We are an NIT team

[sadderbudweiser]

That might be the absolute worst "team performance" I've witnessed since LB promised to pick you up at the airport.

I've pretty much figured this as a rebuilding year all along but have been teased at times by efforts that show "potential." In reality, that is all it is.....potential.

I'll start with Jank. He flat got out-coached by a coach on the hot seat with completely inferior talent. Ollie seemed one step ahead all night. He called the right timeouts, he let his guys shoot threes even though the experts (and the non experts) kept saying not too. He trusted his guys. He won.

The players? They had the kind of start you want on the road...up 8-0. Ollie called the TO and changed the defense up....Vital got hot before anybody put a hand in his face...partially on Jank but also the slow or non-existent close out at a time when the D needed to ratchet up instead of down.

I do think that maybe that shot to the head affected Shake for the rest of the game. I'm surprised there was no concussion protocol.

Gu, like Jarrey, is one tough MF but had a really bad night.

McMurray? C'mon man....we've got to get him the ball the right way and not the "let me pull something out of my [deleted]" way.

Chargois is so far ahead of his projections he is currently experiencing "sophomore slump."

Agau: you are not Patrick Ewing just yet...keep boxing out please....and STFU to the refs.

Whitt be Whitt....I love his game. He will never be mistaken for a first team All American but he contributes
constantly. Some nights he shoots better than others. I give him a passing grade.

Douglas: So close! We might have changed the outcome big time had he nailed that three that rimmed out at a crucial point in the second half. But he didn't get down....he ran the floor to make an amazing block...
he'll get there.

Landrum: did he even play? If he did I didn't notice.

NIT with home games would be a very good thing for this crew.

Yes....this optimist is bummed.

[PonyTime]

Here is your roadmap:

We have 5 Marquee games left to significantly improve our profile:

Houston
Cincinnati
Wichita State
Houston
2nd round AAC tourney game against Wichita or Cincinnati

We need to win 3 of these 5 games and take care of business elsewhere (ECU, Tulsa, UCF, USF, Memphis, 1st round AAC Tourney)

22-11 record - could even drop one @Tulsa or @UCF and still end up 21-12 and in the conversation. The key is winning 3 of the 5 marquee games so that we will pick up another Top 15 win.

I don't have a lot of confidence at this point (esp with the injuries) - but this team has completely surprised me every time I counted them out.

[PonyTime]

That might be the absolute worst "team performance" I've witnessed since LB promised to pick you up at the airport.

I've pretty much figured this as a rebuilding year all along but have been teased at times by efforts that show "potential." In reality, that is all it is.....potential.

I'll start with Jank. He flat got out-coached by a coach on the hot seat with completely inferior talent. Ollie seemed one step ahead all night. He called the right timeouts, he let his guys shoot threes even though the experts (and the non experts) kept saying not too. He trusted his guys. He won.

The players? They had the kind of start you want on the road...up 8-0. Ollie called the TO and changed the defense up....Vital got hot before anybody put a hand in his face...partially on Jank but also the slow or non-existent close out at a time when the D needed to ratchet up instead of down.

I do think that maybe that shot to the head affected Shake for the rest of the game. I'm surprised there was no concussion protocol.

Gu, like Jarrey, is one tough MF but had a really bad night.

McMurray? C'mon man....we've got to get him the ball the right way and not the "let me pull something out of my [deleted]" way.

Chargois is so far ahead of his projections he is currently experiencing "sophomore slump."

Agau: you are not Patrick Ewing just yet...keep boxing out please....and STFU to the refs.

Whitt be Whitt....I love his game. He will never be mistaken for a first team All American but he contributes
constantly. Some nights he shoots better than others. I give him a passing grade.

Douglas: So close! We might have changed the outcome big time had he nailed that three that rimmed out at a crucial point in the second half. But he didn't get down....he ran the floor to make an amazing block...
he'll get there.

Landrum: did he even play? If he did I didn't notice.

NIT with home games would be a very good thing for this crew.

Yes....this optimist is bummed.

Landrum stuck the ball on the backboard on his three point attempt in the 1st half. Other than that - Nada.

[RGV Pony]

That might be the absolute worst "team performance" I've witnessed since LB promised to pick you up at the airport.

I've pretty much figured this as a rebuilding year all along but have been teased at times by efforts that show "potential." In reality, that is all it is.....potential.

I'll start with Jank. He flat got out-coached by a coach on the hot seat with completely inferior talent. Ollie seemed one step ahead all night. He called the right timeouts, he let his guys shoot threes even though the experts (and the non experts) kept saying not too. He trusted his guys. He won.

The players? They had the kind of start you want on the road...up 8-0. Ollie called the TO and changed the defense up....Vital got hot before anybody put a hand in his face...partially on Jank but also the slow or non-existent close out at a time when the D needed to ratchet up instead of down.

I do think that maybe that shot to the head affected Shake for the rest of the game. I'm surprised there was no concussion protocol.

Gu, like Jarrey, is one tough MF but had a really bad night.

McMurray? C'mon man....we've got to get him the ball the right way and not the "let me pull something out of my [deleted]" way.

Chargois is so far ahead of his projections he is currently experiencing "sophomore slump."

Agau: you are not Patrick Ewing just yet...keep boxing out please....and STFU to the refs.

Whitt be Whitt....I love his game. He will never be mistaken for a first team All American but he contributes
constantly. Some nights he shoots better than others. I give him a passing grade.

Douglas: So close! We might have changed the outcome big time had he nailed that three that rimmed out at a crucial point in the second half. But he didn't get down....he ran the floor to make an amazing block...
he'll get there.

Landrum: did he even play? If he did I didn't notice.

NIT with home games would be a very good thing for this crew.

Yes....this optimist is bummed.

Agree with this entire post

[Pony ^]

Only thing I disagree about is Agau and refs. I absolutely love that someone, anybody, says something. That was the biggest phantom call ever. Our coach needs to stand up for Agau and take over the argument which happened to be a valid one. We need fire and Agau shows it.

[JasonB]

Only thing I disagree about is Agau and refs. I absolutely love that someone, anybody, says something. That was the biggest phantom call ever. Our coach needs to stand up for Agau and take over the argument which happened to be a valid one. We need fire and Agau shows it.

This team is undermanned. They need fire and a leader. I don't think Sterling was bad for the team and something like that would be a nice addition.

[mustang92]

I was irrationally optimistic until last night. I'm not down on the team or the coaches, but I'm sadly facing the fact that the NCAA tournament is a pipe dream. I'm not sure we could get in even if we won out at this point - and that would involve beating WSU, Cincy, and Houston twice. I would be thrilled if that happened, but we've certainly not shown enough consistency to expect it.

We're 3 scholarships down already. Plus another because Mike is on the bench sitting out. Jarrey and Ray are both out for the year. We have 8 players, 2 of which played last year, and 3 of which are true freshmen. We got spoiled last year with our success with 7 players, but, as someone pointed out earlier, how many teams have all 5 starters in the NBA (Shake will certainly go there, and before his injury, I would say Jarrey was a lock too).

The [deleted] probation is catching up with us. This is exactly what was supposed to happen as a result of our punishment. I would love for us to be able to overcome the adversity and prove to the ncaa that we can succeed even when they actively try to cripple us, but I don't know many teams that would have much more success given these circumstances.

Also, people being down on Agau make me furious. That infection was not a small thing, and he couldn't practice or work out at all for 2 months. He's showing continual improvement, and any disappointing results are because of the injury, not because of his lack of either talent or effort. So, in addition to all the adversity listed above, we also have a grad transfer that isn't playing at 100%, regardless of how or why.

I was irrationally hopeful, and this season has been a roller coaster. They lose in the Bahamas, then they beat Arizona, then they lose again, then they kill USC & Boise, then they drop 2 in a row to inferior teams and break the Moody streak, then they turn around and beat WSU on the road, then last night. I get hopeful, then I get punched in the gut. The reality is, this group of guys - this particular combination of people, talent, injuries, and experience is probably going to the NIT. Maybe we'll be highly seeded in that and get some home games. That would be cool even if they'll probably be in the middle of the week, and I'll be unable to go. Maybe some crazy miracle happens and they win the AAC tournament and get an automatic bid. Stranger things have happened.

I'm sad, but I still think Jank is good for the program, and the program is still on an upward trajectory. We'll be fine in the long run, even if we have to settle for the NIT this year.

All that being said, it still hurts every time I think about that d@mn USC game last year. I think we could have gone REALLY deep if we hadn't blown that game, and beating baylor would have been so so sweet. That was basically the first game of the season that our 7-man roster bit us. Knowing we're probably looking at the NIT makes me re-live that more often and makes it hurt even worse.

I'm trying to remain optimistic overall for the team, the program, and the future, but I'm woefully depressed about the reality of this season.

[Pony_Law]

If we beat UC WSU and houston twice, we would proabably get in so long as we don't lose to ECU or USF. The problem is we won't win those 4 games. I'd be ecstatic if we went 2-2 vs Houston CU and WSU.

I agree the probation is catching up along with a regression of the mean regarding injuries (we have been really lucky the last 6 years in that department).

This team is confusing as a fan because when we are on we are really good (like top 25 good). When we are off we are really mediocre. To me that is a product of being really inexperienced and our match up issues.

How far we have come where being a high seed NIT team is a huge disappointment. Next year looks good if the inexperienced players grow as you would expect.

[mrydel]

We still have a pretty good team even with all the issues with injury and probation. Probably will not make the big tourney but Mustang basketball is still a fun ride and I think will continue to be for some time. Enjoy it.

[PonyLawExpress]

Dang if PLE thinks we are NIT team that’s not good. Normally you’ve been pretty positive about NCAA and I don’t disagree with your assessment. Just kind of counting on a sunshiner viewpoint to the doom and gloom.

@PLE: if we beat WSU at home and beat 2 of 3 (Tulsa, UCF and Houston) and win obvious games (ECU and USF), shouldn’t we get in. Especially if we have resume wins since the narrative is Committee looks at wins rather than losses.

Yeah, I am generally optimistic, but also a realist. We are just too inconsistent.
It depends what we do in the other game against UH and the game against UC.

22-9 (12-6) is probably what it would take to get in, since we have some real good resume wins. UConn loss doesn't change that it just makes it really hard to achieve. We probably have to win 4 out of 6 against (@Tulsa, @UH, UC, @UCF, WSU, UH) and the easy ones to get in.

My guess is 3-3 out of those 6 games. A 21-10 team would likely either have to win conference tourney of make the championship (might be enough).

If we still had Jarrey, I think we would make the tourney. Without him and with how inconsistent the team and particularly Jahmal McMurray (who we needed to step up) is can't see much better at this stage. Ask me again on 2/11. By that point we should know if we got a chance or not.

Bright side: We should be better next season.

I am always an optimist, but curious on why you think we'll be better next season? .

My reasoning would better be explained over a beer, but the short version is that I think the team as a whole will be better next season despite losing our best player.

I think we will be a much better rebounding team, we will be able to actually play man-man defense again, actually have good D1 experience, have some team chemistry, and will/should have true depth. Despite having Shake we struggle in all of these categories this season and it makes us very inconsistent.

Losing Shake will REALLY hurt, but we should be more balanced. Adding I.Mike who would almost certainly be 3rd or 4th best player on the team this season (counting Jarrey). I expect Chargois to progress nicely as he gets stronger, in a little better shape and has a full season of ups and downs under his belt. Add Jarrey back at the 3. That should be a very good rebounding team and very athletic. Jimmy Whitt has been very impressive and he should continue to improve his game and find the spots he is lethal. McMurray will be the big determining factor. If he can get into flow over the offseason and be consistent next year he could be that Rob Gray/1st team all conference guard he has the potential to be.

On top of that pretty stout starting 5 we add Feron Hunt who is like a 6'8 Jarrey type player. Think he will give us some decent minutes. I have high hopes for Douglas, but putting those aside all 3 freshman should be at least marginally better and much more experienced and game-ready due to being Soph's and having a full off season. This is not even mentioning if Akoy can actually get healthy. I would love us to add a Grad-Transfer 2-Guard who is a knock down 3-shooter to be our 6th-man and McMurray/Douglas insurance.

I thought/said that going into this season (though I did think we would be a 9-11 seed this year) that I thought the 18-19 team would be better.

The end of this season should be very interesting. This team has the talent to play with anyone in this conference, but also the weaknesses to lose to almost anyone so should be a rollercoaster.

[Rebel10]

Doesn’t the CIT have a best 2 out of 3 final. Not suggesting that the team will not make the NCAA tournament just asking.

[Charleston Pony]

Doesn’t the CIT have a best 2 out of 3 final. Not suggesting that the team will not make the NCAA tournament just asking.

Yes

[RI Stang]

I'm not sure we could get in even if we won out at this point - and that would involve beating WSU, Cincy, and Houston twice.

We would most definitely get in if we won out - we are just barely on the outside looking in of almost every projection right now. Very unlikely to happen obviously but we easily get in if we were to do that.

[huskerpower]

Only thing I disagree about is Agau and refs. I absolutely love that someone, anybody, says something. That was the biggest phantom call ever. Our coach needs to stand up for Agau and take over the argument which happened to be a valid one. We need fire and Agau shows it.

I refer to your mention of "fire" as team leadership. This team is lacking of that. This isn't something that can be coached. THX for having Akoy's back

[No Quarter]

Maybe we finish very strong and go to the NCAA. Numbers, fatigue and inexperience make that problematic. Maybe we finish almost as good and go to the NIT. That will be an achievement. CIT selection criteria include performance in the last ten games. Nothing can be assumed at this point but but best case is Houston and on and two games or more in the AAC tournament.

Say we are invited to the CIT. Is the cost worth the dollar reward? Would the university / athletic department / basketball program ask the players about their wishes? Do they automatically want one more game like some fans? Have top BB players ever declined participation in post season games as is happening with FB players who who want to be uninjured at draft time?

Not sure in my mind if I to hear the familiar litany of the DP in another sport and the serial violations of LB coached teams and on and on from a new set of announcers.

It has been a hard season. Maybe it is time to take a rest.

But if they play and it is televised I will watch.

GO PONIES.