also, from watching other teams like St Louis, it’s frustrating to think of how fluid their offenses looked passing and cutting compared to ours. Milan needs to figure out a way to add something on offense when he’s face guarded.
 
Earlier I posted that last year’s team was better prior to all the injuries and I still feel the same way. We only have 1 plus athlete on this team (Toure) and it shows when we play teams with length. We need a forward with some bounce and ability to play above the rim, Buchanan did ok but his lack of strength is a huge problem, gets blocked all the time on dunk attempts.


Also, from watching other teams like St Louis, it’s frustrating to think of how fluid their offenses looked passing and cutting compared to ours. Milan needs to figure out a way to add something on offense when he’s face guarded.
Milan hasn’t had a problem really all year with it and I think the main cause tonight was not having the best offensive weapon on the floor.
 
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Did you watch Michigan tonight? They would destroy us.
Kind of a shame that Arizona and Michigan are on the same side of the bracket because I've felt that those two were the best teams all season long. I know Duke beat Michigan but I think Michigan has proven based on their SOS and the Big Ten being a much stronger league than the ACC....and all that said, Duke is still Duke.
 
Even if MM comes back next year, every team is going to defend him exactly the same way they have this year. Our coaches have to figure out a way to get him open shots, MM has to figure out how to create his own offense, or (especially as tonight has shown), we need to figure out a 4-on-4 offense that has MM stand at half court and hope his defender is stupid enough to go inside and help.

MM has done an amazing job with what he's been given this year, but I can't imagine him in an NBA offense where he has other players around him that can shoot, create, and use him to open up the floor. I don't want to lose him for next year, but his NBA potential is FAR greater than what we're seeing at the college level.

People can dump on his defense all they want, but if he can shoot like he does now in the NBA, he can be a valuable asset to any team. Georges Niang is a similar comparison, but MM's potential ceiling is higher in the NBA.
 
Would have been nice to get back to the E8 for the first time in my adult life but my disappointment is softened somewhat by Jeffer saying he wasn't close to being able to play and would almost certainly have been out Sunday against Michigan too. Even if the basketball gods smiled upon us for once in my miserable existence of ISU fandom and we won another game yesterday against a P5 team without our best player, the ride was ending on Sunday regardless.
 
Why does this happen every single time? First Niang, now Jefferson, and we are stuck not being able to advance to the elite 8 again. This one stings and it feels like we’re just trapped. I love Otz, but man, he needs to get us further than this because I don’t think us fans are satisfied with the same outcome every time. Sorry for the rant. I’m just bummed.

Edit: I’m well aware Otz wasn’t the coach when Niang got hurt in the tourney. Some people seem to think I think that.
Not many programs have made 3 sweet 16’s in the past 5 years. Not many teams have been ranked for 51 straight weeks. Not many teams have been ranked in the top 10 for 38 times since TJ took over.

Would we love to advance further in the tournament? Of course. But the tournament is unique; it’s largely about matchups, having a player get hot at the right moment, and some luck.

I’m VERY satisfied if Iowa State is ranked nearly every week (or all weeks) and being a fixture in the top 10. Along with regularly beating top teams both home and away

The program is very healthy. It’s just a matter of time when they will make the deep run in the tournament. I’m excited for next season with who we have returning. We just need a couple other bigs to add length and rebound. Our kryptonite has been playing against lengthy teams. Need to add more length for next season
 

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