slu72

Hate to say it, Mizzery's good. That said, teams with some talented height will give them problems if they can get back on transition.

I'd take a split right now and go nowhere near the road this week. X will be tough at home. But the Bills have the right game to take on the road. As someone, Jbizzle?, pointed out in another thread we are lousy hitting 3's on the road. Understandable with different sight lines and backgrounds, but still ours has been pathetic. We'd be undfeated if we'd shot 'em like we did in Anaheim. So, let's hit the 3s, get BC back to knocking down his bunnies, and start hitting some friggin' FT's.

He may not get the Sainthood treatment he was expecting, but let's be a little considerate of his family. And yes that includes the Penn State branch as well. It's just too bad he had to go under such a dark veil.

We excel in 3 out of the 5-6 categories to being a really good team; D , a good bench, and few TOs. To get to the next level we have to shoot better from 3 land and cannot miss the gimmes on the inside. I think BC's interior game when it's on is a difference maker for us.Lately he's been struggling, probably because people are on to him. Our rebounding has been so-so but seems to be improving. RL and CR looked much stronger yesterday and hopefully that development speeds up. FT's is a huge weakness right now. Think about this scenario, it's a tight game w/ X we go up by 5 w/ a minute left. You want to get rid of an X you have to make those FT's. You make both, 3 possession game. You make 1 a two possession game. Big big difference there. If this happens we'll all be closing our eyes whoever's on the line waiting for Rammer to say either, "Bang, he got it," or "FT's continue to hurt the Billikens."

I've always thought the strength of KC was driving to the hoop. He seems to have a knack for seeing the opening and taking it home. Problem is he just doesn't do it enough. With the way we ball screen and pick, they're there for the taking. And he's got BC and RL to dish it off to if he gets in traffic. He's way too sporadic in his game. And sometimes you have to wonder if the D's giving him these opportunities but knows he's likely not gonna take 'em.

3-2 in the conference, 15-4 overall. So far a nice resume. Great? Dance material resume? Not even close. This week, however, may tell us if we stand a decent chance of dancing come March. Obviously X is the biggie. A W in Cincinnati would be huge. X, coming off that beat down in Dayton, is gonna be fired up. The way to beat 'em is on the D side. Frustrate them on every possession. Make them work overtime to get their buckets. We're not gonna hold them in the 50s, but if we make every possession a dog fight, we could leave Cincy with a win. On the offensive side, BC has to be knocking down them chippies again. He seems to have lost that little spin move that was so effective for him in Nov. Find it, BC, find it. And FT's. Mizzou won yesterday because they made 10-12 FT's down the stretch. If we don't start making our FTs we're gonna struggle from here on out. See the Charlotte and Temple games for proof. The more important these games become, the value of making FT's goes up like the price of gold in a currency crisis. UMass. Just have to find a way to win this. I don't know squat about UMass, except they weren't supposed to be much this year, but it's not the case. Same factors apply here as in the X game. If we do find a way to beat X, I just hope they don't get cocky or lazy and play an LMU type tired game. That friggin' game still haunts us. Let's not have a repeat in Amherst. The really good thing about this season is we've been in every game right up until the end. No team has dominated us, but we need to pull out a close one and prove they can finish. Can't think of a better place than Cintas to finish the job.

You probably like "Feelings" to.

Please don't have him sing Mandy. If the students are back, most will probably be wondering, "who's this guy?"

Good riddance. As I recall this kid used to kill us with some unreal 3 point rainbows.

I'd agree, Taj Mahal, that if X beats UD at the Flyer's hangar, X is back to playing top ten form and probably going to go 15-1 or 14-2 (lose to us at the Fetz). That Temple game was a nasty L. You just can't afford to lose at home, because there are so many pitfalls on the road. Still, if the Bills can get back to the way they were playing in Nov that kind of game travels well. It really hinges on how well they're playing D and rebounding. We saw that in Charlotte when they finally woke up and started causing TOs all over the place. We've been competitive in every game, so we know they can hang on the road. Avoid the implosions we had against UD in OT, make a few more 3s ( up to KM, CE, and MM at this point), and make those damnable FTs, we could go 4-2 on the road to finish at 12-4.

Thanks for that sobering tid bit, Box. I just don't see RM and Staff, but more importantly BC & KM allowing us to go 0-5 in those games. BC's last shot at a tourney bid is not gonna be blown against the likes of UMass, LaSalle, that stupid flapping pigeon, the Dukes of Earl. I'd agree w/ 1 loss in Philly and 1 in X, that's it. At least it better be or there's not gonna be enough Jack D to wash away that pain.

I think that ship's pretty much sailed.

Shocked to hear this. RIP Gruehls. When I moved to Charleston and couldn't find cans of Skyline in the stores here, Gruehls sent me a box of emergency rations. I in turn sent him some kind of low country hot sauce he liked. The older guys on here will recall we had many fun exchanges w/ Greg. As someone mentioned above, if all opponent posters were as classy and funny as Gruehls they'd be welcome to post here anytime. You just couldn't pass up a post by the infamous Gruehls. Sympathy wishes to his family. The quote on the Billiken T is :" You eat 3 or more meals of Gruehls a day."

Agreed. We're not going to wave the PD in front of opponents and expect them to be intimidated by our great press coverage.

Taj Mahal 79, you ignorant ######. You're doomsday scenario is due to the fact you're a friggin' Iggles fan. Iggles fans are conditioned to accept the bad and the ugly. Never the good. The Dream Team produces a nightmare. Meanwhile, the Gmen are pulling out old videos of 2007. Find someone who smokes and take the cellophane wrapper of their pack of cigs. Stand it up on the bar and look at it. That is the Iggles trophy case. Now, if your local tavern offers free peanuts, take 4 peanuts and place three of them under the wrapper. Voila, the Gmen's trophy case. Now with the 4th peanut slide it behind the wrapper and imagine what it's gonna look like after SB 46. So, point being if my Gmen can pull of the impossible then so can the Bills.

Senior moment, GoSLU68, or did you just get home from an Italian Cruise?

I truly don't understand all the intricacies of the RPI, KenPom, Sagarin, et al ranking systems. I know the factors they take into consideration; SOS, Road game, etc. I just don't know or guess care how they weight them. But when I look at the Billiken losses I see a team that has been very competitive in every game. For example, JJ hits that shot w/ 2 sec left at UNM, OT? Dayton OT game. Granted Bills crumbled like a stale cracker in OT. But the point being they were in it right to the end at 2 very tough road venues. Temple game could have turned on a couple of made FT's. ULM- just plain ugly in a game that probably should not have been scheduled. It's hard for a team to be on the road for 9 straight days. Ask Duke if they'd schedule a roadie against a top 10 team again after flying in from Hawaii. Guess my point is there are a lot of factors these ranking systems don't take into consideration. And I truly believe when the committee looks at who's in who's out they're gonna be placing more weight on how a teams looking in its final10 games and how they play in the conf tourney than their early season body of work. Not saying RPI and the other rankings won't come into play, but if the Bills can finish on a 10-0 or 9-1 run then get to the A-10 final w/ a win over either X or Temple, we should have a lock on being invited. That's a tall task and much easier to say than do. But if we are truly a dance team, we'll have to get 'er done.

Especially on MLK day. Shame on you, Bonwich. You think these 3 arranged it just so?

Well, I'd agree w/ RL's soft play. He's got to turn the corner sooner rather than later. This kid would be a huge asset for us if he figures out this ain't under 19 international ball. As for DE, there's a couple of others that didn't play well vs Temple but he didn't sit them. This is RM's way of lighting a fire under DE's Butt.

Obviously, RM saw a lot of matchups he didn't like yesterday. It's why DE and RL were sat down. In RL's case I don't think RM thought he was athletic enough to hang with the niners inside guys. So CR got more of his minutes. Can't figure out why DE saw so little time, but am hoping it wasn't some sort of injury. The guy who may be locking down more in the future is MM. RM must have read the riot act to KC about shooting more as KC, for him anyways, was an offensive whirlygig. Still, if you want more offense, MM's the guy. Also, KC looked horrible against their press when his pocket got picked 3 straight times. I'd also expect CE to cut into more of RL's minutes. If our 7 footer's not going to rebound, not going to take it hard to the hoop, and not get many looks at 3's, then we're not losing much by going to a guy who's 6'8" and causes matchup problems. I thought CE played his best game yesterday. The 4 assists were big. CE is a court savvy guy and now that he's learned to play D, I can see him getting 25-30 a game. Also, as we get to see more athletic bigs you'd expect RM to give more minutes to CR. So, c'mon, CR, this is your opportunity. KM, JJ, BC's minutes all stay at the same. DE's may get cut into by CE.

Let's look at the roadies. They're gonna be the key to how this season plays out. X- The gangstas are finding their mo jo. Not impossible but it's gonna be tough to win at the Cintas. Our inside guys are gonna have to play tough hard nosed Big 10 style to beat the Muskies on their home court. Probable L. UMass- 3 days later we travel to Amherst. Does RM take them right from X or do they come home then fly to Boston then a 2 hr bus ride to Amherst. This is where being in the A-10 puts a burden on SLU. Don't know much about UMass other than they press a lot. We should be picked for a W, but look at Richmond v Temple yesterday. Probable W St. Joe's and LaSalle- This will be an extended stay in Philly (games on the 8th and 11th). Both tough home teams. A split 1-1. A sweep would be sweet but really how likely? RI- The worst team in the A-10 should be about ready to crumble by the time we arrive. Stone cold W. Duquense- An up and down team. Still should be a probable W. But may depend on how we're doing at this point. If we're on a roll then a W. If we're looking to be a 4 or 5 seed in the A-10, who knows who'll show up. Probable W. So that's 4-2 on the road. Hold court at home, won't be easy w/ X and UD coming to town, and we end up 24-6 going to AC. A couple of W's there, and one of them will likely have to come against UD, X, or Temple, we should be renting our Tux. But also keep in mind we are fully capable of winning the A-10 tourney and all of the above won't amount to a hill of beans.

Free Throws are anything but free for the Bills. In fact, they're damned expensive. FT misses hurt us big time in the Temple game, and almost cost us a W yesterday. Heck, if we're ahead by 5 or 6 going into the last 3 minutes of a game, a smart coach would start fouling us. Making FT's is going to become more and more critical down the stretch and in the A-10 tourney. Got to start making them end of the game FT's, boys.

Agree. The lap top was about ready to fly out the window when they came w/in 1. Was surprised to see them get so funky handling the rock. KC contributed w/ some bad picks and others just got flustered. As an aside the best play today was CE setting up BC for a lay in with a very sweet looking Fernandez type pass. I feel CE is gonna come on very strong for us in the next 12 games.

Agree totally. Give them two days rest or take one day and let them do nothing but shoot free throws. I like the lineup of MM, KM, JJ, CE, and BC. Especially against teams who are guard oriented, ie Temple. Maybe even DE for MM or JJ. Great game by CE. He's got to start having a lot more like this one. Yes, KC remembered he's allowed to shoot, but then he forgot how to keep a handle on the ball. Cripes, that's the main reason he's in there. A nail biter at the end but great to see them looking like November for about 15 minutes in the second half. 1-3 would have been a real downer. More important they know they can win on the road against a decent team. Boy, the Charlotte fans were quiet even at the end.

CE is playing an excellent game. Those passes to BC were Fernandez like.