Games of Interest for Monday, 11/11/13 through Saturday, 11/16/13

[moshock]

Casey - we all consider you a WSU bandwagon fan. You never posted here before last season. You can go ahead and come out of the closet now.

[Cdizzle]

Would not be surprised at all if within the context of say the prior 25 years that WSU's average attendance in its worst season is better than MSU's in its best season.

Yeah, that isn't accurate. I did some looking at Valley attendance numbers this off-season, in an effort to see where the potential is for programs rising in the conference. MSU/SWOMO has actually been quite consistent in the 6k-7.5k average attendance over the past 16 years (period of conference member continuity).

WSU held quite strong until 1996, when the 90s finally started to catch up with the program's attendance and it dropped to ~5500. There was obviously still fan interest though, as with the hiring of Smithson for 1996-7, the attendance jumped nearly 4k to 9.5k.

One thing that has helped MSU/SWOMO is that they have been quite consistently mediocre-to-above average. Plotting conference wins against average attendance, Bradley (until about the last 2 years...they are at a very crucial point) and WSU are the two Valley teams who appear able to keep attendance when on-court performance dips for any period of time. It's difficult to draw much of a conclusion about the MSU attendance variance, because the team has been quite consistent in the 8-12 conference wins range over that period.

[WstateU]

I am quoting from the NCAA attendance numbers for 2012-2013:
Wichita State averaged 10,391
Missouri averaged 11,830

Your attendance will go up I am sure after the bandwagon fans have hopped about the Final Four Run express but let's not go crazy here with proclamations. Nice crowd for the midnight game though. I was impressed with both the WSU crowd and the crowd at FGCU in the morning game.

Casey - we all consider you a WSU bandwagon fan. You never posted here before last season. You can go ahead and come out of the closet now.

Come on Casey!

[DwShock]

Last I knew those who call themselves bears fans are not fans of the tigers. So not sure why Luskin is even commenting.

[ShockerFever]

I am quoting from the NCAA attendance numbers for 2012-2013:
Wichita State averaged 10,391
Missouri averaged 11,830

Your attendance will go up I am sure after the bandwagon fans have hopped about the Final Four Run express but let's not go crazy here with proclamations. Nice crowd for the midnight game though. I was impressed with both the WSU crowd and the crowd at FGCU in the morning game.

You're such an ignoranus. Your jealousy for WSU just beckons you to post inane bullshit.

Thanks again for stopping by and showing your interest in WSU basketball.

[ShockerFever]

Last I knew those who call themselves bears fans are not fans of the tigers. So not sure why Luskin is even commenting.

That's what I'm trying to figure out. Why is an MSU troll defending Mizzou? It's like it struck a nerve with him.

Maybe Casey is a Mizzou fan. Or maybe he's a fan of nobody and enjoys looking like an idiot on message boards while jerking off on the reactions generated. Who knows.

[shock-it-to-me]

Did anyone watch the KU/Duke game last night? Of those that did, I'm curious to hear how you feel we's stack up against either of those teams.

First of all, the game was brutal to watch. Fouls, fouls and more fouls. No flow to it at all. So in a way, its hard to judge. There is definitely some great talent on those two teams with Parker, Wiggins, Elis, etc, but I think WSU is capable of playing better team ball and team defense than what was exhibited last night. Hard to say, but I'd sure love a shot at either one of them.

[Mr. Obvious]

Did anyone watch the KU/Duke game last night? Of those that did, I'm curious to hear how you feel we's stack up against either of those teams.

First of all, the game was brutal to watch. Fouls, fouls and more fouls. No flow to it at all. So in a way, its hard to judge. There is definitely some great talent on those two teams with Parker, Wiggins, Elis, etc, but I think WSU is capable of playing better team ball and team defense than what was exhibited last night. Hard to say, but I'd sure love a shot at either one of them.

With the newbies on those 4 teams last night, KU, Duke, Michigan St and Kentucky are on a whole different level. Sorry to say it, but the talent is mind blowing.

[jocoshock]

Did anyone watch the KU/Duke game last night? Of those that did, I'm curious to hear how you feel we's stack up against either of those teams.

First of all, the game was brutal to watch. Fouls, fouls and more fouls. No flow to it at all. So in a way, its hard to judge. There is definitely some great talent on those two teams with Parker, Wiggins, Elis, etc, but I think WSU is capable of playing better team ball and team defense than what was exhibited last night. Hard to say, but I'd sure love a shot at either one of them.

Didn't watch much of it. Overall, I would say it is too early to tell. Depends on how our bigs develop over the course of the year. If we played KU this week, I would like our chances a lot just based on the amount of fouls they committed. Their bigs need even more work than ours. Having said that, I did see that their backup PG scored a bunch of points going 11-12 from the field. Andrew Wiggins and Perry Ellis are the only two players on the Jayhawks right now, that would concern me.

As far as Duke, MSU and Kentucky. Way too much talent on Kentucky's team. Michigan State is extremely experienced and tough. Wasn't impressed at all with Duke last year, but with Jabari Parker, I would have to wait and see. Worried more about our own team developing right now.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Did anyone watch the KU/Duke game last night? Of those that did, I'm curious to hear how you feel we's stack up against either of those teams.

First of all, the game was brutal to watch. Fouls, fouls and more fouls. No flow to it at all. So in a way, its hard to judge. There is definitely some great talent on those two teams with Parker, Wiggins, Elis, etc, but I think WSU is capable of playing better team ball and team defense than what was exhibited last night. Hard to say, but I'd sure love a shot at either one of them.

I watched most of the game. It's highly unlikely either team would put up the points on us like they did on each other. Our defense is much better than KU's or Duke's. I have been pleasantly surprised (and in retrospect I don't know why) on the amount of fouls we haven't been called for so far this year. I think we have adjusted very well--better than most--to the new rules. In those ways I think we would cause a lot of problems for both of them.

Regarding KY and MSU, Calipari's system of all one and one freshmen was exposed last night (if it wasn't already last season). Talent is great, but it can only take you so far without experience. I'd very much like our chances against KY--our seniors (and Cotton) would school them.

[Shockeriffic]

Kentucky depends a lot on the attitude of the top freshman. They hit the jackpot with team oriented guys like Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist. The body language from the Harrison twins was terrible last night.

[RomeoCrennel's Belly]

Michigan State may have won last night but give Kentucky a month or so together and the Wildcats probably run through them.

[Cdizzle]

I don't recall Kentucky being much better in February of last year than November of last year.

[KC Shox]

Did anyone watch the KU/Duke game last night? Of those that did, I'm curious to hear how you feel we's stack up against either of those teams.

First of all, the game was brutal to watch. Fouls, fouls and more fouls. No flow to it at all. So in a way, its hard to judge. There is definitely some great talent on those two teams with Parker, Wiggins, Elis, etc, but I think WSU is capable of playing better team ball and team defense than what was exhibited last night. Hard to say, but I'd sure love a shot at either one of them.

What struck me most about watching Kentucky was how huge they were. Their top 6 players with minutes were 6,6", 7'0", 6,9", 6,6", 6'6" and 6,8". That is an NBA roster in size. Of all the teams that I felt would pose matchup problems, it was Kentucky. We all know our frontcourt is our weakness and it is Kentucky's strength, especially with that southpaw beast in Randle. There would be a learning curve to playing against MVC style defense then their size and athleticism would take over.

Size wise, KU, Duke and MSU would present less challenges. So from that standpoint alone, that wouldn't make the difference. That said, the way we are playing currently, no way we beat any of these teams if we had to play them tomorrow. A lot of newcomers for Duke, KU and Kentucky, but the learning curve is not nearly as long for those guys as it is for ours since their raw skills and athleticism can fill the gap. On the other hand, it will take our team a little bit longer to make headway, IMO. But come March, our heart can make up for any athletic shortcomings we have.

[CBB_Fan]

Did anyone watch the KU/Duke game last night? Of those that did, I'm curious to hear how you feel we's stack up against either of those teams.

First of all, the game was brutal to watch. Fouls, fouls and more fouls. No flow to it at all. So in a way, its hard to judge. There is definitely some great talent on those two teams with Parker, Wiggins, Elis, etc, but I think WSU is capable of playing better team ball and team defense than what was exhibited last night. Hard to say, but I'd sure love a shot at either one of them.

I watched both. I feel that we are most similar to Michigan State in terms of execution and defensive strength, though MSU focused more on getting out in transition than we do. If you replace Wichita State with each team, here is how I see each game turned out:

vs Michigan State: Very hard fought game. We'd lose because MSU could really exploit our lack of experience in the frontcourt and frustrate Carter/Coleby, but the game would be close throughout. Our big three of FVV, Baker, and Early would keep pace right with their guys (Harris, Appling, Payne).

vs Kentucky: We probably win. Kentucky is as talented as any team this decade, but they are green enough to exploit. We can probably put a lot of pressure on their young guards and force TOs on defense and fouls on offense. Randle is an absolute beast, but in this matchup our inexperienced bigs are actually fairly well suited to the task at hand. Coleby and Carter may not be the player Randle is, but they are both athletic enough to keep with him. This game would go similarly to the MSU game: Big early lead from TOs and fouls, late Kentucky push as our posts get into foul trouble.

vs Kansas: Hard to predict. KU showed a pretty incredible offense but not a lot of defense, but mainly they showed a lot of variability. If we get passive Wiggins and they play bad defense, we pull ahead. If Wiggins comes out in attack mode, Ellis is making a basket every time he touches the ball, and KU is getting a lot of free trips to the line KU could win by around 10 points. Ultimately I feel we are better defensively, but KU has the ability to spurt ahead of anyone when their green recruits get going. They can also shoot their way into games.

vs Duke: Don't love this matchup, but we are better defensively. Duke is basically a better version of Creighton, all offense and no defense. Parker is basically Dougie if Dougie had NBA athleticism, and Duke has a ton of shooters. While we are far better defensively and could win the rebounding battle handily, I think this game could end up like the game @Creighton last year (no matter how good you are defensively, it is hard to beat a team capable of shooting 70% from beyond the arc on their best night). Mainly though I worry that Duke's weakness inside wouldn't be exploited enough by our bigs to carry us through their ability to flat make shots.


All in all, I saw that talent-wise all of teams involved met the hype. However, I saw nothing that said "these guys are way better than we are, and there is no way we could win against them." We are at least as good at defense as any of those teams and if our posts improve probably just as good on offense. I feel that Van Vleet, Baker, and Early are as good a big three as any of those teams can offer, and we certainly have done a better job playing defense without fouling than what I saw last night.

Overall, while I feel that each of those teams features each a player with "it" (Duke/UK/KU) or exceptional team chemistry (MSU). The players with "it" are the type of players that you know from one look that they will be and are special. I'd say that the freshmen class this year is as strong at the top as any class I can remember. But despite the talent those players possess, the teams aren't cut from any special cloth. We could beat any of them, and we could beat MSU just as any truly good team could beat another.