🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@jaybate-1.0 That sounds about right. Tough game. But dang, I feel like we should win!

@jaybate-1.0 Come on JB, give us a prediction.

A lot of us seem to be worried. Previously it seemed like a lot of pundits were predicting that we would lose if we play WSU.
We may lose, but......I feel like we should match up with them. They are not that tall, so Perry should be able to score on them (although he still is not 100%). They can shoot the 3 with Baker and VanVleet. I worry about VanVleet getting into the lane.
I would think Oubre will be a matchup problem for them.
We appear to be considerably deeper than they are.
Shouldn't we be able to beat them?

Well we now have 6 team fouls. Can't start letting them get to the line to work the lead down.

@Crimsonorblue22 Yes. He appears to be afraid to attack he big guys. He could get to the line.

@Kip_McSmithers Marv has done poorly. Mis-identified players numerous times.

@Crimsonorblue22 Sure......but those should be high percentage....like almost 100%?

I can't remember this many missed dunks in one (incomplete yet) game.

@KUinLA I am puzzled by this comment.....which has been made by a lot of people.
Baylor would beat G. State and ISU would beat UAB 7 or 8 out of 10 times.. The primary reason they lost is the reason most teams lose in the tournament.....the pressure brought on by the hype and the one and done nature. The higher seed feels the pressure....the lower seed plays free and easy with nothing to lose. The tournament is a different animal when compared to the regular season.
I don't think those loses say anything about which the better team is....and hence I don't think those loses say much about the strength of the respective conferences.
Can you comment?

@VailHawk That's funny!

@DCHawker Your point about performance over the long hauls is valid. That assumes that your facts are correct that the Big 12 underperforms.
I'm not saying the facts aren't there....they may be.
I do know that all conferences, and teams, have their share of upsets as that is the nature of the tournament.
The Big 12 may have more than its share....I'm not sure.

ISU and Baylor losing today is not a sign that the Big 12 was over rated. During the regular season, Geo. State and UAB wouldn't beat those teams 2 out of 10.
The tournament is a different animal. Pressure on the higher seeds...lower seeds play free and easy. Those 2 games reveal nothing about the conference strength.
Now.....the point about putting teams in the final 4 over the long haul to signify conference strength is valid.....

@HighEliteMajor "Self texted me and said - See!"
That's funny!

I usually want the Big 12 to do well. But, I found myself rooting for ISU to lose and Baylor and Texas to win.
I guess I'm bitter about ISU....and want them to be put in their place.
Now we will have to listen to all the crap about the Big 12 being over rated.
In my opinion, the performance of a team in the tournament does not necessarily say anything about how good of a team they are.
How often in the regular season would UAB beat ISU? or Georgia State beat Baylor? Not very often.
The tournament is a different animal.. It is so hyped. These are still kids. The pressure on the favorite is so great. The under dog plays free and easy.
There can be very little correlation between the regular season and NCAA tournament. We've see that with KU many times.
I am going to be very PO'd listening to how the Big 12 was over rated.
These 3 loses don't say anything about the strength of the Big 12 (well, OK....the Texas loss might say something about how good they are....Butler probably beats them during the regular season).

@Lulufulu Wow. Of course we could lose in the first round, but to predict it?
2 seeds have lost a handful of times only in the first round.
Have faith!

@JayhawkRock78 I'm with you. I like to see other B12 teams go to the Elite 8 and no further....I like the final four reserved for only one B12 team....us.

I know that is selfish. Other Big 12 teams going to the final four is good for the conference.
But that's the way I feel.

@ZIG But they beat NIU and finished right there with them in conference. NIU is a 5. My point is they should be higher than a 7.
Now.....I agree that we should be able to beat them.......

@Jyhwk_InTigrtwn ND? Notre Dame? They are in our region with UK.....

@DinarHawk My early picks, subject to change, of course, are Duke, Arizona, Virginia, and UK.
Had to pick against UK to win it all.

@wissoxfan83 Come on. WSU is underseeded as a 7. They were neck and neck with NIU, who is a 5.
Most had both of them as a 4 or 5 all along.

@VailHawk We, and they got screwed. Most had them as a 4 or 5. They were basically as good as NIU and they are a 5
Doesn't make sense.
The other 7s were MSU,Iowa, and VCU. I'd rather play any of those (maybe not MSU, who is playing really well) than WSU that early.

One thing to remember is that, no matter who we draw in the 2nd round, as either a 2 or a 3 seed, that team will not be as good, in theory, as ISU, OU, Baylor, or WVU. OSU? OK, but they beat us on their floor.
Regardless of whom we draw, they will not be as good as the teams that have beaten us.....with the exception of Temple (who really isn't very good) and OSU....and they beat us in a hostile environment.
We should feel good about our chances of getting to the Sweet 16.
Once there...it's a crap shoot. You're looking at someone like ND or Maryland. Teams similar in talent and record to ISU, OU, etc. Beatable, for sure. But pretty much a toss up.
I'm not dismissing the first round.....we could always lose....but I don't waste time worrying about it.

The Star had us matched up with them in a 2 vs. 15 seeding.

Or maybe ND moves to a 2 and we go to a 3. Agree that there is little difference between a 2 or a 3. I look at the projected 6 or 7 seeds and sometimes I like the matchup vs. a 6 instead of a 7.
Especially for us, it really is about matchups.

I feel the same way about Selection Sunday. Also, Thursday is my Christmas morning. If possible, I take Thursday and Friday afternoons off and go to a place that has 4 TV screens so I can watch all of the games at once.

@drgnslayr Yes, I notice that play by Landon. I love a lot of the things he does. I just wish he would finish better.

@HighEliteMajor Agreed. I think we are as solid #2 based on winning our conference. The other resumes look better than ours for a #1 seed.

@brooksmd History suggests that if you are a #1 going into the conference tournament the committee does not penalize you for losing in the conference tournament. Unless you are a shaky #1 and someone is breathing down your neck.
We have maintained our #1 seed after a loss in the conference tournament quite a few times.

@Crimsonorblue22 Well, I would like our chances also.
But I think their body of work over the season gives them an edge over us for #1.

@HawksWin You could make a case for KU to get a #1 over Duke.
I don't think the case is as strong against, Wisconsin, UVA, and Nova.

@jaybate-1.0 I like that you are standing up for our team, but I think we have too many loses to merit a #1.
If we were to play Wisconsin or Villanova, or Virginia on a neutral court, wouldn't they be favored?
I'm not saying I don't think we could win, but I think they would be favored.

History suggests that the committee does not penalize teams that have #1 seeds going into the conference tournaments for losing. They usually don't remove them from the 1 line with a loss in the conf. tournament.
Now, if someone is shaky on the 1 line, and I think that Duke could qualify, that might happen.
I don't think we have a shot at a #1....too many losses. Others (Wisconsin, Villanova have had better season, I think.
But I don't think there is any way they should move us off the 2 line even if we lose today.
Like some have said...we won what most believe is the toughest conference.

@RockChalkinTexas Would they really be able to get Bennett? Smart has also turned down jobs.
They don't get the fan support you would think they would......it's a football school first.
Aren't they overstating how good of a job that is?

Good win (are there any bad ones?). I thought we played tough defense, but man, Baylor missed some good looks! Our offense at times seemed to work, but the dumb turnovers were killing me.
Good to see Wayne produce. Although he was a butcher at the line.
Perry limped off, but they said it was his quad....not his knee. I hoped that Brannen would get hot after his first make in a while....but he promptly missed his next one.......we need him to regain his touch, for sure.

We looked good at first on offense, then bad in the middle of the half. Then a little better at the end.

@cragarhawk I think it was a little of both. We played good defense.

@jaybate-1.0 Yes. I am worried about Perry being around 50% also.
I can imagine those spin moves might aggravate a sprained ligament.
But.... maybe the threat of Perry will help.

@nuleafjhawk I can't speak to what the people in Texas are saying like some of our state of Texas Alums can. But, I think that, even though he has underperformed given the talent he has, his record of success, compared to most programs, is pretty good.
I can imagine that they have lesser expectations for basketball (compared to football)....just like we do for football (compared to basketball). It would not surprise me if, given their success (ignoring the talent level), he keeps his job.

@JhawkAlum As others have said, I think we can hang our hat on toughness on this team. It seems like we have won a lot of those "muddy" games.
This was one. No offensive flow whatsoever. Sloppy execution. We played just well enough to win. Man...I hold my breath when Brannen does anything.....he scares the heck out of me. Really, no one played well except obviously Oubre. And Lucas.
There is reason to worry that it won't be enough against Baylor......but there is also reason to believe that we will find a way to win.....with or without Perry.
Heck we took OU to the wire on their home court in front of a full house....that is good enough to allow me to keep the faith.

@wissoxfan83 I agree. Winning the Big 12 tournament would give us momentum. I think that would help more than the extra rest we would get by bowing out early.
Of course, Perry needs to get healthy at all costs.....

Well, if Perry doesn't play, it could be tough. I know we almost knocked off OU at their place without him.....but, TCU is a little tougher inside with Washburn and Shepherd.

I don't see ISU being good enough to contend for a#1 seed....I can see them being about like this year....but maybe that is wishful thinking, :)

@BeddieKU23 You could be right. But, I think we will be in contention for a #1 seed as long as Perry comes back. Continued improvement from Mason and Greene and more experience for Graham will make a difference, I think.
But, if Cliff is indeed done and if KO leaves as expected, I think our chances of getting either Brown, Newman or one of the big guys become pretty decent.

TCU over KSU....KSU inconsistency bites them again.
Texas over TCU.

Baylor over WVU....bears are playing really well.
ISU over Texas....barely
KU over TCU....we pull away at the end of a tough game.
OSU over OU....Have to pick an upset (and I don't wan it to be us)

KU over Baylor....I'll be worried about this one as it's hard to beat a team 3 times.....Sprint Center is the difference.

ISU over OSU

Championship: KU over ISU in a loud, loud Sprint Center.

@BeddieKU23 I agree. Would rather play KSU for the revenge factor. Also would rather play WVU than Baylor.....like you said, hard to beat someone 3 times......Baylor would have the revenge factor going.

For sure, I hope we are at full strength for the tournament.
I can see a really tough 2nd round game (assuming we win our first game, of course!) likely against Baylor (just guessing) as they have been playing really good basketball lately. Also, it would not surprise me if we play TCU first. If we make it to the final....I'm predicting a rubber match against those Clones.
Either way, this should be a GREAT tournament. I'm really wishing I had planned earlier in the year to come back home to KC to watch.

I'm dumbfounded by Turner getting FOY over KO! Now, I haven't looked at the stats.....maybe that will prove me wrong. But, the eye test says that KO, with his all around game and being, say, the 3rd best player on the best team doesn't deserve FOY over Turner?
Do you guys agree? Am I being too much of a homer?

Right Great effort. Very short handed....essentially missing 3.5 guys guys (counting Wayne).
Two things:
Notice how excited OU players and fans were for beating us? The game meant 2nd place (and probably a higher seeding for them) but still.....shows what beating us means to the other league members.
That makes 2 "last 5 seconds of the game" plays where the other team gets pretty much a clear path to the basket. Geez....can't we defend that better? And Heild splits 2 of our guys for the putback.

Well, without BG, I think the decision becomes easier.

@konkeyDong I agree. But if a conference is really good year in and year out, wouldn't one of the teams make the final four more often than the Big 12 has?
Now, I still think that you can argue the Big 12 is still the best this year....even though we don't have any final four contenders (at this point) IMO