Bring on the Shockers

[Haha]

I hate that intro, although my five year old thinks iron wu is cool.

[purple&orange]

For me this game is all about tempo. If UE can stay within themselves and play at a controlled pace I think they can keep themselves in the game at which point anything can happen down the stretch. In the game against Indiana they played a very controlled first half and led. In the 2nd half when IU came out hitting shots it led to some quick shots/bad decisions and huge IU run which was the difference in the ballgame. I tend to throw UNC out because they always had the best 4 or 5 athletes on the floor til they emptied their bench with a minute left and put a 6-2 and under squad out there.

Wichita played well out in Maui and had the tourney champ on the ropes, went on the road and took down LSU and are preseason favorites. They have a squad that can play with just about anybody and opening the conference season at their place will be quite a challenge. From their standpoint they can't win the league by beating UE but losing the conference home opener would most certainly put them in quite a hole, no matter the opponent.

I know the roundhouse is a difficult place to play and that WSU fans pack the place night in and night out. Will the students being on break take away a bit of that homecourt noise factor or are their enough students in the area to still have a robust student section?

It's a great time of year as we get to reunite with all our pals as they come back to our various arenas for their visit each season.

[UE 71]

If we come out strong and hit our open shots within the offense it should be a close game that will be exciting to all. UE has improved greatly over last year and are starting to come together as a pretty good team this year. They will be in the Shocks face on defense throughout the game and it will be as hard fought as any they play. As I said, if the Aces play within their offense and shoot to their capabilities, it should be interesting.

[chitown fanatic]

evansville blows, okay? You'll be playing on thursday like you are almost every season. you should put your sleeves back on and play at the D2 level and allow the MVC to upgrade with a Xavier or St.Louis.much improved over last season? How could you not be? geez, I'm glad we're finally to conf season so enough of this dreaming can stop

[Ace Dad]

evansville blows, okay? You'll be playing on thursday like you are almost every season. you should put your sleeves back on and play at the D2 level and allow the MVC to upgrade with a Xavier or St.Louis.much improved over last season? How could you not be? geez, I'm glad we're finally to conf season so enough of this dreaming can stop

Chicago, any analysis, or are you only going to do a "drive by"?

[WuDrWu]

I'm always the one to jump in and comment "don't forget the other guy has something to say about the outcome".

If both teams play their A game, WSU wins handily. If Evansville plays A to A- and WSU plays a stupid C then it's a tossup.

There isn't a trick to beating Evansville. They are going to play tough and do everything they can to not give you anything easy, and try to keep it close and see what happens late.

Their's is a thin margin for error, especially on the road. 17-23 year old athletes RARELY have the frazzos to "stay the course" and keep fighting when things go against them. If Evansville can hang around and withstand at least 1, probably 2, WSU runs, then it will be another nailbiter.

If WSU comes out and matches the Aces effort all over the court, then it should result in a lopsided score that the game deserves. The Aces simply do not have the size, athletic ability, experience or depth to beat WSU this season, to say nothing of the support from the school and fans.

But then they didn't have any of those things last season either and look what happened, and that's why they play the games.

[WuDrWu]

The Aces have almost no advantages in this game. WSU's 4 headed post monster should dominate, and if UE clogs the middle, the Shocks have plenty of 3 point fire power.

You might assume WSU is a better scoring team, and you'd be right, but did you know that WSU is a better shooting team, 3 point shooting team as well as a better free throw shooting team?

You have to dig deep to find any stat favoring the Aces. The one (of just a couple out of 20+) most likely to potentially even the game is turnover margin. Not terribly surprisingly, the Shocks turn the ball over too often, partly due to PG problems and partly due to playing at a fast pace (their Assist to Turnover ratio is good). Inexplicably, WSU doesn't force a lot of turnovers. This is tough to grasp as they have plenty of opportunities, and press a fair amount of the time.

If they can reverse this trend, WSU will be very tough to beat, anywhere.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Will the students being on break take away a bit of that homecourt noise factor or are their enough students in the area to still have a robust student section?

Since the average age of the people in the WSU student section is about 35, one has to assume they are all Wichita residents and didn't really have to travel to "go back home" like most college students do during break. I doubt you'll see any significant difference.

I think WSU wins by a double digit margin.

[WSUbballer]

Knowing your student attendance problems, a Creighton fan should be the last one taking pot shots at student sections. But then again, looking at who took the shot, it's not a surprise.

[Ace Dad]

The Aces have almost no advantages in this game. WSU's 4 headed post monster should dominate, and if UE clogs the middle, the Shocks have plenty of 3 point fire power.

You might assume WSU is a better scoring team, and you'd be right, but did you know that WSU is a better shooting team, 3 point shooting team as well as a better free throw shooting team?

You have to dig deep to find any stat favoring the Aces. The one (of just a couple out of 20+) most likely to potentially even the game is turnover margin. Not terribly surprisingly, the Shocks turn the ball over too often, partly due to PG problems and partly due to playing at a fast pace (their Assist to Turnover ratio is good). Inexplicably, WSU doesn't force a lot of turnovers. This is tough to grasp as they have plenty of opportunities, and press a fair amount of the time.

If they can reverse this trend, WSU will be very tough to beat, anywhere.

The one advantage the Aces have is mental. The Shocks know they are supposed to win this game. Mentally, they are embarrassed that they allowed the Aces to play so well last year. Sometimes the favored team overcompensates by trying to do too much.