Why all the bellyaching?

[Canadian Dimes]

Seems everyone is complaining aginst having to play Iona or BYU and if we are lucky enough to beat them that we have to play #10 rated Murray State?

Really,  IONA and BYU are 14 seeds for a reason.  Mu as a 3 seed and top 10-15 team in the country should kick the ever lovin' S#it out of them.  

Then i dont care when or where we play Murray State.  They beat Memphis early on when they were young and in disarray, since then they have began to struggle against very weak competiton.  i would be not surprised at all if they lost to CSU who as actually played a good schedule and actually has some really solid wins.

Again, provided Murray wins we should kick the ever lovin' S#it out of them.

This would put us into the sweet 16 with a heck of a shot against a Missouri team that plays very similar to ourselves and does not have the huge size everyone was concerned with.  Additonally, we would not play them in St. Louis.

Bottom line people, you do not and cannot sneak thru the NCAA tournamnet.
When one looks at who we have lost to this year, teams like IONA, BYU, and Murray state are not those types of teams.  

Good draw, bad draw, it is the draw.  I like our chances and hope the negativity is still a hangover from NYC and that this fanbase can turn the corner real quick.  Dont know about anyone else but I am working my contacts in Loserville already.  

[GGGG]

Agree dimes. I like the draw and fully expect us in S16.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Have people complained about this draw? I haven't read all the threads, brut it seems like Buzz Williams himself must have drawn it up. I love our draw! I think we'd have difficulty vs. Missouri, but I think we can beat Michigan State. But I do want to say I'm not overlooking our first or 2nd round opponents.

[TJ]

Great post Dimes.   I had some initial trepidation when I saw Murry St. but it's really not a bad draw at all.  It's the NCAA Tournament - there aren't any easy games past the round of 64.

[bilsu]

I am never confident when it comes to NCAA tournament. I will worry until the game is officially over. What I do not like about this draw is the fact that they are play in teams. My worrying has come up with three negatives about this game.
1. We play the winner of the two teams and therefore the hotter of the two.
2. The winner will have gotten over first game tournament jitters.
3. MU has less time to specifiaclly prepare for their opponent.

I know MU should win this game, but upsets happen.

[Blackhat]

I'm confident as I've ever been in an MU S16.

But after Louisville, people want to shield themselves emotionally from a let down.

[avid1010]

Love the draw....not dropping to a 4 seed is a big deal.  Missouri doesn't scare me as much as State...the only teams that worry me are teams with size.  I think a MU/Missouri match-up would come down to who hits their 3's....would be a really fun game to watch if both teams play well...they're going to get up and down the court.  I've only seen Missouri play 3 times, but they seem similar to MU to me???

[chapman]

A good combination of protecting the ball and transition defense could get us all the way to the Elite Eight - it's an advantage for us that if seeding holds all matchups till MSU play the same way. 

[Canadian Dimes]

The belly aching I have read stems around;

1.  BYU and IONA bein essentially at large teams at the #3 team should get to play a 200 rpi conference champion.  

2.  having to play a play in team , not knowing who we ar playing etc.

3.  Murray state as a 6 seed is the #10 team in the country and play them in Kentucky.

--- My take, granted, cant argue with any of those arguments....but like I stated before we should kick the S#it out of all three of those teams any day anywhere.

[CTWarrior]

I have seen Iona play live on a couple occasions.  They have no business in the tournament.  They do not even pretend to play defense.  They will not beat BYU, but if by some strange miracle they do, we will have no trouble with them.

It is ridiculous that as a 3 seed we are basically scheduled to play a true road game in the round of 32.  You would never see that happen to Duke or UNC if they were a 3 seed in a million years.  That said, we should beat them.

Based on our bracket, we need Cadougan playing well against pressure defenses if we are to do damage.

[NavinRJohnson]

I'm confident as I've ever been in an MU S16.

But after Louisville, people want to shield themselves emotionally from a let down.

Much like in 2003 where my wish list included Mizzou and Pitt - two teams who spent time near the top of the rankings that year (I think both spent time at #1) that I knew weren't any better than MU - this year's targets were Murray State and Missouri. Again this year, we got em both...potentially anyway. As much as I respect what Tom Izzo's teams typically do in March, having MSU in the region is an added bonus.

Obviously they have to go out and win, and there are no guarantees, but win or lose, that game against Mizzou could be great.

We enter the tournament as the 10th overall seed...we end the season as a Top 10 team. A loss this weekend would be disappointing of course, but it happens. Sometimes you lose. But, as discussed in a thread a few weeks ago, if we enter the tournament as a top 16 seed -or- get to the Sweet 16 in any given year, I'm good. That said, I really hope they do both!

[AlienWarrior]

Plus we will be in a familiar building and backboards in Louisville

[Golden Avalanche]

It does seem strange that people would be getting upset about playing either the last team admitted to the field or the second to last team admitted to the field.

For a surefire top 10 squad in this Tournament this would seem to be a great start to induce getting on a roll. I think all three teams are what you'd expect to see MU play in early December and I'd expect their athleticism, explosiveness, and transition game will eventually overtake the proceedings.

[Canadian Dimes]

I am stating it here right now.  on the only bracket i fill out, CSU beats Murray St.

CSU beat UNLV, Colorado, UNM, and SDSU

[chapman]

Plus we will be in a familiar building and backboards in Louisville

I'm hoping everyone has forgotten about our only previous trip to the Eww! Center.

[Silkk the Shaka]

I am stating it here right now.  on the only bracket i fill out, CSU beats Murray St.

CSU beat UNLV, Colorado, UNM, and SDSU

...at home. Lost to all those teams on the road or on neutral courts.

[MUMac]

I'm hoping everyone has forgotten about our only previous trip to the Eww! Center.

I remember the first 35 minutes very well.  I must have left for the last 5, as I cannot remember them at all.  Fortunately, we won by 15 in my view!   

As for the advantage of having played there before, that was last year and the only time MU played there.  Some familiarity, but not an advantage.