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It's really unfortunate that after an 8 game winning streak and such a hot start in conference we are now in this situation BUT... If we can't pull it out against Tulsa which let's be honest is a 50/50 proposition at best we could be staring a 3 game losing streak right in the eye. I don't think UH will be a walk in the park especially if our offensive struggles continue.
The hardest part of our schedule is just beginning and 5-6 conference losses in this very weak conference could spell disaster for our NCAA tournament chances. If we want to be taken seriously we can't just lose to Tulsa, Cinci, Uconn, and Memphis on the road. Let's also not pretend that this is not a realistic possibility.
I hope that we take care of business tomorrow and in Houston and get rolling again but at some point we need to beat some GOOD teams on the road this year.

It's put up or shut up time...PONY UP!

is the sky falling already?

did you forget we just blew out houston?

Junior wrote:did you forget we just blew out houston?

Did you see any of their Tulsa game? They had what looked like a 12 year old on their bench. Please use any game against any other opponent as an example.

The point is...we should blow out Houston. No questions. We should have beat Cincinnati. We haven't beat any significant opponents, and were close against our other good opponent Temple...and now have lost twice to Cincinnati. I think we will be fine and the team will grow from this...because if not, they will be looking in from the outside again.

can't take any opponent lightly. Tulsa blew out USF in Tampa and then needed OT to beat them in Tulsa. Houston just beat UConn so they are capable on any given night. Have to respect EVERY opponent, or have some of you already forgotten Midwestern State?

Puckhead48E wrote:We haven't beat any significant opponents, and were close against our other good opponent Temple

I'm confused by this. We won at Temple. Are you saying they are not a significant opponent? They currently sit 43rd in the RPI and would probably make the tournament if the season ended today. We beat Wyoming - they are in first place in the MW and 69th in RPI. We won at Michigan, yes they are down but still 6-5 in the Big 10 and 81st in the RPI. We beat Eastern Washington - they are second place in their conference and 65th in RPI. What qualifies as a significant opponent in your mind?

We will win tonight.

Lets say the cliche must win

Significant opponent = top50. Last year we blasted top25 teams. Temple was a good win but nothing amazing.

fifty wrote:Significant opponent = top50. Last year we blasted top25 teams. Temple was a good win but nothing amazing.

This. They aren't significant if it takes us claiming it. We had a great OOC schedule at the beginning of the year...maybe one season too soon. We looked bad in several of those games, so when they look at our RPI and SOS, they will look at those early scores and we lose some credit for that strong schedule. Michigan is not good this year. Wyoming and Washington are nice wins...but just that. Temple was a very good challenge, definitely our best away win so far (potentially our best win period), but they are inconsistent. Their Kansas win (by almost 20) helps us, but their weakness against other conference opponents counteracts that. Need to run the table and should do it. We are in a position where we need to do well in the conference championships, and we need to win. Never take the match to the referees for a decision, knock your opponent out to control your destiny. Should have done that in the first half on Thursday when we easily could have been up by 15 or 20 before half...and look what we got. Must win.

We win by 10 tonight, then roll Houston.

To win the AAC and therefore make the tourney (and even to win 1 or 2 in the tourney), the formula is very simple: guard the 3 ball and our bigs have to SCORE. Teams like Cincy who can match us in the front court and are gritty, defensive teams are the biggest threat (if their 3 ball starts dropping, then it's game over -- see Arky and Cincy and Zags . . . Indy is still a mystery, let's just write that one off shall we).

Now, the good news is that there aren't many teams that can do that and maybe 1-2 in the AAC (Cincy and Temple). If Tulsa gets hot and we play sloppy, we lose. If we guard the 3 ball well and feed the bigs early and often and they put the biscuit in the basket, we win by 10+. Simple formula. It's a long season. I, for one, would like us to actually WIN a game when it's close (as CC said, we either win by 10+ or lose . . . Temple game being the exception because MK was a man possessed with FOE in tow . . . can't rely on that as the "consistent way to win" formula).

Next year will almost be the complete opposite . . . unfortunately.

It's a shame that the AAC teams have such low RPIs and the perception is that the conference is down. I'd put Cincy, Tulsa, and Temple up against any program - tough enough and well coached enough to beat many of these "name" schools ESPECIALLY in the Big12.

Junior wrote:We win by 10 tonight, then roll Houston.

This

Will be there with dad sitting in 106 cheering the Stangs! This team has also shown the ability to respond to desperate situations, I think they will perceive this as a must win and make-up for the loss the other night. Get it done Ponies!