Scruggs Coming Back

I remember reading an article before the 2018 dance saying because we had the lowest average victory margin of the #1 seeds (and maybe 1 and 2) that we had more than our share of "luck" during the season and that gave the analyst pause..turned out to be right in hindsight. I remember beating Creighton and Georgetown in last second, Struss rimming a 3 to tie the last game, Kanter coming up big in both St Johns games at end..our losses were not really close (Vilanova(2) and Providence). This year Naj hit some 3s to keep us in game, but a few more foul shots against Mrauette and Butler(even Providence) would have put us comfortably into the (non) dance.

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Originally Posted by Masterofreality

How comical is it that you are discounting a Final Four run where Loyola won 4 games vs higher rated seeds. It’s not like Clifton Community getting a pass because the entire bracket fell apart in front of them and they didn’t have to beat a higher seed.
Loyola beat 4 damn good teams to get there, with a damn effective offense. But just keep on with your ridiculous blind jealous hatred because Xavier’s never been to one.

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I don't hate Loyola nor am I jealous. Flags fly forever as they say, and no one can take away a Final Four appearance.

But come on dude, they won their first 3 games by a combined 4 points! The 1, 2 and 4 seeds in their region didn't make it out of the first weekend (props to Loyola for taking out the 3 seed, Tennessee was good, but the lowest ranked 3 seed on KenPom) and then they ran into a 9 seed without their best player in the Elite 8!

I don't think any less of Xavier's Sweet 16 run where they unseated traditional powers Lehigh and Georgia State in Round 2, but I also don't think those teams went on incredible tournament runs that proved how good they were. Gotta be realistic.

Have you really never commented on some of the fortune Butler got along the way to back to back title games?

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Originally Posted by AviatorX

I don't hate Loyola nor am I jealous. Flags fly forever as they say, and no one can take away a Final Four appearance.

But come on dude, they won their first 3 games by a combined 4 points! The 1, 2 and 4 seeds in their region didn't make it out of the first weekend (props to Loyola for taking out the 3 seed, Tennessee was good, but the lowest ranked 3 seed on KenPom) and then they ran into a 9 seed without their best player in the Elite 8!

I don't think any less of Xavier's Sweet 16 run where they unseated traditional powers Lehigh and Georgia State in Round 2, but I also don't think those teams went on incredible tournament runs that proved how good they were. Gotta be realistic.

Have you really never commented on some of the fortune Butler got along the way to back to back title games?

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I’m done with this. Just read my last 2 posts. EVERY team in the NCAA that goes on a deep run needs luck. A lot of it. He’ll, if JCages’ free throws doesn’t go in and out Beaknose Matta never gets to a Final 4. Just stop already.

Whew...at least we finally have agreement that Loyola's run was more about luck than some well oiled offensive system.

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Originally Posted by Smails

Whew...at least we finally have agreement that Loyola's run was more about luck than some well oiled offensive system.

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The best part: Loyola's offense wasn't even that good in 2018! It was significantly less efficient than Xavier's offense and we all know how that worked out. Not a one to one comparison by any stretch (potentially not even useful, but it's still funny), but Loyola's offense that season was the rough KenPom equivalent of Xavier's 2019 NIT second round offense. So I guess we're back to Steele being a genius?

This is my last "contribution" to this thread as well.

IMHO, we ended up discussing two separate topics here. They're interrelated, but they CAN (with emphasis) be discussed separately.

We have the topic of LUCK.

And we have the topic of TEAM (i.e. playing cohesively as a team).

No one can deny that luck plays a role in the NCAAT. It is a given. It is a very fair point to make.

Now I'll go back to why I used Loyola and the TEAM thing in the same sentence. THEY WERE FUN TO WATCH, because of how well they played together. Crisp passing. Great movement, etc. They simply were on the same page with one another as they otherwise pixie-dusted their way along their magical run.

I simply remembered watching them in their S16 and E8 games and thought about how well they had come together as a unit, and doing so with not highly rated athletes, all in all. Then I remembered some of our games this year, and regardless of the difference in competition and circumstances/setting, chuckled at how inept we looked at times.

TEAM. Cohesive. Playing together. It makes up for other deficiencies. Then again, TEAM plus TALENT is a very good thing.

That's what I'm looking forward to with Travis and Company this coming season.

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Originally Posted by xudash

This is my last "contribution" to this thread as well.

IMHO, we ended up discussing two separate topics here. They're interrelated, but they CAN (with emphasis) be discussed separately.

We have the topic of LUCK.

And we have the topic of TEAM (i.e. playing cohesively as a team).

No one can deny that luck plays a role in the NCAAT. It is a given. It is a very fair point to make.

Now I'll go back to why I used Loyola and the TEAM thing in the same sentence. THEY WERE FUN TO WATCH, because of how well they played together. Crisp passing. Great movement, etc. They simply were on the same page with one another as they otherwise pixie-dusted their way along their magical run.

I simply remembered watching them in their S16 and E8 games and thought about how well they had come together as a unit, and doing so with not highly rated athletes, all in all. Then I remembered some of our games this year, and regardless of the difference in competition and circumstances/setting, chuckled at how inept we looked at times.

TEAM. Cohesive. Playing together. It makes up for other deficiencies. Then again, TEAM plus TALENT is a very good thing.

That's what I'm looking forward to with Travis and Company this coming season.

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Good Post.

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Originally Posted by AviatorX

Have you really never commented on some of the fortune Butler got along the way to back to back title games?

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The biggest part of Butler’s “fortune” by far during those years was due to Brad Stevens: A brilliant coach with a talent for finding the right kind of “under the radar” recruits (with good skills + high basketball IQs) and a talent for molding those individuals into an incredibly productive and cohesive team.

While favorable matchups and luck often play into a lower seed team’s fortune (i.e. advancing in the tournament), it seems much less a big factor when that team has gone to back to back NCAA championship games. Butler had a phenomenal coach and a roster that had incredible confidence, chemistry, tenacity and a will to win.

It would be unfair to minimize the significance of great coaching and a well balanced team with great chemistry, when we see a lower seed team go on a deep run in the tournament. With the right combination of players and the right coach -all on the same page - a team is likely to get better and better and have a very good chance of knocking off teams with superior talent but worse coaching, chemistry and tenacity.

X fans know this well. We have seen our lower seed teams get better and find fortune in the NCAA Tournament time and again.

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Originally Posted by xudash

This is my last "contribution" to this thread as well.

IMHO, we ended up discussing two separate topics here. They're interrelated, but they CAN (with emphasis) be discussed separately.

We have the topic of LUCK.

And we have the topic of TEAM (i.e. playing cohesively as a team).

No one can deny that luck plays a role in the NCAAT. It is a given. It is a very fair point to make.

Now I'll go back to why I used Loyola and the TEAM thing in the same sentence. THEY WERE FUN TO WATCH, because of how well they played together. Crisp passing. Great movement, etc. They simply were on the same page with one another as they otherwise pixie-dusted their way along their magical run.

I simply remembered watching them in their S16 and E8 games and thought about how well they had come together as a unit, and doing so with not highly rated athletes, all in all. Then I remembered some of our games this year, and regardless of the difference in competition and circumstances/setting, chuckled at how inept we looked at times.

TEAM. Cohesive. Playing together. It makes up for other deficiencies. Then again, TEAM plus TALENT is a very good thing.

That's what I'm looking forward to with Travis and Company this coming season.

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EXACTLY!!!! Thank you Dash! Right on point.
And that point is, whether Travis Steele can craft an offense that is cohesive and precise and get players to buy in- ALL the players? Haven't seen it yet, but it needs to happen.