Posts Tagged Iowa State

Episode 145 – MARCH MADNESS PREVIEW

Posted on: March 18th, 2019 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The fellas are back to talk MARCH MADNESS and KU’s draw as the #4 seed in a loaded, but awesome Midwest Bracket. They talk KU’s chances, preview the pod of Northeastern/Auburn/New Mexico State, talk about Big 12 draws, make some predictions for bracket busters, and give their thoughts on the state of mind and potential for this KU team to make a run. Come on in, have a beer, and enjoy a little Jayhawk Talk — MARCH MADNESS edition.

Find the Podcast on iTunes HERE.

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Find the Podcast on most other places that have podcasts too…

ROCK CHALK!

 

Here is what the Big 12 should have said

Posted on: February 28th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Much has been made about the Big 12 statement that was issued on Tuesday regarding the Kansas-Iowa State game. I made a pretty big deal out of it in this story.

I wanted to provide the statement and then provide what I think the Big 12 should have said. Then I promise I’ll move on. I’m sure we’re all ready to move on.

Before you read it, put yourself in shoes of the Big 12. What are your goals in issuing this? Do you want to address the game because of media pressure? Do you want to make Iowa State feel better? Do you want to talk about officiating? Personally, I’m not sure this statement accomplished any of these goals.

Here is the actual statement in all its glory:

“The Big 12 Conference acknowledges that officiating errors were made at the end of regulation during last night’s Kansas at Iowa State men’s basketball game.  The plays have been reviewed and appropriate measures will be taken by the Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officials to adjust the number of future assignments for the two officials involved in conjunction with Conference policies.”

 

As you can see, the Big 12 acknowledges errors made at the end of regulation, but does not make mention of any other errors potentially made by the officials which may have also impacted the game. All this statement does is acknowledge what everyone knows — the last call wasn’t a very good one. What it doesn’t do is also acknowledge that there were 39+ other minutes of basketball that happened in that game too.

Whether it meant to or not, the Big 12 put a big, fat asterisk on an otherwise amazing basketball game. It downplays Iowa State’s amazing shooting performance. It downplays Elijah Johnson’s ice-in-the-veins heroics. It gives every Big 12 coach a silver bullet the next time one of these officials works his game. It demeans a basketball game where up to the time of that one tiny possession was considered one of the best games of the year and must-see television.

Here is what I think the Big 12 should have said:

“The Big 12 Conference is committed to reviewing and improving officiating in our league games. As a result, we are constantly reviewing game tape and providing feedback to officials that work our games. From time to time, we will privately reprimand or suspend an individual official or team of officials as a result of our internal review. Consistent with our normal procedures, we have reviewed the entire tape of Monday’s Kansas-Iowa State game and will handle all potential officiating errors discovered by this review internally.”

 

It gets the same point across. It doesn’t incite a riot. And it doesn’t put an asterisk on the game.

Alright, I’m done. No more blog posts on this. I promise!

Rock Chalk.

 

The butterfly effect: A story of the KU, ISU basketball game

Posted on: February 26th, 2013 by jayhawktalk 54 Comments

A butterfly flaps its wings … and the Jayhawks win a ninth straight Big 12 title.

Sounds pretty ridiculous, right?

I’m sure most of you have heard of the “butterfly effect,” a fun little phenomenon derived from chaos theory. It is generally used to describe how one single event – e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings – could have a far-reaching ripple effect. The idea is that the flapping of one butterfly’s wings, a tiny change in one specific place, can set off a chain of events leading to, in the most famous example, the formation of a “cyclone.” (See where I’m going with this?)

In Ames, IA, inside Hilton Coliseum, with the score of the KU-ISU game at 55-53, Jeff Withey committed an offensive charging foul. It was a terrible call to anyone in the world not wearing red and yellow. It was also a pivotal call in the game, giving Withey his third foul, which would limit his minutes and aggressiveness the rest of the game.

This single foul call nearly cost Kansas the game.

Iowa State Senior, Korie Lucious, stood outside the three-point line in the second half of the same game. A Kansas defender was defending him closely, not willing to let the Cyclones get another wide open 3-pointer up. Lucious sees a streaking teammate and tosses an alley-oop. The pass accidentally goes into the basket for a made three pointer.

This single play nearly cost Kansas the game.

At the same exact game, an Iowa State fan directly in front of me (we’ll call him Jack) took a bite of his pretzel and dripped cheese on his lap. He stood up quickly and attempted to clean himself off. Right about that time, Elijah Johnson was bringing the ball up the court toward the basket in front of me. I stood up so I could see the play. The person behind me stood up so he could see. It set off a chain reaction of people standing all throughout Section 142. Suddenly, Elijah pulled up for a three point shot, his sight line to the basket aiming straight toward Jack, Section 142, and the pretzel cheese. Swish.

Jack and his pretzel cheese cost Iowa State the game.

By now, you probably catch my drift. One play does not a basketball game make. Neither does one whistle, one fluke three-point basket, or one pretzel.

The charge/block call at the end of the game did not decide the game. Elijah is not a butterfly. And Jack is not to blame.

It was one possession of about a billion possessions in an amazing college basketball game. A game where Iowa State scored more three-point baskets than the Cyclones have ever scored in a game.

The Jayhawks were called for more fouls than the Cyclones. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 15 of those billion possessions (Cyclones had 7) and the Jayhawks shot 7 fewer free throws.

I am not here to say the call at the end of the game was a good one. It probably wasn’t. What I’m here to say is that it is unfair to Elijah Johnson, to the Jayhawks, and, frankly, to the Cyclones, to use officiating as a crutch to attempt to explain (or demean) what was easily one of the best college basketball games of the year.

Moreover, it is even more ridiculous that the Big 12 office succumbed to unfounded national media pressure to “review the tape” of that one single possession and then issue a statement on it. If you are going to review a tape, review the entire tape. If you’re going to reprimand a referee, do so with the full story.

Publicly reprimanding the referee did not make any Iowa State fan feel better today. If anything, it probably made them even more upset.

In the end, that play at the end of regulation was not the play that decided the game.

If you subscribe to that line of thinking, then Jack is just as much to blame.

 

Jayhawk Talk Podcast – Episode 16 (KU vs ISU, Boo Birds, Hilton Magic, and Craigslist)

Posted on: February 26th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

In the 16th episode of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, Kevin and Andrew talk about the crazy game that took place in Ames, hit on Kevin’s stories from Hilton Coliseum, talk about Elijah Johnson’s ridiculous night, and close with a story about how Kevin bought his ticket from a former Big 12 basketball player. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy the podcast. Rock Chalk!

Find the podcast on iTunes here. (Computer, Apple products)

Find the podcast on Podbean here. (non-Apple or mobile)

As always, please do us a huge favor and leave a positive rating and comment on iTunes. It helps us a bunch. Rock Chalk!!

KU, ISU highlight video

Posted on: January 30th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Highlights (if you can call them that) from the Kansas game today in Ames.

Preview: Kansas, Iowa State

Posted on: January 28th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Preview:

Kansas will travel to Ames, Iowa for a matchup with the Cyclones (14-6, 4-3) on Saturday. The Jayhawks (17-3, 7-0) will look to extend their 10-game winning streak and keep an undefeated Big 12 record in tact. When the two teams last met in Allen Fieldhouse on January 14, forward Royce White and the Cyclones gave the Jayhawks all they wanted. Kansas eventually went on to win the game 82-73, but it needed a 17-2 second-half run to do so.

Iowa State will be looking for revenge on its home court. A victory against the Jayhawks would go a long way for the Cyclones’ tournament resume. It would also snap a streak of 14 straight losses at the hands of Kansas. The last time Iowa State beat Kansas was in 2005.

The Cyclones will need another big effort from Royce White, who leads the team in PPG (13.4), rebounds per game (9.6), assists per game (4.5), and blocks. In the last matchup against KU, the Jayhawks “held” White to 18 points and 17 boards. Hoiberg and the Cyclones will call on White to bring his best effort against a Kansas team that struggled to match up with him last game.

Matchup of the game:

Royce White and anyone who is guarding Royce White.

I think you’ll see everyone from Withey to Releford take a turn guarding White. He is a difficult matchup for a team that primarily runs man-to-man defense, as the Jayhawks nearly always do. This is especially true when he brings the ball up the court. It will be interesting to see if Kansas throws any zone at him. Personally, I think Releford is KU’s best option to guard White. He is versatile enough to extend in the half court, and tall enough to hold his own if White starts to post up. Regardless, Withey and others will have to be ready to help. It will be a team effort.

Keys to the game for Kansas:

  1. Defend the 3-point line: In the last matchup, Iowa State chucked 28 three-pointers (and made 9). On the season, the Cyclones have been a decent three-point shooting team from deep. Kansas will have to keep the percentage of made threes low once again.
  2. Don’t let the rest of the team beat you. Royce White is one of those players that is probably going to get his points. Similar to a Beasley or a Durant, certain guys will end up finding a way to score on you one way or another. While we can’t let him score 30, I’d rather him get his 18 as long as we defend the heck out of everyone else. Wild cards are much more scary than the sure things. For some reason, Christopherson is the one guy that concerns me. I really like his game, and I hope our guards don’t overlook him.
  3. Control the tempo early. If Iowa State gets up early on, the crowd will be a huge factor. I was in Hilton last year, and it was a very loud building with a great crowd presence. If Kansas can hit shots and control the game from the outset, the crowd won’t be as big of a factor, and our team will remain in its comfort zone.
Keys to the game for Iowa State:
  1. Do a much better job of keeping Taylor out of the lane: Last game, Tyshawn killed Iowa State. He took over in that second half and got just about any look he wanted. The Cyclones will have to do a better job of team defense against Taylor. The tough part about that is that if Taylor gets that help D to slide over, he’s been so much better of late at dishing the ball to Withey or Robinson. Hoiberg will have to pick his poison.
  2. Create matchup problems: Let Royce White do whatever Royce White wants to do. If he wants to play point guard, let him bring it up. If he wants to bang on the blocks, then let him. He’ll control the game on offense either way. The Cyclones will look to put him into spots where he can take advantage of a matchup, depending on who is guarding him.
  3. Hit shots. This will nearly always be a key to the game for opposing teams of Kansas. Team defense is Self’s biggest advantage over most teams. That said, when opposing teams are hitting three-pointers, it can overcome a lot of other disadvantages on paper. Last time, ISU was 9-28 from three. They’ll have to improve on that number to win.

TV: ESPN, 1:00 CST

Line: KU -6.0

Prediction: I think the Jayhawks control this game. The Cyclones will have our attention from the beginning, and Self has had all week to prepare a good game plan. I predict Kansas 75, Iowa State 66.