vs Evansville (in St. Louis), 3/7, 8:30 PM, MVC-TV [FSMW+/NBCSC]

[Bird Friend]

EVille is 11-20 and are probably among the worst teams ISU has played at all in the last 5 years. This should be an absolute ass whopping. I stand by the whole get a BIG lead early and them sit all your starters so they can keep fresh legs for the weekend.

ISU- 71
Eville- 53

And have we whooped any ass this year?

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

Again, if ISU wins tomorrow, Dan Muller has his, what, 6th straight winning season locked? If he gets beyond Evansville, his job is in zero jeopardy. None. There are no more "bad losses" on the schedule outside of the Aces.

I know the argument was that no team has ever made Sunday from Thursday- and that's true. But, that said, I can't remember a league where the 1 seed and the 9 seed were so closely matched. There is no favorite in this tournament. I mean, think of ISU. We got beat by TWO buzzer beater prayers. Let's say both of those miss. ISU is 11-7 and the 3 seed. Let's say the kid from MoSt takes 1 second longer to shoot, we are 10-8 and tied for the 3 seed.

If there is a year that a team stood a higher chance to make it to Sunday from Thursday compared to almost any year I can think of, it is this one.

But that extra day is a killer 4 games in 4 days is almost impossible from an energy standpoint. I can see a complete wildcard winning the Valley this year (UNI, MoSt, even Bradley) but I have a hard time thinking any team without 8 players who can play a useful 20 MPG can cut down the nets.

 

[gobirds85]

Again, if ISU wins tomorrow, Dan Muller has his, what, 6th straight winning season locked? If he gets beyond Evansville, his job is in zero jeopardy. None. There are no more "bad losses" on the schedule outside of the Aces.

I know the argument was that no team has ever made Sunday from Thursday- and that's true. But, that said, I can't remember a league where the 1 seed and the 9 seed were so closely matched. There is no favorite in this tournament. I mean, think of ISU. We got beat by TWO buzzer beater prayers. Let's say both of those miss. ISU is 11-7 and the 3 seed. Let's say the kid from MoSt takes 1 second longer to shoot, we are 10-8 and tied for the 3 seed.

If there is a year that a team stood a higher chance to make it to Sunday from Thursday compared to almost any year I can think of, it is this one.

But that extra day is a killer 4 games in 4 days is almost impossible from an energy standpoint. I can see a complete wildcard winning the Valley this year (UNI, MoSt, even Bradley) but I have a hard time thinking any team without 8 players who can play a useful 20 MPG can cut down the nets.

Let's not forget the fact that we were leading, very late, both of those buzzer beater games and still managed to lose. We should not have been in the position to have those shots beat us. That being said, I agree with your basic premise. It's a crap shoot.

 

[Flagship08]

I think the key for ISU winning 4 games in a row is big production out of Tinsley, Gassman and Idowu . We have to limit the minutes of Fayne, Malik and Chastain to have any chance on Sunday.

 

[Baltimore Bird]

Redbirds 70, EU 55

 

[SgtHulka]

Birds - 69
Asses - 59

 

[DoubleDeuce]

Birds - 69
Asses - 59

You mispelled that. it's Birdz.

 

[Brick]

An overlooked key. JJ is back and has a game under his belt. If he can get comfortable against Evansville we are a better team

 

[SgtHulka]

Birds - 69
Asses - 59

You mispelled that. it's Birdz.

Ooops

 

[Bird Friend]

Birds - 69
Asses - 59

You mispelled that. it's Birdz.

Ooops

Does that mean it should be azzez, too?

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

An overlooked key. JJ is back and has a game under his belt. If he can get comfortable against Evansville we are a better team

This is an excellent point. At 40%, JJ is our best deep threat. You cannot win this tournament without hitting the deep ball and since Evans is ...well...bad this year, JJ and Copeland are chiefly important to the success of this team this weekend.

 

[Tpguy]

Sit Milik and Fayne both the first half for rest and then launch the greatest comeback in ISU history to win by 22

 

[birdlife]

An overlooked key. JJ is back and has a game under his belt. If he can get comfortable against Evansville we are a better team

This is an excellent point. At 40%, JJ is our best deep threat. You cannot win this tournament without hitting the deep ball and since Evans is ...well...bad this year, JJ and Copeland are chiefly important to the success of this team this weekend.

i had this thought... then i looked at his game log. it was not going well at the start of the conference season from behind the arc. but if can find the groove, he would be a huge help.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Going to be closer than you think.

Birds -68
Evil- 61

 

[Phantom]

We could win by 20 or lose by 20 tomorrow and in either case, I wouldn't be surprised.

As for the tourney being wide open? It definitely is. But not for four games. I feared in January that we'd have no legs left for this tourney given our short bench. Now it's time to find out...and unfortunately we have the longest road to Sunday.

 

[cpacmel]

Illinois State -3.5

Over / Under 135.5

 

[Dave99]

The game will be on NBC Sports Chicago plus due to hockey being on the main channel

 

[Red Rocker]

Evansville has been playing much better as of late. They only lost at Bradley by 2, lost against a hot SIU team, then won at Valpo, something I think escaped us.

Birds lead most of game by 6-8 and then hang on for a victory in OT.

I would love to see a 15 pt win to save some physical and mental gas coming down the end, but I think EU comes ready to play.

 

[Red Rocker]

Let’s try to not live by the 3pt shot. When you get tired and the legs lose some energy, the 3 pointer doesn’t work. Get the ball inside and just bury our FTs and we have a good shot.

 

[Reggie Redbird]

EVille is 11-20 and are probably among the worst teams ISU has played at all in the last 5 years. This should be an absolute ass whopping. I stand by the whole get a BIG lead early and them sit all your starters so they can keep fresh legs for the weekend.

ISU- 71
Eville- 53

And have we whooped any ass this year?

If we're looking just at D1, you're talking home vs UE and Indiana State; on the road at Drake. It's tough at times if you're up 20-25 and you play your bench for a good stretch of time. All of a sudden the other team's started hit a few 3's and leads drop down to 15.

What type of team are we? One who can take care of an 11-20 team or one that puts a big stinker on the end of what would be an epic disappointment of a season. Picked top-2 and finish 7th, losing to the 10-seed. I can only imagine the thread if that happens.