- March 18th, 2021, 8:37 am
#623609
But I’m not looking for sheer athleticism; what I’m saying is that because LU doesn’t have those kinds of bodies inside, an athletic, disciplined team with those bodies (such as, say, Oklahoma State) will overpower LU. Scottie and Mayo could bang and not be pushed easily off their lines. This year’s group has the identity of overachieving despite being undersized. Which is why I believe it will take an other-worldly 3pt shooting night (possible!) + an incredible defensive effort (LIKELY!) + an off night from Oklahoma State to topple them.
Oklahoma State is not like the Mississippi State team LU came from behind to beat in 2019. That was a perfect storm for LU. And let’s not forget, it still took a G-league level player taking over the game to complete that comeback. We don’t have one of those either this year.
Oklahoma State is overwhelmingly better coached and more talented than that Mississippi State team. And the chance of them coming in flat and overlooking Liberty was, in my opinion, greatly minimized when the committee seeded them at 4. They’re a 2 seed coming in HOT. They beat Baylor on a neutral floor last week, and I believe Baylor is the best overall team in the country. (My NC pick).
So while I like and will be rooting for LU tomorrow. I just don’t love our chances. We are a 13 that got stuck with a two-seed whose mad because they got a 4. A coach half as good as Boynton would have no problem motivating this team to show out.
I think LU keeps it close. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it got ugly late. Oklahoma State has plenty to prove with a HUGE chip on their shoulder.
tyndal23 wrote: ↑March 13th, 2021, 10:52 pmI agree with your assessment of Scottie and Mayo. And to a degree I align with your assessment of this yearMs group.JK37 wrote: ↑March 13th, 2021, 9:25 pmAgreed. But is it we are more subtly euro talented ? As in we don’t look as athletic but are sneaky talented ? James was extremely physical but not overly athletic looking, but showed the scrap, Mayo was athletic without the athletic body, these cats are just efficient and look almost lucky when they get the rebound, make the put back or kick out, but they do it consistently enough stat wise to make you scratch your head and admit maybe they are better than they “look”. Still not sure our D is anywhere near where it was last year but hard to argue the results this year...FlamesHighontheTide wrote: ↑March 9th, 2021, 6:16 pm Just a reminder we played Purdue(projected 4 seed) and Mizzou(projected 8 seed) tough and led Mizzou by 4 at the half. I know we are a smaller team with less experience than last year but we have the kind of teamSo long ago it feels like last season.
I’m never one to hang my hat on close losses.
It’s not the same kind of team. No bodies inside. We can be competitive, but we aren’t as balanced. Better hope we meet an undersized, athletically-reliant, defensively undisciplined team in the first round to pull an upset.
How many of those get 4-seeds?
But I’m not looking for sheer athleticism; what I’m saying is that because LU doesn’t have those kinds of bodies inside, an athletic, disciplined team with those bodies (such as, say, Oklahoma State) will overpower LU. Scottie and Mayo could bang and not be pushed easily off their lines. This year’s group has the identity of overachieving despite being undersized. Which is why I believe it will take an other-worldly 3pt shooting night (possible!) + an incredible defensive effort (LIKELY!) + an off night from Oklahoma State to topple them.
Oklahoma State is not like the Mississippi State team LU came from behind to beat in 2019. That was a perfect storm for LU. And let’s not forget, it still took a G-league level player taking over the game to complete that comeback. We don’t have one of those either this year.
Oklahoma State is overwhelmingly better coached and more talented than that Mississippi State team. And the chance of them coming in flat and overlooking Liberty was, in my opinion, greatly minimized when the committee seeded them at 4. They’re a 2 seed coming in HOT. They beat Baylor on a neutral floor last week, and I believe Baylor is the best overall team in the country. (My NC pick).
So while I like and will be rooting for LU tomorrow. I just don’t love our chances. We are a 13 that got stuck with a two-seed whose mad because they got a 4. A coach half as good as Boynton would have no problem motivating this team to show out.
I think LU keeps it close. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it got ugly late. Oklahoma State has plenty to prove with a HUGE chip on their shoulder.