#10 Northern Iowa at #11 Wichita State, WINNER TAKE ALL

[glm38]

Great game. I know Tuttle hasn't scored a lot but he really seems to have Carter's number on offense and defense.

Carter's always been a bit weak. Tuttle just man-handles him out there. Any time Carter tries to cover him Tuttle just backs him down with his hip and shoulder checks, pushes into the paint, and goes around him for the score.

That seems to be why Bush was able to do just fine on Tuttle. Tuttle couldn't physically push him backwards the same way.

Carter's a good four, but he's never had the strength to play the five against a physical player.

The funny thing is when you look at Tuttle and Carter going at it head to head - Carter looks like the bigger, stronger player. I guess appearances are deceiving. Regarding Bush i think his length did bother Tuttle for a few plays but i would be really surprised if that happens again. No way he can handle him 1:1 for any length of time either.

As good as Tuttle was i thought Baker and VanVleet were better. Most Shox games i see Baker looks like a man playing against boys at his position.

Heres hoping for a third matchup of these 2 on a neutral court next week.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Was listening to a podcast with Jerry Palm last night and he believes that if WSU is swept by UNI (including the conf championship), then WSU will be a bubble team at 26-5 on Selection Sunday because they lack any wins over surefire tourney teams. Their best win is Tulsa who is on the bubble right now.

Anyone else believe this?

So, you would like to believe that a 26-5 WSU team won't make the tournament?

Either that, or a first round loss. Take your pick.

AceCard, you spend way too much time being an @sshole.

[TheAsianSensation]

It's really disappointing how strongly WSU scheduled this year, and how so many of those teams bombed this year.

Does the NCAA selection committee actually use "wins over tournament teams" as a metric? SOS, noncon SOS, wins over teams in the top X of the RPI, sure, but wins over tourney teams? That sounds like an ESPN graphic and nothing more.

It's not explicitly shown on their sheets, but committee members have cited it in the past. It's more used to argue for teams on the other end of the spectrum, i.e., teams with something like 8-10 wins against tournament teams who also have some terrible losses.

And man, this was about the worst-case scenario for your SoS this year. Diamond Head was a mega-bust, my God.

[Ricardo del Rio]

My thoughts, keys for the game:

1) Atmosphere: Gameday/Senior Day/Conference Championship/Revenge Factor- The atmosphere is going to be out of this world crazy. For both teams. I know WSU has played in front of the Roundhouse crazies and have their support, but I have a feeling this one will be at an all-time high. Both teams will have to deal with it. Watching Tuttle Wednesday, he had extra emotions boiling through him for senior night that took a while to get in check.

2) Shoot-Around: Due to the women's game last night and Gameday today, UNI will not have had an opportunity to have a shoot-around/walk-through at Koch. How much will that affect them? The Gameday presence until an hour before tip will impact pre-game routines as well-for both teams again.

3) Bench play: Both team are willing to play into their bench but I think UNI has the advantage in that they don't have as much of a drop off (if any) when they go to the bench. WSU loses a lot when Fred, Ron, Tekele are off the floor, IMO.

4) The Refs: I am really hoping the MVC has spent the money to make sure there is a top-notch crew working this game. How the game is called-touchy, let 'em play, 5 fouls in the first half and 30 in the second, etc. may have a huge bearing on the outcome. Hopefully they are consistent, that's all I ask.

5) The Usual: They have been dubbed the 'Angry Points' but they are pretty consistent in how games go. The hustle, extra effort, who wants it more aspect will probably be the ultimate determining factor.

A rational and sensible post. Thanks.

AceCard, you might take notice.

[Championz]

Anybody catch the Cotton dunk? I thought it was pretty good. I'm sure you'll be able to catch it on SportsCenter tonight on this little Top Ten segment if you missed it.

He's gotta be getting close to double-digit appearances there.

[Khan4Cats]

It's really disappointing how strongly WSU scheduled this year, and how so many of those teams bombed this year.

Does the NCAA selection committee actually use "wins over tournament teams" as a metric? SOS, noncon SOS, wins over teams in the top X of the RPI, sure, but wins over tourney teams? That sounds like an ESPN graphic and nothing more.

It's not explicitly shown on their sheets, but committee members have cited it in the past. It's more used to argue for teams on the other end of the spectrum, i.e., teams with something like 8-10 wins against tournament teams who also have some terrible losses.

And man, this was about the worst-case scenario for your SoS this year. Diamond Head was a mega-bust, my God.

It just seems like one of the many different moving criteria that the committee uses from year to year to justify who gets in and who doesn't. More often than not, it seems the criteria are modified to justify the inclusion of money conference schools and the exclusion or lower seedings they give to the rest.

That is why I take what most people think should be UNI's seed and add a couple to it. Lunardi thinks we are a 4? Likely a 5 or 6 then.

[UNIFanSince1983]

I didn't read through all the posts, but there was one about chippiness and I didn't really see it. I saw two teams competing hard. WSU is tough to handle when they shoot like that. Van Vleet is soo damn good. He does get some favorable calls, but as we know so do many of the good players. They do what it takes to draw contact or make it look favorable for themselves.

We played a terrible first half. It looked like some of the nerves were getting too us. And WSU had a ton to do with that as well. Despite that I feel like the game turned on Cotton's long 3 with the shot clock running down in the first half. Then VV hit a tough step back 3 and whoosh. We did fight back, but that end of first half hole we got in was too much to over come on the road against a great team like WSU.

Really hoping for everyone's sake we get to see these teams play a 3rd time. Hats off to the Shockers as they were a much better team today.

[PantherSigEp]

Can't imagine what some of this thread includes but man that was an entertaining game, even with UNI "out of it" for most of the game. Man what a difference a home game can make. Can't wait to see what Arch Madness holds (and beyond) for these teams. I'll see some of you in St. Louis

[wgslaw]

I thought UNI played very solid defense with good shot selection. Only kid who puts up a bad shot now and then is the point guard. 10 turnovers is not too bad but with 6 less rebounds it was largely the difference. 3 pointers got them back in the game from down 18. I thought it was going to be in the 20s. They really shoot the open 3 well. Carter struggles with Tuttle. Bush did well on Tuttle and that would allow you to defend the perimeter better. Tuttle is the key for them. UNI is a very good team.

[Wufan]

As to the "chippy" part of the thread, someone said Baker should be ejected for running into Morgab early in the game. A few more comments from both fan bases about holding/grabbing not being called.

Sure a few calls were missed, but it was a great game and the officiating did not get in the way of the competition.