GAME THREAD: MBB at Virginia Tech

[ponyte]

Every game is important down the stretch and road wins are always a huge plus.

We have Pitt (November golden team), WF which is tied with us in 4th and Clemson yet to play. Add in two tough road games with Cal and Stanford, FSU is on the road as is ND. Both are well behind us in conference but both are road games. Syracuse is a home game late and we may need that game near the end of the regular season for a crucial win. Wish I felt any of the games were Given wins.

Gusty win on the road last night. Get a slight break to work on areas of improvement and then the final 8 games. This could be a really huge SMU basketball stretch or a let down.

[Dukie]

Every game is important down the stretch and road wins are always a huge plus.

We have Pitt (November golden team), WF which is tied with us in 4th and Clemson yet to play. Add in two tough road games with Cal and Stanford, FSU is on the road as is ND. Both are well behind us in conference but both are road games. Syracuse is a home game late and we may need that game near the end of the regular season for a crucial win. Wish I felt any of the games were Given wins.

Gusty win on the road last night. Get a slight break to work on areas of improvement and then the final 8 games. This could be a really huge SMU basketball stretch or a let down.

Root for Clemson to basically win out except for losing to SMU (I mean, *I* won't be doing that fully, because I don't want Duke to lose in Littlejohn in two days; but otherwise, I am a huge IPTAYer). Clemson moving up from their current NET #33 into the Top 30 at season-end makes SMU's home game with the Tigers the only likely shot at a Q1 win. I know some of you think a Q1 win isn't absolutely required; I disagree. Especially if committee chair Bubba Cunningham is choosing between us and his beloved Tar Holes.

Stanford is the other realistic possibility of a Q1 win, because for an away game "Quadrant 1" goes all the way down to #75, and Stanford is currently #77. Go Tigers (mostly), Go Cardinal.

There's also the chance of picking up neutral-site Q1 wins in the ACC tournament, but (1) SMU is not likely to play Q1 teams even there and (2) conference tournaments are generally viewed as "too hard" for the committee to quickly judge and rerate teams; remember when we beat Cincy in New Haven in the AAC final to complete a regular-season and tournament championship run (2017, I think), and should have been seeded several rungs higher than them, but somehow we were both seven seeds.

[highlander]

I think to get in we have to win out. But if we do that, we're in, regardless of what happens with any other team, or what we do in the ACC tournament.