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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2013 12:12:25 GMT -5
Glad someone else pointed out St Joes getting that 8. I know LSU will be improved compared to the last few ugly years, but ESPN has them as the featured OOS matchup for a handful of A10 teams. Because they're being circled by the ESPN pundits for many of our conference rivals, what's the real scoop on LSU? Took a quick look and they return five of their top six scorers and are bringing in a Top 25 recruiting class. They went 19-12 last season. |
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Post by coachd on Sept 9, 2013 12:20:20 GMT -5
It seems like Martelli wrote that.
Did you notice - The guy left out the game against Temple - a game that is being televised on his own network!
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Post by a10champion15 on Sept 9, 2013 12:20:26 GMT -5
LSU is the SEC sleeper this year. They were a decent team last year with nearly all their starters returning and their conference schedule plays to their advantage as well. I would think of them probably on Ole Miss level last year, a team that may or may not make the tournament till the very end.
La Salle could play Maryland who is a going to be a very solid team, I would think they could be a marquee opponent. You can't discount Villanova either they could be a Top 25 team. Providence also could be a very good squad this year as well who should easily handle Vandy in the tourney.
Our biggest chance for marquee matches is in the conference, the A10 going to be stacked everyone improved and it only takes a team or 2 on top of VCU, SLU and us to be a top 40 RPI team. With nearly ten teams that could be solid in the conference it is hard to imagine that one or two teams besides those three won't step out in front like Richmond or Mass for example. I may be being optimistic but another five bid year and most teams being within the top 100 rpi isn't out of the question whatsoever.
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MisterD
The Baptist Himself
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Post by MisterD on Sept 9, 2013 12:48:26 GMT -5
Criticizing mid-majors for lacking BCS opponents is like one step below criticizing Josh Gibson for not hitting any MLB homeruns.
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Post by talkinbball on Sept 9, 2013 14:53:03 GMT -5
Regardless of winning all those "strategically scheduled RPI games", if we don't beat ranked VCU and Butler teams last year we would not have gotten a sniff of the Tournament. Now Butler is gone and, if we don't beat VCU, I don't see where in the schedule we can pick up an impressive win to influence the tournament decision makers. Can't see wins against teams in lower level conferences making a difference on selection Sunday.
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Post by explorer88 on Sept 9, 2013 15:03:12 GMT -5
Regardless of winning all those "strategically scheduled RPI games", if we don't beat ranked VCU and Butler teams last year we would not have gotten a sniff of the Tournament. Now Butler is gone and, if we don't beat VCU, I don't see where in the schedule we can pick up an impressive win to influence the tournament decision makers. Can't see wins against teams in lower level conferences making a difference on selection Sunday. Winning those games keeps you in the conversation if you can beat VCU, St. Louis, and perhaps road wins against Miami, Nova. and at UMASS. In fact keeping the RPI high against those teams allows us to lose to Nova away and suffer acceptable"defeats". Quite simply the schedule was made to keep La Salle as safe as possible against losses and in position to get a bid if we take care of business as expected. G really works the schedule to achive this and all in all he does a great job at it. If BCS teams don't want to play there is not much you can do. |
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Post by durenduren on Sept 9, 2013 15:13:45 GMT -5
Think we'll have a real crack at the Big 5 title again this year. Read Nova's write up for OOS preview, they praised the grudge matches of the Big 5 a lot. Maybe the committee views the Big 5 the same way. History says if you grab a share of the title, you're in a position to dance.
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Post by luhoopsfan on Sept 9, 2013 15:55:22 GMT -5
It's a blessing and a curse to be a team like La Salle these days. We're good enough to beat 98% of teams if we play our game, but that means a lot of the big boys won't be willing to play you. It's not as though there's a rule that says if a team asks you to play them you have to say yes. To G's credit, he won't do 2-for-1 deals and I don't think he should unless it's a PREMIER matchup, which to me would be limited to Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, UCLA, and Duke simply because of the recruiting exposure. Otherwise, there's not a true benefit to playing them on the road so much. But the other teams don't want to play us because there's a good chance they would lose at home and regardless of our recent success, it will be a "upset". Only way to work around this is to be a regular NCAA participant, but then again, even Gonzaga, Xavier and Butler struggle to schedule games.
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Post by talkinbball on Sept 10, 2013 9:26:12 GMT -5
Whether we agree or disagree on this subject, it's great to feel like we are relevant again and will be part of the discussion at the end of the season.
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Post by SICguy84 on Sept 10, 2013 10:59:05 GMT -5
Duren's picture is on ESPN's NCAAM page weekly.
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Post by ck on Sept 10, 2013 12:56:18 GMT -5
Article by Lee Kunkel in City of Basketball Love is nicely optimistic. Projects La Salle 23-7 with a bye in the first round of the A10 tournament. If they win it and go 25-7, and say beat Temple or Villanova, and Miami and Penn State (granted not great 2013-2014 teams) could get a nice seeding and perhaps rival last year's success. Given they'll be deeper, esp. on front line, perhaps even sneak into elite 8?
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Post by luhoopsfan on Sept 10, 2013 13:08:00 GMT -5
EVERYTHING went exactly right last year in order to get to the Sweet 16, except for Zack getting injured, I don't think it's reasonable to expect that kind of good fortune again.
I will say that I think if 100% healthy, there are only about 10 teams this team should not have an expectation of beating, any other team I would say this group could beat. The wild card becomes the game site. Winning at Nova this season will be tough. It's doable for sure, but will be a huge challenge.
One thing to consider, this group played on the biggest stage and was never intimidated by the moment, I think it will make road games a little less daunting to them. I think it's a new era of basketball at La Salle and a few more seasons of regular past season appearances and success will only cultivate the development and solidify the program.
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Post by jellybean on Sept 10, 2013 15:01:14 GMT -5
Funny that a guy from ESPN takes issue with our OOC schedule when ESPN gave us Quinnipiac for one of their Marathon games. Maybe they could have matched us with a Big Monday team.
The writer also didn't mention that G called the top 50-60 RPI teams from last year and got shut out.
Too bad the Maryland C went in the lottery a year early or Miami's Larkin went pro. Coaches make schedules a couple of years in advance hoping a team like Miami will continue to be strong. As luck would have it Miami by all accounts will not be as strong and our OOC will suffer a slight blow.
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Post by coachd on Sept 10, 2013 16:06:48 GMT -5
jb, what is OCC? Do you mean Out Of Confernce (OOC)?
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Post by jellybean on Sept 10, 2013 16:10:24 GMT -5
done.
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odog
Mop-Up Time
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Post by odog on Sept 10, 2013 18:39:28 GMT -5
Duren's picture is on ESPN's NCAAM page weekly. Any time an Explorer leads a photo trio that follows with a Tar Heel and a Hoya, that's beautiful. |
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Post by luhoopsfan on Oct 2, 2013 20:07:20 GMT -5
Game against PSU will be on ESPN3 - wonder if TCN is CSN will pick this one up
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