Looking ahead is a sure fire recipe for losers - just ask Dambrot, Everhart, Manning, Dudey and Chick D.  I'll enjoy the ride, instead. 

Last edited by Hilltopper (12/10/2018 5:33 am)

duq81 wrote:

Hilltopper wrote:

Looking ahead is a sure fire recipe for losers - just ask Dambrot, Everhart, Manning, Dudey and Chick D.  I'll enjoy the ride, instead. 

Of course the team can't look ahead, but I doubt that fans looking ahead is going to make the team lose.
 

Well, the next 2 are against bad teams.  Would be nice to control those games from the opening tip, not like yesterday.  Maybe not rely on Carry to play 35 minutes, he's gonna crash into a wall at some point.  Penn St will be a tough game, added toughness being at PPG, which I am not sure I have seen a good bball game there yet(including NCAA tourn games), and probably in front of a lot of their fans.  But hey, we need the money, right? 

Regardless, 11-2, 10-3 is pretty good, if that happens, considering the losses would be to ACC and maybe a B10 teams.

I think a lot can change/happen before A10 play, who is winning now could be hurting in a month.  We should be in it, hopefully until the end.
 

WVU last played us in the 2013-14 season, they last played Marshall in the 2015-16 season. As was reported in the run-up to their NCAA tourney matchup last March, Huggins would only continue the Marshall series if they came to Morgantown every year (they were playing the games in Charleston most years). I suspect Duquesne was given similar guidance, especially after the Dukes won the last meeting in Pittsburgh.

duq81 wrote:

I know the team can't look ahead, but nothing wrong with us fans doing it. The next two opponents are horrible, each with only one win. We should be 8-2 going into our next big game, which will be against the Nitters at PPG on the 19th. A win here would give us a chance to be 11-2 going into our A10 opener at the league's best team, Davidson. 11-2 would put us into position for an NIT bid. I figure we'd need to go at least 11-7, with a win in Brooklyn to get it done. That would leave us 23-10. Even with the A10 being down, I think that would do it. We snuck in at 21-12 back in 2009. As for the Big Dance, with the weakness of the A10, it'll likely take a 14-4 record to feel safe going into Brooklyn, and we'd still need to win a game or two. Last year, Bona was 25-7 after the A10 tournament, with wins over Cuse, Davidson, and URI, and they were pretty much the last at large bid, so you see how much the deck is stacked against us.

Agree on all of this. Some posters don’t like hearing there are games “we should expect to win”. I think this is preposterous because if you have better players and better results against stronger opponents, you should expect to win.

That doesn’t mean you don’t have to show up, and it doesn’t mean there’s no way you could lose, as the famous saying goes “that’s why you play the games”. That being said, the Yankees would expect to beat the Orioles last year, the patriots expect to beat a team like the browns of the past, and so on.

We should expect to beat Maine and MD Eastern this week with a combined 2-17 record so far. Penn State will be another “measuring stick” type game and should be very interesting. The games against EKU and NJIT will be no gimmes with their combined 15-6 record so far.

Going 4-1 through these next 5 should be a big boost to a potential NIT bid as you have mentioned. Unless we go crazy in A10 play (win reg season title) and make a deep run or win the A10 tourney, NCAAs would likely be tough this year. That said I think Dambrot will get us their sooner than later.

The Dome wrote:

81 never say never! If I’m not mistaken Rutgers played Fordham at Rose Hill on Saturday. That is barely above high school gym status. BTW that was a decent win for the A-10.

Rutgers likes playing in NYC. Pittsburgh ain't NYC.

The Dome wrote:

Rose Hill is a far cry from either MSG or Barclays.

It is, but it allows Rutgers to have a game in NYC. They do have a NYC player on their roster, and they may be recruiting more. Rutgers fancies themselves a NYC team, so it's important for them to play some games there, especially now, since they are in the far flung B10, as opposed to the old BE. The reason Penn St. is willing to play us in Pittsburgh at all is that they want to maintain some level of presence here for their many alums.
 

I'm going to try to ignore that Maine went to Fordham and won and UMES lost by only 3 to Longwood who was playing with the Walton kid and say we should win both games easily.

DennisC91 wrote:

Maine beat Fordham at home, not at Rose Hill. 

Thanks, now i'm really confident we win next 2 easily. At least I think I am.

I'd take Marshall and W&M but i wouldn't be confident enough to put money on it.

Duques102 wrote:

WashPaRick wrote:

I'd take Marshall and W&M but i wouldn't be confident enough to put money on it.

That’s where I’m at with expecting to win some matchups. It’s under the assumption the team shows up and plays to their potential but obviously there’s no guarantee that happens. But, if we are going to be taking the next step which it appears we are starting to do, we should expect to beat 1 and 2 win teams as well as teams ranked in the 300s for the most part. I think EKY and NJIT will be tough games, similar to UIC type matchups.

The "Eyeore" in me keeps waiting for the invevitable (it seems) NJIT-type trip up game. Really thought it was going to happen with Longwood. If they finish the season with 2-3 losses (Pitt, Notre Dame and Penn State) I will very pleased.  If they beat Penn State, I will be very confidant for the A 10 season.
 

yak-rbc wrote:

FWIW, and it's not really worth anything, NJIT received a vote in AP Poll as #25. They're at Fordham tonight

 
That is worth noting, I would assume that means they are ranked higher than us on something like kenpom or RPI? Also worth noting because I now plan on checking some of the game out on ESPN+

Kenpom has NJIT at 212.
They lost to Mass Lowell on the road and Cornell at home,
Interesting they got a vote.