CSNbbs

There are no play in games. You are either in the tournament or not.

(01-04-2016 12:55 PM)blazerball25 Wrote: [ -> ]Joe Lunardi released his first bracket projections of the new year. He has UTEP as the lone CUSA team in the tournament......as a 16 seed, in the play in game.....

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

They are the only 2-0 team in the conference. Put 0 stock into this.

(01-04-2016 01:06 PM)BlazintheATL Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-04-2016 12:59 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote: [ -> ]Gonzaga does not play in a bad conference. The WCC will usually put two or three teams in the Dance. Stephen F. Austin is a perfect example of what UAB would be facing this season http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2015/s...n-F-Austin

The Lumberjacks finished 26-5 with an RPI of 35. They had three top 100 RPI wins, Memphis (89), and two wins against Sam Houston St. (95). They were also 0-4 against the Top 50. The Southland Conf RPI ranking was #29 http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2015/c.../Southland Had they not won their tournament, the Lumberjacks were headed for the NIT.

CUSA conf. RPI ranking last season was 16th http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2015/c...ence%20USA with 3 teams with RPI in the top 100 (ODU, La Tech, & UTEP ). It's projected to be ranked 21st this season http://www.rpiforecast.com/confs/CUSA.html with only two teams projected to have top 100 RPI (MTSU & La Tech). Even if UAB wins out and lose in the CG (on our home court), we would be headed to the NIT. CUSA couldn't get two teams in last year, we're definitely not going to get two teams in this season.

Exactly. Not to mention it's highly unlikely we run the table.

I think if we ran the table to that point there would at least be a discussion. Anything short of that though, and we are looking at win the tournament or pray for the nit in my opinion. Our schedule did us zero favors this year.

Had we beaten Auburn and Illinois and lost to Iowa State and are sitting here with one loss then we have a snowball's chance.

Is there any indication as to whether CUSA sucking this bad was just ill circumstance? Or should we expect to be #21 in future seasons?

(01-04-2016 03:35 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: [ -> ]Had we beaten Auburn and Illinois and lost to Iowa State and are sitting here with one loss then we have a snowball's chance.

If that had been the case, I think we would be in really good position for an at large..

(01-04-2016 03:59 PM)Blazer_pidelta517 Wrote: [ -> ]Is there any indication as to whether CUSA sucking this bad was just ill circumstance? Or should we expect to be #21 in future seasons?

I have to think it's just ill circumstance. CUSA has been bad, even really bad, recently, but this is abysmal. I'm thinking it's mostly a combination of poor scheduling and some traditionally good teams being a bit down. The fact that half or more of the conference sucks arse is a well known and longstanding fact.

(01-04-2016 03:59 PM)Blazer_pidelta517 Wrote: [ -> ]Is there any indication as to whether CUSA sucking this bad was just ill circumstance? Or should we expect to be #21 in future seasons?

Charlotte lost half their team. Rice appeared to be moving in the right direction but choked. Southern miss may never play another postseason game. Marshall is showing some signs of life this year. Odu was just okay out of conference. Utep had a worse schedule than we did. Western Kentucky is just okay. None of These things alone is a huge problem, but when you put them all together, it is. I have zero hope that the f_u's, unt or utsa put together good programs anytime soon.(and yes I'm aware that the Florida schools and north Texas have roughed us up in recent years). Western Kentucky did what I'm afraid all the top teams will do, and lost at Marshall. They dropped 43 spots because of this. We have 6 teams outside the top 250, 8 outside the top 200, and outside the top 150. If we ever want to see an at large, we need all those numbers to improve. At this point I would be satisfied if we could get everybody inside the top 250, including 6 in the top 150. That's a reasonable goal at this point.

Yeah, I feel like it's an anomaly.

Charlotte is supposed to be one of the better basketball teams in the conference, but they are having a really tough transition. The Florida schools are long term investments more than anything else. I'm not expecting anything from them in revenue sports for the next few years, but it'd be nice to be surprised. Freeman can't carry ODU by himself, and they are pretty much two different teams depending on if they're at home or not. Southern Miss is still in recovery after what happened there. UTEP has been really hit and miss. They usually have talent, but, lately, they haven't really accomplished much. I never really paid much attention to North Texas and UTSA in basketball, so I don't really know what to make of their programs.

La. Tech is a bright spot. I thought they'd be middle of the pack after losing their coach, but they are doing well. Marshall is a bigger question mark for me. I'm not sure if they are starting to right the ship or just served to be one of the occasional stumbles the better teams have against the bottom.

It's just a down year for many programs and they just so happen to coincide. I don't think the conference will continue to be this low in RPI in the future. Some schools probably won't round the corner any time soon, but I feel confident that most of the programs will naturally start to get better on account of who they are.

I must have missed the year when CUSA was good with this group of teams. It dropped in quality when Louisville, Cincinnati and company left. It dropped again in quality when Memphis, Tulsa and company left. That's not an anomaly or Ill circumstance, it's a trend.

(01-04-2016 07:46 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote: [ -> ]I must have missed the year when CUSA was good with this group of teams. It dropped in quality when Louisville, Cincinnati and company left. It dropped again in quality when Memphis, Tulsa and company left. That's not an anomaly or Ill circumstance, it's a trend.

Charlotte is in transition, WKU is rebuilding (not a great excuse), and UTEP has had an embarrassment of injuries. These 3 should be top 150 teams in the next 2 years. Add in ODU, La Tech, Middle, and UAB and you have half the conference in the top 150 which would be ranked around 10-12. This new realignment is still settling in. If we don't have 7 in the top 150 within the next 2 years then it's time to panic.

What was already the weakest basketball conference we have ever been associated with is on an even steeper downward trend the past two years.

However, there is history of notable basketball success among the teams listed below, so there is a chance of significant improvement in about half the league with the right coaching staffs.

UAB
ODU
WKU
Charlotte
UTEP
The rest have yet to show significant signs of life at the ncaa tourney level.

We are in a mid major football conference that also plays basketball. The AAC would be a major upgrade in both sports. That should be our 3 to 5 year conference goal, and hopefully take MTSU and WKU up with us.

We have to build facilities and fund raise, and we have to do it fast. We were left behind over it before, and if we don't concentrate on changing things fast we will be again. Give till it hurts.

(01-04-2016 10:03 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote: [ -> ]We have to build facilities and fund raise, and we have to do it fast. We were left behind over it before, and if we don't concentrate on changing things fast we will be again. Give till it hurts.

Agreed!!! UAB is "on the clock" to be judged regarding its football program's future. Shovel must soon strike dirt and brick must soon meet mortar, or we risk being renewed as a 6-6 team in our good years. As we have seen with several schools that used to be our contemporaries, other schools are not going to wait for UAB to "get on their stick" before building their own new facilities and seeking better/greener pastures. UAB can't afford to keep on planning while others keep on building.

(01-04-2016 08:52 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-04-2016 07:46 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote: [ -> ]I must have missed the year when CUSA was good with this group of teams. It dropped in quality when Louisville, Cincinnati and company left. It dropped again in quality when Memphis, Tulsa and company left. That's not an anomaly or Ill circumstance, it's a trend.

Charlotte is in transition, WKU is rebuilding (not a great excuse), and UTEP has had an embarrassment of injuries. These 3 should be top 150 teams in the next 2 years. Add in ODU, La Tech, Middle, and UAB and you have half the conference in the top 150 which would be ranked around 10-12. This new realignment is still settling in. If we don't have 7 in the top 150 within the next 2 years then it's time to panic.

Charlotte has not been good since Bobby Lutz was there and they were in a better version of CUSA. That is a very long transition. UTEP went downhill the day they hired Floyd, who seems to no longer have the energy and desire to cheat like he did in his younger years.

CUSA is pretty atrocious in basketball and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Programs like UNT, UTSA, FIU, and FAU are pretty hopeless. Too bad we can't get rid of those 4 and pick up Ga State and UT Arlington.

(01-04-2016 11:35 PM)BlazintheATL Wrote: [ -> ]CUSA is pretty atrocious in basketball and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Programs like UNT, UTSA, FIU, and FAU are pretty hopeless. Too bad we can't get rid of those 4 and pick up Ga State and UT Arlington.

I was so mad when we picked up the second f_u instead of a Georgia team. It would have linked the conference a little better and at least given us a shot at having another successful program. Two teams in Miami is a worst case scenario, as Miami is notorious for having flakey fans and these are 2nd and 3rd tier schools in the area. I get that being in Florida and Texas is Seen as good for recruiting, but how many recruits do we play in front of at the f_u's, and the way we play there, how many would even consider us. we can't go back and fix things, but at this point we really need to find our way back to the AAC or we are going to be in a lot of trouble moving forward.

Glad VT beat #4 UVA. That has to help a little. BTW they are 2-0 in the ACC with wins over NC State and UVA. maybe a little better opponent than we once thought.

(01-05-2016 10:37 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: [ -> ]Glad VT beat #4 UVA. That has to help a little. BTW they are 2-0 in the ACC with wins over NC State and UVA. maybe a little better opponent than we once thought.

Me too. That will put them on the road to being in the "not a bad loss" category in the RPI, not that that matters too much. We are essentially in a one bid conference (barring a minor miracle). If we were to end up the year with no bad losses, a gaudy record, and a few top 100 wins - who knows? Crazier things have happened. I won't get too stressed about it, because I know the stars would have to align for that to happen..

IMHO, I am really tired of the scheduling excuses. Everyone here agrees that CUSA SUCKS at basketball. Thus, we aren't going to significantly improve our RPI ranking with our conference schedule, and we basically have to win the CUSA tourney every year to get into the Big Dance. That is, *UNLESS* we load up our OOC schedule as much as possible. We are in a no lose situation. There's no other way for us to put ourselves in the position for an at large, otherwise. I don't buy the "being disrespected" thing, either. Take 2-for-1's, 3-for-1's, play at the BJCC, play on the road, or play an exhibition in Afghanistan for all I care. We have to go all in on the OOC from now on. Especially with the team we hope to have the next one to two seasons.