🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Contender or Pretender?

NOOOO! I'm not talking about us, I'm talking about our favorite team down south.

!2017029-WS-BU-MBB-RM-IL-PEO-07.jpg ↗

Are these guys for real? I know they haven't played many tough games this year. But the Shocks have already hit 30 wins.

Even Conner's game has finally come around.

They look scary to me. They have a bench that just doesn't stop and they like to push tempo.

I find it unlikely that they will be in our bracket.... but how would we hold up against the Shockers this time?

@drgnslayr I haven't watched them recently, but the little bit I watched them earlier they aren't very athletic. Don't have great ball handlers. And are boring. KU would destroy these Shockers on the nights I've seen them play.

@drgnslayr said:

I find it unlikely that they will be in our bracket

Oh, but they will be. You just know it. They'll be there along with Kentucky, Baylor, Bradley, Bucknell, Northern Iowa, Stanford, The Harlem Globetrotters, the other three #1 seeds (a new experiment this season), and a Disney-sponsored team lead by Air Bud.

That will once again give Duke a clear path to the championship, defeating Monmouth in the final game 87-26.

If they are hitting their threes, they are tough. But they are not particularly fast or tall but they are smart and well coached. They lost to Louisville, Michigan state and blown out by Okie State. Their fans feel like they have improved a lot but with their weak schedule we wont find out til next week.

I always keep an eye on the Shockers, and they look like they have put their team together quite a bit lately. I see improvements.

I don't know if they are individually as athletic as us. I doubt it. But they are like a swarm of locus.

WSU is getting more love than us right now by east coast media:

Bracketology: If Wichita State is Final Four good, what about Illinois State? ↗

So WSU is "Final Four good?"

My take on the Big Dance is you had better bring your A game each and every game. If not, you may go home quickly, no matter who you play. There are just too many teams out there that have at least 2 or 3 very good players. If they are hot and get a few breaks, (calls), and you are a little flat, then you can get beat. I hope the past has not been forgotten. The "B" teams, UNI, VCU, etc. So I am not going to overlook Wichita St., or Mid Tenn., or the Orange, or any one else. And I am definitely not going to trash any opponent to give them even more incentive to send us home. Lets do our celebrating and tough talk after the tourney is over.

Wishing our coaches and players good health and safety and to play injury free and well. GO JAYHAWKS!!!!

@Big-Clyde52

I like your thoughts on this. I never take WSU for granted. And I hope we don't take any team lightly. Obviously, we've had that mindset before and have sent home some damn good teams early in March!

!3-6-2017 10-29-33 AM.jpg ↗

They just can't help themselves!

I would not be a fan of this bracket if it held up.

UCLA is a tough 3 seed .

@Blown

Where is that bracket read?

Everything I see on the Shockers puts them in the South or East.

@drgnslayr Espn, Joey Brackets

@drgnslayr

Don't underestimate the Shockers. I know is popular here to bash Marshall but there is no question he is a very good coach and good at getting the best of his players. If KU plays WSU, I believe KU would win but it would not be an easy game by any means. WSU is a dangerous and motivated team.

!b.jpg ↗

@JayHawkFanToo Plus Frankamp knows all of our plays

@Blown

The 4-1 is not something Frankamp saw.

no doubt, but the weave and and its wrinkles along with the inbound plays are surely still applicable.

@Blown So the Big 12 only gets five teams? WOW!!!!

@Blown

The Shockers in the second round? Ouch! And UCLA (who I'm picking as a FF team) as #3 seed in our bracket? Double ouch!

That said, we're the number 1 team in the country for a reason, and we gotta play the best teams sooner or later to win the championship so... Bring it on!

@Big-Clyde52 ya, I was kind of expecting that. Although I don't claim to be a bracketologist, nor anything close to it, KSU played their way out of the tournament and into a new coach the last half of the season. I do like the progress of TCU, Tech, and OU next near will be going again. That leaves KSU and UT to carry their load and get us back up to 7 teams in.

@tis4tim Only because Monmouth will have 97 fouls called on them and Duke will have 2. Neither of them on Allen.

@drgnslayr

They are good enough to win a few games. The #'s on Kenpom say they are efficient at both ends of the floor.

How much are those ratings based on playing nobody though is the question? Does it matter? Given that they played better teams in the non-conference and had underwhelming results makes it hard to endorse them. Having watched them recently I'd say they are much better then they were earlier this year.

This is a balanced team but doesn't have a star or 2 like they had before. With how down the MVC was this year they look good because they have such an overwhelming talent advantage to the rest of the league. I think in a tough tournament game they will be exposed for not having a go-to guy or someone that will be able to "put them on their back". This is a young team that has really overachieved given what they lost last year.

Cf couldn't guard a box while he was here. He can shoot lights out. Just found that shot last few weeks. Can't imagine them keeping up w/our guards. Mv is awful, so hard to judge. Osu massacred them. They play hard.

@BeddieKU23

They clearly aren't the same team they were early in the year. This was a rebuild year and they are stocked with new players so it took time to get guys playing together.

I have the same question you have about the quality of their schedule.... not because we can't figure out if they are any good. They are good. I don't doubt that. But if their year was mostly about playing bad teams they won't be prepared to face the tougher teams.

@drgnslayr

And the question becomes how do you seed them correctly?

I know the committee takes into account how each segment of the season goes. Their RPI won't win them any beauty contest. Their record against better competition won't either.

The eye test says they are probably a top 15 team at this moment. Given their recent tournament resume/reputation its extremely difficult to give them a true seed that matches up with other teams comparable to them. They have either overachieved in March or this is the 2nd coming of the Gonzaga program where sustained success needs to be recognized and respected.

If they put them as a 8/9 seed, we know the Committee is engineering fan interest/media coverage. We will have to get @jaybate-1.0 in full CIA mode then.

I would place them at #6 given the lack of quality wins but fully recognizing a 30 win team who's playing its best basketball.

@Blown I would have no problem telling Connor exactly which play we are going to run. And then enjoy the heck out of watching him try to stop Frank, DG, Josh, or Vick. We will abuse him.

@Fightsongwriter zac Brown and mcduffie are good defenders though. Marsha fans are confident they could stop Frank, Devonte and Josh. The only way to know is to play them.

@Blown

I honestly don't mind that bracket. Purdue is not a scary 4 seed, Virginia isn't a scary 5 (although their defense is very tough).

I don't worry too much about the other half of the bracket because there's too much that can happen before we see a 2 or 3 seed anyway. I worry about the 8/9 and the 4/5 because that's our half of the bracket. Wichita State would be tough as an 8 (probably underseeded there), but I wouldn't worry about the rest.

Lunardi is an average at best bracketologist.

One of Yahoo's writers (not Pat Forde) suggested WSU should end up a 6 or 7 seed to balance out their weak resume with the advanced metrics that have WSU as a top 15-20 team. I think this is a pretty fair placement for them.

@Texas-Hawk-10

I agree, having them as an 8 or 9 seed seems like they would be grossly under-seeded, which is not new to them.

@BeddieKU23

Reptilians would have to be running the seeding from a Secret Space Program base on Iyo.

God will not permit such seeding to happen.

😄

And remember, what we are shown is a computer generated version of the March Carney. The analog original is played in the nude by the real teams at a secret installation with a tropical environment under the ice in Antarctica in front of all the high ranking members of the NWO that have been visiting Antarctica lately!!!!!

@nuleafjhawk any fires there? Scary here!

@Crimsonorblue22

Extremely dark and windy and the storm should be here in the next 30 minutes...keeping fingers crossed.

We want to play WSU, right? Anytime, anywhere. Please let it happen.

@HighEliteMajor I'm fine with playing them if we have to. Frank, Devonte, Landen and Svi I'm sure remember the beatdown they suffered two years ago.

@HawkChamp

Payback is a beatch...and her stripper name is Karma.

My God... I'm watching Gonzaga play a junior high school team on ESPN. Santa Clara? Really?

They may deserve to be ranked, but seeing how bad their conference is I can't even view them as a ranked team in the Top 25.

Fifty bucks says Duke will be in the Gonzaga bracket!

@drgnslayr Santa Clara cut it to five a few minutes ago.

@HawkChamp

Gonzaga just closed out a 9-pt victory. Yippeeee!!! Ha.... I can't take them serious at all.

@drgnslayr I agree - I am very skeptical. Their soft schedule has not hardened them for the rigors of the tourney.

@justanotherfan UCLA is the one team I don't want in our bracket. We could play very well and still lose due to them having the highest ceiling of any team.

@drgnslayr WCC ball is really tough to enjoy.... Especially outside of the zags and the Gaels..

Now I'll weigh in on the original post... WSU. Not a pretender. But also not a title contender. A well coached team that plays good fundamental ball and defense. Not the kind of team we typically wanna see second round. Now.. having said that. This KU team "can" beat anyone in the nation by double digits. And they probably only have to play their best ball 25 to 30 min depending on the opponent. The only ? I have is the night when they decide to play 7 min against any tourney team beyond round 1.. that's when a solid team can beat you. Otherwise. Not to worry

@drgnslayr Of course Dook will get the easiest path. Count on it. Pencil them in as the 4th seed in the West.

We will face the Shlockers 2nd round, then Virginia, then Louisville for the Regional championship. Guaranteed.

@Crimsonorblue22 No fires here - very thankful and all of you affected are in my prayers.

Why does anyone care about Duke? Perfect team to be upset in the first round again