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Thread: Road Win!

  1. #81
    All-Conference LA Muskie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoMuskies View Post
    Add Virginia to that list. Any team that plays in the ACC and gets to January 31 undefeated takes a backseat to no one.
    I thought about Virginia. And I don't disagree that perhaps they should be in that category. But I don't think they actually would be. Probably because of their lack of reputation and history. They are undefeated yet have ZERO #1 coaches' votes and only ONE #1 AP vote (I'm guessing based in VA) despite having a marginally better strength of schedule and having far fewer close games than UK (their only real "close" game was their 2OT at Miami, although their game against Rutgers was brutally ugly...).

    Also, bear in mind that while they have gotten through January undefeated in the ACC so far, their only real opponent of consequence was Notre Dame (great road win for them, though). In the next 10 days they play Duke, @ UNC, and Louisville. I don't see them coming out of those 3 undefeated. If they do, they also have games at NC State, Syracuse, and Louisville to close out the season (all of which are brutal on the road, even if the first two aren't having stellar seasons).

    But if Virginia is still undefeated (or even a 1 loss team) come selection time, I tend to agree that a home win over them should trump the vast majority of road wins and put them up there with Kentucky.
    Last edited by LA Muskie; 01-29-2015 at 02:02 PM.

  2. #82
    Senior PMI's Avatar
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    I think part of the reason UVA lacks the #1 votes is simply because Kentucky started the season #1 and hasn't lost. The rankings work fairly scientifically for the most part, if you lose you fall and if you win you rise as (if someone right ahead of you lost) and it usually doesn't even really matter who it is you play for that. Kentucky entered the season with the reputation of having one of the most stacked teams ever, and it hasn't lost yet, so there's not much of a chance that anyone could take many, if any, of their first place votes. I've watched Virginia play once in person and a few times on TV this year. They are outstanding. They play the pack line defense as well as or better than I've ever seen it played and they can give any team in the nation (maybe save UK) matchup problems. Whether or not the committee views what win as what, I don't know, but I can tell you that beating UVA on any floor would be a hell of an accomplishment for any team. The thing is, even if UVA has a big time off night offensively, which has happened a couple times, their defense is so good that they still find ways to win. Bennet is an excellent coach and they have some steel balls in of their own in their lineup. I would not want to be anywhere near them in the bracket.

  3. #83
    All-Conference LA Muskie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PMI View Post
    I think part of the reason UVA lacks the #1 votes is simply because Kentucky started the season #1 and hasn't lost. The rankings work fairly scientifically for the most part, if you lose you fall and if you win you rise as (if someone right ahead of you lost) and it usually doesn't even really matter who it is you play for that. Kentucky entered the season with the reputation of having one of the most stacked teams ever, and it hasn't lost yet, so there's not much of a chance that anyone could take many, if any, of their first place votes. I've watched Virginia play once in person and a few times on TV this year. They are outstanding. They play the pack line defense as well as or better than I've ever seen it played and they can give any team in the nation (maybe save UK) matchup problems. Whether or not the committee views what win as what, I don't know, but I can tell you that beating UVA on any floor would be a hell of an accomplishment for any team. The thing is, even if UVA has a big time off night offensively, which has happened a couple times, their defense is so good that they still find ways to win. Bennet is an excellent coach and they have some steel balls in of their own in their lineup. I would not want to be anywhere near them in the bracket.
    I agree with all of this. Especially their defense. It's flat-out ridiculous. I don't care who you are playing (save, perhaps, the Sisters of the Poor) -- when you are holding teams to 26 (Rutgers), 27 (Harvard) and 28 (Georgia Tech) you are playing defense nearly perfectly.

  4. #84
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Muskie View Post
    I agree with all of this. Especially their defense. It's flat-out ridiculous. I don't care who you are playing (save, perhaps, the Sisters of the Poor) -- when you are holding teams to 26 (Rutgers), 27 (Harvard) and 28 (Georgia Tech) you are playing defense nearly perfectly.
    Part of that is their ridiculously slow tempo.

    KenPom actually rates Kentucky's defense better.

  5. #85
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    Quote Originally Posted by XU '11 View Post
    Part of that is their ridiculously slow tempo.

    KenPom actually rates Kentucky's defense better.
    True, part of it is their slow tempo, but they still have pretty much perfected the pack line. Kentucky is one of the most talented defensive basketball teams you will ever see. They have ridiculous length and athleticism. Definitely clearly the two best defenses in the country, which is why it's not shocking that they're 1 and 2.

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    Looking at the per-possession numbers is interesting. By that metric, you have the following:

    1) Kentucky
    ...
    ...
    ...
    2) Virginia
    ...
    ...
    3) San Diego State
    ...
    ...
    Everyone else


    Too bad for SDSU, their offense sucks. Kentucky's offense is about on par with ours, while Virginia's is the first after the elite group.
    Last edited by XUFan09; 01-29-2015 at 03:32 PM.

  7. #87
    Supporting Member Retire33's Avatar
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    Road Win!

    Quote Originally Posted by xu82 View Post
    Kevin Frey. Wow. That's the kind of scrappy player every team needs at least one of.
    I personally believe JP has a lot of Kevin in him. Will not be shocked if he gets punched in face at some point in his career.
    Brown against Burton...Brown starting his dribble...He moves in, he pops up....SCOOORRREESSS!....LENNY BROWN!...XAVIER WINS IT!...THE MUSKIES WIN IT!...71-69...The UC Bearcats are #1 in the country, #2 in their OWN CITY! - Andy MacWilliams

  8. #88
    All-Conference LA Muskie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Retire33 View Post
    I personally believe JP has a lot of Kevin in him. Will not be shocked if he gets punched in face at some point in his career.
    I would be much more surprised if he's NOT clocked at some point in his career.

  9. #89
    All-Conference LA Muskie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LA Muskie View Post
    I thought about Virginia. And I don't disagree that perhaps they should be in that category. But I don't think they actually would be. Probably because of their lack of reputation and history. They are undefeated yet have ZERO #1 coaches' votes and only ONE #1 AP vote (I'm guessing based in VA) despite having a marginally better strength of schedule and having far fewer close games than UK (their only real "close" game was their 2OT at Miami, although their game against Rutgers was brutally ugly...).

    Also, bear in mind that while they have gotten through January undefeated in the ACC so far, their only real opponent of consequence was Notre Dame (great road win for them, though). In the next 10 days they play Duke, @ UNC, and Louisville. I don't see them coming out of those 3 undefeated. If they do, they also have games at NC State, Syracuse, and Louisville to close out the season (all of which are brutal on the road, even if the first two aren't having stellar seasons).

    But if Virginia is still undefeated (or even a 1 loss team) come selection time, I tend to agree that a home win over them should trump the vast majority of road wins and put them up there with Kentucky.
    Tough loss for Virginia. Again, this is a really rough 10-day stretch for them. They could very well go from undefeated to a 3-loss team in about a week.

  10. #90
    Supporting Member DC Muskie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LA Muskie View Post
    Tough loss for Virginia. Again, this is a really rough 10-day stretch for them. They could very well go from undefeated to a 3-loss team in about a week.
    And because Va Tech vs Syracuse in football is more important, they won't have the chance to play them again unless they meet in the tournament.

    Which is of course, fine with me, it makes my college basketball watching experience that more enjoyable.
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