WRNL Interrogates: Rock Chalk Talk

Today, we asked misterbrain of Rock Chalk Talk all the important questions and more about tonight's Big 12 Tournament championship game.

If you have any questions of your own for misterbrain, be sure to leave them in the comments. We all know how much KU fans love Iowa State fans, so I'm sure he'll stop by at some point for you guys to berate interact with him.

Also, be sure to check out the questions I answered for RCT over on their site.

WRNL: Both of KU's wins in the tourney have come against teams that prefer to slow the game down. Do you think the Jayhawks will be a little shell-shocked to turn around and play a transition game with ISU, or is that the style they prefer to play anyway?

misterbrain: I actually don't think that will be much of a problem at all, they'll likely start slow anyway. This Kansas team has been extremely frustrating to watch this year because no matter who the opponent is, Kansas just can't seem to get out to a fast start and then put a game away. In some ways, that has been beneficial, since this team knows that they can grind a game away when they need to, and another team catching up or getting out to an early lead isn't a huge deal.

But in terms of the type of game they like to play, I think this team likes to run just a bit. With Landen Lucas and Hunter Mickelson emerging a bit, Bill Self has been able to employ his high-low offense a bit better, and Kansas for years has been able to adapt that style to either a slow or fast paced game, so I'm not overly concerned with the pace of the game.

WRNL: Perry Ellis scored 19 and 17 points in the matchups between these two teams earlier in the year. It sounded like yesterday he may have bumped the quad above the knee he injured against West Virginia. How important is it for Ellis to be healthy and play well tonight for Kansas to win?

misterbrain: Ellis is going to be a huge part of this game, mainly because of the Iowa State bump. It is literally impossible for Perry to play poorly against Iowa State, so the only thing that will do it would be re-aggravating that injury. I really think that taking him out of yesterday's game was purely a precautionary measure, and I would expect him to be fine for the game today.

But his play is going to be huge. His mid-range game is something that we really have been missing. It helps to stretch the defense in both directions, and opens up holes on the perimeter and down low for some easy scores. If he's ineffective today, it could be a long one for the Jayhawk faithful.

WRNL: What's your fanbase's general opinion on the Cliff Alexander situation?

misterbrain: It's unfortunate, but we aren't really all that surprised when the NCAA is involved. Honestly though, Alexander had been struggling recently, and Lucas and Mickelson have really picked up a lot of the slack. Has the ceiling this team could reach decreased? Yes, most definitely. But were we likely to hit that ceiling anyway? Most likely not. Overall, we wish we had him going into the NCAA tournament, but it doesn't really change the expectations too much for this team.

WRNL: Which Iowa State player concerns you most heading into tonight's matchup? Why?

misterbrain: Before last night and the way the team was able to overcome Rico Gathers, I probably would have said Jameel McKay, but instead I'm going to be boring and say Monte Morris. He's been extremely efficient and consistent, and since I'm pretty sure Georges Niang is going to get his, if Morris has a great game too, then we could be in big trouble.

WRNL: Word on the street is you guys think we boo too much. Is that true? It's really not that big of a deal after all... Refs aren't human, and they're all clearly out to get Iowa State. So uh, yeah, can't we just boo in peace without anyone judging one of our favorite ISU pastimes?

misterbrain: They aren't human? So then they are all Terminator-like cyborgs sent back in time to extinguish Iowa State's championship hopes? That explains a lot, like why your fanbase hasn't outright rebelled.

But seriously, other than K-State, there isn't a fanbase I've heard that is more prone to booing at good calls that just happen to go against them. I understand that when the Jayhawks come to town, emotions are high, but when your player absolutely clobbers an opponent down low and gets a foul called on him for it, there is no reason to boo the officials.

Now do I really care that much? Not really. But it sure is fun to rib you guys for it, since it seems to get under your skin so much. But I'll tell you what, if it means that much to you, I'll forgive you and all other Hawkeyes for booing when you guys are closing in on another loss today, sound good?

WRNL: Prediction?

misterbrain: I think that Kansas is going to come out with fire in this game, but as usual they will find a way to let Iowa State back into it. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the game play out in a way that is similar to the ISU-OU game last night, but ultimately I think Ellis does enough to counter a great game by Niang, and the Jayhawks walk away with both sets of hardware from the league this year. Kansas 78, Iowa State 72.

WRNL: BONUS - More excited for Avengers 2, or Star Wars VII?

misterbrain: I actually am not too excited for either. I never watched the first Avengers, and while I like Star Wars, I'm not really that pumped for it right now. But if I have to pick one, I like superheroes more than the Force, no matter how much the guys on our board think I'm crazy for it.

There you have it, misterbrain taking no prisoners in today's edition of "WRNL Interrogates." Big thanks to him for answering our questions. Lose big good luck tonight!