Sun 3/2, DePaul (3-13) at St John's (8-8), 12pm CBS-SN.

[SJHooper]

I counted at least 3 fouls against DePaul that were not called in that sequence. It really does not feel like we are at home much.

[Demon22]

I counted at least 3 fouls against DePaul that were not called in that sequence. It really does not feel like we are at home much.

SJU had a 21-12 advantage in fouls, and a 29-7 advantage in free throws.

But hey, thank goodness for the pro-DePaul referee conspiracy in this league that I only hear about whenever we manage to stay within 20 points at the final buzzer, or we might really stink.

[SJHooper]

I counted at least 3 fouls against DePaul that were not called in that sequence. It really does not feel like we are at home much.

SJU had a 21-12 advantage in fouls, and a 29-7 advantage in free throws.

But hey, thank goodness for the pro-DePaul referee conspiracy in this league that I only hear about whenever we manage to stay within 20 points at the final buzzer, or we might really stink.

That doesn't show the no calls vs. DePaul or the times Harrison got hacked down low to no avail. Sometimes Harrison assumes he's getting the foul call and slows down waiting for the whistle but it never comes, then he gets beat for a quick layup because he can't get back. That's on him…can never assume, but I have to say he has a reason to be upset most of the time. He gets screwed more than any other SJ player. DePaul players in the 2nd half could have been called for so many hand checks, bumps, etc. playing defense but never were. Then when the SJ players got frustrated they weren't getting the calls, that's when DePaul roared back. This isn't the first game that happened. Now obviously it didn't decide the game, but there were some sequences late in the game where it appeared 3 or 4 times SJ players (mostly Harrison) got tripped, bumped, swatted dribbling through traffic and no calls were made. Allowing DePaul to just reach in and take the ball without risk of a hand check or bump being called is what got them back in the game. Just a few games ago Jordan was called like twice in a 1 minute span for hand checking. The refs are horrible this year for everyone IMO.

But whatever. Got the win. I completely expect NIT and predict a loss to Marquette then a 1st round loss to whoever we play in the BET to end the year. Sad it had to come to this. Every time SJ had a chance this year to stamp their ticket to the tourney, they couldn't seal the deal late in the game. Even though I bet we aren't making it, I find it ridiculous that the CBS staff after the game said we have to win the tourney to make it. Beating Marquette away would be huge and it would give us our 20th win putting us at 10-8 going into BET. From there we need 1 win to feel confident on the bubble for selection Sunday. Look at our SOS…it has to be one of the best if not the best of bubble teams. Who else played (this is based on teams at their peak so far) #4 Wisconsin, #2 Cuse, #9 Creighton (twice), #4 Villanova (twice), along with PSU who beat Ohio State twice? Hopefully the committee rewards teams that have insane schedules.

[Jet915]

I think SJU needs to win @Marquette (doubt that happens but who knows) and then win one BET game. That will give them a total of two more additional top 100 wins (7 total) which will put them in squarely on the bubble (50/50). Get to the finals and they are in IMO.

[HoosierPal]

I think SJU needs to win @Marquette (doubt that happens but who knows) and then win one BET game. That will give them a total of two more additional top 100 wins (7 total) which will put them in squarely on the bubble (50/50). Get to the finals and they are in IMO.

Need to concentrate on Top 50 wins. Too many bubble teams have decent Top 50 resumes. If you have to hope on Top 100 wins, you 'll be watching the selection show with fingers & toes crossed and hoping no one gets upset in any of the one bid conference tourneys .

[SJHooper]

I think SJU needs to win @Marquette (doubt that happens but who knows) and then win one BET game. That will give them a total of two more additional top 100 wins (7 total) which will put them in squarely on the bubble (50/50). Get to the finals and they are in IMO.

Need to concentrate on Top 50 wins. Too many bubble teams have decent Top 50 resumes. If you have to hope on Top 100 wins, you 'll be watching the selection show with fingers & toes crossed and hoping no one gets upset in any of the one bid conference tourneys .

I think you are putting way too much stock into 1 specific stat you deem most important. How many of the teams we faced were just outside the top 50? I'm sure at least a few of our wins were just outside the top 50 like G'Town and PC but I haven't checked. Is it really a difference if it's top 50 or top 53? It's splitting hairs. Other more impressive stats balance out the top 50 stats. Like I said, how many teams can beat our SOS? I believe we are about 25th in the nation there. Keep in mind this is a field of 68. A top 25 SOS is a big deal. You also aren't taking into account that this has been a different team aside from the complete mess vs. Xavier with Jordan just suffering close deaths and Obekpa hurt. The committee will see that some teams have started hot and faded while others like SJ started poorly but finished strong. It's not how you start the race, it's how you finish. Hot teams are not empirically reviewed by the committee but they know who's hot and who isn't.

Jet, beating Marquette then winning the 1st BET game puts us more than squarely on the bubble. It likely puts us on the right side of it. After all this team has been through I just cannot see the committee leaving out SJ if they end up 21-11 (11-8) with wins over G'Town (blowout), #12 Creighton, PC, Marquette, and playing down to the wire with Cuse, Nova twice, etc. in addition to winning 1 BET game. I know there is no such thing as moral victories losing close ones to highly ranked teams, but it proves we belong in the tourney and can take anyone down. If we somehow make the tournament (I don't think we will), then we will be something like a 12 seed that no one wants to play. Our record is very deceiving. We must have lost 10 games by 7 or less including many ranked opponents. This is a better team than Xavier when at full strength. I think most people know that. I just can't see us beating Marquette at home though and then winning the first BET game. There, now prove me wrong Johnnies. It would be a nice change to pleasantly surprise us.

[HoosierPal]

I think SJU needs to win @Marquette (doubt that happens but who knows) and then win one BET game. That will give them a total of two more additional top 100 wins (7 total) which will put them in squarely on the bubble (50/50). Get to the finals and they are in IMO.

Need to concentrate on Top 50 wins. Too many bubble teams have decent Top 50 resumes. If you have to hope on Top 100 wins, you 'll be watching the selection show with fingers & toes crossed and hoping no one gets upset in any of the one bid conference tourneys .

I think you are putting way too much stock into 1 specific stat you deem most important. How many of the teams we faced were just outside the top 50? I'm sure at least a few of our wins were just outside the top 50 like G'Town and PC but I haven't checked. Is it really a difference if it's top 50 or top 53? It's splitting hairs. Other more impressive stats balance out the top 50 stats. Like I said, how many teams can beat our SOS? I believe we are about 25th in the nation there. Keep in mind this is a field of 68. A top 25 SOS is a big deal.

Hey, it's your team you want in, not mine, so what you think is okay by me. But having the 25th SOS doesn't do much good if you don't beat the good teams on it. And really, you are only talking about 36 at large bids, not 68 total bids. Even with a huge home court advantage, it would be an upset if St. John's wins the conference tourney to win an automatic. Minnesota has the 6th SOS, and it doesn't look good for them either. Temple has the 10th rated SOS, and no one is talking about even the NIT for them. And do you think Alabama is feeling good today, even with a SOS of 3?

TODAY according to CBS RPI, PC is 56th, Georgetown 61st and Marquette 70th, so sure, stretch your guidelines. I'm good with that. All I'm saying is that St. John's has a lot of work to do to get on the bubble. I'm not going to change your mind and you aren't going to change mine. Opinions are what makes this board interesting.

[Jet915]

I think it puts SJU squarely on the bubble because come selection sunday, there will be upsets and there will be teams who win their conference tourney who should not have gotten it. That will shrink the bubble a few spots.

[SJHooper]

Well then you are changing the RPI from when we beat them vs. now. When we beat PC, G'Town, Marquette, etc. then what were their RPI's at the time? SJ has "work" to do, but not "a lot". After every SJ win it seems people say "great, now you need 3 more". No. It's the end of the season. The Big East is a major conference and it's an absolute grinder. Alabama? Really? They have 2 teams worth their weight in salt in that conference. Everyone else sucks. Alabama is 12-17 (6-10) and in 11th place in a terrible SEC. Temple was awful this year…huh? 7-21 (2-14) dead last. Minnesota is 7-10 in conference. Lol…are you really serious with these comparisons? SJ is easily in over all of the teams you mentioned. SJ is 19-11 (9-8) in a very good conference. The other teams you mentioned are not even close to the bubble wtf?

[XUFan09]

When we beat PC, G'Town, Marquette, etc. then what were their RPI's at the time?

For good or for bad, that doesn't matter. The quality of wins/losses is based off the end-of-season RPI, as the formula is designed to only really be effective with an entire season played. For Xavier, it benefits them with UC, who has skyrocketed, but hurts them with Alabama and Tennessee, who have dropped.