BAD LOSSES

[chicagojayfan]

Only terrible losses this year have been Omaha and Lehigh imo.

Omaha gave Nebraska a game and beat Nevada on Saturday.

Not that Nevada is great or anything, but Omaha just took them apart. Omaha's RPI is going to end up being crap, but they're a decent team.

Agree with that. They've played well this year and are a decent team. Unfortunately, when they play in-conference their RPI will go into the tank.

[Bill Marsh]

Did you just call the SEC one of the toughest conferences in the country? They are certainly not one of the toughest conferences at all. It's Kentucky and Florida and that's about it. Creighton is ranked this week. They are a goid program and a good team. Xavier is picked to be in the top half of our league. They should beat UTEP. if we want to be considered a top league then we can't compare UTEP to Xavier. Xavier is a better program and a better team now. Creighton has a better basketball program and is a better team now than Ole Miss. It's ok to have a loss to a team you should beat, it happens to almost everyone. But call it a bad loss and move on. Don't equate a team line Xavier to UTEP.

Yes, I just called the SEC one of the toughest conference in the country, which is what they are year in and year out. They are currently ranked #5.

Creighton is not a better team than Ole Miss right now. This is not a matter of opinion. Ole Miss just went out and proved it on the court. They then validated that win by beating Cincinnati. This should come as no surprise. Creighton is in complete rebuilding mode after losing 5 starters including the beys player in the country. It's November. They're still figuring things out and putting the pieces together. In contrast, Ole Miss is just the opposite from Creighton - 4 starters back and they can hit the ground running in November. Please explain your basis for calling Creighton a better team.

Xavier is not a better team than UTEP. That too was just decided. Like Creighton, Xavier is fitting in a lot of new pieces after losing 3 starters including their star player. Like Ole Miss, UTEP has 4 starters back from a 23 win team. Veteran teams always have a big advantage in November.

[Bill Marsh]

You saying that UTEP is a bad loss is really ignorant. Last year they were 23-11. They are 4-0 this year. redman you just want to look at everything thru prism thinking that if you aren't in the F5, you suck. That is just complete ignorance.

Only way I can say that the UTEP (and Ole Miss) losses were bad losses is that they cost Xavier and Creighton a shot at Washington and Cincy respectively- which would be chances at real good wins.

I agree with Stever here, UTEP isn't a bad loss. Ole Miss isn't a terrible loss either. Should beat them but not terrible losses at all.

Please explain why a rebuilding Creighton team "should" beat a veteran Ole Miss team in November.

[robinreed]

You saying that UTEP is a bad loss is really ignorant. Last year they were 23-11. They are 4-0 this year. redman you just want to look at everything thru prism thinking that if you aren't in the F5, you suck. That is just complete ignorance.

Only way I can say that the UTEP (and Ole Miss) losses were bad losses is that they cost Xavier and Creighton a shot at Washington and Cincy respectively- which would be chances at real good wins.

I agree with Stever here, UTEP isn't a bad loss. Ole Miss isn't a terrible loss either. Should beat them but not terrible losses at all.

Please explain why a rebuilding Creighton team "should" beat a veteran Ole Miss team in November.

As an XU fan I believe UTEP is a very bad loss and so was Long Beach. However we suck in holiday tournaments and have done so for the last 4 or 5 years. As to UTEP being a good team which won 23 games last year I can only say that they are playing in friggin' C-USA a conference which has not had a D1 level basketball program since Memphis left 2 years ago. Stever if you have time look up UTEP's RPI for last year to see how good they were.

[stever20]

looks like #103. So not too bad. It's not an albatross like Long Beach St will be. You say they're only 3-4 right now. Yes true. But look at their upcoming schedule...Nevada, SF Austin(away), Texas, St John's, Syracuse, and Louisville. So could be 4-9 entering conference play. Last year they were #168. Not good at all.

Like I said, the problem for Xavier wasn't the UTEP loss per se, but rather that it pushed them to playing Long Beach St instead of Washington.

[Bill Marsh]

I agree with Stever here, UTEP isn't a bad loss. Ole Miss isn't a terrible loss either. Should beat them but not terrible losses at all.

Please explain why a rebuilding Creighton team "should" beat a veteran Ole Miss team in November.

As an XU fan I believe UTEP is a very bad loss and so was Long Beach. However we suck in holiday tournaments and have done so for the last 4 or 5 years. As to UTEP being a good team which won 23 games last year I can only say that they are playing in friggin' C-USA a conference which has not had a D1 level basketball program since Memphis left 2 years ago. Stever if you have time look up UTEP's RPI for last year to see how good they were.

The question really wasn't whether UTEP was a bad loss. It was why a rebuilding Xavier team should have been expected in November to beat a UTEP team with almost all of their key players back.

UTEP was ranked #111 on last year's NCAA RPI. With much of last year's team returning, College Sports Madness picked them at #83 in their preseason rankings this year. They've been playing like atop 100 team so far.

[Jet915]

While UTEP might be a sub 100 rpi team, Long Beach State, although a decent team (they did beat KState) while have an rpi in the 100s just due to the fact that the Big West Conference sucks.

[whiteandblue77]

X and Marquette are going to be TOUGH. Every single team in this league is really freaking good. We are rightly still a scrappy underdog in this conference that's going to be the proverbial dogfight till the end. My guess? Four teams in like last year, but this year all 4 reach the Sweet 16 and we get a FF team or better. Jays are a longshot but will build a better Bluejay and enhance our long-term DNA. That OleMiss game will hopefully be an anomaly and fortify the team instead of divide them like the 2009 Orlando trip, which was 0-2 rather than 1-1.

GO JAYS!

[mel ott]

Did you just call the SEC one of the toughest conferences in the country? They are certainly not one of the toughest conferences at all. It's Kentucky and Florida and that's about it. Creighton is ranked this week. They are a goid program and a good team. Xavier is picked to be in the top half of our league. They should beat UTEP. if we want to be considered a top league then we can't compare UTEP to Xavier. Xavier is a better program and a better team now. Creighton has a better basketball program and is a better team now than Ole Miss. It's ok to have a loss to a team you should beat, it happens to almost everyone. But call it a bad loss and move on. Don't equate a team line Xavier to UTEP.

Yes, I just called the SEC one of the toughest conference in the country, which is what they are year in and year out. They are currently ranked #5.

Creighton is not a better team than Ole Miss right now. This is not a matter of opinion. Ole Miss just went out and proved it on the court. They then validated that win by beating Cincinnati. This should come as no surprise. Creighton is in complete rebuilding mode after losing 5 starters including the beys player in the country. It's November. They're still figuring things out and putting the pieces together.

Not a big point, but Marsh's point that Ole Miss is better and not a matter of opinion- is just that- an opinion. It's not a bad loss. CU was in control of the game and ahead with 5 minutes left, but didn't finish well. That's one game- doesn't make them better and certainly isn't validated because they beat Cincy? What does that have to do with it? CU could beat Cincy too, but we won't know. Certainly isn't a fact because you say so. Lastly, CU's point guard is a three year starter and the most important guy we have. Also, a lot of returning players that have been to the tournament. It is also obvious there are new roles and people need to step up- but completely rebuilding is a little strong. # go big east

[Bill Marsh]

Did you just call the SEC one of the toughest conferences in the country? They are certainly not one of the toughest conferences at all. It's Kentucky and Florida and that's about it. Creighton is ranked this week. They are a goid program and a good team. Xavier is picked to be in the top half of our league. They should beat UTEP. if we want to be considered a top league then we can't compare UTEP to Xavier. Xavier is a better program and a better team now. Creighton has a better basketball program and is a better team now than Ole Miss. It's ok to have a loss to a team you should beat, it happens to almost everyone. But call it a bad loss and move on. Don't equate a team line Xavier to UTEP.

Yes, I just called the SEC one of the toughest conference in the country, which is what they are year in and year out. They are currently ranked #5.

Creighton is not a better team than Ole Miss right now. This is not a matter of opinion. Ole Miss just went out and proved it on the court. They then validated that win by beating Cincinnati. This should come as no surprise. Creighton is in complete rebuilding mode after losing 5 starters including the beys player in the country. It's November. They're still figuring things out and putting the pieces together.

Not a big point, but Marsh's point that Ole Miss is better and not a matter of opinion- is just that- an opinion. It's not a bad loss. CU was in control of the game and ahead with 5 minutes left, but didn't finish well. That's one game- doesn't make them better and certainly isn't validated because they beat Cincy? What does that have to do with it? CU could beat Cincy too, but we won't know. Certainly isn't a fact because you say so. Lastly, CU's point guard is a three year starter and the most important guy we have. Also, a lot of returning players that have been to the tournament. It is also obvious there are new roles and people need to step up- but completely rebuilding is a little strong. # go big east

The way you tell if one team is better than another that you match them up and let them play. Until that point, I agree with you that it's just an opinion. But the two played the game and Ole Miss won. That's not my opinion. That's a fact. So, until proven otherwise, Ole Miss is the better team. It was decided on the court.