By Wendell Barnhouse
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
Iowa State is making a school-record fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament thanks in large part to the coaching of Fred Hoiberg. The third-seeded Cyclones will take on No. 14 seed UAB in a second-round game of the South Regional in Louisville, Ky., Thursday.
The Blazers are coached by former Kansas player Jerrod Haase. Two decades ago, Haase and Hoiberg were playing against each other. Hoiberg, a senior, scored 32 – including 17 in a row – in the Cyclones’69-65 victory over the Jayhawks in a Big Eight Conference game in Hilton Coliseum.
That game will have no impact on the NCAA Tournament matchup other than an interesting back story and history lesson.
“The difference will be that Jerrod and I won’t be out there running around,” Hoiberg said Monday. “If we were it would be a pretty ugly game. … We guarded each other quite a bit. When Greg Gurley got switched off on me my eyes really lit up. I used to love when Greg guarded me … no offense to Greg.”
Gurley is currently an analyst on Kansas’ radio broadcasts and will no doubt be anxious to get in a return dig on The Mayor.
“I had a great deal of respect for Jerrod,” Hoiberg said. “He was talented, was one of the hardest working guys and he was tough to guard. You can tell his team has his personality because of how hard they play. I’ve been really impressed with that team. It’s a tough draw for us.”
The Blazers were one game over .500 before winning three games in the Conference USA tournament and gaining that league’s automatic bid.
“I had a great deal of respect for Jerrod,” Hoiberg said of playing days of seasons past. “He was talented, was one of the hardest working guys and he was tough to guard. You can tell his team has his personality because of how hard they play. I’ve been really impressed with that team. It’s a tough draw for us.”
Time To Win
During the Big 12 teleconference Monday, several coaches were asked about the league’s No. 1 RPI, getting seven teams in the bracket and how the NCAA Tournament can validate the Big 12’s strength.
“You do feel pride in the conference,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “The seeds show the respect for the conference. We beat up on each other but we made each other better and that needs to translate to winning some games in the tournament. “
The Big 12 has a No. 2 seed in Kansas and three No. 3 seeds in Iowa State, Oklahoma and Baylor.
“You always want your league to do well, you’ve battled against each other for two months and 18 games and now you’re pulling for each other unless you play in the Tournament,” Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. “I don’t think it’s truly fair to judge just on the NCAA Tournament. I don’t care what happens from this point, we have the best league in America.
“It’s why it’s a great time of the year because it’s the unknown. The NCAA Tournament is so much about matchups and it takes a little bit of luck at some point.”
“I don’t know why we need to do that, to be honest with you,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins when asked about if the Big 12 needs to validate itself in March. “What tends to get lost at this time of the year is that we’ve already played 30 games. I don’t think we’ve got a whole lot to prove. Upsets don’t get as much attention during the regular season as they do in March.”
Blocking Out The Noise
Kansas heads to Omaha, Neb., for its second-round game with No. 15 seed New Mexico State. If the Jayhawks win and Wichita State beats Indiana, KU will face a team from the Sunflower State that it last played in 1993.
The Shockers were a No. 1 seed last season and has that program has risen there’s been a clamor for Kansas to schedule Wichita State. The bracket would deliver that game … if both teams win on Friday.
Kansas coach Bill Self was asked about how the noise about a game with the Shockers could be a distraction for his players.
“At this time of year, you have to eliminate distractions, put blinders on,” he said. “If you’re really focused and want to do well, you have to understand you need to eliminate distractions. You don’t look left, you don’t look right, listen to what the (coaching) staff is telling you.
“Nobody knows they’re infringing on (players’) focus – family members don’t know, friends don’t know about what they say or do could be distracting. If you have so many things coming at you, it’s a formula for disaster.”
Facing Top Players
Three of the seven opponents facing Big 12 teams feature players of the year from their conferences.
Baylor will play Georgia State, which is led by Sun Belt Conference player of the year R.J. Hunter, a junior guard who is the son of coach Ron Hunter.
Oklahoma State takes on Oregon. The Ducks’ top player is Joseph Young, a senior guard who was named the Pac-12 Conference player of the year.
Buffalo, which will play West Virginia, is led by Justin Moss, the Mid-American Conference player of the year.
Know Your Foe
When Scott Drew coached at Valparaiso, Ron Hunter was the coach at IUPUI and both schools were in the same conference. Hunter is now the coach at Georgia State, Baylor’s opponent in the West Regional Thursday.
“We had a lot of great games and he’s a tremendous coach,” Drew said. “He was pretty active on the sidelines back in the day. There were times when the ball was in the corner in he’d jump into to trap and it would be six on five.
“He might be a little slowed down now.”
During the celebration of his team clinching the Sun Belt Conference tournament title and NCAA bid, Hunter suffered a torn Achilles tendon. His mobility on the bench could be limited.
“He’s a gamer and he’ll tough it out,” Drew said.
One of the players on Georgia State’s roster is Kevin Ware, who suffered a gruesome broken leg during the 2013 Final Four while playing for Louisville.
“He looked really good in the championship game and looks like he’s fully recovered,” Drew said. “You have to tip your hat to for battling back from that injury. We won’t cheer for him for these 40 minutes but you have to cheer for him for overcoming that injury.”
Quotes To Note
Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg on his team rallying to win its last five games after trailing by double digits:
“I’ve really liked the resolve of our group. We played three great teams in Kansas City and found a way to win. It is a little bit concerning. We’ll talk a lot about it in the next few days. If we want to do anything at all in the NCAA Tournament we need to get off to better starts and play a 40-minute game.”
Texas coach Rick Barnes on No. 6 seed Butler, which led the Big East Conference in rebounding:
“They finish plays on both ends and especially in rebounding. That has to be a point of emphasis with the coaching staff. When it gets down to rebounding, you watch Butler play and one word is toughness.”
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins on the possibility that Buffalo, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, might have some jitters:
“We’ve got one guy on our roster who has been in the NCAA Tournament so we’re not gonna feel sorry for ‘em. (But) our young guys play without any fear anyway. They’re probably as mentally ready to play as any freshmen I’ve had.
Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford on junior guard Phil Forte, who is averaging just 7.8 points over the last five games:
“He knows how important he is but the other guys have to do their roles better when it becomes crunch time. One of Phil’s main roles is to score points but we’ve got other guys who can step up.”