2020 A10 Games and Comments

[wgstl]

10 hours ago, HoosierPal said:

Is this a two point take down?

 

jump ball 

[wgstl]

Maybe someone knows better than I, would you say the SH team we faced is better than UD?

[Pistol]

4 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Maybe someone knows better than I, would you say the SH team we faced is better than UD?

Seton Hall has been way more up and down this season, mostly due to injuries. I think that's a really good question, though, and a game I'd love to watch. Toppin would have to deal with some real size - especially when Mamukelashvili is back in a few weeks - and I don't know that UD has an answer for Powell. SH is trending in the right direction without him, though, going 4-0 in the Big East so far. And UD has been so solid and consistent.

Not sure I can give an answer until after Friday's game.

[moytoy12]

7 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Maybe someone knows better than I, would you say the SH team we faced is better than UD?

Not sure if better, but SH was a really bad matchup for us that early (or really at any time).    

 

[Pistol]

The conference games tonight aren't nearly compelling as the two we had last night:

Duquesne (4-0) hosts Fordham (0-3) at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Mason (1-2) goes to GW (0-3), where they're trying to set a Guinness World Record for most tricorner hats worn at the same place at the same time.

Bonaventure (3-0) hosts UMass (1-2).

Rhody (2-1) should grab a road win at St. Joe's (0-4).

[wgstl]

33 minutes ago, Pistol said:

The conference games tonight aren't nearly compelling as the two we had last night:

Duquesne (4-0) hosts Fordham (0-3) at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Mason (1-2) goes to GW (0-3), where they're trying to set a Guinness World Record for most tricorner hats worn at the same place at the same time.

Bonaventure (3-0) hosts UMass (1-2).

Rhody (2-1) should grab a road win at St. Joe's (0-4).

id like to see Umass steal this one.  I dont want the bonnies anywhere near the top as they bring nothing to the conference this year

[Pistol]

19 minutes ago, wgstl said:

id like to see Umass steal this one.  I dont want the bonnies anywhere near the top as they bring nothing to the conference this year

Bonaventure has beaten GW, Mason, and Fordham so far. Even if they beat UMass and go 4-0, they've got @VCU, @Dayton, and then Rhode Island at home as the next three. That should slow them down.

[HoosierPal]

1 hour ago, Pistol said:

The conference games tonight aren't nearly compelling as the two we had last night:

Duquesne (4-0) hosts Fordham (0-3) at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Mason (1-2) goes to GW (0-3), where they're trying to set a Guinness World Record for most tricorner hats worn at the same place at the same time.

Bonaventure (3-0) hosts UMass (1-2).

Rhody (2-1) should grab a road win at St. Joe's (0-4).

The St. B - UMass game is in Rochester.  I have no idea as to what the NCAA will call this, a H for St. B or a Neutral Site game.  The St. B website has it as a N game, but after our KSU game being A instead of N, you never know.  Two of the youngest teams in the A10, and actually in the nation, squaring off.  

 

[RUBillsFan]

3 hours ago, Pistol said:

The conference games tonight aren't nearly compelling as the two we had last night:

Duquesne (4-0) hosts Fordham (0-3) at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Mason (1-2) goes to GW (0-3), where they're trying to set a Guinness World Record for most tricorner hats worn at the same place at the same time.

Bonaventure (3-0) hosts UMass (1-2).

Rhody (2-1) should grab a road win at St. Joe's (0-4).

Here are my A10 rooting rules:

1. Root for SLU to win all games
2. Root for all A10 teams to win all of their non-conference games.
3. Root for A10 opponents that SLU plays twice (Dayton, Duq, St Joes, UMass, LaSalle) to win all of their conference games not against SLU
4. Root for top 6 or so A-10 teams to beat bottom teams so more teams have an NCAA or NIT chance.
5. Generally root to maximize number of NCAA bids (upsets in conference tournament, perhaps Duq beating Dayton, etc.)

As such, I'm rooting Duq, Mason, UMass, St. Joes (rule #3 trumps #4/#5 because SLU's interests always come first over optimizing A10 teams in NCAA/NIT until/unless SLU is eliminated from postseason consideration)

Edited January 15, 2020 by RUBillsFan
See Pistol's correction about our H&H A10 opponents

[Pistol]

46 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

Here are my A10 rooting rules:

1. Root for SLU to win all games
2. Root for all A10 teams to win all of their non-conference games.
3. Root for A10 opponents that SLU plays twice (Dayton, Duq, St Joes) to win all of their conference games not against SLU
4. Root for top 6 or so A-10 teams to beat bottom teams so more teams have an NCAA or NIT chance.
5. Generally root to maximize number of NCAA bids (upsets in conference tournament, perhaps Duq beating Dayton, etc.)

As such, I'm rooting Duq, Mason, Bona, St. Joes (rule #3 trumps #4/#5 because SLU's interests always come first over optimizing A10 teams in NCAA/NIT until/unless SLU is eliminated from postseason consideration)

This is a nice way of breaking it down. I'm not totally sure about the order of the last 3; we have a few bubble teams that would be devastated by a loss to a bottom-three team - URI vs. St. Joe's, for example.

We also play La Salle and UMass twice this season. Does that change the way you look at the Bonaventure-UMass game?

[bauman]

1 hour ago, RUBillsFan said:

Here are my A10 rooting rules:

1. Root for SLU to win all games
2. Root for all A10 teams to win all of their non-conference games.
3. Root for A10 opponents that SLU plays twice (Dayton, Duq, St Joes) to win all of their conference games not against SLU
4. Root for top 6 or so A-10 teams to beat bottom teams so more teams have an NCAA or NIT chance.
5. Generally root to maximize number of NCAA bids (upsets in conference tournament, perhaps Duq beating Dayton, etc.)

As such, I'm rooting Duq, Mason, Bona, St. Joes (rule #3 trumps #4/#5 because SLU's interests always come first over optimizing A10 teams in NCAA/NIT until/unless SLU is eliminated from postseason consideration)

I like your rational for A-10 games.  Let me add two that I apply to non-A 10 games.

A.   Missouri and Illinois to lose every game they play (Illinois to win Braggin Rights game)

B.   Bills OOC opponents to win every game.  If two of them play each other then root for the higher ranked team e.g. Belmont and Eastern Washington

[RUBillsFan]

53 minutes ago, Pistol said:

This is a nice way of breaking it down. I'm not totally sure about the order of the last 3; we have a few bubble teams that would be devastated by a loss to a bottom-three team - URI vs. St. Joe's, for example.

We also play La Salle and UMass twice this season. Does that change the way you look at the Bonaventure-UMass game?

Slipped my mind that we have 5 home & home A10 opponents now instead of 3.  It does change my mind and I want UMass to win over Bona.

I struggled a bit with order of the last 3 as well.  In the end I'm going with what's best for SLU's current year NET comes first and the teams we play twice have higher NETs is best for our NET.  #4 & #5 on my list are sort of saying the same thing - usually root for higher ranked team unless for example VCU was pretty much a lock for the NCAAs (not necessarily the case this year, but go with it), you'd want them to lose to an A10  bubble team.

Not that my rooting interest changes anything, but #1 and #2 are the fairly obvious priorities.  I will yell at the TV over them, but I won't get too worked up rooting for UMass beating Bona or St. Joes beating URI tonight.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

47 minutes ago, bauman said:

I like your rational for A-10 games.  Let me add two that I apply to non-A 10 games.

A.   Missouri and Illinois to lose every game they play (Illinois to win Braggin Rights game)

B.   Bills OOC opponents to win every game.  If two of them play each other then root for the higher ranked team e.g. Belmont and Eastern Washington

What happens when Ford sets up the series with Missouri, do you root for the Tigers every game in those years, including Bragging Rights?

[bauman]

1 hour ago, JohnnyJumpUp said:

What happens when Ford sets up the series with Missouri, do you root for the Tigers every game in those years, including Bragging Rights?

I want SPUMAC to get their @$$es kicked everytime they take the court!  That rule trumps all others.

[moytoy12]

Fordham up on Duq early in the second half.

[mrjoelabs]

25 minutes ago, moytoy12 said:

Fordham up on Duq early in the second half.

Duq up now, ugly game

[Littlebill]

13 minutes ago, mrjoelabs said:

Duq up now, ugly game

Headed to OT

[bills10]

8 hours ago, RUBillsFan said:

Here are my A10 rooting rules:

1. Root for SLU to win all games
2. Root for all A10 teams to win all of their non-conference games.
3. Root for A10 opponents that SLU plays twice (Dayton, Duq, St Joes, UMass, LaSalle) to win all of their conference games not against SLU
4. Root for top 6 or so A-10 teams to beat bottom teams so more teams have an NCAA or NIT chance.
5. Generally root to maximize number of NCAA bids (upsets in conference tournament, perhaps Duq beating Dayton, etc.)

As such, I'm rooting Duq, Mason, UMass, St. Joes (rule #3 trumps #4/#5 because SLU's interests always come first over optimizing A10 teams in NCAA/NIT until/unless SLU is eliminated from postseason consideration)

I like your thinking, but often to prioritize the ultimate benefit for SLU, often I have to root for some of the higher ranked teams to lose to help with conference standings. Getting that double buy for the conference tournament is (usually) so important in determining results. 

[Pistol]

Duquesne ekes it out over Fordham in OT, 58-56. (What an ugly score for a game with extra time, by the way.)

GW hung on against Mason, 73-67. Mason also got news that Kier's career is over. Season is pretty much over for them after a relatively promising start.

Bonaventure beat UMass 74-61 and for a while it looked like it was going to be a bigger blowout.

Rhode Island got all it could handle from St. Joe's before coming together down the stretch for a 71-61 final.

So GW had the only "upset" and only the Bonaventure game was never in question. Weird night, but Duquesne and URI avoided disaster.

[HoosierPal]

51 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Duquesne ekes it out over Fordham in OT, 58-56. (What an ugly score for a game with extra time, by the way.)

GW hung on against Mason, 73-67. Mason also got news that Kier's career is over. Season is pretty much over for them after a relatively promising start.

Bonaventure beat UMass 74-61 and for a while it looked like it was going to be a bigger blowout.

Rhode Island got all it could handle from St. Joe's before coming together down the stretch for a 71-61 final.

So GW had the only "upset" and only the Bonaventure game was never in question. Weird night, but Duquesne and URI avoided disaster.

Wow, I feel sorry for Kier.  This article says reinjured a stress fracture, and he will have surgery.  The do say the best case scenario is that he can come back in March.  We saw what foot injuries did to Welmer.  I hope Kier can recover and still have some basketball in his life, either this season or next after he graduates. 

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/ncaa/george-mason-loses-senior-justin-kier-another-foot-injury

[HoosierPal]

It is looking like seven teams fighting for the four bye slots in the A10.  Well, perhaps 6 fighting for 3 slots; I'll grant that Dayton is highly likely to be one of the four.

CURRENT STANDINGS

Duquesne 5-0

Dayton 4-0

St. Bonaventure 4-0

Saint Louis 3-1

Richmond 3-1

Rhode Island 3-1

VCU 2-2

George Mason 1-3

La Salle 1-3

Davidson 1-3

Massachusetts 1-3

George Washington 1-3

Fordham 0-4

Saint Joseph’s 0-5

[glazedandconfused]

7 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

It is looking like seven teams fighting for the four bye slots in the A10.  Well, perhaps 6 fighting for 3 slots; I'll grant that Dayton is highly likely to be one of the four.

CURRENT STANDINGS

Duquesne 5-0

Dayton 4-0

St. Bonaventure 4-0

Saint Louis 3-1

Richmond 3-1

Rhode Island 3-1

VCU 2-2

George Mason 1-3

La Salle 1-3

Davidson 1-3

Massachusetts 1-3

George Washington 1-3

Fordham 0-4

Saint Joseph’s 0-5

SLU Dayton and Bonnies VCU this weekend will be big for all 3 non dayton teams involved. 

[Pistol]

1 hour ago, HoosierPal said:

It is looking like seven teams fighting for the four bye slots in the A10.  Well, perhaps 6 fighting for 3 slots; I'll grant that Dayton is highly likely to be one of the four.

Yep. I didn't expect the league to split into clear top and bottom halves this season, but that's what's already happened. I thought there'd be more like 3 tiers. Davidson belly flopping and Mason's season falling apart this soon were unexpected.

[Taj79]

I still like where we sit.  Duquesne hasn't played anyone and neither have the Bonnies.  Richmond without Francis is what Richmond was last year.  Lamar Norman bailed Duquesne out last night but I suspect those types of performances will be rare and few.  Richmond did nothing to validate my five-man-team theory but that is more blame on Davidson ---- christ were they bad.  Sherrod put Richmond up big in the first half and Davidson ran out of gas playing catch-up.  Right now, Bates Jones, Mike Jones and Luka Brajkovic are giving McKillop nothing.  The Bonnies go as Lofton goes ---- you can try to shut him down and let the others beat you, or let him go and shut the others down.  The Bonnies defense seems to funnel all things at Osunniyi and cherry-pick with the guards.  

While Kier is done, Mason has some decent talent in Greene and Miller.  I am still at a loss to believe they lost in Foggy Bottom last night.  They too could not stop Potter.  Duquesne's game against Fordham shows youjust can't go to sleep any night in this league.  I see some rifts at VCU right now ---- seniors Evans and Jenkins seems to play with a differnet, selfish set of rules.  They will be okay provided they understand they need to go through Santos-Silva to win.

[HoosierPal]

Two obvious statements:  1) The top 7 schools will cannibalize each other.  2) The key is to minimize the hits taken from the lower 7 schools.  I stated it before, I'm looking for LaSalle to ruin someone's season. I'm now adding Davidson into that statement.

A Top 4 league finish is highly desired.  I looked up the past ten A10Tourney champs.  Here is where they were seeded.  Last season's tourney was the only time when a top 4 wasn't the winner in the past 10 tourney's.  But 3rd or 4th seem to be as good as 1st or 2nd. 

6th - once

4th - 4 times

3rd - 3 times

2nd - none

1st - twice