🏀 KuBuckets Archive

What’s everyone thinking with this team?
They’ve exceeded my expectations at worst sharing the big 12.

Elite 8, final 4 another natty with Billy Eugene cementing himself as maybe the goat with back the backs???

We haven’t played great lately but we are defending better and racking up W’s. If shots for JW and Gradey start to fall watch out.

Last but not least Bill figured it out.

Can’t play juan and Bobby together (with his paint touch off the bounce the staff clearly looks at metrics and analysis more). Those two together our squad was atrocious.

Udeh first big off the bench and he’s changing games - perfect offset for KJ to throw teams off!

Joe scoring guard off the bench (should have been mj but it hasn’t materialized). Joe’s playing freer.

Bobby to only spell Juan at pg and never alongside him.

What I saw Bill let play out in games and has gone away from that dualing pg lineup. As he’s said they are just ball reversers and don’t attack we are gosh darn awful.

Rock Chalk and buckle up it’s gonna be a fun March as the tourney will have upsets and anyone can win it!

@kuballin10 I feel like barring injury, sweet 16 is my expectation now for this team, with some confidence they could make the final four and like always a hope they can win the whole thing.

The fact they've been winning these last few games with defense has me more optimistic. They clearly know how to win when shots don't fall, which makes them incredibly resilient to bad shooting anomalies and weird stuff that tends to happen in the tournament.

Match Ups will always rule March Madness but I also think this team has shown itself capable of beating a wide variety of teams and styles, in a myriad of ways.

I'm a little scared by how reliant this team is on each and every starter. Like if one of them goes down, it's a significant drop off. We don't have a sherron or a remy who could legit start and the team be comparable or even better. You could argue Udeh for Adams maybe, but even that is not really a contest in my opinion.

In the end, (I think @kuballin10 will agree) this team will go as far as Dejuan Harris can take them.

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Tough break for one of the teams that really scared me. Still think they could be a tough out but Barnes would have to outperform his reputation.

@benshawks08 great post

Exactly Juan scores what 3 or more we are 24-0 now?

I get we can’t lose Jalen or Gradey all important but assuming everyone is healthy than when playing we need aggressive, attacking, looking to score Juan that’s the best form of the Hawks even when other guys have off nights. Heck Juan can have an off night but if he is aggressive it opens everything up.

I need to see the bracket first. There are S16 opponents based on current bracketology that we would not be favored against if the bracket went chalk.

@BShark said in How we feelin’ about March:

I need to see the bracket first. There are S16 opponents based on current bracketology that we would not be favored against if the bracket went chalk.

As always it's impossible to predcit without seeing the bracket. Teams like St. Marys, SDSU, and UCONN are going to be grossly under seeded. I do think the expectations for this team should be the E8 though. Meaning that is the floor. They can obviously make the F4 and beyond as well.

Need Jalen to find his outside shot again, GD to start hitting at a better clip, and Juan has to continue to produce all over the court.

@Woodrow You listed most of the teams I was thinking of. UConn will be on the 4/5 line and has a top 6 roster easily.

If I was a higher seed I WOULD NOT want to meet St Marys , that could very easily be a scary game - -also even though we have dislike for them also two other teams that will be lower seeds. - -yes we beat them both already this year , but Kentucky seems like they have gotten things sorted out- - -we beat Duke early but they had a lot of early injuries then - -they playing much better.

I just don't think we wanna play Duke right now - -I'm afraid they ae the type of a team that would beat us to death on the boards. - -Elite rim protector with Lively - -he didn't play or very limited when we played before - -Big time rebounder. Whitehead is playing now , Proctor is playing well - - then ol boy from the KC area playing solid-- -that's a pretty loaded line up - -then Roach is doing Roach things - just don't like that match up.

Kentucky like I said playing better - - Livingston playing well - -Toppin solid - -Oscar is Oscar another I hope we could stay clear of at least till later. -Those are three I am Leary of right now. - -figure Kentucky probably a 7-8 seed - -Duke a 6 or 7

@BShark said in How we feelin’ about March:

I need to see the bracket first. There are S16 opponents based on current bracketology that we would not be favored against if the bracket went chalk.

That's why I said S16 was my expectation. We should beat a 16 seed and pretty much all of the 8/9s. After that, it's all match ups, hot and cold shooting, injuries, refs, etc.

I wonder how many champions have had to play close to chalk in their brackets? I know KU has had some breaks on the last two title runs. Feels like our elite 8 losing streak for a while was just facing 2/3 seeds over and over again.

8/9's I'd prefer not to play:

Arkansas

Illinois

4/5's I'd prefer not to play:

UCONN (although Bill vs. Hurley is a 10 pt advantage for us)

That's about it.

I think it's almost 100% certain that UCLA will be the 2 seed in our region. That doesn't bother me a bit. The only way that doesn't happen is if Purdue keeps losing, and plays their way to the 2 line. Then Purdue would be our number 2 because UCLA would be a number 1. I'm fine with that, too.

It would be great to get the #1 in the MW and play in KC.

@BShark I agree on seeing the bracket. Last year the only team that scared me in our bracket was Auburn and they got bounced early. This year there is a lot of big names and talent on that 8/9 line. Self has said the last few years a lot it comes to taking marginal shots and making them. I 100 agree with that, it really comes down to shooting and a good point guard play. We survived last season without good rebounding numbers, will need to do the same this year. Juan can and will take us somewhere but we need bench production and guys to hit shots to go anywhere.

@BShark Who wouldn't we be favored against?

I think if we can get 25 min in any game vs anybody in the nation of the defense we had second vs Baylor? We beat anyone by double digits. That said... It may be too much to ask. Idk

This is terrific commentary so far and all I will add is this...

With the field as wide open as it seems(No ridiculously dominant team). Why not KU for it all guys?

@Jethro said in How we feelin’ about March:

8/9's I'd prefer not to play:

Arkansas

Illinois

4/5's I'd prefer not to play:

UCONN (although Bill vs. Hurley is a 10 pt advantage for us)

That's about it.

I think it's almost 100% certain that UCLA will be the 2 seed in our region. That doesn't bother me a bit. The only way that doesn't happen is if Purdue keeps losing, and plays their way to the 2 line. Then Purdue would be our number 2 because UCLA would be a number 1. I'm fine with that, too.

It would be great to get the #1 in the MW and play in KC.

KU would smoke UConn. They don't have a PG and our defense would eat them alive. UVA and St. Mary's are the potential 4/5 seeds that would worry me the most because of their defense and ability to slow a game to snails pace and force KU into a halfcourt game which isn't our strength.

@wissox said in How we feelin’ about March:

@BShark Who wouldn't we be favored against?

UConn I suspect for one. Though I think we could beat them.

Trying to see if Torvik let's me see what their metrics think of random match-ups.

@BShark said in How we feelin’ about March:

@wissox said in How we feelin’ about March:

@BShark Who wouldn't we be favored against?

UConn I suspect for one. Though I think we could beat them.

Trying to see if Torvik let's me see what their metrics think of random match-ups.

I think we would beat UConn. We could put McCullar on Hawkins. Sanogo might be a bit of a match-up problem for KJ or our younger bigs.

We have a huge match-up advantage at the coaching position though.

I hope I don't jinx em but Kentucky down 7 at home against Vandy with 8 minutes left. Don't even want to go watch it. Will watch in last minute if Vandy has chance at upset.

No jinx!! Kentucky goes down to Vandy. LOL

https://m. ↗

I feel great because it's March and we have a legit team for March. How that plays out is on the backs of our players...

We can beat anyone in the field. We can smoke anyone in the field. We can lose close games to anyone in the field. And.. we can get smoked by anyone in the field.

I don't gamble, and I'm careful in how I project because I'm a natural-born jinxer!

I believe in our guys and it may not sound it here, but I am optimistic for our guys and early tulip blooms this year!