So, ISU faithful, forget the names Jerod Haase, William Lee or Robert Brown. This is the name you need to know, to understand the rage and fury that drives UAB:
UAB President Ray L. Watts
If you really want to know something about UAB, watch this video:
You've heard the phrase "a team on a mission." No one has ever encountered this sort of mission. Ray Watts and the UA System Board of Trustees aren't satisfied with destroying UAB football; they are out to wreck UAB as an undergraduate institution, and the city of Birmingham as a viable economic entity. I would not, personally, be shocked if Ray Watts declined the NCAA bid. Watts and his outside PR/lobbyist firm have already "declared war" on us (their words, from a leaked internal memo) and united alumni, students, faculty and supporters in defense of our university. Our basketball team wears that "Birmingham" on their jerseys is a statement of furious defiance in itself (those jerseys were banned by the UA System Trustees decades ago). This game is as much an opportunity to spread word of our cause as it is the first step on the road to win a shiny trophy.
I was relieved about drawing ISU in Louisville until I realized ISU may be the best 3 seed in the field and is playing amazing basketball right now. Oh well if we manage to get past them we have a much easier path to the Sweet 16.
I like our match-up with Iowa State, but without question, they are the better team. They're an elite offensive-minded squad who have crushed teams this year.
For UAB to win, we need to play a perfect game—grab offensive rebounds, get to the free throw line, shoot a high percentage from three, and limit their three-pointers, which honestly, will be a big task for us as we've had trouble rotating at times. They'll have a few line-ups where basically anyone on the floor can shoot the three-pointer consistently. That said, Iowa State still beat Kansas while shooting .125 from deep, so even that's not a sure-fire gameplan.
They play at a quicker pace than Lousiana Tech, but they don't necessarily press. I think a fast pace probably helps our offense, but more possessions mean the better team wins in the long run (thus XCMD's infuriating "slow it down" gameplan).
Size-wise and athletically, we match-up okay. Our backcourt will be undersized, but that's been the case all year, so nothing new. It'll be interesting to see who guards Niang. He's a 6'8 230lb PF who operates on the perimeter quite a bit. We'll probably throw a combo of Lee, Mehinti, and Washington at him, but I think Lee is the only one athletic enough to guard Niang when he's not operating on the block.
I wouldn't be surprised if we roll with a line-up consisting of Norton, Brown, Lee, Cokley, and Mehinti quite a bit. I think we'll need Lee's length and defensive versatility.
(This post was last modified: 03-16-2015 03:46 PM by jthrashr.)
(03-15-2015 07:13 PM)Hopeful Wrote: Iowa State is for real so it's only natural they they'll have fans that look at us as a cupcake. The one of the things we have as an advantage is the fact that people are so dismissive because of the record, but wise people and good coaches don't do that and the guy at Iowa State is easily on Self's level in my opinion. I know people are looking at blowouts early in the season and the silly losses to bottom tier teams, but records don't matter anymore once you're in.
The guys' team defense has improved so much, but Iowa State is on a whole other level offensively. The key to pulling off the upset is generating more possessions by forcing turnovers and not getting lazy in transition. If Iowa State shows up and gets that train of momentum started, then it'd be tough to stay in the game let alone put them away.
I've no illusions this is iowa state's game to lose. If they play with the same intensity they did in the big 12 championship we'd do well to not be blown out.
But there's a reason they call it march madness and there's a reason they take to the court. I think we're a better team than our record shows right now, and if the coaches and players overlook us... then we might have a shot.
I don't really care what ISU fans say or think. Could we get blown out? Sure it's possible. But I also know that we were given zero chance to beat Kentucky in 2004. Different teams, different coaches, blah blah blah. That's obvious. We wouldn't be the first 14 seed to upset a 3 seed.
(03-15-2015 07:17 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote: Can someone please start talking Iowa St. Basketball up before their posters slap themselves upside their heads with a ear of corn.
You know that talking #### about corn is fightin' words in Iowa, right?
(03-15-2015 07:13 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote: Hey, I made an impression. It's obvious they are clueless enough not to think Alabama would be arrogant enough to go after someone the NBA would be interested enough.
Lurking ISU fans: I never said Hoiberg would be interested in Alabama.
Our beloved Trustees will only accept a championship-caliber coach with great name recognition.
Therefore, I expect them to try to hire Dean Smith.
You will soon see someone post on the ISU board "those idiots don't know Dean Smith died"
(03-15-2015 07:32 PM)jthrashr Wrote: I like our match-up with Iowa State, but without question, they are the better team. They're an elite offensive-minded squad who have crushed teams this year.
For UAB to win, we need to play a perfect game—grab offensive rebounds, get to the free throw line, shoot a high percentage from three, and limit their three-pointers, which honestly, will be a big task for us as we've had trouble rotating at times. They'll have a few line-ups where basically anyone on the floor can shoot the three-pointer consistently. That said, Iowa State still beat Kansas while shooting .125 from deep, so even that's not a sure-fire gameplan.
They play at a quicker pace than Lousiana State, but they don't necessarily press. I think a fast pace probably helps our chances, but more possessions mean the better team wins in the long run (thus XCMD's infuriating "slow it down" gameplan).
Size-wise and athletically, we match-up okay. Our backcourt will be undersized, but that's been the case all year, so nothing new. It'll be interesting to see who guards Niang. He's a 6'8 230lb PF who operates on the perimeter quite a bit. We'll probably throw a combo of Lee, Mehinti, and Washington at him, but I think Lee is the only one athletic enough to guard Niang when he's not operating on the block.
I wouldn't be surprised if we roll with a line-up consisting of Norton, Brown, Lee, Cokley, and Mehinti quite a bit. I think we'll need Lee's length and defensive versatility.
I completely agree with the whole post. Well, ha, I wouldn't say I like the match up as much as I'm okay with it.
I originally thought it'd be a good idea to go with the game plan of chasing them away from the line, but they're not a team that lives or dies by the three. From the games I've watched, they seem so well rounded offensively. I'm extremely curious to see Haase's approach to an issue that even powerhouse teams had a problem with.
(03-15-2015 07:13 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote: Hey, I made an impression. It's obvious they are clueless enough not to think Alabama would be arrogant enough to go after someone the NBA would be interested enough.
Lurking ISU fans: I never said Hoiberg would be interested in Alabama.
Our beloved Trustees will only accept a championship-caliber coach with great name recognition.
Therefore, I expect them to try to hire Dean Smith.
You will soon see someone post on the ISU board "those idiots don't know Dean Smith died"
Wait, what? When did Dean Smith die?
Ranks right up there with the toothless rabble still wanting to dig up the Bahr and put him on a stick on the sidelines... So, Dean Smith would be right up their alley.
(03-15-2015 07:32 PM)jthrashr Wrote: I wouldn't be surprised if we roll with a line-up consisting of Norton, Brown, Lee, Cokley, and Mehinti quite a bit. I think we'll need Lee's length and defensive versatility.
That would go against the year-long rotation pattern (three bigs at once vs. two sets of two bigs) The Hawkeyes are really athletic, and we're in trouble if the big guys wear down. Iowa State has a long tradition of success, like when Tubby Smith left UK to coach up there, so this is a real challenge.
(03-15-2015 07:32 PM)jthrashr Wrote: I like our match-up with Iowa State, but without question, they are the better team. They're an elite offensive-minded squad who have crushed teams this year.
For UAB to win, we need to play a perfect game—grab offensive rebounds, get to the free throw line, shoot a high percentage from three, and limit their three-pointers, which honestly, will be a big task for us as we've had trouble rotating at times. They'll have a few line-ups where basically anyone on the floor can shoot the three-pointer consistently. That said, Iowa State still beat Kansas while shooting .125 from deep, so even that's not a sure-fire gameplan.
They play at a quicker pace than Lousiana State, but they don't necessarily press. I think a fast pace probably helps our chances, but more possessions mean the better team wins in the long run (thus XCMD's infuriating "slow it down" gameplan).
Size-wise and athletically, we match-up okay. Our backcourt will be undersized, but that's been the case all year, so nothing new. It'll be interesting to see who guards Niang. He's a 6'8 230lb PF who operates on the perimeter quite a bit. We'll probably throw a combo of Lee, Mehinti, and Washington at him, but I think Lee is the only one athletic enough to guard Niang when he's not operating on the block.
I wouldn't be surprised if we roll with a line-up consisting of Norton, Brown, Lee, Cokley, and Mehinti quite a bit. I think we'll need Lee's length and defensive versatility.
I completely agree with the whole post. Well, ha, I wouldn't say I like the match up as much as I'm okay with it.
I originally thought it'd be a good idea to go with the game plan of chasing them away from the line, but they're not a team that lives or dies by the three. From the games I've watched, they seem so well rounded offensively. I'm extremely curious to see Haase's approach to an issue that even powerhouse teams had a problem with.
They definitely don't live/die by the three, but in the games they lost, their shooting percentages were way down. Also, we just don't have the offensive firepower to keep up, so if they're making their three-pointers, our chances of winning go way down.
I prefer the match-up because even though Iowa State is an elite team, I don't consider them to be an elite athletic team.
I think the biggest factor will be our youth and lack of experience at this level. We play in a city where the media and public care nothing for basketball, so these freshmen and sophomores have not faced the week of media frenzy they are about to face. We have played bigger teams than Iowa State, but even the Battle 4 Atlantis didn't have this king of media coverage.
It's no surprise that the Cinderella smaller school teams are usually senior dominated. I hope we remain grounded before the game even starts.
I said we'd have a chance (not a particularly good chance, but a chance) as long as we didn't draw a Big 12 team.... Not only did we draw a Big 12 team, we drew the best one. We're gonna have to play a damn perfect game and them be off that day (which has happened only 1 or 2 games for them this year) to do this. Still holding out hope though.
According to Cyclone posters UAB doesn't have much of a bench. And they accuse us of not knowing anything about them. I thought UAB had one the best benches in CUSA this season that also touted CUSA Sixth Man of the Year. Ijs.......
(03-15-2015 07:32 PM)jthrashr Wrote: I wouldn't be surprised if we roll with a line-up consisting of Norton, Brown, Lee, Cokley, and Mehinti quite a bit. I think we'll need Lee's length and defensive versatility.
That would go against the year-long rotation pattern (three bigs at once vs. two sets of two bigs) The Hawkeyes are really athletic, and we're in trouble if the big guys wear down. Iowa State has a long tradition of success, like when Tubby Smith left UK to coach up there, so this is a real challenge.
It goes against our substitution patterns, but we'll need Lee's length on the perimeter and rotating on help-side. Also, we'll need all the help we can get hitting the boards. Three 6'9 guys really helps our chances in that regard.
I don't think we start this line-up, but I see this group playing big minutes together. Also, I think this will be next year's starting line-up.
(03-15-2015 07:32 PM)jthrashr Wrote: I wouldn't be surprised if we roll with a line-up consisting of Norton, Brown, Lee, Cokley, and Mehinti quite a bit. I think we'll need Lee's length and defensive versatility.
That would go against the year-long rotation pattern (three bigs at once vs. two sets of two bigs) The Hawkeyes are really athletic, and we're in trouble if the big guys wear down. Iowa State has a long tradition of success, like when Tubby Smith left UK to coach up there, so this is a real challenge.
(03-15-2015 07:54 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote: According to Cyclone posters UAB doesn't have much of a bench. And they accuse us of not knowing anything about them. I thought UAB had one the best benches in CUSA this season that also touted CUSA Sixth Man of the Year. Ijs.......
UAB is a tricky team to evaluate unless you're familiar with the team. The ordinary person will just look at the season stats, whereas we all know the team was completely different when conference play started.
(03-15-2015 07:31 PM)BlazintheATL Wrote: I was relieved about drawing ISU in Louisville until I realized ISU may be the best 3 seed in the field and is playing amazing basketball right now. Oh well if we manage to get past them we have a much easier path to the Sweet 16.
I feared drawing Iowa state. Once I saw we didn't get Oklahoma I figured this was what we were getting. I do agree that they are likely the best 3 seed in the field. I hate the matchup, but the worst case scenario is this is another learning experience for our guys. We have nothing to lose, and sometimes those are the most dangerous teams.
(03-15-2015 07:32 PM)jthrashr Wrote: I like our match-up with Iowa State, but without question, they are the better team. They're an elite offensive-minded squad who have crushed teams this year.
For UAB to win, we need to play a perfect game—grab offensive rebounds, get to the free throw line, shoot a high percentage from three, and limit their three-pointers, which honestly, will be a big task for us as we've had trouble rotating at times. They'll have a few line-ups where basically anyone on the floor can shoot the three-pointer consistently. That said, Iowa State still beat Kansas while shooting .125 from deep, so even that's not a sure-fire gameplan.
They play at a quicker pace than Lousiana Tech, but they don't necessarily press. I think a fast pace probably helps our chances, but more possessions mean the better team wins in the long run (thus XCMD's infuriating "slow it down" gameplan).
Size-wise and athletically, we match-up okay. Our backcourt will be undersized, but that's been the case all year, so nothing new. It'll be interesting to see who guards Niang. He's a 6'8 230lb PF who operates on the perimeter quite a bit. We'll probably throw a combo of Lee, Mehinti, and Washington at him, but I think Lee is the only one athletic enough to guard Niang when he's not operating on the block.
I wouldn't be surprised if we roll with a line-up consisting of Norton, Brown, Lee, Cokley, and Mehinti quite a bit. I think we'll need Lee's length and defensive versatility.
I've been waiting for at least a month for that lineup stretches frontcourt depth but I can live with it knowing our guards.
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14-seed UAB vs 3-seed Iowa State
