For-DaLove Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 If SLU somehow beats Louisville then every single bracket will be ruined. That will be a great feeling. If we beat Louisville we are in business... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Our seed is growing on me more and more. I still don't love it, solely because of Louisville. But I do think we have a good first round matchup against hopefully a tired X or NCSt game. Not to mention I think we match up well with either of those squads. NCSt shouldn't be in the dance and I have never been scared of X, certainly not this year. Louisville will be really tough if we get there. Make no bones about it. But they have small guards which works in our favor and they don't have particularly athletic wings (neither Hancock nor Blackshear will stand out physically against Evans and Barnett). Obviously we would be a huge underdog; I think LVille could win it all. But at the end of the day you have to beat good teams to advance in the tournament. Let's hope we get the chance to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
For-DaLove Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Our seed is growing on me more and more. I still don't love it, solely because of Louisville. But I do think we have a good first round matchup against hopefully a tired X or NCSt game. Not to mention I think we match up well with either of those squads. NCSt shouldn't be in the dance and I have never been scared of X, certainly not this year. Louisville will be really tough if we get there. Make no bones about it. But they have small guards which works in our favor and they don't have particularly athletic wings (neither Hancock nor Blackshear will stand out physically against Evans and Barnett). Obviously we would be a huge underdog; I think LVille could win it all. But at the end of the day you have to beat good teams to advance in the tournament. Let's hope we get the chance to do that. +1.Russ Smith may commit a million turnovers if he is guarded my Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 +1. Russ Smith may commit a million turnovers if he is guarded my Mike. Another thing that has been mentioned on here but nowhere else is that all the teams we lost to were teams we had faced before. What was the common trend in those games? Our defense was far less stellar than it had been. Our offense has been about the same all year. Perhaps our defense is one that teams are able to figure out eventually. However, Xavier/NCSt and potentially LVille/Manhattan will not have the luxury of much preparation or any experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 We lost 4 of 5 because we stopped defending and played hot potato with the rock. If we play like that in the first game we'll be heading back to StL real quick. If we play like that against UL we'll be road kill. Defense wins these games, and for a team that is offensively challenged like us, you better play some strong D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan Alum Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 We lost 4 of 5 because we stopped defending and played hot potato with the rock. If we play like that in the first game we'll be heading back to StL real quick. If we play like that against UL we'll be road kill. Defense wins these games, and for a team that is offensively challenged like us, you better play some strong D. +1 SLU's offensive stats during the 19-game winning streak were not that much different from the last 5 games. The biggest difference is the increase in turnovers (especially those unforced turnovers) and defense. Hopefully, Jordair's knee will hold up for another few games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billboy1 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Wish somebody would shut up all these tv experts who criticize a lot of teams for not playing stronger schedules. Are they that dumb that they don't realize they can't get teams to play them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 One thing about TOs, when you commit them your D doesn't get the chance to set up. One bad stat leads to the other. Morale of the story: Take care of the friggin' rock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bills Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 If they experts had their say they'd be voting for a national champion after the conference tourneys were over like college football in the 1980s. SLU got exactly what we earned down the stretch. Seeding numbers are irrelevant. We've got the path of a 7-9 seed, which requires us to get through a legitimate 1-2 seed to make the Sweet Sixteen. Personally I don't like our potential match-up against Louisville, but no one does. Remember though these are 18-22yo college athletes. There is a lot of game played above the ears and listening to Rick Pitino's interview the other day "overconfident" might be an understatement. If our guys come out the next few nights and play with a chip on their shoulder realizing that they've got nothing to lose, we might see glimpses of the Utah squads with RM or Indiana with JC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 ... There are other factors then the rpi. If it was just rpi why even have a committee to make these decisions? Simple- if it "was just rpi," the ACC and Big Ten would have had 5 teams each, not 6. In other words, they would not have fulfilled their de facto quotas. Get it, got it, good. Although the American, with SMU, is the real successor to the Old Big East (as opposed to the New Big East, which bought the name), the American is more akin and perceived to be like the old C-USA + UConn. There is no question the ACC school was gifted that last NCAA Bid over the American school. It can't hurt to have the Chairman of the "Committee" hailing from Wake Forest of the Holy Grail ACC, just down Tobacco Road, can it? Oh no, the whole thing is above all reproach, above any question whatsoever. Merely questioning the NC State selection at all is a type of Basketball Sin. It also can't hurt to have the former Coach of the U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball team pontificating from on high, although his rip at the A10 did not prove to be effective, which may well be the best news of Selection Sunday- 6 A10 teams. It should also be noted the Pac-12 Commissioner had some choice comments. But a 63 RPI was too poor of one to save the Flagship Campus of the University of California, the nation's highest ranked public university. Plus, the Pac-12 already had its allotted 6. You give the Pac-12 7, and then the ACC and Big Ten are going to be clamoring for Florida State and Minnesota, respectively. Only the Nation's highest ranked conference, the Big XII (you folks know back there, the one that Mizzou abandoned) was granted 7 NCAA teams, albeit without a #1 Seed. And to complete the Coast to Coast observations, no "black helicopters" were spotted hovering over San Francisco Bay last night. Nor were any "For Sale" signs seen on the Bay Bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlumniFan Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 SLU's success in this tournament has NOTHING to do with the opponents. It has everything to do with how the seniors and the rest of the team play. When this team is playing its best, it can beat any team in the country. That is the bottom line. If the SLU team that played the Duke's shows up, might as well stay home. If the SLU team that played St. Joe's or even the team that played the first half against the Bonnies shows up, forget the Sweet 16, they'll be headed to the final four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Simple- if it "was just rpi," the ACC and Big Ten would have had 5 teams each, not 6. In other words, they would not have fulfilled their de facto quotas. Get it, got it, good. Although the American, with SMU, is the real successor to the Old Big East (as opposed to the New Big East, which bought the name), the American is more akin and perceived to be like the old C-USA + UConn. There is no question the ACC school was gifted that last NCAA Bid over the American school. It can't hurt to have the Chairman of the "Committee" hailing from Wake Forest of the Holy Grail ACC, just down Tobacco Road, can it? Oh no, the whole thing is above all reproach, above any question whatsoever. Merely questioning the NC State selection at all is a type of Basketball Sin. It also can't hurt to have the former Coach of the U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball team pontificating from on high, although his rip at the A10 did not prove to be effective, which may well be the best news of Selection Sunday- 6 A10 teams. It should also be noted the Pac-12 Commissioner had some choice comments. But a 63 RPI was too poor of one to save the Flagship Campus of the University of California, the nation's highest ranked public university. And to complete the Coast to Coast observations, no "black helicopters" were spotted hovering over San Francisco Bay last night. Nor were any "For Sale" signs seen on the Bay Bridge. It takes a unique individual to complain about large conference bias on the day after the A-10 was given all kinds of respect with 6 bids, including Dayton avoiding a play-in game and generous seeding for the rest of the five teams. Nope, let's focus on the one, count them one, questionable selection and harp on that as "proof" that the NCAA committee is biased towards large conferences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I actually like the fact we don't know who we play until Tuesday night. Less time to game plan will actually be a good thing for this team. It needs time to fix some things they do first before worrying about what other teams do. Louisville might be on fire, but they have not exactly been clobbering great teams in their last 13 games. UConn is overrated, they lost to Memphis, and beat Cincy by one. They played 8 games in that time period against teams with RPIs at 142 or higher. They were not rolling against the old Big East. They were rolling against the AAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken class of 15 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Another thing that has been mentioned on here but nowhere else is that all the teams we lost to were teams we had faced before. What was the common trend in those games? Our defense was far less stellar than it had been. Our offense has been about the same all year. Perhaps our defense is one that teams are able to figure out eventually. However, Xavier/NCSt and potentially LVille/Manhattan will not have the luxury of much preparation or any experience. Not to look past our first two opponents, but I guess this might create a problem if we would win our first two games and play Wichita St in the Sweet 16? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 It takes a unique individual to complain about large conference bias on the day after the A-10 was given all kinds of respect with 6 bids, including Dayton avoiding a play-in game and generous seeding for the rest of the five teams. Nope, let's focus on the one, count them one, questionable selection and harp on that as "proof" that the NCAA committee is biased towards large conferences. Again, your attribution to another of words in the English language, in this case "complain," along with your use of the word "unique," continue to amuse. You are a knowledgeable fan, no question. But your personal attacks miminize your effectiveness. You can clean that up, ok? Give it a try. So you know, I could care less if the NCAA picked some BCS also ran like NC State over an SMU. I am merely stating the obvious. It is not a complaint. I am not "unique" in that regard. And so you know, it's not just one instance, it's two instances this year, the other being Iowa. Frankly, if anyone should "complain," it should be the Yahoos in Boone County, MO, as the Haith coached charges had an NCAA qualifying RPI of 49, but were not invited to the Big Dance. Mizzou obviously did not pass the "eye test," despite its RPI. Also, the Official RPI rankings were last updated on the public NCAA.com website on Friday, 3/14/14, evidently before the SLU-St. Bona A10 Tournament game because SLU is listed with 5 losses, not 6. SLU had an RPI of 20; that translates exactly into SLU's 5 seed. Louisville had an RPI of 24. So the "eye test" actually favored Louisville in getting that 4 seed, as opposed to the 6 dictated by the RPI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufan13 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I actually like the fact we don't know who we play until Tuesday night. Less time to game plan will actually be a good thing for this team. It needs time to fix some things they do first before worrying about what other teams do. Louisville might be on fire, but they have not exactly been clobbering great teams in their last 13 games. UConn is overrated, they lost to Memphis, and beat Cincy by one. They played 8 games in that time period against teams with RPIs at 142 or higher. They were not rolling against the old Big East. They were rolling against the AAC. They beat Rutgers and Houston in the AAC Tourney. Not like they destroyed some great teams or anything. Louisville is really really good. They were better last year. To write us off would be dumb. In fact, I got Manhattan over Louisville. 10* Lock of the Decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have watched and analyzed and failed at so many brackets over the years by getting caught up with the experts and their "hot" and "cold" teams. The only thing I have concluded is that there is no consistent correlation between late-season play and tournament results. I remember a few years ago Xavier stuttered to the finish and then lost early in the A-10 tourney only to end up in the elite 8. Last year's SLU team was the sexy, "hot" team, only to lose to a 12 seed. I don't know how many times I have seen BCS conference tournament champions become media darlings only to lose early. Just enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have watched and analyzed and failed at so many brackets over the years by getting caught up with the experts and their "hot" and "cold" teams. The only thing I have concluded is that there is no consistent correlation between late-season play and tournament results. I remember a few years ago Xavier stuttered to the finish and then lost early in the A-10 tourney only to end up in the elite 8. Last year's SLU team was the sexy, "hot" team, only to lose to a 12 seed. I don't know how many times I have seen BCS conference tournament champions become media darlings only to lose early. Just enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. Endorsed and agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 They beat Rutgers and Houston in the AAC Tourney. Not like they destroyed some great teams or anything. Louisville is really really good. They were better last year. To write us off would be dumb. In fact, I got Manhattan over Louisville. 10* Lock of the Decade. It would be a tremendous upset, but it is possible. Manhattan is a pretty good team. On the other hand, Manhattan lost early in the season at home to Cross-Bronx rival Fordham ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan Alum Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 "Just enjoy the ride as long as it lasts." Amen, Brother...I just hope it's a l-o-n-g ride! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old guy Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Yes, agreed, we will not know what happens until it happens. At this time we should lay back and enjoy the show. There are innumerable factors that will determine the outcomes, the experts may know the numbers but the numbers do not tell the whole story all the time. We have a good team, they should be rested and ready to go, the rest depends on how hot they are when they get to playing the games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken class of 15 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 If SLU somehow beats Louisville then every single bracket will be ruined. That will be a great feeling. +1000 My bracket won't be ruined Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillikenLaw Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Once you make it into the tournament, anything can happen. Just gotta hold onto that as long as we can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaLBErt Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Once you make it into the tournament, anything can happen. Just gotta hold onto that as long as we can. Exactly. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. Sit back and enjoy the ride, I know I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stlhoops Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 If you look at the power ratings, SLU is only 3 points higher than Manhattan. First round games, big favorites tend to play closer to the vest than usual, so Vegas keeps the line a little tighter. AND Louisville (and other big favorites) is aware that they have another game in 2 days against a more formidable opponent, so there will be a "save energy" mentality. So after Louisville pounds Manhattan by 20+, even though "resting" a bit because they have a second game in 2 days after Manhattan and bettors knowing that Louisville will not hold back in the second game since there is a week to rest, the line will be 15 or so. Also has to do with how we play against Xavier or NC State... bettors are wondering if we are healthy, etc. But I will still say 15. Did you have Michigan State -4 today? Kenpom.com has SLU at 35 and Manhattan at 67. I have seen lines for the Manhattan/Louisville game anywhere from 12.5 to 16. There is no way SLU would be around that figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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