Silver Lining in this Mess

[xavierj]

That's great but if you actually believe xavier would finish 2nd in the a10 based on what we have seen so far I have some great oceanfront property in louisville to sell ya

They would. Who in the A10 is any good other than Dayton, and maybe VCU, and then look at who they beat and who they lost to. Obviously the A10 has changed scheduling philosophies. It use to be play a tough out of conference, now it’s play the worst teams you can and pad wins. Other than Dayton’s wins, and VCU beating LSU, no one has beat a team in that conference, unless I missed something, that will probably make the NCAA tourney. I think the AAC is much better than the A10 top to bottom.

[GoMuskies]

That's great but if you actually believe xavier would finish 2nd in the a10 based on what we have seen so far I have some great oceanfront property in louisville to sell ya

We'd be bunched in with a number of teams way below Dayton. There's no reason Xavier couldn't come out #2 in that scrum. Again, none of those are at-large NCAA teams, so we're talking about some pretty mediocre squads (including our own).

[GIMMFD]

To get back on topic, I think everybody knew there was going to be growing pains for Steele being a first time head coach. However, the formula has been very successful for us in the past. Steele definitely has to show that he's the one in charge, we shouldn't be doing the same mind numbing dumb mistakes as we have been for where we are in the season you know? It's different saying it in the presser and actually doing it, because we need a fire lit under our asses. I'm kind of shocked Dante hasn't gathered the group and given them a talk, or even them bringing someone like Tu in to speak to the team. Three straight blowout losses is pretty damn embarrassing.

[xcellentx]

That's great but if you actually believe xavier would finish 2nd in the a10 based on what we have seen so far I have some great oceanfront property in louisville to sell ya

Except that isn't what these are measuring. It isn't saying who will finish in what order. They are ranking how good teams are. Teams don't finish in conference based on how good they are especially when you have unbalanced schedules.

Even with how bad we are playing, it might be a little different if you replace Nova, SH, and Creighton with Fordham, George Mason, and UMass.

[paulxu]

Wofford beat UNC in Chapel Hill for the second time, after doing it 2 years ago.

[GoMuskies]

I didn't realize how bad Wofford was this year. I obviously knew UNC was bad, but losing to Wofford this year is not a good thing.

BOTH KenPom and Sagarin would rate UNC as the worst team in the Big East. So that's fun!

[xubrew]

My mistake for even bringing up the A10.

Let me start here. The notion that we'd be better off in the A10 is ridiculous. The notion that we'd look better in the eyes of the committee is also ridiculous. That's what I was trying to say and I should have just left it at that.

Mizzou, Missouri State, UConn, Wake, and Florida (at least at the time we played them) were NIT caliber teams at best, and for a fews of those that's being VERY generous. We barely beat three of them (two of which were at home), and didn't beat two of them.

Allow me to rephrase ENTIRELY....

The A10 has VCU, SLU, and Richmond, who I think are at the very least solid NIT caliber teams, and depending on how it plays out the may get close to the bubble. Yes, we've been playing teams that are much better than that, but with the exception of the game at Nova (where we did play pretty damn well) we've been getting our doors blown off. So when we sweat out three games against NIT-ish or worse teams, lose two more to NIT-ish or worse teams, and get smoked in three out of four games that we've played against NCAA teams, I don't think we'd be racking up the types of wins we need if we were in the A10.

As for a silver lining, I still think our ceiling is high, and while we have seldom played up to it, it's still a high ceiling. That, and because the Big East is what it is, we are only two or three wins away from completely shifting the momentum and the complexion of our season around. It's mid-January. There is still time.

[whopper]

We are getting less than expected performances from a number of players who have performed at Div I level and maybe the expectation was too high. I like Moore and Carter but kind of though we were getting played like Jorgenson(Butler) and Struss but both a level below. Fremantle is nice at times, but Hankins was a man and he now is a boy. Too much expectations were put onto Tandy and it does not help that he is always playing from behind. The core 4 have plateaued at a decent level but Q is a little snakebit and has regressed. Tyrique works hard but seems to be 6'8"(I remember as a freshman it was thought that he would grow to 7 feet. The talent level is good but when I see Butler, Seton Hall, Villanova, Marquette and even Providence(certainly Creighton) the path to victory involves threading the needle with no margin of error(and we certainly have not done that). I am prepared to watch a fine big East season, good games, hopefully a few upsets, and hope for a good BE Tournament and (maybe) NIT. NCAA seems like a pipe dream

[IM4X]

To get back on topic, I think everybody knew there was going to be growing pains for Steele being a first time head coach. However, the formula has been very successful for us in the past. Steele definitely has to show that he's the one in charge, we shouldn't be doing the same mind numbing dumb mistakes as we have been for where we are in the season you know? It's different saying it in the presser and actually doing it, because we need a fire lit under our asses. I'm kind of shocked Dante hasn't gathered the group and given them a talk, or even them bringing someone like Tu in to speak to the team. Three straight blowout losses is pretty damn embarrassing.

While, I believe I read Steele had several previous players come by the locker room (I think Tu might have been one of them), I am not sure any of them ever gave the type of tough reality talk about the X-pectations you have when you put an X uniform on and how far the team currently is from those expectations now. I posted a little whole back that I’d love to see Farr or Bernard coming back talking to them about how they were in a similar situation with their team not gelling and how they had to have a serious coming to Jesus moment their their teammates about waking the F up, and playing with purpose by outhustling and outsmarting every single opponent with every single possession.

Personally, I want to see an army of former X players reach out to this team and coaching staff. I think Tu and Farr and Bernard (and Even CJ and JP) should also reach out to Jones (and Q) separately and tell them what they need to be doing as senior leaders. They should be saying, “Do you want to be the first X team in forever to not make the NCAA tournament two straight years... cause that’s what your legacy will be, if you don’t get serious about things now.”

[paulxu]

I didn't realize how bad Wofford was this year. I obviously knew UNC was bad, but losing to Wofford this year is not a good thing.

BOTH KenPom and Sagarin would rate UNC as the worst team in the Big East. So that's fun!

They're not that bad this year, but the SoCon is a lot tougher road. Sort of like the BE in a way on a small scale.
Went to see them play Furman (and spank them) tonight.
I wish I had a tape of the Wofford offense to show the Muskies. They never stop moving. Constant motion to set up great shots...inside and out.
So hard for me to watch our guys stand around with one occasional high screen.