looking ahead

[BillikenTX]

The board sure is slower these last few days. The Billikens did win and still have a shot at 20 wins with key conference games aginst UD and UMASS remaining. Glad to see our regular posters after losses have little to post about. When was the last time a SLU team won 20 games? Presuming we land the 6-7 seed in the a10 tourney, who all do you want to see us play in round one?

[moytoy12]

"Glad to see our regular posters after losses have little to post about."

What do you want these posters to say after a close win against a 250+ rpi team at home?

For the record, i think those critical of UB, but not off the deep end critical, did post during and after the game.

I think we can all dismiss those negative posters that post for shock value alone.

[Canadian]

Maybe the fact that the game was on, oh, MARDI GRAS it might have something to do with the lack of posts?

Am I the only one that actually has a life outside of Billikens.com and doesn't come running to post the second after a win or loss?

Maybe so...

But I'd much rather have been out, getting tanked out of my gord (which, I'll be happy to report, I succeeded in, HIGH FIVE!) then come on here and debate the merits of UBs pack defense and critique the release point of luke meyers JUMP shot on a saturday night. that's just a personal preference though. In my opinion, that can wait till Monday.

[Larry the Legend]

Let's just presume the Bills win both games at home - Dayton and Richmond. Now taking into consideration SLU's strong road record, I would be very, very happy to see them win one on the road - UMASS or Dayton. Doesn't matter. So, best case scenario leaves SLU 19-11 going into the A 10 tourney. With a 6-7 seed, SLU would play a lower seed like a Charlotte, Temple or Duquesne in round 1. I would like to see a rematch against Duquesne since SLU was embarrassed by them earlier this year. Win that game and off to play the #3 seed which might be Xavier.

Well, there is your 20 win season. It stops in round 2. Yeah, 20 wins is really nice but I guess with expectations so high it will be painful to not watch SLU in any postseason action.

But you never know..... we have all seen small wonders before (2000).

[FromGreeceWithLove]

I thought that there was a fair amount of posts considering the game was on a Saturday night and today is a holiday. I am also unsure how much excitement you expect a 4 point victory over a lousy team to generate. LaSalle is 10-17 on the season (3-10 in conference) with a rpi of 275 and we beat them at home by 4 in an absolutely disguisting display of basketball; not sure what you are looking for. I am glad we got the win, but not a whole lot of positives from this one. Everyone around me enjoyed the half-time performance by the dance team and their fathers.

[AlumniFan]

nm

[Cowboy]

Larry said - I would like to see a rematch against Duquesne since SLU was embarrassed by them earlier this year.

sort of like st joe's last year?

i would be real careful what i wished for as Billiken history has a very strange way of repeating itself.

[Larry the Legend]

If SLU can't beat Duquesne on a neutral court, then they don't even deserve to be in the A 10. St. Joe's played in the A 10 championship last year and were a pretty tough team. Duquesne, on the other hand, is average at best. SLU should....(and I agree Billiken history does have a strange way of repeating itself) beat them if given the second chance.

[Taj79]

... as established by nearly a season of play are holding true to form right now. Only a couple of minor aberrations on the road ... Xavier's easy win at GeeDub plus UMass' win at Dayton swayed the apple cart but did not upset it. Duquesne is a team fumbling around to find itself right now ... losses on the road at both La Salle and Richmond didn't figure into the equation as I thought they'd take at least one of those two.

None of these three mean much in the greater scheme of things .... UMass and Xavier will be two of the top four finishers no matter how you cut it. Duquesne's flop could mean that if the trends play out, a four-way tie will exist at the end between us, Fordhma, Dayton and the Dukes. In that scenario, Saint Louis would have the worst head-to-head against these three, posting a 1 and 3 record provided they maintain their trend ... win at home, lose on the road.

If the trends continue to play out, SLU will finish tied for sixth with an 8 and 8 conference record but be placed ninth in the seedings if they break the ties the way I am predicting they will. Meaning an 8/9 game against either Fordham or Duquesne with a date against #1 UMass in the offing.

Current trend prediction for final standings: UMass (13-3), Xavier (12-4), Rhode Island (11-5), St. Joe's & GeeDub (10-6: GW gets fourth on record against teams higher in standings), Dayton (8-8), Duquesne (8-8), Fordham (8-8), Saint Louis (8-8), Charlotte 7-9), Temple (7-9) and St. Bonaventure (4-12: which means a huge home win against Fordham).