Where are we after OOC?

by **sadderbudweiser** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 12:49 pm

Well.... Won/loss wise we are right where i expected... 3 Losses.

But never would i have guessed the series of events of the past 45 days!

I figured one of the losses would come from NYC but no way i saw the ass- whuppin we took from Mchigan coming. I figured we'd lose at USC. And i figured one more loss most likely from either Pitt or Boise State.
We are not a good road team.

Australia has seceded. We are pretty much in the same situation right now as we were a year ago as we left Vegas: seven solid guys any team would be happy to have and virtually nothing after that.

The major difference: we can play post season.

I had hoped that both Aussies would be contributing meaningful minutes instead of accumulating frequent flyer miles on Quantas. So that requires a reset of expectations.

At some point our depth catches up with us....immediately if a starter goes down via injury....close the window, all bets are off! Or it could just be dead legs as the season wears on. Mid February looks tough enough even with a longer bench.

If we can stay healthy with just a nick here and there ( no pun intended) i say we can go 14-4 or 13-5. In years past that's a pretty good seed in the conference tourney and i think 14-4 puts us second this year. 13-5? Could be a 4 seed. I think Cincy wins the reg season and gets the one.

I think we are doomed by the lack of depth in the conference tourney with a very good chance of going down in the semis no matter who we face. If we are healthy 1-7 we give anybody a pretty good game but can't steal the win.

We SNEAK into the NCAAS at 8 losses, maybe even nine if we dont blow a game vs the bottom 5 in the conference.

Whatever happens it will be yet another year where we all are extremely proud of he toughness and dedication of our roster.

Pony up baby.

by **Stallion** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 1:38 pm

yeah not exactly a team designed to make a tournament run-let's just have some fun and see where it goes-the goal is to bridge the probation and maintain the program. Need to fill the Aussie spots with at least 1 quality inside starter

by **mustangxc** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 2:01 pm

mustangxc wrote:11-2 losing to Pitt/USC/Boise State
13-5 in conference with losses at Memphis, at Cincinnati, at Temple, at Houston, at UCONN
2-1 in conference tournament
2-1 in NCAA tournament with an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen

1 more non-conference loss than I expected, and I expect similar results to last season in conference play thanks to a short bench. 13-5 seems about right so I will stick to my predictions. I'm not as confident about the conference tournament prediction as I think 1-1 may be more likely. These additional losses would put us at 24-9 on Selection Sunday and I think we would be a bubble team but I stand by my earlier prediction that 24 wins gets us in.

I'm not as confident about my prediction for NCAA tournament play as I think it is more likely to be one and done or second round.

by **smusic 00** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 2:32 pm

AAC looks a lot weaker than we predicted. I don't believe the conference will get much respect in March. Fingers crossed.

by **JasonB** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 4:19 pm

Conference is really weak.

We will lose a couple of surprise games over the course of the year as we get banged up. That said, Nic was really prone to injuries, while this team doesn't seem to have the fragile pieces.

I think we finish 1st or second in the conference.

I actually think that with our shooting ability, our overall length, and the advantage of wing play in the half court when games are called tighter, we might actually be a good tourney team.. Big-driven teams don't dominate as much anymore.

by **sadderbudweiser** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 5:01 pm

Hey..... we could be UCONN.

At least we're not there. Yes... we may be a two bid conference.

But UCF and Memphis May over-deliver.
Temple and Houston will be up and down as usual.

Hopefully we catch them down.

by **Charleston Pony** » Sat Dec 24, 2016 6:22 pm

10-3 is one better than I thought we'd be. I thought coming in this team would win 20 with 9-4 and 11-7 and how well we played in AAC Tourney would dictate post-season opportunities. I still have to see this team beat somebody decent on the road to expect any better than 11-7 in AAC play. That could start at Memphis, but I'm not expecting a win there. I was counting on getting road wins at ECU and Tulane. I'm hopeful we can beat UCF at their place and defend Moody but have to assume somebody will sweep us this year. We have the ability to sweep someone so should be fun the rest of the way but I will still be pleased with anything better than 20-11 regular season. Let's ask this question again at the end of AAC regular season play. Hopefully our team will be healthy and playing their best basketball by early March

by **smupony94** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:38 am

by **SMUstang07** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 4:06 pm

Good chance we don't beat a tournament team all year. Hopefully the committee doesn't notice that.

by **PonySnob** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 4:28 pm

SMUstang07 wrote:Good chance we don't beat a tournament team all year. Hopefully the committee doesn't notice that.

Pitt maybe?

by **smusic 00** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 11:54 pm

Well the year we beat a few tournament teams they didn't seem to notice, either.

by **LA_Mustang** » Mon Dec 26, 2016 12:40 am

I agree with smusic.

by **sadderbudweiser** » Mon Dec 26, 2016 4:08 pm

TCU is going. Just ask 'em. :wink: