ODB Mailbag: Men’s & Women’s March Madness Basketball Edition: Answered

aintathangbutachickenwing: With our defense this season, how far do you think MBB could actually go?

Cody Orr: I’m working on a post to answer this as we speak!

BNT: I’ve been told that the practices have been brutal with a focus on D and defensive rebounding. With no clear cut “head and shoulder” team in this field, anything is possible...so, we could get bounced in the round of 32 or make the Final 4.

PioneerSkies: WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL FOUR PICKS? WHO WINS THE NATTY? HOW FAR DOES BAYLOR GET??

Cody Orr: Alabama, Purdue, Houston, and UCLA in the Final Four. Alabama wins a close one over Houston. I don’t think Baylor makes it out of the first weekend, but I sure hope they do!

BNT: Houston, Purdue, Kansas, and...with much reservation, but just as much belief, Baylor. Of course we have to work on D and defensive rebounds.

PioneerSkies: How do you think the Big 12 teams in the Big Dance will adjust to the, let’s say, different officiating in the tourney?

BNT: I see KU and BU (with reservations...could be bounced in Rd of 32) getting to the Final 4. KSU, UT, and TCU have Elite 8 potential, ISU and WVU Rd of 32, Officiating shouldn’t be an issue as all the refs do games across the country during the season.

TheCalvinator: Do you like our men’s draw as much as I do? Not particularly afraid of Arizona or Alabama.

Cody Orr: I’d be more afraid of Creighton! Baylor’s odds of beating Arizona, conditional on reaching the Sweet 16, are higher than Baylor’s odds of beating Creighton.

BNT: We definitely have a favorable bracket. It’s a region we can win if we play or normal O and step up some on D.

PioneerSkies: I’m seeing a fair amount of people pick Creighton to beat Baylor. I haven’t seen any Blue Jays games this year, but numbers-wise they seem well rounded. How do you think they match up against the Bears?

Cody Orr: Creighton has a top 20 defense according to Ken Pom. They crash the glass really well on defense and don’t commit many fouls. They do a good job chasing shooters off the 3 point line (ranked 9th in 3PA/FGA on defense), and they hold their opponents to an impressive 45.6% shooting on 2s.On offense, they are above average in 3s taken and 3pt% despite being in the top 30 of the country with a 54.5% 2pt%. They don’t turn the ball over very often, and a high percentage of their points come off of assists. Their 7-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner leads the country in true shooting percentage and is 6th in the country in offensive rating. Can Baylor win this game? Absolutely. But they’ll have to overcome two of their biggest weaknesses to do so.

BNT: Cody did a good job with the match up. I’ll add that it will be a tough game, but I think we’re a better team and are battle tested from conference play. Can they beat us? Yes. Should they beat us? No.

PioneerSkies: Which Drew-sciple has a better chance of shocking a blueblood: ORU (against Duke) or GCU (against Gonzaga)?

BNT: My head says Mills and ORU, but my heart says GCU and Drew. Having two Drew’s beat the Zags twice in the same season would be

PioneerSkies: Ol’ Miss has hired Chris Beard. Your thoughts???

Cody Orr: Ole Miss is showing their true colors with this hire, and they aren’t pretty.

BNT: Compromising morales to win is a terrible drug.

325Bear: Kenpom actually has Creighton ranked ahead of us. Kind of reminiscent of UNC last year who was way underseeded relative to the advanced metrics, and we all know how that worked out. Which Big 12 team would you say is the best comparison to this Creighton squad?

BNT: ISU...which could be a big uh oh for us if we face them.

PioneerSkies: I don’t think I’ve seen any pundits pick Baylor to make it past the sweet sixteen. Do you think that this disrespect will motivate the team??

BNT: I don’t think how the pundits pick them matters. What matters is their personal and team pride. These are what they’ll be playing for.

Leave other questions or comments below. Sic ‘em!

xoxo,

BNT