2022-2023 Season

[Compton]

11 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

Any expansion of the NCAA tournament within the next few years should stop at 80.  Bottom 32 teams (or bottom 32 "at-large" teams if you prefer) all play an 1st round/opening round game and then you are down to 64.  

I also think that people would 100% drive to Chattanooga to see an NCAA tournament game even if it were a "round of 128" matchup.

This would be a good outcome for the A10, especially if our 4 team representation in the last two NIT's is a good proxy.

Agreed that folks would drive to Chattanooga and CBS would pay a ton of money for any/all tourney games.

[AnkielBreakers]

On 10/21/2022 at 9:09 PM, HoosierPal said:

Sucks for Dayton.  As an A10 fan, I want them to have a strong OOC.

 

So, this is bad for the A10, and I hate to bring up Lindenwood again, but they are Dayton’s first game! I said that Lindenwood couldn’t win this game… .no way.

[slu72]

Perk tops Jimerson? Wow. Recall, Yurimania said a couple of weeks ago he just saw Gibby hit 58 3’s in a row. Granted he was probably just popping 3’s, no defender, but 58 in a row is Larry Birdish. And Travis ranks JP Gibby. Can’t wait to see this guys torching the nets. 

[Bills By 40]

 

[bauman]

3 hours ago, wgstl said:

 

Gotta say, a little surprised by this. I didn't think JP would not only catch up, but pass up Gibson this quickly. 

Maybe we need to read the tweet a bit more closely.  It says a consensus.  Who forms that consensus?  Is it based on the practice that day when the "consensus folks" happened to be there?  And is the tweet just listing three players or is it a true 1,2,3 priority list? 

IF JP is now a better shooter beyond the arc than Gibson, then we will be almost unstoppable.  I can't imagine that there are many, if any, teams with 2 shooters better than JP & GJ.

[gabriel]

https://theathletic.com/3724932/2022/10/25/college-basketball-mid-majors-ncaa-tournament/ 

The Billikens played all of last year without Javonte Perkins and still won 23 games. Perkins plus four starters are back, including point guard Yuri Collins, who toyed with the portal. Before he tore his ACL, Perkins was a 17-points-per-game scorer, who sunk 38 percent from the arc. Take his skill and Travis Ford’s experienced roster, and you have the perfect recipe for March upsets. — Dana O’Neil

[gabriel]

[Cowboy II]

-it seems SVU always win the preseason, it's up to us to win the season

[HoosierPal]

Early season Hargrove injury mentioned in this article. 

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/terrence-hargrove-jr-will-work-out-at-midnight-to-help-slu-mens-basketball-succeed/article_2ea46141-da71-5435-9f01-3d6bc6cc8fe0.html

[Bay Area Billiken]

That was a great Hollywood Pressbox with Frank Cusumano Show this morning on 590 The Fan, with Frank Cusumano, and Billiken HOF'ers Bob Ramsey and Scott Highmark.  Man, listening to that via streaming from 1,732 air miles away, that trio has me ready for the season.  Highmark rattles off "St. Louis U" just like my parents did and I still do.  I can hear my late Dad in Quincy right now saying, "Down at St. Louis U."

Highmark said it's not Sweet 16 or Bust, but consensus was the Sweet 16 is the goal for this upcoming season.  They also confirmed my thought that this has to be the deepest SLU roster, they said 1 to 10, I'd add 3 more to make 1 to 13.

Let's Go Bills!

[Deutschkind]

On 10/25/2022 at 10:21 AM, gabriel said:

It's been over a day and no one's expressed outrage that we're on a "Mid-major" list???

[CBFan]

45 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

That was a great Hollywood Pressbox with Frank Cusumano Show this morning on 590 The Fan, with Frank Cusumano, and Billiken HOF'ers Bob Ramsey and Scott Highmark.  Man, listening to that via streaming from 1,732 air miles away, that trio has me ready for the season.  Highmark rattles off "St. Louis U" just like my parents did and I still do.  I can hear my late Dad in Quincy right now saying, "Down at St. Louis U."

Highmark said it's not Sweet 16 or Bust, but consensus was the Sweet 16 is the goal for this upcoming season.  They also confirmed my thought that this has to be the deepest SLU roster, they said 1 to 10, I'd add 3 more to make 1 to 13.

Let's Go Bills!

Except for injuries this Ford team has to make the big dance.

Forrester, Picket and Parker is exactly what this team needed.  The team is greatly improved and now has Perkins back.

[3star_recruit]

23 minutes ago, Deutschkind said:

It's been over a day and no one's expressed outrage that we're on a "Mid-major" list???

No, because San Diego State, who has made 9 of the last 13 NCAA tournaments, is also on it.

[Old guy]

We have the talent, now the question is: how is Ford going to use it? Barring accidents and unexpected occurrences, it is up to Ford to get us to the Dance, and then into Sweet 16, or not. The talent is there for him to use it.

[Bay Area Billiken]

1 hour ago, Deutschkind said:

It's been over a day and no one's expressed outrage that we're on a "Mid-major" list???

Accepting the errant moniker elevates it to factual status.  

San Diego State, with 35,578 students and an alumni base over more than 300,000, clearly, is not a mid-major, irrespective of what some rating list says.  San Diego State is the most prime candidate for Pac-12 expansion after USC and maybe UCLA leave for the Big Ten.

The A10, including SLU, by definition, is not mid-major.  But one can only return fire so much.  There are bigger fish to fry (or grill).  The Mountain West is not mid-major.

The moniker was supposed to be reserved for one bid leagues to the NCAA Tournament, of which the Mountain West, Atlantic 10, and American Athletic are not.  The WCC used to be considered mid-major until the rise of Gonzaga and current inclusion of BYU, the latter of which will be exiting for the Big XII.

[Compton]

1 hour ago, Deutschkind said:

It's been over a day and no one's expressed outrage that we're on a "Mid-major" list???

I was more outraged that UCSB was included on a Mid-Major list. "Major" and "Big West" do not belong in the same sentence.

[Bay Area Billiken]

4 minutes ago, Compton said:

I was more outraged that UCSB was included on a Mid-Major list. "Major" and "Big West" do not belong in the same sentence.

LOL!

[3star_recruit]

36 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

Accepting the errant moniker elevates it to factual status.  

San Diego State, with 35,578 students and an alumni base over more than 300,000, clearly, is not a mid-major, irrespective of what some rating list says.  San Diego State is the most prime candidate for Pac-12 expansion after USC and maybe UCLA leave for the Big Ten.

The A10, including SLU, by definition, is not mid-major.  But one can only return fire so much.  There are bigger fish to fry (or grill).  The Mountain West is not mid-major.

The moniker was supposed to be reserved for one bid leagues to the NCAA Tournament, of which the Mountain West, Atlantic 10, and American Athletic are not.  The WCC used to be considered mid-major until the rise of Gonzaga and current inclusion of BYU, the latter of which will be exiting for the Big XII.

That hasn't been the definition in over 20 years.  Because some of the best teams from one-bid leagues started leaving those conferences and joining better mid-major conferences.  For a limited time these high-powered mid-majors even put 4 teams in the tournament.   

But the end goal is always to monkey branch from those transitional leagues to the P6.  That isn't because of what fans choose to call their conference.  It's because schools want to be where the big pots of money and media coverage is.  In the rare case where you have a first-ballot Hall of Fame coach who stays 20 years, you can get to the big pots of money and media coverage while remaining in a mid-major conference.

[HoosierPal]

 

[WestPineJunior]

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2022-10-28/11-dark-horse-final-four-teams-mens-college-basketball-ranked-andy-katz?amp

Dark horse final four #bluefont 

[HoosierPal]

Nice summary from Godar.  https://www.a10talk.com/slu-preview-ncaa-tournament-or-bust/

For many of us, NCAAT or bust isn't enough.  It's advance in the NCAAT.

A couple of interesting wrinkles from Godar that haven't been discussed (much) by the collective MBMs.

1.  The Billikens are not the quickest team outside of Yuri Collins. It’s full of athletic, powerful wings such as Pickett, Hargrove, Parker and Thatch, but teams with multiple shifty guards could give the Billikens problems.

2.  SLU also needs to be better at boxing out. Francis Okoro is an elite rebounder, but he will need help from his wings and guards to help prevent giving up offensive rebounds.

[Cowboy II]

-Business Journal reports we are paying SIUE $70,000 for this game

[SLUMedBilliken15]

1 hour ago, HoosierPal said:

Nice summary from Godar.  https://www.a10talk.com/slu-preview-ncaa-tournament-or-bust/

For many of us, NCAAT or bust isn't enough.  It's advance in the NCAAT.

A couple of interesting wrinkles from Godar that haven't been discussed (much) by the collective MBMs.

1.  The Billikens are not the quickest team outside of Yuri Collins. It’s full of athletic, powerful wings such as Pickett, Hargrove, Parker and Thatch, but teams with multiple shifty guards could give the Billikens problems.

2.  SLU also needs to be better at boxing out. Francis Okoro is an elite rebounder, but he will need help from his wings and guards to help prevent giving up offensive rebounds.

My expectations are lower. An NCAAT bid would be a good outcome. 

A team that advances far in the tourney should be able to beat Bradley (minus their best player) in Regulation (Yes, I understand it was an exhibition and coach could have been trying new things out and yadda yadda) and should not struggle against UMSL. 

Just my honest unpopular opinion. It's not like we have a TON of new pieces that are learning to work together (Yes there are some, but much less than most teams). 

 

**EDIT: Typo, yes the Bradley game was a secret Scrimmage not an exhibition. **

[gobillsgo]

4 minutes ago, SLUMedBilliken15 said:

My expectations are lower. An NCAAT bid would be a good outcome. 

A team that advances far in the tourney should be able to beat Bradley (minus their best player) in Regulation (Yes, I understand it was an exhibition and coach could have been trying new things out and yadda yadda) and not struggle against UMSL. 

Just my honest unpopular opinion. It's not like we have a TON of new pieces that are learning to work together (Yes there are some, but much less than most teams). 

It was not even an exhibition against Bradley, it was a scrimmage. We have heard from multiple sources that the scrimmage is often stopped mid play for coaching purposes, and that certain in-game situations are intentionally implemented.   Hence why you don’t see tickets being sold or the game even streamed. It’s just a practice where they kinda keep score. 
 

There should be no reason to lower any expectations for this team based on a secret scrimmage.  Round of 32 should be the minimum expectation in my opinion.  We’ve got the talent, time for Travis and the guys to execute. 

[SLUMedBilliken15]

6 minutes ago, gobillsgo said:

It was not even an exhibition against Bradley, it was a scrimmage. We have heard from multiple sources that the scrimmage is often stopped mid play for coaching purposes, and that certain in-game situations are intentionally implemented.   Hence why you don’t see tickets being sold or the game even streamed. It’s just a practice where they kinda keep score. 
 

There should be no reason to lower any expectations for this team based on a secret scrimmage.  Round of 32 should be the minimum expectation in my opinion.  We’ve got the talent, time for Travis and the guys to execute. 

It was mentioned on the radio that sometimes these scrimmages are stopped mid game.. I have no inside information, but I have no evidence that this actually happened during this game... The UMSL showing was not impressive either... I hope I am wrong... I just have set my expectations too high in years past... I'm just sipping a little less Kool-Aid after the "preseason" (scrimmage/exhibition).