Community Projection: Kansas State v. Southern Cal

by Peter Bean on Mar 18, 2008 11:03 AM CDT in Basketball Comment 10 comments

A recent comment from whills got me thinking about putting our collective heads together for various upcoming tournament games. Hell, we're all sitting around counting down the hours to Thursday, anyway. Might as well talk about what we're all thinking.

First up, Kansas State and Southern Cal, two extremely athletic teams who, at their best, have taken down some of the country's very best.

Who you got?

Poll

Who wins between (6) USC and (11) Kansas State?

Kansas State

374 votes

Southern Cal

394 votes

768 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 10 comments

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Comments

Game Plan vs. KSU

I'm of the opinion that any coach that lost to KSU in the second half of this season should have his head examined.

Game plan: hold Beasley to 40 points and 20 rebounds. Keep everyone else in check (under 10 points). With the exception of Walker, any other kid on the court is just not that good.

Texas did a great job of shutting down Walker and they controlled a competitive game, that was not as close as the score indicated. Granted, not many teams have the talent that Texas can throw at you, but you catch my drift. Don't worry about Beasley, he's gonna go nuts and get his points. Don't let the other guys beat you. Floyd is a smart coach, and will do this. Coupled with the fact that KSU is an awful road team, and I don't think this one's as close as the 2 pts Vegas is giving KSU.

by Horndogger on Mar 18, 2008 12:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You got the ticket, Hdogger.

Walker is the key. And I doubt if KSU has got the moxie or the smarts to use Beasley as decoy some part of the time to try to open up the rest of the their offense. (That's available and an outlier.)

While part of me pulls for the Big XII, I just can't see a way KSU advances.

Any KSU fans out there who has seen the future and can clue us in?

by whills on Mar 18, 2008 5:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

K-State fan

I more or less echo what chum1 said below. Our team was playing very well early in the conference season when other players were hitting shots. At one point, I believe we had three or four players averaging double-figure points...now we only have two.

The way we've been playing, Floyd would do well to make sure Beasley doesn't get 60 and merely get a hand in the face of everybody else. But if Jacob Pullen, Clent Stewart and Blake Young start hitting outside shots, and Bill Walker establishes himself as a presence inside, we have a real chance to win.

Keys: Make some outside shots (~35-40 percent), get the ball inside consistently (Beasley and Walker), play some freakin' defense.

We'll carry the banner high!

by TB on Mar 19, 2008 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Luck o' the draw

So Tim Floyd and Taj Gibson draw Durant and Beasely in back-to-back years...who's next? Greg Monroe?

I guess it was the beatings made me wise. But I'm not about to give thanks, or apologize.

by TheJeezus on Mar 18, 2008 1:39 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Scotching the Carmello Anthony syndrome.

The deeper you go in the playoffs, the more a Carmello Anthony can dictate a victory. So cut them off early before they start believing in themselves as a team that can go all the way.

(IMHO CA did have a strong supporting cast, stronger than KD did last year and certain more than KSU.)

by whills on Mar 18, 2008 5:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah that doesnt seem lucky

But they have the chance to end the player-of-the-year's season in back to back years. Not very many teams can claim that.

by poteet76 on Mar 18, 2008 1:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Memo to USC:

box-and-one.

by Tbone Stallone on Mar 18, 2008 4:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank for doing this, PB.

Will be tweaking more this evening and come back with more vexing questions.

Could you update with a link to the contest? Make life easy, like the Caribbean beer commercials. And no one said you had to leave out the eye candy.

by whills on Mar 18, 2008 5:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This is a tough call

And when things get tough, I go to Rick Pitino.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SWmn...

Random thoughts:

Mayo is arguably not as difficult to defend as Augustin. I'd be surprised if he dominates the game.

When KSU was playing well, they shot threes well. When they weren't, they didn't. It kind of is just that simple and may very well be the key to the game.

Given Floyd's history of using "junk" defenses, one would think he'll be focusing lots of attention on Beasley. Most teams did throughout the season and had mixed results.

Ultimately, I have absolutely no idea what to expect and it does feel very much like a coin toss.

by chum1 on Mar 18, 2008 7:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

What Hdogger said...

Floyd has a good record of designing D's to deal with the playmakers on the other team. Beasley will get his points, but he won't set any records. For KState to win, the rest of the team will have to step up on offense.

USC needs Taj Gibson to establish himself early without getting into foul trouble too soon. We also need to limit our turnovers, as those have been the Achilles heel in most of our losses this season. If we shoot reasonably well and Floyd schemes successfully against Beasley and company, I think we win.

by Defender90 on Mar 19, 2008 12:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs