Taj79

According to Wikipedia, "In the men's tournament, all sites are nominally neutral: teams are prohibited from playing tournament games on their home courts prior to the Final Four (though in some cases, a team may be fortunate enough to play in or near its home state or city). Under current NCAA rules, any court on which a team hosts more than three regular-season games (in other words, not including conference tournament games) is considered a "home court".[6]" Now, we don't play at the Jones Dome so I guess we could but I doubt that we would get so lucky. They'll put Mizzou there long before us. I don't know who this Kunderman is or if and how he's connected but other than pure speculation what advance knowledge does he have?

@pistol --- Umass does present match-up issues for just about anyone. But in the Dayton game, Chaz Williams got two fouls in the first half and the die was cast. There is no one on that team who can be considered any sort of guard after Williams. Riley is a streak shooting defensive whiz who looks like a three. Putney is a 6'10" catch-and-shoot two guard. Vinson is a classic underachiever. Morgan is a small forward in a two guard role. Esho and Carter are interior goons. Yes, they handled us at Amherst, but they don't play all that well away from there. I think we turn the tables on them big time. Nicholson is the guy everybody is talking about not wating to see in the post season. At home, we did to him what Dayton did to Williams above. I just don't think Nicholson has much of a supporting cast to carry him. But it is the Bonnies, who we seem to creak and crank against like we do Rhode, Umass and Richmond -- eastern teams we don't seem to get up for. Any of the seen teams could likely be candidates for running the AC table. Umass' negatives are playing away from home, streakiness and short bench with oner guard on the roster.

Speaking of which ---- I cannot ever recall a team as listless as Xavier is on the bench. This game. Previous games. No fire. No ooomphh. In last night's shots, Frease looked lost. Walker seemed to be completely disinterested. Robinson and Martin and Taylor all lost. Lyons had emotion but just anger against everyone except himself. Wells emotion left before the dunk stopped clanging. Walker six points all in the first half. Wells 12 of 13 in first half. Domination.

Goad away. Please note I quit harping on CR when I said I would.

Nice ceremony and nice highlights. Wish I were there. Two great kids, who, despite limitations, overcame, perservered and started something good. Nice to see folks stuck around and paid them their due.

The only possible issue is the turn-around time from the evening games to the afternoon game on Saturday. If we are the two seed, our Game 7 ends at 8:30 or 9:00. We then have to turn around and play an unknown opponent in the 10 Game a scant 18 hours later. Of course, that winner has even less time to prepare and get ready as well as getting their own legs back. Then if you advance to the title game, that tips Sunday at 1. In this regard, at least the #1 seed has the advantage, if there is one, of consistency. Having a bench will be key. Umass, Dayton, the Bonnies, St. Joes, Richmond and Xavier don't go deep. Nobody does like us and Temple. I like that war of attrition.

@moy ---- your numbers as stated line up with what I have except the Charlotte game where one miss was a tip and I did not count that. What I also have in my totals adding the URI game( 0/3)and last night's X game(1/3)is 0/0 at SIU; 0/1 with BC; 2/3 Nova; 1/2 Oklahoma; 1/1 Vermont; 0/0 Illinois Spfld; 1/2 Texas-So; and 0/0 first Dayton game. So taking out the one and dropping it to 9/24, adding in 6/12, I get 15 of 36 = 41.7% Is 42% a good mid-range shooting percentage? Absolutely! But is taking 1.8 shots per game make it relevant? I'll say no and we can agree to disagree. In the long run, I'd like to see JJ develop into our basket attacker. He needs to do thi sunder control and be able to recognize that when he is in the trees and in trouble, there are bombers on the external perimeter ready to bail him out. If there is no tree help, you take it strong to the hole. He still sneed to work on hi sFTs however. The form looked good last night but he still only went 50%. If he is in the game late, as I expect himn to be, he's needs to be money at the line. Shooting 59% won't cut it. I am done with this subject. A total team heading into March. A few holes, but a damn fine squad.

@wiz --- CAPS are the picks.

larry72 --- I agree, I thought we were in already before last night but last night seals the deal. I think what Lunardi is saying is us and Temple that is it unless a sleeper crawls up from under the boards --- which can happen. I think the top seven in the A10 can go into AC thinking they have a shot. I'm throwing Dayton in there because, well, they're delusional as others have noted but I would expect them to run out of healthy bodies playing three games in three nights with eight scholarship players plus a home game to boot to get there. Dillard goes down and they are done. Umass is also woefully weak and streaky. They too only play seven or eight and Chaz Williams is it for them. He's out of the game and they suck air. Xavier is an enigma, and will fold if punched in the face. But a birthright is a hard thing to take away. If Lyons is indeed done, I can see him and Tutu saying fuok it and doing what they want ala the Flyers with Brian Gregory in their recent NIT year. St. Joe's is too weak talent-wise and only play six but they could benefit from de facto home games 55 miles down the ACE. Nicholson is hot right now but this is still the Bonnies. Can't see it. But this is why they call it Madness and the games have to be played. I see "TRAP" written all over the Duquesne game unless Umass does the unthinkable and wins tonight. Temple closes at Fordham next Saturday.

Lots of things will change. Trust me, this is the home stretch to the A10 tournament as it happens every year. Only the top two are a lock now. Well, the bottom two are also but who cares about that. Fordham or Rhode could win out and still lose the head-to-head to GeeDub right now. No matter how you cut it, it will be a war at the shore. I think any of the top seven right now probably thinks they can win it all if they catch the right breaks.

I stand corrected. We also actually swept them in 90-91 but then lost in the finals of the MCC to them in Dayton, which was our last year in the MCC, we moved to the Great Midwest the following year. The year noted above by 09 was our fiurst year in the A10 whereby we then went to Cincinnati and got slammed by St. Joe's in the game foillowing our top four bye path into the tourney 56 to 37.

I want to say we have never beaten X twice in a season to my recollection.

Lunardi has updated his Bracketology and X drops into the First Four Out section along w/St. Joe's. Of note, Lunardi was asked about his dealings with St. Joe's before the Temple game and he said, as an alum, he has to be tougher on them to maintain his credibility. His next four out includes Dayton and he's dropped the A10 down to two slots. I think he tough on the A10 to boot: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/50398/joe-lunardis-latest-bracketology-update-11 Tonight in the A10, very little to worry about. Mostly jockeying for position. I expect TEMPLE to rebound from their loss at Hawk Hill and regain their stride against Umass. The Umass team that showed up in Dayton had better not be the one in Philly tonight. Umass is only 4 and 6 on the road but has lost three of its last four to fade from Top Tier competition in the A10. La Salle is at George Washington and I have to believe that even without seeing a spread, this one has to be even. I'm thinking GEEDUB wins one at home. Fordham is at RHODE ISLAND. That's all I have to say. Duquesne is at CHARLOTTE and Duquesne seems to be fading fast. The two games of note/consequence are Joe's at the Bonnies and Dayton at Richmond. It's senior night for Andrew Nicholson, probably the best player in the A10 nobody knows or cares about. The Bonnies win and they can lock up a top four finish and a bye to the Boards. That will put them at 10 and 5 and even a season ending loss to La Salle next week shouldn't change that. But much to be decided. I think the BONNIES win. Which leaves Dayton at Richmond. I could not believe what a run Richmond gave Xavier last Saturday and at home, I think RICHMOND should carry the day. If all this does indeed happen, and Umass, Dayton and St. Joe's lose, the top four would be Temple, us, Xavier and the Bonnies providing Xavier takes Charlotte down next Saturday. In a 10 and 6 tied record between X and the Bonnies, X gets the head-to-head tiebreaker. What does the Wiz say?

And ......................... the kiss of death comes through!!!!!!

CBS CS announcers said it was on Mack and then said it was on the Xavier bench. Mack was caught on camera yelling after the technical and he was using some choice words. I can't read lips but that word was easy. The ref that teed it up was the same one under the basket that called the foul for Evans.There also seemed to be a disturbance around our bench at the same time. Cameras didn't catch it but I saw some of our players pulling McCall back towards the bench and the announcers made mention of Lyons. I originally thought the technical was on him. I thought the game was getting out of hand, that X was starting to resort to thuggie tactics. Mitchell got hammered on his drive with no call. Then he got lit up by Robinson on the pick. X made a basket and Robinson body-slammed Ellis out of bounds jockeying for rebounding position. Conklin got nailed on just about every shot. Holloway's charge into Conklin was violent in that he threw his arms in a punching manner into Conklin as he made contact. Jett got nailed and was limping off the court. Lyons appeared to offer a karate kick into Ellis on the drive McCall got a foul and then came up jawing as usual. Seemed like X collectively said you might be beating us on the socreboard but we're not leaving until we get a pound of flesh too. I am very happy for the win, and happier that we survived intact.

All you have to do is compare what X did vis-a-vis what Cincinnati did. For X, you had two emotional, immature street thugs doing all the talking. For UC, you had Mick Cronin. I have yet to see Chris Mack talk about anything in the matter and that is wrong. Hindsight is 20/20. I would tend to believe that both share blame in the matter. But Mack gets more blame as the season spirals out of control. He can fix the team if its fixable. Apparently, he never had the control to do so. Lyons doesn't stand coachable to me. He's going to do what he knows --- be a punk.

Oh yeah, he did. Very rarely and I think that's the rub. Hey -- the job McCall did on defense last night on Tutu and Markie-Mark has been drastically overlooked.

He is basing his rivalries on geography ---- like Boise State against South Florida. I'm all for it --- as in like-minded schools with like-minded philosophies still. I don't need a conference full of directional/state schools offering degrees in phys ed and welding.

@brian ---- GREAT POINT!! And here I thought I'd be missing the patsy in Ohio. Nope, while one did head to the deep south, the other is just 45 miles south. I just want to say it again ---- Mack has lost complete control (if he ever had it in the first place). I don't care what he has coming in, outside of Wells, there isn't a playter on that team I'd want starting for me next year. If, as someone has hinted in another thread, Lyons up and bolts because of all the crap this year, he loses 4/5 of his starting lineup and there isn't a kid on that bench "moving uptown." How about a back court of Davis and Redford? A front line of Robinson, Taylor and Wells? Xavier fans better hope the press clippings of the incoming are true. Lyons stays, he becomes a cancer because that leopard can't change his spots.

Gordon's an Antler. Gordon is yearning for us with UMKC, UWM and Loyola. Increases the irrelevance in his mind. The bones of the article we all know about; the bunting he puts on those bones shows a small-mindness that I'd prefer we ignore.

I know I was banking on some halftime adjustments by RM. Came through, didn't they?

Not surprisingly, the key to any zone is making shots. Making shots busts a zone and force the defense to something else. I thought we were a little tight in the first half or maybe that basket is smaller. I'm going with smaller --- with further proof demonstarted by X in the second half. They missed a DUNK!!!! What changed last night is they had to come out further in the zone to cover our gunners, opening up the middle for Conklin. Conk stopped and popped a few 14-footers, making his arsenal all the more deadly. Once those seams are exposed and exploited, the other dominoes start to fall in place. You knew we were going to be better than 2-of-12 from three point land in the second half. We coulnd't be much worse. The issue to me is one has to support the other ---- drawing the bigs out to open it up for Conk and Conk knowing when to feed it out when the bigs collapse back in. As I said earlier inthe year, we have enough options on the perimeter that finding two per night who are "on" shoudl be no problem. And even justthe threat of that opens it up for Conklin unless things are so bad they dare you to keep shooting the three. I like changing defenses every now and then just to shake it up.

larry72 ----- us oldtimers have some very bad habits to break. I would admit to doing the same as you did but last night I did not. I had thegame on CBS CS and thought the first half rather odd. Xavier was getting production from Walker, Wells and Frease and having seen Xavier at least a dozen times this year, I knew that would not hold. Plus, for as bad as we played in that first half, we were not that far down. We make fun of my buddy, the Dayton season ticket holder many times over but especially when he uses his old cliches. But the one he uses a lot is "it's a game of runs." And I have come to understand and accept that and understand you have to weather a run when you're in the lead because the team that is down will make that run sooner or later. We did ours and I saw the air go out of the Xavier balloon. No more prayers from Wells. No more garbage from Walker. And Frease was on the bench with the expected foul trouble. For the second X game in a row, our guards --- McCall, Mitchell and Jett --- shut down their guards when it counted. Sure, Lyons go this points but he's a punk playing schoolyard ball. Two things stuck out -- when Ellis blocked Lyons after a foul call late on McCall and Tutu's out-of-control drive into Conklin where he threw his arms wildly into Conklin and got hit with the offensive foul. Ellis didn't back down from the A10's favorite punk and someone finally didn't give Tutu the call for his acadmey award performances. I thought Mack was also classless and demonstarted how out of control he is with that team as well on the technical call. At that point, you could see the thugs coming out and I didn';t want someone in white paying the price for their immaturity. But I never gave that one up last night and was rewarded for such faith. I'd like to see us romp in Pittsburgh and head out onto the Boards on a roll.

Let me double check my numbers moy when I get back to the desk tomorrow. Could very easily be my math.

The Taj Kiss of Death ................................. I'm taking X and the points. That should pretty much sink the Mouseketeers right there.