Wop what do you make of Creighton's draw?
I could see Brasky making it past Baylor* but then getting stomped by Creighton.
Hopefully Pettaway doesn't try to play hero ball. Gotta get Shields going and pitchford will have to be on. Leslee smith will need to have a big game off the bench too
*I haven't technically seen Baylor play
I really love the draw--the homer in me says this is the year we finally go deep and possibly meet Zona in the Elite Eight.
ULL is pretty solid club and their PG Payton is the real deal. But they don't play a lick of defense, give up tons of 3s, and play high tempo. Plays right into CU's hands. I feel comfortable playing either NU or Baylor. Obviously Baylor's overall talent and athleticism poses problems, and we don't have a guy on our roster that can guard Isaiah Austin. But they play a lot of zone and if the Creighton that shows up is the one that is making 50% of their threes like average, I think we get past them. Providence zoned CU for 40 minutes in the BE final, but they also ground the tempo down to a stand still and shortened the game on offense. If we shoot our normal percentage we still would've won. Baylor will look to run on offense so it will create a higher possession game. Also, Baylor's guards aren't as athletic or long as the rest of the team. Teams like SDSU and St. John's bothered Creighton because they were long and athletic at positions 1-5.
After that, it's still not an intimidating bracket. Looking down the road, you've got a Wisconsin team that isn't all that impressive to me (in fact I'm a little down on the B1G in general). They score more than a vintage Bo Ryan team, but aren't the same defensive team. In fact ,the Wisky team we played last year was much better defensively and we beat them handily in Vegas. Or a possible reunion with Dana Altman and Oregon--no defense would be played and the game might be in the hundreds
. Or there is slim chance a very meh BYU team gets hot. And there is no guarantee that Arizona gets to the Elite Eight either. A darkhorse like SDSU, Gonzaga or Oklahoma St could bust some brackets.
I do think it would be awesome to play Nebraska on Sunday though...while I think it likely that Baylor wins, it's not a forgone conclusion. The problem is that Nebraska isn't a great perimeter shooting team--they butter their bread with dribble penetration and getting to the foul line. Baylor's zone negates that advantage so Pitchford and Gallegos are going to have to have good games shooting the ball. If we do see each other on Sunday, I still think it's a CU win (but it definitely won't be a 38-8 affair 10 minutes in again).
*written from a McDonald's in Wichita. There is nothing here and my group is getting mocked for wearing blue*