Let's Talk Iowa State...

[MileHighFish]

Totally off topic but thumbs up to the mods or whoever thought of the "Click to expand" box for quotes! Nothing worse then when someone quotes and re-quotes, forcing the reader to wade through a page old posts to find something new!

 

[tzznandrew]

The thing with Kane is that typically Coach Hoiberg is typically able to exploit a matchup against shorter, smaller defenders by utilizing Kane's ability to initiate contact and get shots. If ISU can get UCONN (or vice versa for that matter) into early foul trouble, it will really impact the game. Especially in the case of Iowa State. As you know, they have a very short bench....

Right. I believe that. Both he and Hoiberg are too good not to. Lasan Kromah is a 6'6" 5th year senior who has challenged...or even shut down other really good guards. He's the one who often got time on Kilpatrick, and he slowed Galloway a ton in the St. Joe's game.

He won't start, but when Kane starts exploiting the matchups (especially if Kane is shooting well), Kromah will be the guy. Kromah won't stop him, but he can slow him.

 

[tazclone]

Boatright wont be sitting on the bench because of 'matchups'. Its not just one person that will see time on Kane, there will be multiple blue jerseys who get a chance. Look kane is not lebron james, he basically inferior in every category to napier. other than rebounding. We just can't let them get comfortable offensively, I'll live with long 2's.

And just think....Kane wasn't even the Big 12 POY. Ejim was

He's a very good player...but yeah, people are treating him like a god. I think Kromah can cause him some difficulties. I think we'll see a lot of Napier-Boat-Kromah-Giffey-Daniels...with Brimah and Samuel being the chief guys getting the other minutes.

Kane and Ejim are very good, and can definitely do damage. Hell, one or both could play better than Napier in this game. But Napier has played against bigger players pretty much the entire year in putting up his numbers...and his percentages include the slump he went through when he hurt his hand.

Iowa State lost 7 games. Granted, their conference was better than ours, but it's not like our guys are bums. We had an embarrasing loss to Houston...they had their brains beaten in by West Virginia (WVU is in a whole better category than Houston, but the game was a huge embarrasment for ISU).

have to disagree about the West Virginia game being an embarrassment. Second long road trip in 7days against a physical team who plays well at home. ISU didn't get off the bus for that game. Hell, not even sure they got on the bus. Good thing is Fred treated that like a NBA throw away game. It was an anamoly and he treated it as such. Bad loss....yes. Embarrassment....eh

 

[MileHighFish]

Right. I believe that. Both he and Hoiberg are too good not to. Lasan Kromah is a 6'6" 5th year senior who has challenged...or even shut down other really good guards. He's the one who often got time on Kilpatrick, and he slowed Galloway a ton in the St. Joe's game.

He won't start, but when Kane starts exploiting the matchups (especially if Kane is shooting well), Kromah will be the guy. Kromah won't stop him, but he can slow him.

I admit that I am not terribly familiar with UCONN and appreciate the info! I also wasn't trying to imply this strategy would work for this game fwiw. Just what has typically been the game plan and one of the big reasons Kane has been so successful this season.

I apologize if the question has been answered but how deep does Coach Ollie typically go bench wise? Thanks!

 

[tazclone]

Points allowed per possession, adjusted for shedule difficulty. The math is more complicated than that, but that's the gist.

Thanks. It is the highest I have seen ISU if anked defensively so I figured he used points per possession. What is the statistical difference between 50 and say 20

 

[Leebo]

I apologize if the question has been answered but how deep does Coach Ollie typically go bench wise? Thanks!

8 or so players get good chunks of time and Kentan Facey and Omar Calhoun come in for small spurts now and then.

 

[Rico444]

I admit that I am not terribly familiar with UCONN and appreciate the info! I also wasn't trying to imply this strategy would work for this game fwiw. Just what has typically been the game plan and one of the big reasons Kane has been so successful this season.

I apologize if the question has been answered but how deep does Coach Ollie typically go bench wise? Thanks!

Napier, Boatright, Giffey, Daniels, Brimah, Nolan, Kromah, Samuel are the 8 that play most of our minutes. After that, you'll probably see Tyler Olander and Omar Calhoun get a couple of minutes here and there, but that's about it.

 

[MileHighFish]

And just think....Kane wasn't even the Big 12 POY. Ejim was
have to disagree about the West Virginia game being an embarrassment. Second long road trip in 7days against a physical team who plays well at home. ISU didn't get off the bus for that game. Hell, not even sure they got on the bus. Good thing is Fred treated that like a NBA throw away game. It was an anamoly and he treated it as such. Bad loss....yes. Embarrassment....eh

I'm sorry but as a fellow Cyclone fan, I have to disagree. Maybe it was treated as a throw away game but any time a team ranked #11 in the country gets beat by 25 points (lucky it wasn't more) by an unranked opponent, it is embarrassing in my book....

In the same breath I can say that the team and coaching staff probably threw it away and forgot about it (in some fashion) but as a fan, it was embarassing...

 

[Leebo]

Thanks. It is the highest I have seen ISU if anked defensively so I figured he used points per possession. What is the statistical difference between 50 and say 20

UConn #10 - 93.2 points allowed per 100 possessions
Kansas St. #20 - 94.7
American #50 - 97.8
Iowa St. #58 - 98.9

It's worth noting that the rankings are basically inverted for UConn and ISU.

UConn - #57 offense, #10 defense
ISU - #10 offense, #58 defense

 

[tzznandrew]

I admit that I am not terribly familiar with UCONN and appreciate the info! I also wasn't trying to imply this strategy would work for this game fwiw. Just what has typically been the game plan and one of the big reasons Kane has been so successful this season.

I apologize if the question has been answered but how deep does Coach Ollie typically go bench wise? Thanks!

No worries. I just assume someone like Kane creates matchup problems frequently. And we've played tall and talented guards before (with different skill-sets, though).

1. Napier
2. Boat
3. Giffey
4. Daniels
5. Nolan

These are the starters, although 6. Brimah plays starter minutes if he stays out of foul trouble.

7. Kromah will get time at the 2-3-4
8. Samuel will get minutes (not a ton) to spell Napier, and Boat would then move to primary distributor.
9. Calhoun may see some minutes. He was very good as a freshman, but he fell off the map. He's from Brooklyn, so I bet KO looks to find a few minutes for him to get on the court.
10. Olander will get minutes against teams that have big bodies (Florida, for instance), both because he's stronger than the other guys (Senior vs. Freshman and Sophomore) and because he gets extra fouls. You guys don't have an intimidating big guy, so if he's seeing minutes, I've very worried.

 

[caw]

Morris will see more minutes than Long and is the best defender of the three. Long and Kane are both decent defenders but Kane can get lazy on the defensive end. ISU tends to give up the layup if beaten off the dribble rather than allow the kick out for a three unless they get killed with it. A lot of times they will divide the court and force you where they have help or force the across court pass to the open guy and defend that pass.

It's going to be interesting to see how well each coach exploits the other and adjusts in game.

Can Brimah defend the three if Edozie isn't in? Will Brimah force ISU to play Edozie more, will ISUs outside-in strategy force Brimah to the bench and a smaller lineup for UConn? Will it force a zone?

And that's just the five.

Daniels versus Ejim is another interesting matchup. Both stretch fours. Daniels has length but Ejim is stronger.

The 1-3 is also interesting. Giffey is relatively tall and strong and a good defender but lacks some foot speed. Napier and Boat are quick but short. ISU plays taller and stronger guards. Kane may be too quick for Giffey and too tall for Boat/Napier. This could force Ollie to use Kromah or Samuel more if the above three can't stay with Kane. Giffey did a very good job on Kilpatrick but had help bc the rest of that team is pretty bad offensively. On the flip side, can Kane and ISUs guards stay in front of Boat and Napier? Do they have the defensive patience to defend 25-30 seconds a shot clock? Including not helping off of Giffey or Daniels?

Who controls the pace? ISU likes it in the 70+ possessions per game, UConn in the 60s. UConn slows it down through a methodical offense that uses most of the shot clock to get a good look. Though they will take most any open look, and Napier some defended looks from deep. They haven't had many shot clock violations even with this because Boat and Napier can usually get a shot with a low count in the clock (not always a good shot, but one of the reasons Napiers percentages are relatively low). Secondly UConn slows it down defensively by using a 2-2-1 press designed to make the other team start the offense with less time on the clock. Usually it's not meant to create turnovers. With that UConn employs a pretty solid man to man defense. If UConn can keep it in the half court it will be to UConns advantage.

I think UConn has the highest block percentage of any ISU opponent an maybe the highest steal %.

I think Ollie and Hoiberg do have similar philosophy's when it comes to open looks. ISUs offense is just a lot quicker and is based on him having guys he recruited for his offense. I can see Ollie transitioning to something similar in another year or two when UConn has bigger guards, which they have committed.

UConns defense is pretty darn solid and it's never really been the problem in any of UConns losses. Almost all were the other team imposing their defensive will on the game and UConn not being able to adjust. Six of UConns losses came against teams who are fantastic defensive teams in UL, Cinci (without Daniels) and SMU.

Basically: ISU has never seen a defense like UConns and UConn has never seen an offense like ISUs. I do think ISUs defense is underrated but so is UConns offense. There is a reason this is pickem.

 

[MileHighFish]

Napier, Boatright, Giffey, Daniels, Brimah, Nolan, Kromah, Samuel are the 8 that play most of our minutes. After that, you'll probably see Tyler Olander and Omar Calhoun get a couple of minutes here and there, but that's about it.

Sounds like both teams have fairly short benches with the advantage going to UCONN. If the Huskies can keep a fresh body on Kane it could really wear him down as he will most likely play the vast majority of the game.

 

[caw]

Sounds like both teams have fairly short benches with the advantage going to UCONN. If the Huskies can keep a fresh body on Kane it could really wear him down as he will most likely play the vast majority of the game.

Yes and no. Ollie seems to play a decently deep bench in the first half and cuts it down in the second, at least recently. ISU has more reliable firepower off the bench with most of UConns bench being defensively oriented guys (Brimah, Kromah and Samuel). Not that they can't score but they all excel on defense.

 

[Marat]

Sounds like both teams have fairly short benches with the advantage going to UCONN. If the Huskies can keep a fresh body on Kane it could really wear him down as he will most likely play the vast majority of the game.

Question for you - was it uncharacteristic for Kane to pick up those charging calls against UNC? Was the aggressiveness the result of him feeling the need to step due to Niang injury?

 

[MileHighFish]

Question for you - was it uncharacteristic for Kane to pick up those charging calls against UNC? Was the aggressiveness the result of him feeling the need to step due to Niang injury?

A combination of both. Kane tends to be aggressive in that fashion (driving to the basket) when he and/or Coach Hoiberg feel there is a mismatch or the defender gives up some space but the loss of Niang didn't help anything either. Iowa State really spreads the floor on the offensive end and that can lead to lanes which Kane likes to try to drive, initiate contact and try for a three point play.

Problem is (imo) Kane tends to look for contact too much instead of getting the easy bucket. This also has bit him in the @ss in past games as well if the officials are calling charges versus blocks. This was the case against UNC as I believe 3 or possibly all 4 of Kane's fouls were offensive....

 

[Onions]

It's going to be interesting to see how well each coach exploits the other and adjusts in game.

Can Brimah defend the three if Edozie isn't in? Will Brimah force ISU to play Edozie more, will ISUs outside-in strategy force Brimah to the bench and a smaller lineup for UConn? Will it force a zone?

And that's just the five.

Daniels versus Ejim is another interesting matchup. Both stretch fours. Daniels has length but Ejim is stronger.

The 1-3 is also interesting. Giffey is relatively tall and strong and a good defender but lacks some foot speed. Napier and Boat are quick but short. ISU plays taller and stronger guards. Kane may be too quick for Giffey and too tall for Boat/Napier. This could force Ollie to use Kromah or Samuel more if the above three can't stay with Kane. Giffey did a very good job on Kilpatrick but had help bc the rest of that team is pretty bad offensively. On the flip side, can Kane and ISUs guards stay in front of Boat and Napier? Do they have the defensive patience to defend 25-30 seconds a shot clock? Including not helping off of Giffey or Daniels?

Who controls the pace? ISU likes it in the 70+ possessions per game, UConn in the 60s. UConn slows it down through a methodical offense that uses most of the shot clock to get a good look. Though they will take most any open look, and Napier some defended looks from deep. They haven't had many shot clock violations even with this because Boat and Napier can usually get a shot with a low count in the clock (not always a good shot, but one of the reasons Napiers percentages are relatively low). Secondly UConn slows it down defensively by using a 2-2-1 press designed to make the other team start the offense with less time on the clock. Usually it's not meant to create turnovers. With that UConn employs a pretty solid man to man defense. If UConn can keep it in the half court it will be to UConns advantage.

I think UConn has the highest block percentage of any ISU opponent an maybe the highest steal %.

I think Ollie and Hoiberg do have similar philosophy's when it comes to open looks. ISUs offense is just a lot quicker and is based on him having guys he recruited for his offense. I can see Ollie transitioning to something similar in another year or two when UConn has bigger guards, which they have committed.

UConns defense is pretty darn solid and it's never really been the problem in any of UConns losses. Almost all were the other team imposing their defensive will on the game and UConn not being able to adjust. Six of UConns losses came against teams who are fantastic defensive teams in UL, Cinci (without Daniels) and SMU.

Basically: ISU has never seen a defense like UConns and UConn has never seen an offense like ISUs. I do think ISUs defense is underrated but so is UConns offense. There is a reason this is pickem.

The fallacy in using all the Ken Pom stats and past performance for analysis is that we are now talking about a different team. Discussing ISU without Niang is like discussing Ucon without Daniels or Giffy. They are not nearly the same offensive team they were before, their ability to post low and kick out to shooters is much weaker, they are not the #10 offensive team in the country without Niang. It's like facing Saint Jo after Kanacevic fouled out. Beating a brain dead NC team is one thing, beating a very defensive minded Ucon team at the Garden under these conditions is a whole 'nother matter.

 

[tzznandrew]

Basically: ISU has never seen a defense like UConns and UConn has never seen an offense like ISUs. I do think ISUs defense is underrated but so is UConns offense. There is a reason this is pickem.

UConn's offense was ranked in the Top 30 until Daniels got hurt (right before the game at Cincy).

In addition to Daniels being hurt, something happened to Napier's finger (during the Cincy game?), and his shooting went into the toilet more or less until the Villanova game. Also, perhaps with Daniels playing poorly, Napier tried to do too much.

If Napier's shooting is back as it was up until the Cincy game (45% from the field, 44% from 3), I think we're very hard to beat. He shot 9-13 overall, and 4-8 from 3. Perhaps an abberation...but maybe he's back. Those 3s showed a confidence he hasn't had in a while (people were complaining about how passive he was about a week ago).

If he plays like he did after that game and up to Nova (37%/33% over those 12 games), we'll have a very difficult time winning.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The fallacy in using all the Ken Pom stats and past performance for analysis is that we are now talking about a different team. Discussing ISU without Niang is like discussing Ucon without Daniels or Giffy. They are not nearly the same offensive team they were before, their ability to post low and kick out to shooters is much weaker, they are not the #10 offensive team in the country without Niang. It's like facing Saint Jo after Kanacevic fouled out. Beating a brain dead NC team is one thing, beating a very defensive minded Ucon team at the Garden under these conditions is a whole 'nother matter.

And yet the Vegas line is around +2 for UConn. I'd take that bet, as I think this game, in NY, with Niang out and with Bazz having resurrected his shot from the grave against Nova, should be more like UConn -2. It's still a toss-up no matter how you look at it. Nobody on the UConn side should be feeling overconfident about this. As usual, it will come down to guys making plays, officials making calls and matchups.

I don't think any of us imagined that UConn would come out against Nova and play a truly horrible 5-6 miutes, go down big, and then win with the walk-ons on the floor. The D stepped up. Bazz stepped up. Samuel stepped up. Giff became Rodman for a day. I an really curious to see what happens next.

 

[Marat]

A combination of both. Kane tends to be aggressive in that fashion (driving to the basket) when he and/or Coach Hoiberg feel there is a mismatch or the defender gives up some space but the loss of Niang didn't help anything either. Iowa State really spreads the floor on the offensive end and that can lead to lanes which Kane likes to try to drive, initiate contact and try for a three point play.

Problem is (imo) Kane tends to look for contact too much instead of getting the easy bucket. This also has bit him in the @ss in past games as well if the officials are calling charges versus blocks. This was the case against UNC as I believe 3 or possibly all 4 of Kane's fouls were offensive....

This is why Nolan will be starting and hoping to collect a 1-2 charging calls early.

So Hoiberg didn't take out Kane when he picked up his 2nd in the first half, and in the early second half, Kane picked up his 3rd foul. I was suprised to see the Hoiberg didn't take him out at that point and let him play.

 

[caw]

UConn's offense was ranked in the Top 30 until Daniels got hurt (right before the game at Cincy).

In addition to Daniels being hurt, something happened to Napier's finger (during the Cincy game?), and his shooting went into the toilet more or less until the Villanova game. Also, perhaps with Daniels playing poorly, Napier tried to do too much.

If Napier's shooting is back as it was up until the Cincy game (45% from the field, 44% from 3), I think we're very hard to beat. He shot 9-13 overall, and 4-8 from 3. Perhaps an abberation...but maybe he's back. Those 3s showed a confidence he hasn't had in a while (people were complaining about how passive he was about a week ago).

If he plays like he did after that game and up to Nova (37%/33% over those 12 games), we'll have a very difficult time winning.

Yep that and UConn has faced quite a few very good defensive units.

 

[caw]

The fallacy in using all the Ken Pom stats and past performance for analysis is that we are now talking about a different team. Discussing ISU without Niang is like discussing Ucon without Daniels or Giffy. They are not nearly the same offensive team they were before, their ability to post low and kick out to shooters is much weaker, they are not the #10 offensive team in the country without Niang. It's like facing Saint Jo after Kanacevic fouled out. Beating a brain dead NC team is one thing, beating a very defensive minded Ucon team at the Garden under these conditions is a whole 'nother matter.

True but I think you quoted the wrong post.

 

[Onions]

And yet the Vegas line is around +2 for UConn. I'd take that bet, as I think this game, in NY, with Niang out and with Bazz having resurrected his shot from the grave against Nova, should be more like UConn -2. It's still a toss-up no matter how you look at it. Nobody on the UConn side should be feeling overconfident about this. As usual, it will come down to guys making plays, officials making calls and matchups.

I don't think any of us imagined that UConn would come out against Nova and play a truly horrible 5-6 miutes, go down big, and then win with the walk-ons on the floor. The D stepped up. Bazz stepped up. Samuel stepped up. Giff became Rodman for a day. I an really curious to see what happens next.

Under the present circumstances this game is Ucon's to win or lose. If we bring our "A" game there is nothing ISU can do to beat us. With what they can bring to the floor on Friday they are a better shooting version of Memphis or Villanova without
a big to worry us like Pinkston or Goodwin, which is a match-up we have won all season long. Hoiberg is a much better coach then Pastner or Wright, but he can't help them on the floor where the game will be decided.

 

[tazclone]

I'm sorry but as a fellow Cyclone fan, I have to disagree. Maybe it was treated as

The fallacy in using all the Ken Pom stats and past performance for analysis is that we are now talking about a different team. Discussing ISU without Niang is like discussing Ucon without Daniels or Giffy. They are not nearly the same offensive team they were before, their ability to post low and kick out to shooters is much weaker, they are not the #10 offensive team in the country without Niang. It's like facing Saint Jo after Kanacevic fouled out. Beating a brain dead NC team is one thing, beating a very defensive minded Ucon team at the Garden under these conditions is a whole 'nother matter.

Kane has had tendency to get on foul trouble so it isn't like ISU doesn't completely lost without him. Morris long and Hogue more than picked up the slack

 

[tazclone]

Under the present circumstances this game is Ucon's to win or lose. If we bring our "A" game there is nothing ISU can do to beat us. With what they can bring to the floor on Friday they are a better shooting version of Memphis or Villanova without
a big to worry us like Pinkston or Goodwin, which is a match-up we have won all season long. Hoiberg is a much better coach then Pastner or Wright, but he can't help them on the floor where the game will be decided.

I simply believe this to be wrong. You seem to hover on Kane and Niang but Ejim was the Big 12 of the year and I see no one discussing him. This game will be a great game and either team can win. If both bring their A game it will go down to whoever has the ball last. ISU has five guys that can all go off for 20+. Long, Kane and Morris are all above average defenders. Ejim and Hogue are undersized but I don't see anyone for UConn that really takes advantage of that which helps keep Ejim and Hogue out of foul trouble.
This will be a battle

 

[BlueMAB]

Ucon's to win or lose.

That's twice.

Stop it.

UConn