WSU vs. InSU For the Auto Bid

[RoyalShock]

Can't beat the Shockers and the refs. Good game Syc's, good game Shox.

Should have tried more elbows to the face.

As Baker went by his right arm was underneath Browns's left arm. Baker raised his arm enough to raise Brown's which then hit Baker.......inadvertent. Referees should have been able to see that. Simply a basketball foul.....Now, good luck to the Shockers.......Go Get It All.

Umm, I don't think so. What happened was Brown tried to knock Baker off his route by bumping his shoulder, but it glanced off Baker's shoulder and went right into his face. That's what happens when you try to play outside the rules.

As for Odum's fouls, he got a call against Cotton and Baker, neither of which were fouls, so I guess that evened out the fourth one Odum picked up.

[Sycamore_DevilDog]

Whatever on this foul or that foul. Both teams played hard and there is no reason to hang your head due to losing to the Shockers....they are damn good and i hope they can win it all.
One other thing....Bakers gesture to the Shocker fans to applaud Odum's exit after his 5th foul was some kind of special. I don't think I have ever seen another opposing player do something like that. I'll always have great respect for Baker......classy young man.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Can't beat the Shockers and the refs. Good game Syc's, good game Shox.

Should have tried more elbows to the face.

As Baker went by his right arm was underneath Browns's left arm. Baker raised his arm enough to raise Brown's which then hit Baker.......inadvertent. Referees should have been able to see that. Simply a basketball foul.....Now, good luck to the Shockers.......Go Get It All.

Umm, I don't think so. What happened was Brown tried to knock Baker off his route by bumping his shoulder, but it glanced off Baker's shoulder and went right into his face. That's what happens when you try to play outside the rules.

As for Odum's fouls, he got a call against Cotton and Baker, neither of which were fouls, so I guess that evened out the fourth one Odum picked up.

The foul call on Odum for fouling Baker was awful.

[A_Shocker]

I could understand complaining when Odum fouled Baker, if he hadn't gotten a bailout call on what looked like almost the same spot earlier.

The refs seemed to be fairly consistent, with some blown calls.

I don't like the flops that ISU was doing today and yesterday.

[glm38]

Just want to congratulate the Shockers and their fans for an outstanding season and tournament. You were obviously head and shoulders with above the rest of the Valley. Hope you tear through the big dance back to the F4.

[PowderBlue]

As always, St. Louis is a fun break from real life for me.

I really struggled with this game today. I never got a sense of what a foul was, to be honest. In spurts it seemed like they wanted to let the teams play, and then all of a sudden the flow would really grind down. Live - from where I was sitting - I really thought the Flagrant was inadvertent. Couple of WSU fans nearby disagreed (and I actually trust them based on my conversations with them throughout the game). The Odum foul on Baker was ridiculous. It COMPLETELY changed the momentum of the entire second half. That said, ISU got no fewer than three bad calls in our favor, so it's silly to complain too much. Also, Cotton and Van Vleet...can you say 'heat check'?

Baker was a complete class act at the end of the game, as was Early prior to the game. Early went over to the ISU bench just before tip to wish all the coaches and players luck. You can tell these are two teams who do have some respect for each other on the court. I really do feel for Odum, Arop, Cummings, and Eitel, as they wanted to reach the NCAAs badly this year; but they did themselves in with two losses to SIU, a loss to Tulsa, and a 3 game losing streak at the end of the regular season. Hopefully the NIT isn't a waste of ISU's time...and if the NIT doesn't come calling, it's a travesty. I'd love to see us get matched up with IU in the first round of the NIT

On the plus side for ISUb, Justin Gant. Justin Gant. Justin Gant. Next year, I really believe Khristian Smith is going to become the heartbeat of this team. He's got so much energy and emotion. He's the cheerleader on the sidelines and a sparkplug on the floor. Hopefully his mid-range jumper gets better this summer (and his 3), as he's already shown the necessary quickness and athleticism to be a solid 3 for us. Gant will be the best player we put on the floor and Kitchell gives us a veteran 3-5 that should keep us in every game. Brown and a player to be named later should round out the starting 5 in 2014-2015. I hope Lansing has the TH game and this game on repeat in the gym and locker room for the next 6 months. We need to get stronger, which we can control, and longer, which we need to recruit, if we're going to consistently run with the yellow team.

To the Shocker fans, outside of the customary d-bags that every fanbase has (you know...the guys who measure their johnsons based on how good the college team they watch is...the guys who think they were good enough to play college ball and therefore are a part of the team currently as well...you know who I'm talking about), I found your fans to be incredibly knowledgable and candid...even about their own team. I didn't have all session passes, so we bounced around the stadium all three days, and *SURPRISE*, there were always WSU fans there. Your cheer team/basketball band picked up some new tricks from the NCAA run last year. Some other groups could learn from that. Bravo to you all and I hope you make a deep tournament run.

[Wufan]

The Sycamores could REALLY benefit from some weight training.

[PowderBlue]

The Sycamores could REALLY benefit from some weight training.

Agreed. Weights aren't everything...and strength training is probably a better phrase if you want to quibble in semantics, but agreed. Our starters look, from a muscular standpoint, like WSU's second unit at best, and possibly like the last guys off the bench.

[m-v-c]

Doug Gottlieb is an ass. He inferred that the Shockers liked good because they are playing the. "Junior Varsity." I hope the Shockers make him eat his words.

Seconded, he is an ass. What a stupid shot at ISUb, also.

I guess Kansas got run out of the gym by the "JV" for the first 30 minutes yesterday, and ultimately lost to them?

Not sure what Gottlieb's problem is this year, think he's just trying to be 'provocative' with his thoughts on WSU. He's normally pretty thoughtful, but this one he seems like he's just being a jerk. At some point, blowing out almost everyone you play in what's still the #11-ranked league (not great, and it's definitely a down year, but still not the Big Sky or anything) has to count for something.

[m-v-c]

Great comments Powder Blue. Made trip to tourney for the second time this year, and the fans at it are generally terrific. One can get jaded pretty easily reading negativity online sometimes, but it's nice to go to games and be reminded how knowledgeable, thoughtful and fair so many fans are. Ditto the players, too. Think there's really a lot of respect in this league, maybe some may not care about that kind of thing, but personally love it and think it's one of the benefits of a double round-robin schedule, plus a conference tournament where every team is there together. Great experiences for these players.

Think the officials are struggling right now because of the beds they've made. After most initially enforced the rules emphases this year, they basically were ignoring them by the end of the season. They've been warned, though, that they better clean it up in if they want to work in the NCAA tourney, so they're trying to call a few more fouls...which results in confusion for everyone. If they would've just been consistent all season, then everyone knows what to expect, the game is cleaner and better and everyone can move on. Instead the head of officials/rules committee insists on one thing, officials do another, players and coaches are confused and you get a mess frequently.

For some time thought ISU would be in some trouble after this year, and they will miss Odom (terrific player, had started to think he was a tad overrated at one time but that was wrong, if anything he was underrated). But think they've got the parts to still be very good. Need a few pieces in recruiting, but will still be a contender.

Overall really enjoyed the tournament, even knowing this year the league wasn't as good as it typically is. SIU was a good story. Loyola got a good first taste for them. Trees gave it a good run. And WSU is deservedly one of the great teams in this league's long history, it was a treat to watch them. What a team, what a special season.