I'm usually only a 1 game at a time type of guy, but I've been looking at the schedule. These are my predictions for the rest of our campaign provided we get Eric back within the next week or so.


New Orleans (W)
@ Troy (L)
ASU (W)
USA (W) <upset special>
@ WKU (L)
@ MTSU (L)
FAU (W)
@ FIU (W)
@ UNO (L)
Denver (W)
@ Houston Baptist (W)
UALR (W)
ULL (W)
@ ULM (L)

So that would be a 18-11 (10-8 in SBC) mark. Probably get us a seed in the 5-8 range. We definitely could win just about every game I have us penciled in for a loss if we are healthy - but we always slip up here and there. I figured we'd be about 12-6 in conference play - but I also had us having wins over teams like FIU before now.

So after 3 games, I'm off on the result of 2 games, but we have the record I predicted. The way everyone is bunched up, 10-8 minght get you a 4 seed.

This team could end up anywhere between 8-10 and 11-7 and it really doesn't matter much. What does matter is how they play in the tournament. They are going to have to be much better than they have shown to even be a factor in the tournament. It was truly disheartening to see how ASU starting 3 freshmen, 1 sophomore and 1 junior completely out played a veteran NT team twice.

The sign of good team has always been to me, when a team seems better than the individual players on it. JJ's NCAA tournament team seemed a good example of that. This team definitely has individual talent in White, Thompson, Odufuwa and Tramiel, but the team is mediocre at best. There has been something missing on this team and I think it is more than just a good point guard. There just does not seem that this team has any offensive rhythm. They seem content to pass the ball around on the exterior and take last second shots. White does try to penetrate but it too often leads to nothing more than a turnover. On the defensive side they appear to hustle but seem to allow far too much driving to the basket. I keep hoping the light will come on and this team will jell as in past years, but I have seen little yet to make me think that is going to happen.

GrandGreen wrote:
This team could end up anywhere between 8-10 and 11-7 and it really doesn't matter much. What does matter is how they play in the tournament. They are going to have to be much better than they have shown to even be a factor in the tournament. It was truly disheartening to see how ASU starting 3 freshmen, 1 sophomore and 1 junior completely out played a veteran NT team twice.

The sign of good team has always been to me, when a team seems better than the individual players on it. JJ's NCAA tournament team seemed a good example of that. This team definitely has individual talent in White, Thompson, Odufuwa and Tramiel, but the team is mediocre at best. There has been something missing on this team and I think it is more than just a good point guard. There just does not seem that this team has any offensive rhythm. They seem content to pass the ball around on the exterior and take last second shots. White does try to penetrate but it too often leads to nothing more than a turnover. On the defensive side they appear to hustle but seem to allow far too much driving to the basket. I keep hoping the light will come on and this team will jell as in past years, but I have seen little yet to make me think that is going to happen.

Everything in bold can be tied right back into point guard play. Point guards facilitate offensive continuity...they LOOK TO FEED A WELL-ESTABLISHED POST MORE THAN 8 TIMES A NIGHT (sorry, a real personal gripe of mine from the ASU game)...and when they penetrate it is with the intent of creating for others. To a lesser extent they tend to quarterback the comunication on defense as well...hustle and defense are not synonymus...good defense starts with good communication.

We have WKU next. I'm still predicting this is an L, but the Toppers recent struggles have given me alot of hope for that one. They might be pretty tired as well given they way they're loading up on games recently. I believe by the time we play them it'll be their 7th game in two weeks. Maybe we'll catch them tired.

Feels like we're catching them at the exact right time, but all bets are off as to how this team responds to the extended layoff.