(4) Texas vs. Iowa State: 7pm on LHN.

[justhookit 4191]

We completely went away from what was working in the first half and once again Shaka has no clue how to get us back on track. This team is ultra talented and there is only one reason why they might not make a run to the Elite 8 or beyond.

[Pato del Muerto 52616]

We scored 41 in the second half. Our offense was fine on the whole. The issue was allowing 45 in the second half. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

8 hours ago, HookEm said:

We would have lost that game 100% of the time in previous seasons. In some ways, this win was more impressive to me than KU. Iowa State was desperate for a win and they actually have some talent. Plus they were hitting lucky contested shots.

If we played them 10 times, I think we win 9 or 10 - with a solid number of blowouts.

can't agree with you. you're describing this game as if we showed some special kind of heart or grit to win it, when in reality the final score just looks kinda close while the game was never in doubt. now that that KU ass whooping- that was something special, something revealing.  last night we just let the score look close with a barrage of stupid pull-up threes towards the end of the game (plus we quit going inside where they literally could not stop us).

so, the game was never in doubt, even if the score got close towards the end, and for me last night's game didn't reveal anything about this team we don't already know. we might lose that game in the past, but that's because we were shitty in the past, not a top 5 team in the country that got a little lazy towards the end of a game that we had a strangle hold on. 

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by shadow_operative

[shadow_operative 15932]

5 hours ago, justhookit said:

We completely went away from what was working in the first half and once again Shaka has no clue how to get us back on track. This team is ultra talented and there is only one reason why they might not make a run to the Elite 8 or beyond.

as i said in my last post, they absolutely had no answer for us in the paint or on the glass. i remember actually saying to myself that i had to give it up to Shaka for going to Sims time after time after time, and for running offense that created driving lanes for guys like Kai and Coleman. of course then we got comfortable with our domination and started playing sloppy, selfish, stupid offense, and Shaka just stood there and watched as he always does. luckily ISU is garbage, but if we did that to a real team we could have fucked around and lost. 

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

20 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

can't agree with you. you're describing this game as if we showed some special kind of heart or grit to win it, when in reality the final score just looks kinda close while the game was never in doubt. now that that KU ass whooping- that was something special, something revealing.  last night we just let the score look close with a barrage of stupid pull-up threes towards the end of the game (plus we quit going inside where they literally could not stop us).

so, the game was never in doubt, even if the score got close towards the end, and for me last night's game didn't reveal anything about this team we don't already know. we might lose that game in the past, but that's because we were shitty in the past, not a top 5 team in the country that got a little lazy towards the end of a game that we had a strangle hold on. 

 

Completely agree. Honestly last night's 1st half was the first time in coach Smart's tenure that I remember us instantaneously going to the post anytime there was a mismatch down low. I cant count how many times over the past 5 years I've wanted us to do just that and last night (in the first half) we actually did it, almost every time. We could've done that all night and blown them out by 30. It was almost as if Sims and Kai were playing against little kids. 

[Al_4_ISU 12500]

Congrats to all in this thread.  Y'all have watched more Iowa State basketball than I have thus far this season.

[ztejas 43546]

2 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

as i said in my last post, they absolutely had no answer for us in the paint or on the glass. i remember actually saying to myself that i had to give it up to Shaka for going to Sims time after time after time, and for running offense that created driving lanes for guys like Kai and Coleman. of course then we got comfortable with our domination and started playing sloppy, selfish, stupid offense, and Shaka just stood there and watched as he always does. luckily ISU is garbage, but if we did that to a real team we could have fucked around and lost. 

Unlike Herman, Shaka seems to be learning on the job. Part of that is smoothed over by the talent he has this year, but sometimes, especially in basketball, it's hard to know what you have in a coach until they have a legit roster. I think Texas has already improved when it comes to offensive sets and shot selection and discipline on that side of the ball. The defense, work on the glass, and overall energy, intensity and attitude is championship level and Shaka deserves a LOT of credit for that. It actually reminds me of some prime Barnes teams. Shaka's letting other teams know: "you might outshoot us, or play better ball, or put more talent on the floor (now unlikely), but you are NOT going to outwork or out-hustle us."

I agree with you that that game was never in doubt. ISU came out hungry and pretty sharp and took the lead - but you could tell from the opening tip who the better team was and that was proven over 40 mins. 2nd half was tighter because Texas maybe rested a bit on some offensive sets and ISU hit some really tough shots but Texas was never losing that game. With fans in the stands that's probably a 15-20 point win. Then again, with fans in the stands we don't beat KU by 25 in Lawrence, but this is going to be a weird season like that. Just win and move on. That's how this conference is every year.

[dcar00 14378]

4 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Congrats to all in this thread.  Y'all have watched more Iowa State basketball than I have thus far this season.

thats what happens when your football team is good....hence why we are "suddenly" so interested in our top 5 basketball team.

[Machinator 32099]

 

[Al_4_ISU 12500]

40 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

thats what happens when your football team is good....hence why we are "suddenly" so interested in our top 5 basketball team.

I freaking love Iowa State basketball and still think of us as a basketball school.

But it's so bad, and so fucking hopeless right now that I just had to divorce myself from this train wreck.  We have no plan, no end game.  We're just whiling away the time until Prohm is gone, and the worst case scenario is that this team fights hard enough that the AD brings him back to watch us maybe limp into the NIT next year.

At the risk of being wildly insensitive, Iowa State basketball for me is like a close family member being an addict or in a terrible relationship, and they're so far gone that you have to lovingly detach and hope they can bottom out and get clean before they die.

If these fuckers keep playing hard, I'll probably slide back in like the depraved sports junkie I am, but for now, this separation has made life better.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Al_4_ISU

[dcar00 14378]

3 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I freaking love Iowa State basketball and still think of us as a basketball school.

But it's so bad, and so fucking hopeless right now that I just had to divorce myself from this train wreck.  We have no plan, no end game.  We're just whiling away the time until Prohm is gone, and the worst case scenario is that this team fights hard enough that the AD brings him back to watch us maybe limp into the NIT next year.

At the risk of being wildly insensitive, Iowa State basketball for me is like a close family member being an addict or in a terrible relationship, and they're so far gone that you have to lovingly detach and hope they can bottom out and get clean before they die.

If these fuckers keep playing hard, I'll probably slide back in like the depraved sports junkie I am, but for now, this separation has made life better.

it was more of a joke about where Texas is and that ISU and Texas are reversed right now.   I'm sure ISU will turn it around soon.

[Al_4_ISU 12500]

I'll put it this way:  If you told me I could keep the football season Iowa State had and we'll go on to finish 4-25 like we're on pace to, or I could trade seats with Texas, I'm probably trading seats with Texas.  You're basketball team is on fire, and your football season would have qualified for one of, if not the, best season in ISU history - if not for this one.

[Machinator 32099]

45 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

But it's so bad, and so fucking hopeless right now that I just had to divorce myself from this train wreck.  We have no plan, no end game.  We're just whiling away the time until Prohm is gone, and the worst case scenario is that this team fights hard enough that the AD brings him back to watch us maybe limp into the NIT next year.

 

What's the contract situation?

[Al_4_ISU 12500]

59 minutes ago, Machinator said:

What's the contract situation?

I'm not even sure.  I think he got a 3 year extension after our last Big 12 tournament title (2019), which was a year where we otherwise wildly underperformed.

[justhookit 4191]

Man, y’all have a pretty good team. Weird year. If you ignore the record and look at the scores it’s not nearly as bad as it looks.