What type of defense will we run?

[ConnHuskBask]

Seems to me their guards are bigger than our guards and our bigs are bigger than their bigs which will cause matchup problems on both sides.

My question is if we stick Kromah on Kane who would Bazz/Boat guard or do we use a matchup zone?

Hopefully some of the big X and O guys on here can weigh in.

 

[James]

Tight man to man . Napier was guarding that 6'6 guy on joes, so he'll draw the Kane matchup I assume . Then once kromah gets in it's his assignment. Run them off the three point line

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Iowa State is a huge 3 point shooting team, I feel like we have to force them to beat us inside and funnel them to Brimah and Phil. Staying out of foul trouble will be key ( when isn't it haha).

 

[James]

Ollie is a guy who wants other teams to adjust to him . I assume hell start Phil , bring in brimah in 2 min per usual . We cannot let hogue get corner threes off Kane penetration. I'm not sure Kane is russ smith like with the rock, so I'm hoping they can not let him red carpet to the rim .

 

[intlzncster]

Don't know if we'll be able to attack as much defensively as we've done in the first two rounds. I don't expect them to miss much (think first half St Joes).

 

[jibsey]

Don't need Bazz in foul trouble, hope someone else is on Kane.

 

[Jaker]

Don't need Bazz in foul trouble, hope someone else is on Kane.

Exactly, we don't need Bazz guarding Kane, put Giffey, Kromah and Samuel on him, maybe even Calhoun.

 

[Jaker]

This is going to be a really tough game, in alot of aspects ISU is similar to SMU.

 

[tazclone]

S

Iowa State is a huge 3 point shooting team, I feel like we have to force them to beat us inside and funnel them to Brimah and Phil. Staying out of foul trouble will be key ( when isn't it haha).

Simply not true. We were last game because of Niang's injury but this has been the worst shooting team Fred has had. Kane and Morris are more likely to penetrate than anything and kick out. Ejim and Hogue like to clean up around the boards or crash the boards hard. Niang was a point forward that would drive and dish as much as scoring down low. Iowa State lost most games where they took a lot of threes.

Who knows what Fred will do after five days preparation. Will Edozie be more involved offensively? Will Hogue fill the point forward role? Will they resort to chucking up threes? I doubt it is the latter unless they are hitting

 

[SouleMan]

I'm also curious and believe how we choose to match up will be the deciding factor in the game. They'll have 5 guys who shoot the 3 on the court at times.

I doubt Brimah or Nolan are too comfortable out there. If we have them guard the 3, makes setting up that second layer of D against Kane/ Ejim harder. If we sag in the paint that might stop the drive (also might deter them from posting up our guards) but we risk giving up open threes.

Playing small with no big make sense as we have experience doing that - but I think we prefer to have a big on the court for help defense, rebounding, and potentially offense.

I'm guessing we always have a big in when Edozie is on the court. Beyond that who knows. It's up to Ollie to decide if he's willing to give up open looks to certain guys in order to protect the paint.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

@tazclone It would seem to me that since he's out again, that we should prepare for a similar attack as opposed to how you played with him, no?

 

[Tenspro2002]

Go small most of the game. Kromah on Kane; Boat and Bazz on the smaller guards, Morris and Long; Giff and DD on Ejim and Hogue.

Brimah and Nolan will either get 3's shot over them or be blown by on the bounce by someone like Ejim. They're not going to be able to keep up on defense.

 

[tazclone]

@tazclone It would seem to me that since he's out again, that we should prepare for a similar attack as opposed to how you played with him, no?

Honestly, ISU fans don't know what to think. Hogue is not Niang but he can take bigs off the dribble and dish. Ejim will do the same and had success doing it against UNC. Fred simply attacks mismatches as good as any coach. Go big and Hogue and Ejim will take the bigs out of the middle freeing up space to dribble penetrate for Kane and Morris. ISU actually had more trouble against smaller teams like OU and OSU or zone teams. They did not shoot exceptionally well all season so zone teams were effective as were physical teams. However, they have been shooting the ball better since the Big 12 tourney.

ISU would get down in games when they came down and chucked up threes. Then would settle in, get spacing and dribble drive and dish.

 

[Danzz]

Seems to me their guards are bigger than our guards and our bigs are bigger than their bigs which will cause matchup problems on both sides.

My question is if we stick Kromah on Kane who would Bazz/Boat guard or do we use a matchup zone?

Hopefully some of the big X and O guys on here can weigh in.

Villanova also had decent size guards. If we lose anything on defense we will more than make up for it with quickness on offense. I don't think the size of their guards is going to end up being a positive for Iowa State.

 

[FrostyNuggets]

Perno's ameoba

 

[mauconnfan]

Iowa State is an excellent 3 point shooting team, against anyone I'm sure. But UNC isn't a test because they don't guard worth crap………our guys gave Nova fits despite their ability all year to move the ball around all year, our guys were getting to shooters real quick something they weren't used to………..don't expect it to be easy for the Cyclones guys, it never is for anyone! I realize we're DOOMED but these guys do bring it on that end and IState will know they're in a game early I believe………

Gonna be a ball……..

 

[huskyjawz]

Don't need Bazz in foul trouble, hope someone else is on Kane.

Who knows? Bazz foul trouble was the best thing that ever could have happened to us against Nova.

I would sit him the whole first half, again, unless we were down big.

Fresh legs is what led to that second half scoring barrage.

 

[champs99and04]

As I've said before, I think Iowa State is a better team than North Carolina. But I was hoping Iowa State won that game, because it gives us the luxury of rolling with the small lineup - Bazz, Boat, Kromah, Giff, Daniels, with Samuel and Brimah rotating in - that was so successful against 'Nova and in spurts last season. I don't think people quite understand how unpleasant it would have been for Brimah and Nolan to deal with the likes of Kennedy Meeks - he abused Iowa State to the tune of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and given the massive weight advantage he'd possess over all of our big men, I'm guessing his output against us would have been similar. Not only that, but we would have been forced to double him with one of our guards, opening the floodgates for Paige and McDonald to fire away from three. It also would have allowed Tokoto and McAdoo to crash the glass with reckless abandon. Had we played UNC, we probably would have taken a whooping on the glass, yielded a lot of paint points, and potentially struggled to score against a UNC defense that's better than they're given credit for. We still could have won the game because of North Carolina's free throw and perimeter shooting deficiencies, but I'd much rather match strength on strength against Iowa State than weakness on strength against North Carolina.

My best bet is you'll see Kromah draw the bulk of the assignment on Kane. Kromah certainly has the foot speed and strength to make Kane work for his points, and the fact that he had so much success defending Sean Kilpatrick - a similar player - is encouraging. I'm a bit weary of sticking Napier on somebody like Naz Long. Napier, and Boatright, to a lesser extent, has the tendency to occasionally cheat on his man and play rover out there.

I'm more concerned with the way we match-up with Melvin Ejim. He's the type of player who is capable of rendering Nolan and Brimah non-factors in this game if they are unable to match his quickness on the perimeter. Blunt as it sounds, I wouldn't be opposed to Nolan DNP'ing in this game. He's done some nice things in our two tournament games, but this just isn't a game that calls for his skill set. He's a little bit lacking in the foot-speed department, and he's not exactly lock-down city when it comes to post defense, either. Much like the disastrous Oriakhi cameo against Iowa State in 2012, I fear that Nolan could be exploited on the defensive side of the ball, and I don't think he's refined enough yet to take advantage of any smaller Iowa State post defenders. If I'm Ollie, I would start Brimah, see if he can bother Ejim with his length and recovery speed, and then go to Giffey if it doesn't work out. I imagine Brimah will be serviceable against Ejim, but that it won't be long before he's designated to the bench with foul trouble. Daniels on Hogue is key - if DeAndre is unable to guard him, that could be trouble.

Ultimately, I like our chances in this game. For all the talk about how dangerous Iowa State is from three, UConn can be pretty f'in lethal themselves when they spread the floor with Giffey, Daniels, Kromah, and Boatright. We completely eviscerated 'Nova with that five, and by any statistical measure they have a far better defense than Iowa State. If the Cyclones have played anybody like Shabazz this season, it was probably Juwan Staten of WVU. Staten lit them up the first time, and Iowa State surrendered 102 points in a 25 point rout. The second time, Staten still played reasonably well, but Iowa State contained him and they ended up winning fairly comfortably. These two teams are kind of redundant in a lot of ways, and I'm sure the game will come down to the final couple minutes. When it does, I'll take my chances with the better defensive team and the home crowd advantage.

Oh yeah, and we may be watching a coaching match-up of the future unfold in Hoiberg vs. Ollie. In my mind, these are the two best >45 coaches in America (I'm not sure how old the guy from UVa is), and I'd be shocked if they didn't turn out to be two of the best of their generation. They mirror each other in more ways than one (personable, developers, smart basketball minds, etc.) and I imagine they'll battle to something close to a stalemate in the x's and o's match. Can't wait. It's been a very long time since I've been this excited for a basketball game.

 

[huskyjawz]

"Oh yeah, and we may be watching a coaching match-up of the future unfold in Hoiberg vs. Ollie."

Hoiberg w/Fransesca, today, said that Ollie and he are friends from their year of playing together in the NBA.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

As I've said before, I think Iowa State is a better team than North Carolina. But I was hoping Iowa State won that game, because it gives us the luxury of rolling with the small lineup - Bazz, Boat, Kromah, Giff, Daniels, with Samuel and Brimah rotating in - that was so successful against 'Nova and in spurts last season. I don't think people quite understand how unpleasant it would have been for Brimah and Nolan to deal with the likes of Kennedy Meeks - he abused Iowa State to the tune of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and given the massive weight advantage he'd possess over all of our big men, I'm guessing his output against us would have been similar. Not only that, but we would have been forced to double him with one of our guards, opening the floodgates for Paige and McDonald to fire away from three. It also would have allowed Tokoto and McAdoo to crash the glass with reckless abandon. Had we played UNC, we probably would have taken a whooping on the glass, yielded a lot of paint points, and potentially struggled to score against a UNC defense that's better than they're given credit for. We still could have won the game because of North Carolina's free throw and perimeter shooting deficiencies, but I'd much rather match strength on strength against Iowa State than weakness on strength against North Carolina.

My best bet is you'll see Kromah draw the bulk of the assignment on Kane. Kromah certainly has the foot speed and strength to make Kane work for his points, and the fact that he had so much success defending Sean Kilpatrick - a similar player - is encouraging. I'm a bit weary of sticking Napier on somebody like Naz Long. Napier, and Boatright, to a lesser extent, has the tendency to occasionally cheat on his man and play rover out there.

I'm more concerned with the way we match-up with Melvin Ejim. He's the type of player who is capable of rendering Nolan and Brimah non-factors in this game if they are unable to match his quickness on the perimeter. Blunt as it sounds, I wouldn't be opposed to Nolan DNP'ing in this game. He's done some nice things in our two tournament games, but this just isn't a game that calls for his skill set. He's a little bit lacking in the foot-speed department, and he's not exactly lock-down city when it comes to post defense, either. Much like the disastrous Oriakhi cameo against Iowa State in 2012, I fear that Nolan could be exploited on the defensive side of the ball, and I don't think he's refined enough yet to take advantage of any smaller Iowa State post defenders. If I'm Ollie, I would start Brimah, see if he can bother Ejim with his length and recovery speed, and then go to Giffey if it doesn't work out. I imagine Brimah will be serviceable against Ejim, but that it won't be long before he's designated to the bench with foul trouble. Daniels on Hogue is key - if DeAndre is unable to guard him, that could be trouble.

Ultimately, I like our chances in this game. For all the talk about how dangerous Iowa State is from three, UConn can be pretty f'in lethal themselves when they spread the floor with Giffey, Daniels, Kromah, and Boatright. We completely eviscerated 'Nova with that five, and by any statistical measure they have a far better defense than Iowa State. If the Cyclones have played anybody like Shabazz this season, it was probably Juwan Staten of WVU. Staten lit them up the first time, and Iowa State surrendered 102 points in a 25 point rout. The second time, Staten still played reasonably well, but Iowa State contained him and they ended up winning fairly comfortably. These two teams are kind of redundant in a lot of ways, and I'm sure the game will come down to the final couple minutes. When it does, I'll take my chances with the better defensive team and the home crowd advantage.

Oh yeah, and we may be watching a coaching match-up of the future unfold in Hoiberg vs. Ollie. In my mind, these are the two best >45 coaches in America (I'm not sure how old the guy from UVa is), and I'd be shocked if they didn't turn out to be two of the best of their generation. They mirror each other in more ways than one (personable, developers, smart basketball minds, etc.) and I imagine they'll battle to something close to a stalemate in the x's and o's match. Can't wait. It's been a very long time since I've been this excited for a basketball game.

You seem to be over looking Samuel in your posts from a defensive perspective (as a top notch insurance policy defender on Kane at a minimum). I know you were a proponent of rolling with Bazz against Nova with the 2 fouls but the length TS provides defensively on the perimeter has tremendous value that you continue to over look. Especially in this game. You mentioned our potential liabilities on defense in your post but there is a reasonable solution based on past performance.

EDIT: No you did mention Samuel.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

As I've said before, I think Iowa State is a better team than North Carolina. But I was hoping Iowa State won that game, because it gives us the luxury of rolling with the small lineup - Bazz, Boat, Kromah, Giff, Daniels, with Samuel and Brimah rotating in - that was so successful against 'Nova and in spurts last season. I don't think people quite understand how unpleasant it would have been for Brimah and Nolan to deal with the likes of Kennedy Meeks - he abused Iowa State to the tune of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and given the massive weight advantage he'd possess over all of our big men, I'm guessing his output against us would have been similar. Not only that, but we would have been forced to double him with one of our guards, opening the floodgates for Paige and McDonald to fire away from three. It also would have allowed Tokoto and McAdoo to crash the glass with reckless abandon. Had we played UNC, we probably would have taken a whooping on the glass, yielded a lot of paint points, and potentially struggled to score against a UNC defense that's better than they're given credit for. We still could have won the game because of North Carolina's free throw and perimeter shooting deficiencies, but I'd much rather match strength on strength against Iowa State than weakness on strength against North Carolina.

My best bet is you'll see Kromah draw the bulk of the assignment on Kane. Kromah certainly has the foot speed and strength to make Kane work for his points, and the fact that he had so much success defending Sean Kilpatrick - a similar player - is encouraging. I'm a bit weary of sticking Napier on somebody like Naz Long. Napier, and Boatright, to a lesser extent, has the tendency to occasionally cheat on his man and play rover out there.

I'm more concerned with the way we match-up with Melvin Ejim. He's the type of player who is capable of rendering Nolan and Brimah non-factors in this game if they are unable to match his quickness on the perimeter. Blunt as it sounds, I wouldn't be opposed to Nolan DNP'ing in this game. He's done some nice things in our two tournament games, but this just isn't a game that calls for his skill set. He's a little bit lacking in the foot-speed department, and he's not exactly lock-down city when it comes to post defense, either. Much like the disastrous Oriakhi cameo against Iowa State in 2012, I fear that Nolan could be exploited on the defensive side of the ball, and I don't think he's refined enough yet to take advantage of any smaller Iowa State post defenders. If I'm Ollie, I would start Brimah, see if he can bother Ejim with his length and recovery speed, and then go to Giffey if it doesn't work out. I imagine Brimah will be serviceable against Ejim, but that it won't be long before he's designated to the bench with foul trouble. Daniels on Hogue is key - if DeAndre is unable to guard him, that could be trouble.

Ultimately, I like our chances in this game. For all the talk about how dangerous Iowa State is from three, UConn can be pretty f'in lethal themselves when they spread the floor with Giffey, Daniels, Kromah, and Boatright. We completely eviscerated 'Nova with that five, and by any statistical measure they have a far better defense than Iowa State. If the Cyclones have played anybody like Shabazz this season, it was probably Juwan Staten of WVU. Staten lit them up the first time, and Iowa State surrendered 102 points in a 25 point rout. The second time, Staten still played reasonably well, but Iowa State contained him and they ended up winning fairly comfortably. These two teams are kind of redundant in a lot of ways, and I'm sure the game will come down to the final couple minutes. When it does, I'll take my chances with the better defensive team and the home crowd advantage.

Oh yeah, and we may be watching a coaching match-up of the future unfold in Hoiberg vs. Ollie. In my mind, these are the two best >45 coaches in America (I'm not sure how old the guy from UVa is), and I'd be shocked if they didn't turn out to be two of the best of their generation. They mirror each other in more ways than one (personable, developers, smart basketball minds, etc.) and I imagine they'll battle to something close to a stalemate in the x's and o's match. Can't wait. It's been a very long time since I've been this excited for a basketball game.

Agreed on Phil...

 

[intlzncster]

"Oh yeah, and we may be watching a coaching match-up of the future unfold in Hoiberg vs. Ollie."

Hoiberg w/Fransesca, today, said that Ollie and he are friends from their year of playing together in the NBA.

I've said it before, and probably will again, but it's astounding that you can find literally no one with a bad thing to say about KO as a person. In this day and age, that is amazing. In fact, it's hard to find someone who doesn't have great things to say about Ollie.

 

[Rico444]

"Oh yeah, and we may be watching a coaching match-up of the future unfold in Hoiberg vs. Ollie."

Hoiberg w/Fransesca, today, said that Ollie and he are friends from their year of playing together in the NBA.

Any NBA personnel guy whose team doesn't play Friday is going to be tuned into our game. Hoiberg and Ollie are probably the two top candidates in the near future to be courted to the association. I hope, for the sake of my own team and college basketball in general, that neither guy leaves their school. But it won't stop GMs from drooling over the matchup Friday.

 

[Danzz]

As I've said before, I think Iowa State is a better team than North Carolina. But I was hoping Iowa State won that game, because it gives us the luxury of rolling with the small lineup - Bazz, Boat, Kromah, Giff, Daniels, with Samuel and Brimah rotating in - that was so successful against 'Nova and in spurts last season. I don't think people quite understand how unpleasant it would have been for Brimah and Nolan to deal with the likes of Kennedy Meeks - he abused Iowa State to the tune of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and given the massive weight advantage he'd possess over all of our big men, I'm guessing his output against us would have been similar. Not only that, but we would have been forced to double him with one of our guards, opening the floodgates for Paige and McDonald to fire away from three. It also would have allowed Tokoto and McAdoo to crash the glass with reckless abandon. Had we played UNC, we probably would have taken a whooping on the glass, yielded a lot of paint points, and potentially struggled to score against a UNC defense that's better than they're given credit for. We still could have won the game because of North Carolina's free throw and perimeter shooting deficiencies, but I'd much rather match strength on strength against Iowa State than weakness on strength against North Carolina.

My best bet is you'll see Kromah draw the bulk of the assignment on Kane. Kromah certainly has the foot speed and strength to make Kane work for his points, and the fact that he had so much success defending Sean Kilpatrick - a similar player - is encouraging. I'm a bit weary of sticking Napier on somebody like Naz Long. Napier, and Boatright, to a lesser extent, has the tendency to occasionally cheat on his man and play rover out there.

I'm more concerned with the way we match-up with Melvin Ejim. He's the type of player who is capable of rendering Nolan and Brimah non-factors in this game if they are unable to match his quickness on the perimeter. Blunt as it sounds, I wouldn't be opposed to Nolan DNP'ing in this game. He's done some nice things in our two tournament games, but this just isn't a game that calls for his skill set. He's a little bit lacking in the foot-speed department, and he's not exactly lock-down city when it comes to post defense, either. Much like the disastrous Oriakhi cameo against Iowa State in 2012, I fear that Nolan could be exploited on the defensive side of the ball, and I don't think he's refined enough yet to take advantage of any smaller Iowa State post defenders. If I'm Ollie, I would start Brimah, see if he can bother Ejim with his length and recovery speed, and then go to Giffey if it doesn't work out. I imagine Brimah will be serviceable against Ejim, but that it won't be long before he's designated to the bench with foul trouble. Daniels on Hogue is key - if DeAndre is unable to guard him, that could be trouble.

Ultimately, I like our chances in this game. For all the talk about how dangerous Iowa State is from three, UConn can be pretty f'in lethal themselves when they spread the floor with Giffey, Daniels, Kromah, and Boatright. We completely eviscerated 'Nova with that five, and by any statistical measure they have a far better defense than Iowa State. If the Cyclones have played anybody like Shabazz this season, it was probably Juwan Staten of WVU. Staten lit them up the first time, and Iowa State surrendered 102 points in a 25 point rout. The second time, Staten still played reasonably well, but Iowa State contained him and they ended up winning fairly comfortably. These two teams are kind of redundant in a lot of ways, and I'm sure the game will come down to the final couple minutes. When it does, I'll take my chances with the better defensive team and the home crowd advantage.

Oh yeah, and we may be watching a coaching match-up of the future unfold in Hoiberg vs. Ollie. In my mind, these are the two best >45 coaches in America (I'm not sure how old the guy from UVa is), and I'd be shocked if they didn't turn out to be two of the best of their generation. They mirror each other in more ways than one (personable, developers, smart basketball minds, etc.) and I imagine they'll battle to something close to a stalemate in the x's and o's match. Can't wait. It's been a very long time since I've been this excited for a basketball game.

The down side of playing kromah is that you have to sit either Giffey or Daniels and lose some offense. I think Ollie goes with Giffey and Daniels unless somebody from Iowa State gets real hot. Kromah will see PT but I think Ollie's preference would be for Daniels and Giffey to hold their own on D and utilize their offense.
The key is going to be to keep Brimah out of foul trouble so he can help against their big guards as they penetrate. Iowa State reminds me of Villanova in some ways. I like our chances.