The Holy Land of Hoops

After going scoreless for almost 8 minutes to start the game, UConn has come charging back. To take the lead from Tulsa in the AAC semi's. Ryan Boatright almost single handedly fired up the Huskies by canning 3 deep 3's without a miss.

If you have a chance to tune into this game, do so. It looks like it's going. To be a lot of fun.

I'll say this you have a lot of 4/5 seeds right now hoping that SMU or Tulsa wins the AAC. Imagine you are a 4 seed and you see UConn in the bracket. That's not what you want to see at all.

The idea that anybody would be scared to play that UConn team is quite frankly hilarious. They stink. As does Tulsa. That game was an insult to the sport of basketball. Two bad teams from a bad league. If I'd spent the whole season pimping for that league I'd be rather embarrassed.

I look forward to Tulsa's 1st-round NIT loss to Charleston Southern.

shupirate98 wrote:The idea that anybody would be scared to play that UConn team is quite frankly hilarious. They stink. As does Tulsa. That game was an insult to the sport of basketball. Two bad teams from a bad league. If I'd spent the whole season pimping for that league I'd be rather embarrassed.

I look forward to Tulsa's 1st-round NIT loss to Charleston Southern.

UConn compared to other projected 13's is a whole lot better. In Lunardi's bracketology today- the 13's were New Mexico St, Yale, Central Michigan, and Georgia St. Those 4 teams combined have 2 top 50 wins and 20 sub 100 losses. UConn has 6 top 50 wins and 1 sub 100 loss. You tell me which one you would rather face if you were a 4 seed. It's sure as hell isn't UConn.

Stever, Yale beat uconn. Your AAC erection has lasted longer than 4 hrs...call your doctor.

I hope that this puts an end to any further discussion of Tulsa as a potential tournament team.

To think that all of this talk started with the idea that Xavier was going to miss the tournament and that Tulsa was going to make it. Two teams whose fortunes have gone in vastly different directions as was evident that they would from their caliber of play even a month ago.

Bill Marsh wrote:I hope that this puts an end to any further discussion of Tulsa as a potential tournament team.

To think that all of this talk started with the idea that Xavier was going to miss the tournament and that Tulsa was going to make it. two teams whose fortunes have gone in vastly different directions as was evident that they would from caliber of play even a month ago.

they're a tourney team still. Just NIT. I will say for Xavier- a bounce or two goes differently from the Cincy or Creighton game and you just never know. I think part of their run this week was the knowledge that they were safe going into the tourney. It's amazing when a team clinches how often you see them go on a big run after that.

What will be interesting to see for Tulsa is if they are in that 69-72 range. If so, you know that it was the loss to UConn that killed them....

As for UConn- man I bet they would like to have had that game with Memphis back last Thursday. A win there and they're 21-12 and really interesting going into tomorrow even with a loss. Not saying they'd have been in, but they would have been extremely close I think.

Bill Marsh wrote:I hope that this puts an end to any further discussion of Tulsa as a potential tournament team.

To think that all of this talk started with the idea that Xavier was going to miss the tournament and that Tulsa was going to make it. Two teams whose fortunes have gone in vastly different directions as was evident that they would from their caliber of play even a month ago.

I think it's interesting what Patrick Stevens said about Tulsa tonight:
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane probably saw their NCAA hopes end with loss in the American semifinals to Connecticut. The operating word there is "probably," since it's still hard to know exactly the committee will treat Tulsa's loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State. Everything else about the Golden Hurricane's profile screams "too close to call."

They are still #45 RPI, with some candidates not having great ones at all(LSU is #57, Indiana is #60 for gosh sakes). And, we have seen the committee before put teams in worse than them(UAB, Iona, Mid Tennessee come to mind). It wouldn't be the most stunning selection we've seen recently at all. Not by a long shot.

stever20 wrote:

Bill Marsh wrote:I hope that this puts an end to any further discussion of Tulsa as a potential tournament team.

To think that all of this talk started with the idea that Xavier was going to miss the tournament and that Tulsa was going to make it. Two teams whose fortunes have gone in vastly different directions as was evident that they would from their caliber of play even a month ago.

I think it's interesting what Patrick Stevens said about Tulsa tonight:
Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane probably saw their NCAA hopes end with loss in the American semifinals to Connecticut. The operating word there is "probably," since it's still hard to know exactly the committee will treat Tulsa's loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State. Everything else about the Golden Hurricane's profile screams "too close to call."

They are still #45 RPI, with some candidates not having great ones at all(LSU is #57, Indiana is #60 for gosh sakes). And, we have seen the committee before put teams in worse than them(UAB, Iona, Mid Tennessee come to mind). It wouldn't be the most stunning selection we've seen recently at all. Not by a long shot.

Patrick is spot on. When everything else screams "too close to call", SE Oklahoma State pushes them onto the wrong side of the bubble. Once SEOS is factored in, it becomes an easy decision.

Steve, choose your favorite comp among D-1 schools on Tulsa's schedule for SE Oklahoma State and plug them into RPI Wizard to see how much damage that loss does to Tulsa's RPI. If you choose Houston, their RPI drops to a rank of 57. If you choose Abilene Christian, it drops to 64. That's why they'll join LSU and Indiana in the NIT.

It's not just me pointing this out. There will be a lot of folks on the committee seeking to open up an at-large spot for a team from their conference who will be quick to point out just how bad the loss to SEOS @ HOME was.

stever20 wrote:

Bill Marsh wrote:I hope that this puts an end to any further discussion of Tulsa as a potential tournament team.

To think that all of this talk started with the idea that Xavier was going to miss the tournament and that Tulsa was going to make it. two teams whose fortunes have gone in vastly different directions as was evident that they would from caliber of play even a month ago.

they're a tourney team still. Just NIT. I will say for Xavier- a bounce or two goes differently from the Cincy or Creighton game and you just never know. I think part of their run this week was the knowledge that they were safe going into the tourney. It's amazing when a team clinches how often you see them go on a big run after that.

What will be interesting to see for Tulsa is if they are in that 69-72 range. If so, you know that it was the loss to UConn that killed them....

As for UConn- man I bet they would like to have had that game with Memphis back last Thursday. A win there and they're 21-12 and really interesting going into tomorrow even with a loss. Not saying they'd have been in, but they would have been extremely close I think.

To be honest, I didn't think UConn would get this far. At this point, the home crowd makes this a pick 'em game. It should be really exciting to watch.

I don't think UConn has enough left in the tank to beat SMU, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they did, given the home court advantage. I see SMU winning this one in a close game. While both teams will be tired, UConn should be the more tired team, having played one more back-to-back-to back game and having played 2 really close, emotionally draining games. Moreover, UConn is missing PF Kentan Facey, out with a concussion.