5 Thoughts: Kansas-ISU

This isn’t really within my jurisdiction I suppose but I was so incensed after last night’s Kansas-Iowa State game (and the fact that the outcome directly affected how OSU finishes in Big 12 play) that I had to write about it real quick..

1. I like Kansas hoops, really, I do. I have fond memories of those Paul Pierce-Jacque Vaughn teams and I was pumped when they won it all in ’08 (even though they should have lost to Davidson). But man, this team is really unlikable. McLemore is a monster and I respect the crap out of him — he can river dance to his heart’s content.

But everybody else on that team acts like they’re the ’96 Bulls when the reality is they’re barely going to win a not very good Big 12 this year. Elijah Johnson is (obviously) the worst — he shoots 27% from 3-point range in conference play then hits a few last night and acts like he’s Peja Stojackovic — but they’ve got a team full of them[1. Nolo sent me a great text last night that said: “The fact that Travis Releford said he’s not going to do a back flip on GIA after they beat us then they ran around thumping their chests like maniacs after the game only tells me that Travis Releford, in fact, cannot physically do a back flip.”]. Their second round exit in the Dance will be smiled upon in the Pistols home.

2. Why does Jeff Withey get protected like he’s a mid-90s combination of Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson? In fact, I’m going to start calling him Hakeem Withey just for fun. Hakeem Withey played his 94th collegiate game last night and fouled out for the third time — or the same number of games Cobbins has fouled out in in the last three months.

The phantom call on Kevin Young while Hakeem Withey wrapped up one of ISU’s guards for what should have been his fifth foul was incredible. We can go to the monitor to see if the clock ran .0000000000002 seconds too long but we can’t go to the monitor to see that Kevin Young literally did not touch the man with the ball. I audibly gasped when Hakeem Withey fouled out last night. I thought for sure Wayne Simien was going to get the foul.

3. The two calls (or non-calls) in the video at the top are pretty emblematic of of Big 12 officiating this season. The non-charge call I guess I can live with (even though it’s really, REALLY bad) but to not call the charge and then call the on-the-floor foul on Iowa State? I mean, what? How? Why? So many questions…officiating scandal? Withey’s relatives in stripes? There is just no explanation for how this happened.

4. My favorite sub-plot from last night was that I was texting with somebody I know who had a good amount of cash on Iowa State +2. He was losing his mind. And I don’t really blame him.

5. As for how it affects the Cowboys. I don’t think the general outcome of the Big 12 changes that much for OSU because I think they were going to lose in Ames next week regardless. But at least you go there with a chance of tying KU…now you have to pray Pierre Jackson pulls an Elijah Johnson and blacks out for 40 minutes in Waco next Saturday. Bah.

6. Bonus: read this from Matt Norlander on the game. It’s good.

7. If these guys can somehow harness this Twitter account, it has so much potential.

Kansas winning in OT? This is so surprising.

— Big 12 Refs (@Big12Refs) February 26, 2013