Northern Iowa proves once and for all....

[CDC84]

.....that you don't need to be a very athletic team to play high level defense.

The only reason Kansas shot 44.4% from the floor was due to all of the turnovers they created when pressing near the end of the game. KU shot just 6-23 from three point range, and UNI completely stifled Sherron Collins at the point of attack. There isn't a team in America that I have seen which helps better on defense than UNI. And it was the defense today, because the Panthers only shot 40.0% from the field and 34.6% from 3 point land. They were hardly brilliant on offense other than hitting some major clutch shots.

[billyberu]

How about that 3pt shot by Farouk with 30 seconds left and up by a slim margin. Let's see, should he run some clock or take the uncontested shot and drive another nail in Kansas' coffin? I guess when you shoot like that the answer is obvious.

[zagfan08]

Honestly, UNI would have probably turned it over had he pulled it out and worked the clock. They were struggling with the Jayhawk pressure and there was about an eight second differential between the shot and game clock, so UNI would likely have to shoot anyway. Why not a wide open look by your best shooter that would put you up two possessions with 35 seconds to play?

[CDC84]

That shot was all about a hunger for victory. UNI was not handling KU's press well whatsoever, so in many ways, it was a good shot....whether he made it or missed it. But it was still a very gutsy move.

UNI's win also shows that the committee has got to stop underseeding elite teams who play in non-BCS leagues. I knew before this tourney even started that UNI was grossly underseeded. UNI came into the dance 29-4. They are now 31-4. They dominated the MVC this year, and easily beat tournament teams like Siena and Old Dominion. You can't win that many basketball games and not be a very good team.

[skan72]

Look at Murray State, weren't they 31-4 coming in to this tourney? Or something close to that?

[MickMick]

CDC, I couldn't agree more.

Super athletes have not cornered the market on sound, fundamental defense. (not that the Zags are lacking in the athletic department).

The big difference between UNI and the Zags?

Their core group has played together as a unit for 3+ years. They can can make in-game adjustments on the fly, and every member has total comprehension of what to do.

Imagine the Zag potential 3 years from now.

Our freshman core group:

Harris, Olynyk, Arop, Vilarino, and Dower. Imagine them playing together as a group for three years and the cohesive unit they can become.

[jim77]

The BCS team tend to get the 4 star 5 star glamour type. The type that basically dominate the local high school league they play in. They have superior athletic talent and have used it since 6th grade. They didn't learn pump fakes, why would they?? Heck, they can jump over people and don't need picks with their superior speed either. In fact they don't need much of a passing game either because they can create their own shot. Then one day(like today) they run into 5 guys who did have to learn those skills because they had to so they could compete....You see what happen today solidified what I learned in my rec league games......Basketball is still a TEAM sport. Go ask USA basketball what happens when you don't play as a team.....The best "TEAMS" won today....but not the better players.


Go get em tomorrow ZAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[deathchina]

"The BCS team tend to get the 4 star 5 star glamour type. The type that basically dominate the local high school league they play in. They have superior athletic talent and have used it since 6th grade. They didn't learn pump fakes, why would they?? Heck, they can jump over people and don't need picks with their superior speed either. In fact they don't need much of a passing game either because they can create their own shot. Then one day(like today) they run into 5 guys who did have to learn those skills because they had to so they could compete...."

Pretty much every DI college basketball player on a good NCAA tournament team dominated in high school.....

[McZag]

Great point CDC. Couldn't agree more. It also speaks volumes about the importance of sticking to a game plan. Northern Iowa never wavered from their approach and it paid dividends.

[HillBillyZag]

The Truth, the Truth, and nothing but the Truth. As Dickie V's great quote went "hey Baby, they don't have no Mcdonalds All-Americans, but them kids from Wendy's can sure play!".

[maynard g krebs]

We've seen this demonstrated by Dick and Tony Bennett teams also. And yesterday, St. Mary's did a really good job of containing penetration by Villanova.