Who wins in St. Louis

[WSpringsBird]

I voted for Wichita State. A three-games-in-three-days schedule favors the team with depth. Add in the fact that McIntosh almost certainly won't be fully recovered and Hawkins' prognosis after his ankle sprain is uncertain--his mobility was certainly limited against Bradley--and it's not hard to imagine UNI upsetting IlSU, though I still don't think that is the likelier outcome. On the other hand, it is pretty hard for me to imagine UNI upsetting the Shockers.

[Aargh]

We should give UNI a little more respect. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games. The only losses they have in that period are to Illinois State and Bradley.

Wait...did I just put Bradley in the loss column for UNI? Bradley? The team that started pretty much from scratch last year with pretty much all Fr, which is now a team of almost exclusively Sophomores? Bradley, the rpi 232 cellar-dweller in the conference. The loss was by 11 points. It's not like it was a lucky shot or a buzzer-beater. It was just plain getting beat.

UNI may be the best of the lesser teams in the valley (lower case is appropriate this year), but Bradley has scoreboard on them. It's kind of hard to justify chest-thumping and bragging when you need a revenge make-up win against the last-place team in the league.

[glm38]

No way should UNI have more votes than ISUr. No way in hell.

What is the collective IQ of the 8 people who voted UNI over WSU? That's insanity. I think WSU beats them by 50 points in their next matchup.

I voted for WSU but the statement about IQ is pretty ridiculous.

Jacobsen is a good enough coach to win the tournament even this year. Do I think it will happen? No but I wouldn't count UNI completely out.

[Wufan]

Agreed. Not a perfect burn, but still worth throwing out there.

To be fair, i know you don't think so, UNI is playing a bit better than they were Jan 8th. I doubt we win, but I don't think it'll be a 41 point loss. Could be as we may not score 50, but our defense has been good enough not to allow a ton of points recently. We'll see.


To be fair, UNI isn't real good this year and getting blown the f*** out wouldn't be unexpected. Illinois State is supposed to be unstoppable on every level by anyone in the nation....and then lost by 41

Yes! UNI is playing a bit better now than they were on January 8 when they were in the midst of a 7 game losing streak.

[Pickwick68]

Reality is, the MVC needs WSU and Illinois State in the final. And that game needs to be close to get two in. I'm a Shocker fan, but they have been doomed when it comes to the tournament.

[jegbomb52]

i'll give the edge to whoever doesn't play UNI on Saturday, assuming we get that far. If its a WSU / IlSU final on Sunday the team that had to play the grinder game on Saturday against UNI could have a hangover, especially if its the 2/3 game on Saturday leaving a team with a little shorter rest.

Delusion at its finest at Northern Iowa...there is a reason you are KenPom #135 and WSU is #16 and ISUr #45.

Oh and Loyola who just got beat by 17 at home yesterday is #107. But, by all means...believe what you want about how good UNI is.

Easy killer,

I never at anytime predicted UNI to blow up Illinois State or Wichita State. I was simply pointing out that no team in the league is going to play as physical, defensive, ugly, basketball as northern iowa in St. Louis. If you think that Illinois State playing Northern Iowa on Saturday, and Wichita State playing any other school in the pack on Saturday is going to leave Illinois State with fresher legs and a healthier line up on Sunday it is you that is delusional. I think everyone on the board is smart enough to see that with the exception of a few.

[BirdsEyeView]

i'll give the edge to whoever doesn't play UNI on Saturday, assuming we get that far. If its a WSU / IlSU final on Sunday the team that had to play the grinder game on Saturday against UNI could have a hangover, especially if its the 2/3 game on Saturday leaving a team with a little shorter rest.

Delusion at its finest at Northern Iowa...there is a reason you are KenPom #135 and WSU is #16 and ISUr #45.

Oh and Loyola who just got beat by 17 at home yesterday is #107. But, by all means...believe what you want about how good UNI is.

Easy killer,

I never at anytime predicted UNI to blow up Illinois State or Wichita State. I was simply pointing out that no team in the league is going to play as physical, defensive, ugly, basketball as northern iowa in St. Louis. If you think that Illinois State playing Northern Iowa on Saturday, and Wichita State playing any other school in the pack on Saturday is going to leave Illinois State with fresher legs and a healthier line up on Sunday it is you that is delusional. I think everyone on the board is smart enough to see that with the exception of a few.

Why?

I would choose a game with fewer possessions, slower pace all day every day to conserve legs over an up and down the floor game.

We won't be as worn out for Sunday in that case.

[BCPanther]

Why?

I would choose a game with fewer possessions, slower pace all day every day to conserve legs over an up and down the floor game.

We won't be as worn out for Sunday in that case.[/quote]

Running up and down the floor is approximately 1000% easier physically than being in a defensive stance for 25 seconds on every defensive possession and having to work like crazy to get open on every offensive possession.

[Horn28Clem30]

I've only watched 5-6 UNI games this year, but i don't know if i'd necessarily say that you have to play 25 seconds in defensive stance against them. They pass the ball around the top of the key until under 10 seconds and seems like 50% of the time, a 3 is shot.

[Redbirds4Life]

I am a Illinois State fan and I voted for UNI. I just have a feeling that Ben Jacobson is going to have them peaking at the right time. Has he lost in St. Louis - sure he has, every coach has. Does he have the best team - nope, 3rd best. I absolutely hate UNI, and I hope I am dead wrong, but Wichita State and Illinois State aren't unbeatable. The Panthers have been good lately, just as good as WSU/ISU. Might not win by as much as those two are, but they are getting it done and gaining confidence.

As an ISU fan, I really want them to finish this out 17-1, because the last thing I want to see is UNI across from them on Saturday(so long as they make it to Saturday, nothing is ever guaranteed). I am sure Wichita State fans are thinking the exact same thing...and Gregg Marshall teams have always had a bit of trouble on Saturday in St. Louis...even when they are heavily favored. If any coach can get a team ready to play one of those two teams, Jacobson has showed he can.