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Cyclones benefit from raucous fans
Posted: Tuesday March 14, 2000 04:51 PM By Adam Thompson, Special to CNNSI.com
As Iowa State blew through the Big 12 tournament last week, one of their thousands of cardinal and gold-clad fans held up a sign in Kansas City's Kemper Arena that read, "Welcome to Hilton South." Members of all three teams that the Cyclones defeated -- Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma -- conceded that ISU fans owned the arena, transforming it into a raucous atmosphere similar to their own Hilton Coliseum, and that played no small part in their team's success. "Every time we made a run, I felt like we were in Hilton," said OU coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team could never wrest the lead away from the Cyclones in the 70-58 final Sunday. "Their fans wouldn't let their kids fall down. That's a big deal on the third day." As if Larry Eustachy and his players weren't feeling good already that afternoon, they received yet another boost when they found out their first destination for the NCAA tournament: Minneapolis. For those unfamiliar with midwestern geography, Minneapolis is almost exactly the same three-and-a-half-hour-drive from Ames in the opposite direction of Kansas City. In other words, get ready for Minneapolis to become Hilton North. "I think it's great for our fans," said Eustachy, who capped off a coach's dream weekend with the announcement of a 10-year, $9 million contract extension. "It's right up the road, so scalpers be ready. Tickets are going to be hard to come by." Consider also the location of the first two rounds, where the Cyclones are a No. 2 seed. Remember how loud the Metrodome got during the Twins' trip to the World Series in 1987 and '91? Ever tried to make audibles from the line of scrimmage during a Vikings playoff game? When fans get inspired at the "Homerdome," there might not be a louder sports venue on earth. All which spells bad news for Iowa State's first-round opponent, Central Connecticut State of the Northeast Conference. Should No. 10 Creighton upset No. 7 Auburn -- a distinct possibility -- fans up from Omaha might put chinks into the Cyclones' wall of sound, but don't bet on it. It will be interesting to see how Eustachy's players handle later rounds, should they reach the Sweet 16 in Detroit. The opposition, likely Maryland, and if they beat the Terps, Michigan State, will be much tougher. And for the first time in six playoff games, the Cyclones won't be feeling that home-court atmosphere. But it's hard to keep doubting a team that has won 26 of 28 games. Slumming at No. 8Kansas coach Roy Williams is more used to awaiting the winner of the 8-9 game as a No. 1 seed, but now the shoe is on the other foot. His Jayhawks are No. 8, and should they get past DePaul, they'd have to face Duke in the Blue Devils' backyard, Winston-Salem, N.C. Roy isn't a bit happy about it. The way he sees it, his team's tough non-conference schedule, which included wins over tourney teams Ohio State, Pepperdine, Princeton and Saint Louis, plus a sweep of Georgia, Xavier and Georgia Tech in the Great Alaska Shootout, should have placed it higher. Kansas also lost to contenders Michigan State and Illinois. "For us, seven of our nine losses were to teams that are seeded five or higher," Williams argued. "We had six of our non-conference opponents make the tournament. I really thought [Kansas would be higher] and it was my mistake, because I paid attention to something I never pay attention to [the RPI]. If you really think about it, we were 17th in the entire nation [entering the postseason]. The only thing that has happened since then is that we won a game and lost a game to the Big 12's third seed [Oklahoma State]. I really thought we'd be a six, possibly a seven." Kansas traditionally plays one of the toughest schedules in the Big 12, but after the sting Williams feels, that may change. "Right now, I am confused," he said. "I will have to rethink that." From the mixed-message departmentWhile an ambitious slate may conspire to send the Jayhawks home early, it's the main reason why Missouri sneaked in as the Big 12's sixth tourney entry. The Tigers couldn't beat fellow participants Wisconsin, Indiana, Saint Louis, Kentucky or Winthrop, but they did beat the Illini. That, plus 10 regular-season conference wins -- though just one was against a team above .500 in the league -- landed Quin Snyder a No. 9 seed in his first try as a head coach. A Big 12 tournament pasting of Texas Tech, followed by a memorable overtime loss to Oklahoma in the second round, sealed Mizzou's deal. Strangely, it was KU's athletic director, Bob Frederick, who directed Snyder on how to construct his schedule. "I went to my first Big 12 meeting last year and Bob Frederick had a talk with the coaches on what you needed to do to get in and I think we did those things," Snyder said. "We played the right people. Everybody we lost to this year is in the tournament and the fact that we lost to some teams that were No. 3 seeds was not held against us. We played those teams tough and battled." Expect endless stories this week about Snyder, the former Duke player and assistant, facing No. 8 North Carolina in the first round. A possible classicMonkeys throwing darts have been known to guess NCAA tourney brackets better than humans who supposedly know what they're doing, but odds are good that the event's best game could take place at the West Regional in Albuquerque. Who wouldn't love to see No. 3 Oklahoma take on dangerous, but self-destructive No. 2 St. John's? As the Sooners showed last year and again in Kansas City, the postseason does not phase them. Eduardo Najera carried them to the Sweet 16 in '99, and now his young teammates, Hollis Price, J.R. Raymond and Nolan Johnson, are coming on for a team that likes it rough. Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski observed that Oklahoma games have more violence than a Quentin Tarantino movie. Don't be surprised if the winner of this one advances to the Final Four. They'll take itRarely has a trip to Buffalo seemed so welcome. After his team lost at home to Oklahoma to close the regular season and bowing out to Iowa State in the semifinals, Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton expected to be a No. 4 or No. 5 seed. Instead, the selection committee rewarded his Cowboys with a No. 3 in the East, which equals a weekend Marine Midland Arena against Hofstra, then Indiana or Pepperdine. "I think the committee recognized that the Big 12 is a very good league and rewarded us with some high seeds," said Oklahoma State point guard Doug Gottlieb. "Now, it's time for us to go to Buffalo and take care of business. We have seven seniors who have won played NCAA tournament games, and we're ready to get over the hump and get past the second round." Unfinished workAfter a first-round loss to Purdue last year, Texas players might be feeling some extra pressure to go far this time around. Their 5-12 game against Indiana State will be no cakewalk, though -- the Sycamores beat Indiana this year -- and a probable second-round date with LSU won't be much fun, either. "It's do or die now," said center Chris Mihm. "If we're not ready to come and play, our season is over. If that's not motivation enough, I don't know what is." One silver lining: another early exit may persuade Mihm to resist the NBA lottery and return for his senior year. Nice timingThe good news for Colorado was that it landed the Big 12's seventh postseason bid and a home game in the National Invitation Tournament. The bad news is that the game is scheduled on Thursday, the first day of the NCAAs. Don't expect the Buffaloes' finicky fans to break through the doors of the Coors Events Center to watch Colorado host Southern Illinois.
Adam Thompson covers the Big 12 for the Denver Post.
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