Does 10-8 get us

[SJUalum98]

It's going to take any combination of 20 wins for us to get in.

It doesn't come down to one game for bubble teams, but the home loss against UNCA might be the crippler.

As of today based on our current résumé, I say we are one of the first four out.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way for the regular season, we need to defend MSG as a home court during the BE tourney and hope we can avoid Georgetown for the first 2 rounds.

In the Big East we won't need 20 wins. In a weak conference we would. Who cares about Asheville? They turned out not to be bad, they are a tourney team from last year, and EVERY team has a bad loss you can't explain. Kansas lost to TCU for god's sake. Cuse lost to Temple. L'Ville lost to Nova and Nova lost to Columbia. These things happen. The Big East affords you a few more mistakes because of how hard it is. It's the lower conferences where you need to have almost spotless schedules to get in. 18 or 19 wins in the Big East is like going undefeated in lower conferences. You seem to totally discount the fact that we are playing in THE best conference. We have 7 ranked teams and with a few less stupid losses, we would be the 8th team to be ranked. This conference is a meat grinder. Anyone who can accomplish a .500 or better record should be very proud. 18 gets us in close conversations, 19 or 20 definitely gets us in.

Have you even taken a look around the NCAA standings recently? And since you continue to talk down about other conferences, maybe you should take a look.

We only have 15 wins on the season. 15. If you think that this team, with the losses that we already have had, can only win 3-4 more games the rest of the way, then I suggest you lock all of your windows on Selction Sunday because you will surely be disappointed.

If you sit there and just focus on what's going on in the BE, then you're nuts.

NCAA love childs UNC and Kentucky currently have 16 wins.
UCLA, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Maryland have 17.

SJU has to keep pace with those type of teams who are having down years and are not at the top of their conferences. They all were either ranked at one point and/or have signature wins. We don't unless you consider beating Cincy on the road.

Now before you get your britches in a bunch, I said we need to 'keep pace' with those teams. 3-4 more wins isn't gong to cut it. 20 wins and we can start talking.

You need to start being way more realistic.

 

[LINY89]

It's going to take any combination of 20 wins for us to get in.

It doesn't come down to one game for bubble teams, but the home loss against UNCA might be the crippler.

As of today based on our current résumé, I say we are one of the first four out.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way for the regular season, we need to defend MSG as a home court during the BE tourney and hope we can avoid Georgetown for the first 2 rounds.

In the Big East we won't need 20 wins. In a weak conference we would. Who cares about Asheville? They turned out not to be bad, they are a tourney team from last year, and EVERY team has a bad loss you can't explain. Kansas lost to TCU for god's sake. Cuse lost to Temple. L'Ville lost to Nova and Nova lost to Columbia. These things happen. The Big East affords you a few more mistakes because of how hard it is. It's the lower conferences where you need to have almost spotless schedules to get in. 18 or 19 wins in the Big East is like going undefeated in lower conferences. You seem to totally discount the fact that we are playing in THE best conference. We have 7 ranked teams and with a few less stupid losses, we would be the 8th team to be ranked. This conference is a meat grinder. Anyone who can accomplish a .500 or better record should be very proud. 18 gets us in close conversations, 19 or 20 definitely gets us in.

Have you even taken a look around the NCAA standings recently? And since you continue to talk down about other conferences, maybe you should take a look.

We only have 15 wins on the season. 15. If you think that this team, with the losses that we already have had, can only win 3-4 more games the rest of the way, then I suggest you lock all of your windows on Selction Sunday because you will surely be disappointed.

If you sit there and just focus on what's going on in the BE, then you're nuts.

NCAA love childs UNC and Kentucky currently have 16 wins.
UCLA, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Maryland have 17.

SJU has to keep pace with those type of teams who are having down years and are not at the top of their conferences. They all were either ranked at one point and/or have signature wins. We don't unless you consider beating Cincy on the road.

Now before you get your britches in a bunch, I said we need to 'keep pace' with those teams. 3-4 more wins isn't gong to cut it. 20 wins and we can start talking.

You need to start being way more realistic.

No signature wins? Try #14 AT Cincy, #20 ND, and now UConn. I say UConn because they beat MSU early on, and they will likely have a good record with a weaker schedule coming up. 20 wins and we can START talking?! You are nuts. In your world we probably need to be undefeated. This is the Big East...you will get beat up. If you want the pretty schedule, look at Creighton in the MVC. Getting 20 wins we are in even if we lose our first BE tourney game.

 

[SJUalum98]

It's going to take any combination of 20 wins for us to get in.

It doesn't come down to one game for bubble teams, but the home loss against UNCA might be the crippler.

As of today based on our current résumé, I say we are one of the first four out.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way for the regular season, we need to defend MSG as a home court during the BE tourney and hope we can avoid Georgetown for the first 2 rounds.

In the Big East we won't need 20 wins. In a weak conference we would. Who cares about Asheville? They turned out not to be bad, they are a tourney team from last year, and EVERY team has a bad loss you can't explain. Kansas lost to TCU for god's sake. Cuse lost to Temple. L'Ville lost to Nova and Nova lost to Columbia. These things happen. The Big East affords you a few more mistakes because of how hard it is. It's the lower conferences where you need to have almost spotless schedules to get in. 18 or 19 wins in the Big East is like going undefeated in lower conferences. You seem to totally discount the fact that we are playing in THE best conference. We have 7 ranked teams and with a few less stupid losses, we would be the 8th team to be ranked. This conference is a meat grinder. Anyone who can accomplish a .500 or better record should be very proud. 18 gets us in close conversations, 19 or 20 definitely gets us in.

Have you even taken a look around the NCAA standings recently? And since you continue to talk down about other conferences, maybe you should take a look.

We only have 15 wins on the season. 15. If you think that this team, with the losses that we already have had, can only win 3-4 more games the rest of the way, then I suggest you lock all of your windows on Selction Sunday because you will surely be disappointed.

If you sit there and just focus on what's going on in the BE, then you're nuts.

NCAA love childs UNC and Kentucky currently have 16 wins.
UCLA, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Maryland have 17.

SJU has to keep pace with those type of teams who are having down years and are not at the top of their conferences. They all were either ranked at one point and/or have signature wins. We don't unless you consider beating Cincy on the road.

Now before you get your britches in a bunch, I said we need to 'keep pace' with those teams. 3-4 more wins isn't gong to cut it. 20 wins and we can start talking.

You need to start being way more realistic.

No signature wins? Try #14 AT Cincy, #20 ND, and now UConn. I say UConn because they beat MSU early on, and they will likely have a good record with a weaker schedule coming up. 20 wins and we can START talking?! You are nuts. In your world we probably need to be undefeated. This is the Big East...you will get beat up. If you want the pretty schedule, look at Creighton in the MVC. Getting 20 wins we are in even if we lose our first BE tourney game.

UConn at home is not a signature win. They're not even tournament eligible and are pretty irrelevant right now.

The ND win will hold more weight if we can sweep them in my opinion. We held home court against a ranked team. Good win? Yes. Signature win? It's subjective to me.

I said 20 because you and others were talking about 18-19 wins which I feel doesn't get us in.

And I made no mention of Creighton. I'm talking about comparable teams from the power conferences that most likely will make the tourney. We are not one of them, right now sitting with 15 wins. The current first four in/out (which includes us) will change every week. I just hope we can keep pace because the Selection committee is not going to give us a pass for being a NY team as you like to think.

 

[Mean Gene]

Imho it will take 20 wins to get us into the tournament. I'm looking for an 18 - 12 regular season with two wins in the BET.

 

[Marillac]

I think 18 puts us on the outside looking in, 19 puts us right on the fence, and 20 gets us in. 19 with a win at Louisville or Syracuse almost certainly gets us in. We are going to be setup to win a game or two against below to middle of the pack teams in the Big East Tournament.

I see no way we win less than 18. Honestly, we wouldn't even deserve a berth with only 18 wins.

 

[sirvoo]

It's going to take any combination of 20 wins for us to get in.

It doesn't come down to one game for bubble teams, but the home loss against UNCA might be the crippler.

As of today based on our current résumé, I say we are one of the first four out.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way for the regular season, we need to defend MSG as a home court during the BE tourney and hope we can avoid Georgetown for the first 2 rounds.

In the Big East we won't need 20 wins. In a weak conference we would. Who cares about Asheville? They turned out not to be bad, they are a tourney team from last year, and EVERY team has a bad loss you can't explain. Kansas lost to TCU for god's sake. Cuse lost to Temple. L'Ville lost to Nova and Nova lost to Columbia. These things happen. The Big East affords you a few more mistakes because of how hard it is. It's the lower conferences where you need to have almost spotless schedules to get in. 18 or 19 wins in the Big East is like going undefeated in lower conferences. You seem to totally discount the fact that we are playing in THE best conference. We have 7 ranked teams and with a few less stupid losses, we would be the 8th team to be ranked. This conference is a meat grinder. Anyone who can accomplish a .500 or better record should be very proud. 18 gets us in close conversations, 19 or 20 definitely gets us in.

Have you even taken a look around the NCAA standings recently? And since you continue to talk down about other conferences, maybe you should take a look.

We only have 15 wins on the season. 15. If you think that this team, with the losses that we already have had, can only win 3-4 more games the rest of the way, then I suggest you lock all of your windows on Selction Sunday because you will surely be disappointed.

If you sit there and just focus on what's going on in the BE, then you're nuts.

NCAA love childs UNC and Kentucky currently have 16 wins.
UCLA, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Maryland have 17.

SJU has to keep pace with those type of teams who are having down years and are not at the top of their conferences. They all were either ranked at one point and/or have signature wins. We don't unless you consider beating Cincy on the road.

Now before you get your britches in a bunch, I said we need to 'keep pace' with those teams. 3-4 more wins isn't gong to cut it. 20 wins and we can start talking.

You need to start being way more realistic.

No signature wins? Try #14 AT Cincy, #20 ND, and now UConn. I say UConn because they beat MSU early on, and they will likely have a good record with a weaker schedule coming up. 20 wins and we can START talking?! You are nuts. In your world we probably need to be undefeated. This is the Big East...you will get beat up. If you want the pretty schedule, look at Creighton in the MVC. Getting 20 wins we are in even if we lose our first BE tourney game.

UConn at home is not a signature win. They're not even tournament eligible and are pretty irrelevant right now.

The ND win will hold more weight if we can sweep them in my opinion. We held home court against a ranked team. Good win? Yes. Signature win? It's subjective to me.

I said 20 because you and others were talking about 18-19 wins which I feel doesn't get us in.

And I made no mention of Creighton. I'm talking about comparable teams from the power conferences that most likely will make the tourney. We are not one of them, right now sitting with 15 wins. The current first four in/out (which includes us) will change every week. I just hope we can keep pace because the Selection committee is not going to give us a pass for being a NY team as you like to think.

Fwiw Uconn is top 25 in the rpi

 

[redmen2014champs]

It's going to take any combination of 20 wins for us to get in.

It doesn't come down to one game for bubble teams, but the home loss against UNCA might be the crippler.

As of today based on our current résumé, I say we are one of the first four out.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way for the regular season, we need to defend MSG as a home court during the BE tourney and hope we can avoid Georgetown for the first 2 rounds.

In the Big East we won't need 20 wins. In a weak conference we would. Who cares about Asheville? They turned out not to be bad, they are a tourney team from last year, and EVERY team has a bad loss you can't explain. Kansas lost to TCU for god's sake. Cuse lost to Temple. L'Ville lost to Nova and Nova lost to Columbia. These things happen. The Big East affords you a few more mistakes because of how hard it is. It's the lower conferences where you need to have almost spotless schedules to get in. 18 or 19 wins in the Big East is like going undefeated in lower conferences. You seem to totally discount the fact that we are playing in THE best conference. We have 7 ranked teams and with a few less stupid losses, we would be the 8th team to be ranked. This conference is a meat grinder. Anyone who can accomplish a .500 or better record should be very proud. 18 gets us in close conversations, 19 or 20 definitely gets us in.

Why do you keep calling the Big East Conference "THE BEST Conference"? The best conference this year is the Big Ten hands down. Have you watched Michigan, Indiana, Ohio St. play? They have 5 teams in the top 18, this does not include a solid Wisconsin team or Illinois who had a great non-conference record and just knocked off Illinois. The Big East is a very good conference but you need to stop overrating them. That being said, 18 wins plus 2 in the Big East should get them in or 19 wins plus 1 in the tourney is almost a lock. They should get in with 19 wins even if they do not win a game in the Big East since 4-3 down the stretch against this schedule would be very impressive and include at least 2 more signature wins. Their RPI if they finished 19-11 would probably be in the top 40 which should get a bid.

 

[MCNPA]

It's going to take any combination of 20 wins for us to get in.

It doesn't come down to one game for bubble teams, but the home loss against UNCA might be the crippler.

As of today based on our current résumé, I say we are one of the first four out.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way for the regular season, we need to defend MSG as a home court during the BE tourney and hope we can avoid Georgetown for the first 2 rounds.

In the Big East we won't need 20 wins. In a weak conference we would. Who cares about Asheville? They turned out not to be bad, they are a tourney team from last year, and EVERY team has a bad loss you can't explain. Kansas lost to TCU for god's sake. Cuse lost to Temple. L'Ville lost to Nova and Nova lost to Columbia. These things happen. The Big East affords you a few more mistakes because of how hard it is. It's the lower conferences where you need to have almost spotless schedules to get in. 18 or 19 wins in the Big East is like going undefeated in lower conferences. You seem to totally discount the fact that we are playing in THE best conference. We have 7 ranked teams and with a few less stupid losses, we would be the 8th team to be ranked. This conference is a meat grinder. Anyone who can accomplish a .500 or better record should be very proud. 18 gets us in close conversations, 19 or 20 definitely gets us in.

Have you even taken a look around the NCAA standings recently? And since you continue to talk down about other conferences, maybe you should take a look.

We only have 15 wins on the season. 15. If you think that this team, with the losses that we already have had, can only win 3-4 more games the rest of the way, then I suggest you lock all of your windows on Selction Sunday because you will surely be disappointed.

If you sit there and just focus on what's going on in the BE, then you're nuts.

NCAA love childs UNC and Kentucky currently have 16 wins.
UCLA, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Maryland have 17.

SJU has to keep pace with those type of teams who are having down years and are not at the top of their conferences. They all were either ranked at one point and/or have signature wins. We don't unless you consider beating Cincy on the road.

Now before you get your britches in a bunch, I said we need to 'keep pace' with those teams. 3-4 more wins isn't gong to cut it. 20 wins and we can start talking.

You need to start being way more realistic.

No signature wins? Try #14 AT Cincy, #20 ND, and now UConn. I say UConn because they beat MSU early on, and they will likely have a good record with a weaker schedule coming up. 20 wins and we can START talking?! You are nuts. In your world we probably need to be undefeated. This is the Big East...you will get beat up. If you want the pretty schedule, look at Creighton in the MVC. Getting 20 wins we are in even if we lose our first BE tourney game.

UConn at home is not a signature win. They're not even tournament eligible and are pretty irrelevant right now.

The ND win will hold more weight if we can sweep them in my opinion. We held home court against a ranked team. Good win? Yes. Signature win? It's subjective to me.

I said 20 because you and others were talking about 18-19 wins which I feel doesn't get us in.

And I made no mention of Creighton. I'm talking about comparable teams from the power conferences that most likely will make the tourney. We are not one of them, right now sitting with 15 wins. The current first four in/out (which includes us) will change every week. I just hope we can keep pace because the Selection committee is not going to give us a pass for being a NY team as you like to think.

Regardless whether you think they suck, and I do, Uconn is a good win. A hig RPI win. If we beat either Cuse or Louisville on the road, I think the odds Re in favor that we make the tourney. If not, I think we will need to really more than just " hold serve" on the Reston our schedule. Fortunately, we play some tough teams like Pitt and Marquette who I think are very beatable, in MSG at a pointin time when I think we'll draw a big home court advantage. Things are shaping up. If we can win one of the next two, we are in very, very good shape moving forward. Beat Cuse!

 

[beast of the east]

i think a lot of our tournament questions will be answered by next Thursday. As far as I'm concerned we've looked inferior vs. a pretty good Georgetown team twice already. We have some pretty good talent, but are weak up front - it makes you wonder where we'd be with both Harkless and GG. If we win one of the next two, there is real legitamacy to NCAA talk. Without Branch, I don't give us a real fighting chance to win at either Louisville or Syracuse, but that's why you have to play the games.

 

[LINY89]

UConn is a very good win and will definitely be on our resume whether you consider it signature or not. They are way better than you guys give them credit for. And the Big East has 7 ranked teams with solid SJ, Nova, UConn squads and a dangerous Providence squad. The Big Ten is more front loaded, but the Big East is hands down the best conference top to bottom. Maybe it's you underrating them, not me overrating.

 

[lawmanfan]

UConn is a very good win and will definitely be on our resume whether you consider it signature or not. They are way better than you guys give them credit for. And the Big East has 7 ranked teams with solid SJ, Nova, UConn squads and a dangerous Providence squad. The Big Ten is more front loaded, but the Big East is hands down the best conference top to bottom. Maybe it's you underrating them, not me overrating.

Name one good Big East team after Louisville and Syracuse.

And assuming we do not beat either of those teams on the road, 18 wins = NIT. 19 wins = NIT, and I would not fall off my chair if 20 wins = NIT also. We would not be the first basically mediocre Big East team with 20 wins to be left on the outside looking in. Winning a few games against some teams that have been in and out of the top 25, all of which are flawed, does not a "signature win" make.

The only sure bet to make the NCAAs is to beat either Louisville or Syracuse and get to 20, or get to 20 without one of those wins and then win a game in the BET.

Factor in that losses by 20+ against Cuse or the Ville will hurt.

Your enthusiasm is commendable, but you are overestimating both the Big East and SJU. Both have things to recommend them, but both also have flaws and are very beatable by anyone on any given day.

 

[Class of 72]

UConn is a very good win and will definitely be on our resume whether you consider it signature or not. They are way better than you guys give them credit for. And the Big East has 7 ranked teams with solid SJ, Nova, UConn squads and a dangerous Providence squad. The Big Ten is more front loaded, but the Big East is hands down the best conference top to bottom. Maybe it's you underrating them, not me overrating.

Name one good Big East team after Louisville and Syracuse.

Factor in that losses by 20+ against Cuse or the Ville will hurt.

Your enthusiasm is commendable, but you are overestimating both the Big East and SJU. Both have things to recommend them, but both also have flaws and are very beatable by anyone on any given day.

Up until two weeks ago I would have agreed with you. However, as I suspected, it is the rest of the D1 schools and conferences that have been overestimated and thus leveled the playing field for the St. John's of the world.
IMO, there are only two conferences balanced from top to bottom----one is the BIG and the other is the Big East. Not because, combined, they account for 12 of the 25 teams ranked this week but because the rest of the NCAA D1 conferences and teams are underperforming in comparison.
The PAC 12 and SEC have no more than 2 teams worthy of national ranking. Same goes for the once dominant ACC ---- after Duke-----and I can't stop shaking my head ----MIAMI----the rest of the conference has underwhelmed--including UNC. Now we understand the desperate need for the ACC to raid the Big East and take its best teams. When the merger of the ACC and Big East is complete, they will undoubtedly be the best basketball conference in America-----and still be just average in football -----assuming 3 or 4 ACC schools do not bolt----thus making the old Big East the new Big East South, minus the name.
So, in answer to your question, after Syracuse and Louisville, the "good teams" that I and the rest of the college basketball world would name THIS week are Marquette, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Villanova, Uconn, Pitt and Cincy. ALL of those teams got votes this week--except Nova. Nova, however, had the most significant wins in one week than any team in the Big East.
So, by my count, that would be NINE Big East teams (7 of which are ranked).
If the Johnnies beat Syracuse at the Dome on Sunday, I would add them to that list.
Save your skills for modding and leave the pessimism to me. LOL!

 

[Della9250]

That "weak" Big East schedule is the following RPI by team -- 67, 26, 70, 30, 47, 193, 70, 103, 193, 30, 22.

The remaining RPI is -- 7, 8, 97, 35, 95, 47, 16.

As of Thursday SJU has six top 100 wins, two in the top 50 (and any win the rest of the way would add to the total. They have three bad losses, although Murray State might not be by the end of the season.

And while UNC-Ashville is a bad loss right now, they lead their division in the Big South and based on RPI they would earn the conference automatic bid.

Really dude? You question me saying its been pretty weak when we just came off playing DePaul twice, Seton Hall and Rutgers. We have yet to play the 4 best teams in the conference and you would say it hasn't been weak?

Weak is a relative term. When you play 11 opponents and eight are in the top 70 in the country, that's not exactly a cakewalk. The upcoming stretch included the top two teasm SJU will face, but the other five are on par with what SJU has already seen.

And in regards to my comments about Rutgers, all of the major outlets have SJU, Nova and Rutgers in the same category as far as tournament hopes. Will that change by the end of the season? Probably.Rutgers does have five winnable games left. That would get them to 17. An upset of someone else and they are right alongside SJU. But almost all of the brackets have seven Big East teams. No one is going past eight. If the resumes are close, a head-to-head loss, regardless of how close, might be the differece in the selection room.

 

[sirvoo]

UConn is a very good win and will definitely be on our resume whether you consider it signature or not. They are way better than you guys give them credit for. And the Big East has 7 ranked teams with solid SJ, Nova, UConn squads and a dangerous Providence squad. The Big Ten is more front loaded, but the Big East is hands down the best conference top to bottom. Maybe it's you underrating them, not me overrating.

Name one good Big East team after Louisville and Syracuse.

And assuming we do not beat either of those teams on the road, 18 wins = NIT. 19 wins = NIT, and I would not fall off my chair if 20 wins = NIT also. We would not be the first basically mediocre Big East team with 20 wins to be left on the outside looking in. Winning a few games against some teams that have been in and out of the top 25, all of which are flawed, does not a "signature win" make.

The only sure bet to make the NCAAs is to beat either Louisville or Syracuse and get to 20, or get to 20 without one of those wins and then win a game in the BET.

Factor in that losses by 20+ against Cuse or the Ville will hurt.

Your enthusiasm is commendable, but you are overestimating both the Big East and SJU. Both have things to recommend them, but both also have flaws and are very beatable by anyone on any given day.

Georgetown is very dangerous. Porter is the real deal. And you are accusing ppl for overestimating our résumé, while you are grossly underestimating it. The field was expanded to 68 teams in case you live under a rock. Did you see the teams who got in last year? South Florida to name one. 19 wins and we are in with our RPI and SOS

 

[LINY89]

UConn is a very good win and will definitely be on our resume whether you consider it signature or not. They are way better than you guys give them credit for. And the Big East has 7 ranked teams with solid SJ, Nova, UConn squads and a dangerous Providence squad. The Big Ten is more front loaded, but the Big East is hands down the best conference top to bottom. Maybe it's you underrating them, not me overrating.

Name one good Big East team after Louisville and Syracuse.

And assuming we do not beat either of those teams on the road, 18 wins = NIT. 19 wins = NIT, and I would not fall off my chair if 20 wins = NIT also. We would not be the first basically mediocre Big East team with 20 wins to be left on the outside looking in. Winning a few games against some teams that have been in and out of the top 25, all of which are flawed, does not a "signature win" make.

The only sure bet to make the NCAAs is to beat either Louisville or Syracuse and get to 20, or get to 20 without one of those wins and then win a game in the BET.

Factor in that losses by 20+ against Cuse or the Ville will hurt.

Your enthusiasm is commendable, but you are overestimating both the Big East and SJU. Both have things to recommend them, but both also have flaws and are very beatable by anyone on any given day.

Georgetown is very dangerous. Porter is the real deal. And you are accusing ppl for overestimating our résumé, while you are grossly underestimating it. The field was expanded to 68 teams in case you live under a rock. Did you see the teams who got in last year? South Florida to name one. 19 wins and we are in with our RPI and SOS

USF getting in with 18 that time is what gives me faith that we can possibly get in with 18 and likely 19, definitely 20. Beating #14 Cincy at their place is no joke. Beating #20 ND was no joke. These were not teams riddled with injuries or anything like that. Just gritty, old fashioned upsets. Then we just beat UConn who will finish the year around 18-19 wins if not more. #14 Cincy, #20 ND, and UConn is not a bad mini resume. We just need that "wow" upset on the national level i.e. Cuse/L'Ville to really complete the resume. #9 Cuse, #14 Cincy, #20 ND, UConn, etc. is a damn good list of wins that many teams wouldn't be able to match even in the rankings currently. We really need to beat Cuse or L'Ville then play .500 ball at worst the rest of the way and we get in. I might have said we have no chance in hell last year against these kinds of teams as all freshmen, but remember we have the best shot blocker, one of the top Big East scorers, the likely Big East ROY, and a new toy that can nail 3's in bunches to help bust zones. It hurts not having Branch. I'm by no means "expecting" a win in either game, but if I were Cuse/L'Ville I would legitimately be nervous especially considering we are arguably better than Nova or at least just as good.

 

[SJUalum98]

This is basically a good summary of where we are and what remains ahead prior to the BE tourney:

SJU 15-8 overall (as of today)
3-3 vs. Top 50 RPI
5-5 vs. Top 100 RPI

Remaining Schedule
Vs. Top 100 RPI (away): @Syracuse, @Louisville, @Providence, @ND
Vs. Top 100 RPI (home): USF, Pitt, Marquette

 

[Jack Williams]

Even if ND is not ranked when we play them, beating them out at their place would be signature

 

[bobre45]

i think a lot of our tournament questions will be answered by next Thursday. As far as I'm concerned we've looked inferior vs. a pretty good Georgetown team twice already. We have some pretty good talent, but are weak up front - it makes you wonder where we'd be with both Harkless and GG. If we win one of the next two, there is real legitamacy to NCAA talk. Without Branch, I don't give us a real fighting chance to win at either Louisville or Syracuse, but that's why you have to play the games.

Gtown just has our number by tagging Harrison and taking advantage of the front court matchups. Now we're starting to win without Dlo having to go for 25. That's a good sign and lately Marco has chipped in too. I think we have to have a solid 20 wins and at least one vs Cuse, Lville, Marquette or Pitt while avoiding missteps vs lesser teams. It'll take a good win to offset a dopey loss. Looks like the BET will tell all.

 

[austour]

UConn is a very good win and will definitely be on our resume whether you consider it signature or not. They are way better than you guys give them credit for. And the Big East has 7 ranked teams with solid SJ, Nova, UConn squads and a dangerous Providence squad. The Big Ten is more front loaded, but the Big East is hands down the best conference top to bottom. Maybe it's you underrating them, not me overrating.

Name one good Big East team after Louisville and Syracuse.

And assuming we do not beat either of those teams on the road, 18 wins = NIT. 19 wins = NIT, and I would not fall off my chair if 20 wins = NIT also. We would not be the first basically mediocre Big East team with 20 wins to be left on the outside looking in. Winning a few games against some teams that have been in and out of the top 25, all of which are flawed, does not a "signature win" make.

The only sure bet to make the NCAAs is to beat either Louisville or Syracuse and get to 20, or get to 20 without one of those wins and then win a game in the BET.

Factor in that losses by 20+ against Cuse or the Ville will hurt.

Your enthusiasm is commendable, but you are overestimating both the Big East and SJU. Both have things to recommend them, but both also have flaws and are very beatable by anyone on any given day.

I will reiterate my retort to you earlier on this subject. BE is mediocre but a better mediocre than every other BCS conference except Big 10. College basektball is mediocre. The story that's being ignored? Mountain West, #2 RPI conference in the country, 4 top 25 RPI teams. That says more about the BCS conferences than it does the Mountain West by the way. A-10 is #7, ranked over SEC, in conference RPI as well.

RE SJU and NCAA's, they can get to 18 with wins against Prov, USF and first round BET. If that's all they win they will not dance. But they need another win in conf play to get to the questioned 10-8 level and that will be a quality win, depends on who it is if it's enough to dance with just 18 and a first round BET exit. I imagine it would have to be Louisville or Syracuse to get in. If they only get to 18 there's going to be 5 or 6 more losses and their RPI will drop significantly no matter who the three wins are against and that'll hurt. Smart money is that 19 is firmly on the weak side of the bubble, 20 on the strong side.

 

[beast of the east]

What I always told my kids is this: IF you want to make the team, don't compare yourself to the 11th or 12th man.

If you want to be a starter, don't try to be the fifth best player, try to be in the top 3.

If you want to make the dance, 12-6 is a lock, 11-7 will get strong consideration, 10-8 merely will enter the dialogue, but more than likely won't cut it.

The way I look at it, if you can't win 4 out of your last 7 conference games, you probably shouldn't be disappointed if you don't get a bid.