Watching Iowa State....

[Win5002]

Iowa beat em. By 14

At that point in the year ISU wasn't playing very well, matter of fact it looked like ISU wasn't even going to make the tourney until they beat Kansas at Kansas in early Feb. They have had guard play all year, but the interior game was atrocious. In the Kansas game on the road a freshmen Solomon Young played serious minutes and really came on. ISU started him two games after that and are 10-1 since he became a starter. He has given them a resemblance of an interior presence and it has made them a completely different team. Its not that he is going to score a ton of points but has given rebounding and defense. They don't need tons of interior points because the guard court is good enough to anchor a top 10 team(they usually take better care of the ball than against Nevada). Also, Darrell Bowie the person that was playing the 5 spot and looked hapless and was constantly overpowered early in the year has given them a huge boost off the bench, he is a more mobile player and actually looks like a small forward or an undersized power forward.

Looking forward to the game. I'm sure Purdue's advantage will still be inside. Without the development of Solomon Young ISU would have been hugely overpowered inside. It still could be a big problem with Purdue's size.

 

[Mandeville LA]

I am always worried but, from what I watched last night I don't see any reason why Purdue should not win Saturday. I have not seen anyone comment on ISU's ability to guard the 3. From what I have seen ISU does not D up very well. Have faith PU can be deadly from outside. If we can get some threes to fall it will open up the post. Considering ISU does not play D this should be enough to get them off their game. Have to execute.

 

[Cydkar]

I think VE will be guarding him most of the game. I can't get a real feel for them. Nevada is playing so bad. ISU seems to turn the ball over a lot, much like us. If we can get them in foul trouble and impose our will, I think we will win.

Actually, ISU rarely turns the ball over. Last night was an aberration in that department. Their defense is far better than past years where they just didn't bother.

Purdue will get a ton of rebounds. This is an extremely interesting contrast of styles.

 

[FirstDownB]

Iowa St. is the type of team that can cause matchup problems for Purdue, but on the bright side Purdue has faced several teams like Iowa St. I wonder how many teams like Purdue Iowa St. has faced. The Big 12 is a guard heavy league, most of their best teams playing 4-out, 1-in. Small teams have ways to mitigate size, but it requires practice and preparation. Iowa St. has less than 2 days to shift their focus from a smaller Nevada team to a much bigger Purdue team. Do they have the 'muscle memory' to pull from previous games this season?

 

[klmLB]

I think this game will be a huge challenge. Iowa State's strengths (athletic guards that can shoot and dribble drive, good 3 pt shooting) is essentially the things we have issues with.

Vermont's pt guard was pretty athletic, but Monte Morris is another level entirely. The other perimeter players seem to be athletically superior compared to our entire backcourt. Initially, you'd think you need to sag off in order to stay in front, but then you give up open 3s to a team that shoots them as well as we do.

We have an advantage on the inside, but if Haas is missing bunnies, I don't think the advantage is as great. He has to play

I also liked the lineup of Biggie @ 5 and Vince @ 4 as Biggie and Vince had more room to operate when Haas isn't on the floow.

I worry that our predicable defense will give ISU a comfort level throughout the game. Mixing up defenses and giving different looks may cause some hesitation or force ISU to make different decisions on Offense.

 

[*4purdue*]

Actually, ISU rarely turns the ball over. Last night was an aberration in that department. Their defense is far better than past years where they just didn't bother.

Purdue will get a ton of rebounds. This is an extremely interesting contrast of styles.

Haven't watched them before last night, but Nevada had lots of good looks and easy shots at the basket.... they just couldn't convert. If we're knocking down shots, I think it could turn into a shoot out.

 

[TopSecretBoiler]

to me this all about morris. He makes them work. He makes them go. He makes shots, free throws, and gets his teammates looks. If we can find a way to slow him down and get him out of rhythm I think we win. If he roams free it could be a tough night. Even better would be if we can get into their bench.

 

[CeMar_Clone]

Iowa beat em. By 14

Played a horrible game against Iowa. This team also took Gonzaga to the last shot of the game on a neutral court. I think their might be 10,000+ ISU fans there saturday night. Going to be fun.

 

[tjreese]

I am always worried but, from what I watched last night I don't see any reason why Purdue should not win Saturday. I have not seen anyone comment on ISU's ability to guard the 3. From what I have seen ISU does not D up very well. Have faith PU can be deadly from outside. If we can get some threes to fall it will open up the post. Considering ISU does not play D this should be enough to get them off their game. Have to execute.

Last night was all I've seen of them and that was not against a team that I know. IF last night is an indicator...D was an after thought. I hope Purdue makes it a half court game and makes them play D. Offensively...again if last night was indicative...some of their passing was a little helter skelter as well. They can shoot it and have some athleticism as well, but like you not much intensity on D. Tehy just wanted the ball real quick so they could score. Sounds like they brought a big crowd.

 

[CeMar_Clone]

All of eastern Iowa will be rooting for you.

This is the last year for a while you'll hear of them in the NCAA tournament. All seniors but one one and nobody left in the state penetentuary to offer a pardon and a scholly.
Lots of future food servers, janitors and felons on this team.

And if Fran can make the NCAA's for the next 7 years, you might have something to be proud of.

 

[MJ-79Boiler]

Talk about the classic match-up problems - both ways. I have been very vocal on our top weakness this year, but will not share that information for Iowa readers. Instead, I will focus on a few of the comments here and on what I think it will take to beat Iowa State.

In response to FirstDownB, yes they have faced teams which would prepare them for us. Gonzaga would be the perfect example. A team with a mountain of a man in the middle. They have also faced other teams with near-7-fters. Teams like Vandy with Kornet, Baylor with the height and length, and Iowa which has some very talented youth. So we won't be anything they haven't seen before.

As for Iowa State, it's VERY easy to see what their weaknesses are and what we have to do.

1.) When Iowa State loses, they shoot poorly from 3

- Against Iowa they shot 27% from 3
- Against Gonzaga, they shot 33%
- Against Cincinnati, they shot 24 %
- Against Vandy, they shot 32%
- Against Texan, they shot 38%, but only 36% overall

That tells me that we have to stop their 3 pt shooting ! Period ! Yes, they will drive. Yes they will have some highlight reel dunks, etc.. but I am not sure we have a choice. Their game is hitting 3s and we have a better chance if they don't get open shots off of drives and kick outs. We can help out some, but our bigs have to position themselves so they can't get to the rim easily and guard the backdoor cuts ! Please ! We also have to be willing to take charges. When they drive, get outside the circle quickly, . .then position between them and the rim. Yes, they can adjust, but those are much more difficult shots. Do NOT reach ! They will be trying to cause fouls and will not be thinking about causing charges.

2.) Iowa State can we beaten by rebounding

- West Virginia beat them twice and in both cases, they had about 20 extra rebounds
- Baylor had about 20 more rebounds
- TCU had 9 more rebounds
- Texas has 8 more rebounds

These were also games where they got into a lot of foul trouble. They are not very deep up front. However, . . keep in mind that teams like Baylor and West Virgina fly to the ball and were probably able to get those 3 pt misses. We need to be focused on those long rebounds ! ! Vince and Dakota have to box out and get these rebounds.

Make no mistake, ISU is a freakishly athletic and very determined team. This will be a dogfight at best. They routinely come back from 15-20 pt deficits over the past few years against very good teams, due to their talent level -
so we can't take any lead lightly. (Think West Virginia which we played before the season)

& 3.) This is the NCAA ! ! - Teams know we can shoot the 3 and they know we like to feed the post. Vince, Boogie and Spike need to drive and make plays. Period ! Iowa State has not faced very many wing players like Vince who can drive under control and get his shot. We need Vince to try and take over this game early. He could very easily be the straw that stirs our offense on Saturday. I personally think they will have a very hard time containing him, which then opens up passes to our bigs and for our 3 pt shooters. (Think Point Forward - Let Vince start the offense)

In Summary, I have long said we will go as far as our guard play can take us and in this game, it needs to be initiated by Vince and Boogie with our monsters and daggers waiting for a pass.

 

[Boiler Wolf]

Last night's games in my mind were completely different. The 1st game had 2 very skilled, disciplined, and well coached teams. Shot selection was good. 2nd game was much more athletic, up tempo, and helter skelter with a lot of poor shots taken on both sides. Nevada gave ISU a lot more open looks than I think Purdue will and the Cyclones hit them. One ISU fan next to me said they want to shoot the ball 12 seconds into the shot clock. But at other times, it seems like ISU settled for an okay shot instead of working for a better one. The guards are supposed to be great and it is said that guard play determines success in the tourney. I didn't think they were THAT good as some prognosticators have said they are. Athletic, but not super super quick.

I agree to a certain extent with pounding the ball inside, but we can't try to force the pass either like we did against Vermont early. Hopefully that was opening game jitters. If we settle down and make it a half court game, I like our chances. Move and work it inside out, and get Cline some open looks when he is on the court.

 

[cypower1]

Iowa St. is the type of team that can cause matchup problems for Purdue, but on the bright side Purdue has faced several teams like Iowa St. I wonder how many teams like Purdue Iowa St. has faced. The Big 12 is a guard heavy league, most of their best teams playing 4-out, 1-in. Small teams have ways to mitigate size, but it requires practice and preparation. Iowa St. has less than 2 days to shift their focus from a smaller Nevada team to a much bigger Purdue team. Do they have the 'muscle memory' to pull from previous games this season?

West Virginia and Baylor are two teams that were much bigger than us and we were able to beat both of them. Granted, we lost a combined three times to them too, but mainly my point is that we can overcome a size advantage

 

[cypower1]

Talk about the classic match-up problems - both ways. I have been very vocal on our top weakness this year, but will not share that information for Iowa readers. Instead, I will focus on a few of the comments here and on what I think it will take to beat Iowa State.

In response to FirstDownB, yes they have faced teams which would prepare them for us. Gonzaga would be the perfect example. A team with a mountain of a man in the middle. They have also faced other teams with near-7-fters. Teams like Vandy with Kornet, Baylor with the height and length, and Iowa which has some very talented youth. So we won't be anything they haven't seen before.

As for Iowa State, it's VERY easy to see what their weaknesses are and what we have to do.

1.) When Iowa State loses, they shoot poorly from 3

- Against Iowa they shot 27% from 3
- Against Gonzaga, they shot 33%
- Against Cincinnati, they shot 24 %
- Against Vandy, they shot 32%
- Against Texan, they shot 38%, but only 36% overall

That tells me that we have to stop their 3 pt shooting ! Period ! Yes, they will drive. Yes they will have some highlight reel dunks, etc.. but I am not sure we have a choice. Their game is hitting 3s and we have a better chance if they don't get open shots off of drives and kick outs. We can help out some, but our bigs have to position themselves so they can't get to the rim easily and guard the backdoor cuts ! Please ! We also have to be willing to take charges. When they drive, get outside the circle quickly, . .then position between them and the rim. Yes, they can adjust, but those are much more difficult shots. Do NOT reach ! They will be trying to cause fouls and will not be thinking about causing charges.

2.) Iowa State can we beaten by rebounding

- West Virginia beat them twice and in both cases, they had about 20 extra rebounds
- Baylor had about 20 more rebounds
- TCU had 9 more rebounds
- Texas has 8 more rebounds

These were also games where they got into a lot of foul trouble. They are not very deep up front. However, . . keep in mind that teams like Baylor and West Virgina fly to the ball and were probably able to get those 3 pt misses. We need to be focused on those long rebounds ! ! Vince and Dakota have to box out and get these rebounds.

Make no mistake, ISU is a freakishly athletic and very determined team. This will be a dogfight at best. They routinely come back from 15-20 pt deficits over the past few years against very good teams, due to their talent level -
so we can't take any lead lightly. (Think West Virginia which we played before the season)

& 3.) This is the NCAA ! ! - Teams know we can shoot the 3 and they know we like to feed the post. Vince, Boogie and Spike need to drive and make plays. Period ! Iowa State has not faced very many wing players like Vince who can drive under control and get his shot. We need Vince to try and take over this game early. He could very easily be the straw that stirs our offense on Saturday. I personally think they will have a very hard time containing him, which then opens up passes to our bigs and for our 3 pt shooters. (Think Point Forward - Let Vince start the offense)

In Summary, I have long said we will go as far as our guard play can take us and in this game, it needs to be initiated by Vince and Boogie with our monsters and daggers waiting for a pass.

Josh Jackson (headcase but will be a lottery pick) is the first person that came to mind for the "wing player who can drive under control and get his own shot" and he went 3-11 and 5-13 in the games against ISU.

 

[cypower1]

Here's a little bit of a detailed rundown on ISU's roster for those who care. And if you don't feel free to skip this post.

STARTERS:

PG Monte Morris- In all honest he is one of if the not the best pure point guards in college basketball. It was an absolute joke he was snubbed from not being a Cousy Award finalist. Will shatter the NCAA career A/TO ratio record and this year has really stepped up his scoring ability. He had 4 very uncharacteristic TO's in the first half against Nevada. He has flirted with a triple double 4 or 5 times in the last couple weeks of the season. Him and Swanigan will be the best two players on the court. Monte isn't great at on ball defense, in my opinion. But he is the career steals leader now at ISU.

SG Matt Thomas- One of two three point snipers in the starting lineup. He doesn't add much else offensively but he can absolutely light it up if he gets going. In the last two seasons he has really improved on defense, but some bone spurs in his foot have slowed him a little bit in the latter half of this season.

SG Naz Mitrou-Long- The other three point sniper in the starting lineup. Naz is a 5th year guy after taking a medical RS last year a few games into the season. His SO year he became a deadly three point shooter and this year has really added the ability to drive to the hoop. Leader of the team. His three point shot isn't near as consistent as Thomas but can still light it up and has the ability to knock down some heavily contested threes that look like they have no business of going in.

PF Deonte Burton- Burton is probably one of the funnest guys in college basketball to watch. Most of the season it was a running joke for Cyclone fans if we were getting "Good Burton" or "Bad Burton". Steve Prohm said on senior night that he's never met a shot he didn't like and it's pretty true. He's not afraid to chuck. He can definitely knock down the three or take you off the dribble. He has just absurd athleticism and is built more like an NFL TE or LB than a basketball player. Defensively he can be really lazy but likes to roam around and get some big time blocks and steals. Highlight reel type of player

C Solomon Young- Only non-senior in the starting lineup and is true FR. Clones are 10-1 since inserting him in the starting lineup. He doesn't add a ton offensively but has really provided the team with some post defense and rebounding that we were sorely missing the first half of the year. He can definitely finish around the rim and has shown the ability to knock down a jump shot but it's not a big part of his game at all.

BENCH:
The bench has really come on as of late and gives the team depth that we've never really had much of in the past few years. Darrell Bowie has been really impressive in the past 5 games as a nice spark off the bench as a big guy. More of an undersized PF that his grown into his role after we were trying to have him be a 5 much of the beginning of the year.

Donovan Jackson is the main guard off the bench. Has been absolutely deadly from the 3 point line since the beginning of February. Has a lot of swagger and has hit some really big shots, including the dagger three to beat KU at Phog Allen.

Nick Weiler-Babb is the last main guy in ISU's rotation. Not a big scoring threat but can distribute and defend positions 1-4 for the most part.

Looking forward to this game and see how well ISU matches up with your size. The level headed Hawk fans I know think that the way ISU has played lately that the Clones pull out a close one. If we're not hitting from three, though, it could get ugly in a hurry. ISU can get the win if they limit Purdue on the offensive glass and keep your other players in check. Biggie will get his and there's not much we'll be able to do about it. If your bigs gets Burton and Young into foul trouble early, I think Purdue wins. Good luck and I'll be around to talk hoops a little more if that's ok!

 

[proudopete]

Here's a little bit of a detailed rundown on ISU's roster for those who care. And if you don't feel free to skip this post.

STARTERS:

PG Monte Morris- In all honest he is one of if the not the best pure point guards in college basketball. It was an absolute joke he was snubbed from not being a Cousy Award finalist. Will shatter the NCAA career A/TO ratio record and this year has really stepped up his scoring ability. He had 4 very uncharacteristic TO's in the first half against Nevada. He has flirted with a triple double 4 or 5 times in the last couple weeks of the season. Him and Swanigan will be the best two players on the court. Monte isn't great at on ball defense, in my opinion. But he is the career steals leader now at ISU.

SG Matt Thomas- One of two three point snipers in the starting lineup. He doesn't add much else offensively but he can absolutely light it up if he gets going. In the last two seasons he has really improved on defense, but some bone spurs in his foot have slowed him a little bit in the latter half of this season.

SG Naz Mitrou-Long- The other three point sniper in the starting lineup. Naz is a 5th year guy after taking a medical RS last year a few games into the season. His SO year he became a deadly three point shooter and this year has really added the ability to drive to the hoop. Leader of the team. His three point shot isn't near as consistent as Thomas but can still light it up and has the ability to knock down some heavily contested threes that look like they have no business of going in.

PF Deonte Burton- Burton is probably one of the funnest guys in college basketball to watch. Most of the season it was a running joke for Cyclone fans if we were getting "Good Burton" or "Bad Burton". Steve Prohm said on senior night that he's never met a shot he didn't like and it's pretty true. He's not afraid to chuck. He can definitely knock down the three or take you off the dribble. He has just absurd athleticism and is built more like an NFL TE or LB than a basketball player. Defensively he can be really lazy but likes to roam around and get some big time blocks and steals. Highlight reel type of player

C Solomon Young- Only non-senior in the starting lineup and is true FR. Clones are 10-1 since inserting him in the starting lineup. He doesn't add a ton offensively but has really provided the team with some post defense and rebounding that we were sorely missing the first half of the year. He can definitely finish around the rim and has shown the ability to knock down a jump shot but it's not a big part of his game at all.

BENCH:
The bench has really come on as of late and gives the team depth that we've never really had much of in the past few years. Darrell Bowie has been really impressive in the past 5 games as a nice spark off the bench as a big guy. More of an undersized PF that his grown into his role after we were trying to have him be a 5 much of the beginning of the year.

Donovan Jackson is the main guard off the bench. Has been absolutely deadly from the 3 point line since the beginning of February. Has a lot of swagger and has hit some really big shots, including the dagger three to beat KU at Phog Allen.

Nick Weiler-Babb is the last main guy in ISU's rotation. Not a big scoring threat but can distribute and defend positions 1-4 for the most part.

Looking forward to this game and see how well ISU matches up with your size. The level headed Hawk fans I know think that the way ISU has played lately that the Clones pull out a close one. If we're not hitting from three, though, it could get ugly in a hurry. ISU can get the win if they limit Purdue on the offensive glass and keep your other players in check. Biggie will get his and there's not much we'll be able to do about it. If your bigs gets Burton and Young into foul trouble early, I think Purdue wins. Good luck and I'll be around to talk hoops a little more if that's ok!

We have struggled tris year with teams that have bigs who can drive and hit the three. If you don't have one of those, I like our chances. We aren't super athletic, but we have a lot of guys who can put 20 on you any given night. Hard to target just one or two players. Making our bigs guard on the perimeter is your best shot.

 

[cypower1]

Deonte Burton can definitely hit the three and is one of our "bigs" even though he's undersized vertically

 

[tjreese]

Deonte Burton can definitely hit the three and is one of our "bigs" even though he's undersized vertically

Does ISU put five people on the court that are a threat outside or 4...or 3 plus 1/2?

 

[BoilerinLouisville]

CMP has to bite his tongue and play some zone or these guys will smoke us open looks and drives. Haas cam't guard anyone more than 5 feet from the basket. They spread you out, plain and simple.

 

[proudopete]

Deonte Burton can definitely hit the three and is one of our "bigs" even though he's undersized vertically

He will likely get a couple of good looks early. If he is on, the lane will likely open up as our bigs respect his shot more. If he is cold, our bigs will sag to protect the lane and we will be able to play tighter perimeter D.
I would assume we will try to keep the ball out of the hands of Morris and try to contain his dribble when he has it. Our help D can be exploited at times as we over help at times, especially when teams show they can penetrate and hit the outside shot. But it takes a big that is hot and can drive from the free throw stripe that gets us discombobulated and that is the key against us, to get us out of our game. We have 1 senior, trust we are a veteran team that has been pretty good at regaining composure when the opponent gets a run on us.
If we are able to get good looks from deep and hit them, that would spell bad news for you. We will try to establish the post game throughout. So if we are hitting our 3's (we are top 5 in the country), and having a size advantage late, we will take the easy 2 until it is taken away. Haas may be clunky at times, but he can put up a lot of points quickly when he isn't missing bunnies and he is drawing fouls. He can hit free throws at a decent clip and gets a lot of points that way.

It's should be a good game and I expect a lot of runs both ways. If we are allowed to play our game, we are tough to beat as we have a good inside/outside game and plenty of weapons. But when we allow the opponent to dictate how WE play, we have dropped some hard scratchers.

Turn us over, double the post and hope the refs swallow the whistles as we rely on fouls being called and shoot our free throws well. Having our guards going cold from deep and our bigs in foul trouble wouldn't hurt either. We have played teams like IU who rely on the three, and we have played well. We have also played teams like Michigan who rely on the three and we have played badly. The difference in the two is probably the fact that most of their made threes came from their bigs.


Here's to a great, injury free game.

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

He will likely get a couple of good looks early. If he is on, the lane will likely open up as our bigs respect his shot more. If he is cold, our bigs will sag to protect the lane and we will be able to play tighter perimeter D.
I would assume we will try to keep the ball out of the hands of Morris and try to contain his dribble when he has it. Our help D can be exploited at times as we over help at times, especially when teams show they can penetrate and hit the outside shot. But it takes a big that is hot and can drive from the free throw stripe that gets us discombobulated and that is the key against us, to get us out of our game. We have 1 senior, trust we are a veteran team that has been pretty good at regaining composure when the opponent gets a run on us.
If we are able to get good looks from deep and hit them, that would spell bad news for you. We will try to establish the post game throughout. So if we are hitting our 3's (we are top 5 in the country), and having a size advantage late, we will take the easy 2 until it is taken away. Haas may be clunky at times, but he can put up a lot of points quickly when he isn't missing bunnies and he is drawing fouls. He can hit free throws at a decent clip and gets a lot of points that way.

It's should be a good game and I expect a lot of runs both ways. If we are allowed to play our game, we are tough to beat as we have a good inside/outside game and plenty of weapons. But when we allow the opponent to dictate how WE play, we have dropped some hard scratchers.

Turn us over, double the post and hope the refs swallow the whistles as we rely on fouls being called and shoot our free throws well. Having our guards going cold from deep and our bigs in foul trouble wouldn't hurt either. We have played teams like IU who rely on the three, and we have played well. We have also played teams like Michigan who rely on the three and we have played badly. The difference in the two is probably the fact that most of their made threes came from their bigs.


Here's to a great, injury free game.

good points, IMO.....also agree this could be a roller coaster game with multiple runs by each team. Also on the Michigan/Indiana comparison, Indiana is much more turnover-prone, but I see your point on the bigs. Iowa State is pretty good with turnovers from what I understand, especially for an up-tempo game team.

Hey...they're darn good.....they've won the Big XII tourney three of the last four years and ended Kansas' 54-game home-court winning streak. You don't do that if you can't play some top-notch ball against really good competition. Purdue has to limit its turnovers and stay fairly even shooting-wise, or I think it's too much of an uphill climb. Now....foul trouble for either squad could tip that balance.

From the one thing I've noticed over the last two years....both squads have a tendency to let teams back in a game.

Here's to a good well-played contest, and let's see who the better team is.

 

[im4cy]

Some very good posts here on the strengths and weaknesses for both teams that, in my opinion, are spot on! Great reading/discussing the matchup with other fans that aren't "homers" Cheers to a great game tomorrow!

 

[lbodel]

I am always worried but, from what I watched last night I don't see any reason why Purdue should not win Saturday. I have not seen anyone comment on ISU's ability to guard the 3. From what I have seen ISU does not D up very well. Have faith PU can be deadly from outside. If we can get some threes to fall it will open up the post. Considering ISU does not play D this should be enough to get them off their game. Have to execute.

You don't see ANY reason why Purdue should not win? ISU lives and dies by the 3. If they are hot, they'd be very hard to beat. Which is why they've been able to beat several good teams this season.

But yes, they aren't unbeatable or anything. This is a game that will face off two very contrasting teams, will be interesting to see how it plays out. We definitely need to play better defense than yesterday, but we're playing a completely different style.

 

[cypower1]

Does ISU put five people on the court that are a threat outside or 4...or 3 plus 1/2?

I would say 4 plus 1/8

 

[boilersmitty]

That's what I worry about also. They either shoot the 3 or drive it to the rim. There is little mid-range in their game.

Like you I'd slow the pace to a crawl on these guys and run lots of clock. Get the ball inside late for good shots for biggie & Haas. Both of these guys need to play like men. ISU has little size so you need to make them pay. Boards are huge! Give them no second chances.

No offense but I'm not sold on Painter as a game coach. He does not have any variation in his system. It's man or nothing. With this ISU team you have to mix up man & zone. Throw in some 3 quarters court press just to slow down there ball movement. Give them different looks to confuse and delay their offense. The want to go fast and want easy looks. Drive and kick.

You are not the only one.

 

[PU pit bull]

good points, IMO.....also agree this could be a roller coaster game with multiple runs by each team. Also on the Michigan/Indiana comparison, Indiana is much more turnover-prone, but I see your point on the bigs. Iowa State is pretty good with turnovers from what I understand, especially for an up-tempo game team.

Hey...they're darn good.....they've won the Big XII tourney three of the last four years and ended Kansas' 54-game home-court winning streak. You don't do that if you can't play some top-notch ball against really good competition. Purdue has to limit its turnovers and stay fairly even shooting-wise, or I think it's too much of an uphill climb. Now....foul trouble for either squad could tip that balance.

From the one thing I've noticed over the last two years....both squads have a tendency to let teams back in a game.

Here's to a good well-played contest, and let's see who the better team is.

Here, here!

 

[Chauncey1986]

It's going too be a road game too if your fans do not show up. They are going to hurt you badly athletically. Your only shot is to hurt them inside (Biggie & Haas) and hope they are cold from 3. Make Morris go to his left too. His preferred drive is initiated going right.

They are one cocky outfit too. All I want to see this entire tourney is for you guys to knock them out. Go Boilers!

"Ah, how the seeds of cockiness blossom when soiled in ignorance"---Steve Alten

 

[Dakota Girl]

Hopefully there will be some more posts from Hawkeyes fans pointing out how easily beatable Iowa State is while they prep for their NIT matchup with TCU (and yes, I had to look that up). Granted, Iowa DID beat ISU buttttttt, its all about when teams are playing well.

Fwiw, this matchup isn't good for the Cyclones IF Purdue pounds the ball inside and is able to defend the perimeter. That's basically the game Imo.

To Hawk fans, sorry for bagging as I know you have a young team and honestly believe you will be making some NCAA tournament runs in the near future, but, seeing you post on a board unrelated to your team or game is somewhat laughable. I mean, Iowa state is the "little brother" after all, right?.

Interesting Cy. My dad is a Cyclone and he has always said the ISU and Purdue are identical in terms of school type and fan base and that IU and Iowa are also the same. On the court these two teams are so different that I have absolutely no clue what will happen tomorrow. But from what little I have seen I think the Clones 5 (Burton) must hit enough threes to pull out Biggie/Haas. We will struggle if that occurs. If we can get Burton in foul trouble inside the advantage is Purdue's.
Should be an interesting clash of styles.

 

[Chauncey1986]

Get ready to take some charges. May not feel good, but its tourney time.

 

[Dakota Girl]

I think this game will be a huge challenge. Iowa State's strengths (athletic guards that can shoot and dribble drive, good 3 pt shooting) is essentially the things we have issues with.

Vermont's pt guard was pretty athletic, but Monte Morris is another level entirely. The other perimeter players seem to be athletically superior compared to our entire backcourt. Initially, you'd think you need to sag off in order to stay in front, but then you give up open 3s to a team that shoots them as well as we do.

We have an advantage on the inside, but if Haas is missing bunnies, I don't think the advantage is as great. He has to play

I also liked the lineup of Biggie @ 5 and Vince @ 4 as Biggie and Vince had more room to operate when Haas isn't on the floow.

I worry that our predicable defense will give ISU a comfort level throughout the game. Mixing up defenses and giving different looks may cause some hesitation or force ISU to make different decisions on Offense.

I'm going to disagree with the mixing D concept (surprise!). I feel like D1 teams adjust rather quickly to this tactic, unless Crean is coaching them, and an experienced guard heavy lineup won't even flinch. Purdue just needs to play their D, determine what needs tweaking and execute it.

 

[flyerboy52]

All of eastern Iowa will be rooting for you.

This is the last year for a while you'll hear of them in the NCAA tournament. All seniors but one one and nobody left in the state penetentuary to offer a pardon and a scholly.
Lots of future food servers, janitors and felons on this team.

who is the felon on the team? They only have one transfer starting. And they also have three 4 star recruits coming in next year.

 

[todd brewster]

I watch Iowa State last night and they can hit the 3's, but won on dunks. This and the fact that Nevada did not post up inside.

The solution is simple. PJ on MM and this is key. DM on NM as he loves to shoot the 3. VE on MT and that stops MT. IH on SY. CS on DB and DB's strength will be negated plus his under size will show up big. CS will go outside with DB knowing IH is under to get the boards.

DB cannot handle CS posting and SY can't help because of IH. VE will have a good game blowing past MT and DM will be available for 3's all day. PJ will run the show and hit the occasional wide open 3.

CE will come in on a tired ISU and run wild while RC should finally have some wide open looks.

 

[BoilerBulldog]

My thoughts on Iowa State:

1. They scare me. They are very athletic and they all can shoot. I suspect the first half will be rough but I trust CMP will right the ship.
2. Doesn't ISU have a legacy of signing completely marginal student-athletes? Didn't they have a player who couldn't read at the 4th grade level a few years ago (Kizer? Tinsley?)
3. Didn't they have a coach show up drunk at a frat house a couple years ago?
4. When UT and OU inevitably blow up the B12, they will be begging the Missouri Valley for an invite and only if they bring KSU as a travel partner.

They apparently are striving to be the next UNLV. That doesn't mean they can't beat us - in fact they very well might - but it doesn't mean I need to have a shred of respect for them.

 

[Boiler Wolf]

I lost respect for their fan base when the ISU guy sitting behind me Thursday didn't know who Caleb Swanigan was and he was one of the more knowledgeable Cyclone fans I met.

Glad I've got different and better seats tomorrow.

 

[tjreese]

I would say 4 plus 1/8

My guess that Purdue will give the 1/8 all the shots he wants to keep a guy in side

 

[jhendrix86]

ISU fan here. Tonight's game should be fun and very interesting. I'll admit I don't know a ton about Purdue, but I know that Purdue is pretty damn good and has a different style than ISU. It should be a really interesting matchup.

A few random things:
1) ISU in the last handful of years has typically not matched up well with teams with athletic big men. I'm talking about guys who are like 6'9" and can actually jump really high and are explosive, not just guys who are tall who can post you up but aren't anything special athletically. However, that doesn't mean ISU doesn't hang with the team. Very rarely has ISU been run out of a gym because of that, but it could definitely happen especially against a good, fundamentally sound team who plays good D.

Look at Baylor for example. They are one of the tallest but most athletic teams with guys like Jonathan Motley. ISU is 1-3 against Baylor in the last 2 seasons but the 3 losses were by an average of 5 points with one game going to OT and another buzzer beater. If you go back another year or two, it's the same story. Case in point...even though ISU does not typically match up well with these teams, they usually still find a way to keep in the game and sometimes win it. It was the same story back a few years ago against Kansas with guys like Joel Embiid. They destroyed ISU on the inside usually, but ISU still either managed by lose by 1 possession or win the game.

Swanigan is really damn good. I mean he's a beast. Only a sophomore averaging over 18 points and 12 rebounds a game. I expect him to get a double double against ISU easily. However, the factor inside will be whether he can play good enough defense (other than rebounding) and whether he can alter shots. The guy who can alter shots is who ISU usually fears, not the guy who pulls down a ton of rebounds. If Purdue does not have that guy, then you may be in for a big surprise to see ISU drive it inside more than you'd think.

2) For those of you who watched the ISU-Nevada game and that was the only game you saw, just know it was pretty uncharacteristic of the level of sloppiness at times. Not to say it doesn't happen every once in awhile, but it's not normal. Monte Morris has a 5.5 to 1 assist to turnover ratio this year. The next guy in college basketball isn't even close. In fact, Morris will go down as the NCAA career leader in assist to TO ratio at something like...5.5 to 1. Against teams who made the NCAA tournament this year (not counting Nevada) he has 87 assists to just 20 turnovers which is 4.35 to 1 assist to TO ratio.

Key to the game for Purdue would be..how well can they D up on an athletic guard who rarely turns it over? If Morris is on point tonight, not turning it over, passing well, and at least scoring what he averages per game then you guys are going to hate him. He's one of those guys who will make the play the other team needs most of the time. When your team pulls ahead with 6 minutes left in the game, there is that one guy on the other team who always seems to make a play. That is Morris, most of the time.

3) ISU at the beginning of the year is completely different than now. Aside from steamrolling some bad teams like Citadel (by 67 points), ISU was very schizophrenic at the beginning of the year and had nobody inside from an offensive or defensive perspective. ISU is something like 10-1 or 11-1 since inserting Solomon Young inside as a starter. He is not going to shred you on offense (only a Freshman) but defensively, he is pretty sound. Not amazing, but good enough to be a major difference maker in the games since he's been getting big minutes. Darrell Bowie has also come on pretty strong in the last handful of games averaging about 9 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes per game (about 22 points and 10 rebounds per 40).

I see some Iowa fans are in here talking about how they beat ISU. They beat ISU pretty well, but again - the ISU team who has won 11 of the last 13 games is completely different than when ISU and Iowa faced off. Not only does ISU have a better person inside now, but their mindset changed. They had a mindset that they could come back against anybody at any time. Now this is partially true because in the last few years they had some amazing comebacks against great teams, but that's when they played defense and forced the other team to miss shots. That didn't happen against Iowa.

ISU was a bit cocky coming into the Iowa game and Iowa made them pay. Before that game, ISU lost by Gonzaga by 2 points this year, and literally had 6 opportunities to take the lead with under 3 minutes in the game, but couldn't do it. They even missed an easy layup to take the lead. They should have beaten Gonzaga but didn't. Next game was one of the worst offensive games I've seen ISU play in the last 6 years against Cincinnati which went into OT and ISU lost by 1. It wasn't because Cincinnati was playing amazing D either. ISU couldn't buy a bucket.

A few games later was Iowa. I think because Gonzaga and Cincy were ranked and ISU almost won (and should have won), ISU played down Iowa and was cocky coming into the game. Iowa made them pay. ISU eventually changed their mindset after beating Kansas at Kansas and then losing a 2 point game to a bad Texas team.

They stopped with the "we can comeback anytime to anybody" mindset around that time and have only lost once since the Texas game (to West Virginia).

4) Deonte Burton. Don't let the fact that he's 6'5" fool you (and 250-260 pounds). He is one of those guys who plays more like he's 6'10" and is very hard to match up against. His wingspan is 7'1" and he is very athletic:




Everyone used to joke about whether we'd be seeing the "Good Burton" or "Bad Burton" at the beginning of the year. He scored 29 against Gonzaga then followed it up with a bad 9 point game against Cincy. Then he'd get 27 against Texas, but suck it up again by going 1-10 with only 5 points in a loss to TCU.

Ever since the Kansas game, he's been more consistent though scoring in double figures all but 1 of the 13 games. In that stretch, he's averaging about 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He is the barometer and has the ability of going off at any moment. He has the ability of scoring inside well (though he is sometimes suspect on that and misses some easy stuff when he's not having a good night) and can shoot it outside well sometimes like the following:


His ball handling is sometimes suspect though, so you can turn him over if the defender has good, active hands without fouling.

5) Matt Thomas. Very good 3 point shooter and will need to guard him well. Has the ability to be one of those guys who makes 8 threes in a game while only attempting 10 or 11 of them. He's shooting over 44% this year from 3 pt (46.5% since the Kansas game even though he went 0-5 in that game).

6) Donovan Jackson. Bench player, JUCO transfer but has been clutch especially from 3 pt range lately. Shooting 65% from 3 pt since the Kansas game. Very fast - might be the fastest guy on the team.

7) Naz Long. Starter - another guy who has the ability to hit a 3, off balanced with a hand in his face but he can go cold. He can be a bit frustrating when he's not hitting his shots and he takes some stupid ones. However, he's more than just a 3 point shooter. Very fast and athletic and can drive it inside. Good at difficult layups.

 

[jhendrix86]

I lost respect for their fan base when the ISU guy sitting behind me Thursday didn't know who Caleb Swanigan was and he was one of the more knowledgeable Cyclone fans I met.

Glad I've got different and better seats tomorrow.

I'm an ISU fan - anybody who doesn't know who Caleb Swanigan is, is a complete idiot. I doubt he was that knowledgeable. Most ISU fans know who Swanigan is, trust me. These fans eat and sleep college basketball, not just ISU or Big 12.

 

[SighQlone]

All of eastern Iowa will be rooting for you.

This is the last year for a while you'll hear of them in the NCAA tournament. All seniors but one one and nobody left in the state penetentuary to offer a pardon and a scholly.
Lots of future food servers, janitors and felons on this team.

You sir, or should I say boy, are an a$$hole. Totally wrong perception about the team. Graduating 6 on the team and all have been model citizens.

It should be a great, entertaining game tonight.

 

[tjreese]

You sir, or should I say boy, are an a$$hole. Totally wrong perception about the team. Graduating 6 on the team and all have been model citizens.

It should be a great, entertaining game tonight.

Lot of seniors...I expect all out effort and hope the refs don't let them mug inside or call a touch game outside