The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

UAB's rpi WILL drop after this game against tulane....WIN or LOSE

RPI is not really our priority right now. WINNING is #1 on our priority list. Like it or not, losing for a non-BCS team is "verboten" if you want to comfortably exist in the "Power Conference" dominated environment as we approach March Madness. Listening to the "talking experts" on ESPN's College Basketball Show was to hear all the possible reasons why the "PC" members should have greater leeway in poor records since they play a "more demanding schedule" i.e.other conference members. It is just like in football, the BCS teams play in BCS Bowls with one, even two losses, but non-BCS teams must have perfect undefeated records to even get to play at all (then they get placed in a "sidecar bowl" where they can only beat each other).

How's that 21-point bag gonna help our Sagarin rating, though?

It will improve it slightly... It would have improved it more if we had won by more of course.

I TOTALLY understand pulling the starters to avoid injury...however, it might not have been the best thing for our NCAA hopes.

(02-27-2010 04:55 PM)RobSmith Wrote:  It will improve it slightly... It would have improved it more if we had won by more of course.

I TOTALLY understand pulling the starters to avoid injury...however, it might not have been the best thing for our NCAA hopes.

Injury would have been worse in my opinion. Numbers and ratings are additive at this point, but winning is much more singularly influential on our chances.

Which part of:

"I TOTALLY understand pulling the starters to avoid injury"

did you not understand?

(02-27-2010 05:01 PM)RobSmith Wrote:  Which part of:

"I TOTALLY understand pulling the starters to avoid injury"

did you not understand?

I'm only adding my observation. But if you wish to nitpick, then you don't TOTALLY understand by adding your HOWEVER statement...

Since you wish to nitpick - allow me to nitpick your analysis of my statement...

"I TOTALLY understand pulling the starters to avoid injury" - this means that I agree with the course of action taken... This also means that IF I were the one being paid 3/4 of a million dollars to make the moment to moment decisions that not only mean large bonus to my salary, but also hundreds of thousands of dollars to my school and all the intangibles that go along with them (recruiting, tv etc) - I would have made the same decision.

"however, it might not have been the best thing for our NCAA hopes" - this means that regardless of what was done, or my feelings on what was done (see above for what those are)...hindsight COULD/MIGHT prove that the decision was not the best use of the risk/reward equation.

The 2nd statement has no implications on changing the opinions of the first, which is what you seem to believe.

I will not post anymore on this thread - as I do not believe in friendly fire when there are real enemies to our beloved blazers.

(02-27-2010 04:55 PM)RobSmith Wrote:  It will improve it slightly... It would have improved it more if we had won by more of course.

I TOTALLY understand pulling the starters to avoid injury...however, it might not have been the best thing for our NCAA hopes.

I guarantee that the UAB basketball staffs have no idea about the margin of victory and his relation the sagarin ranking

Putting any emphasis on a rating that takes margin of victory into play is simply unfair. Not just to non BCS schools but to all schools that put an emphasis on defense. It totally discounts the pace a team plays at. Some teams such as Wisconsin and other defensively minded schools is generally not going to win a game by huge margins. It seems that Sagarin only rewards teams that are offensive oriented.

Of course it makes sense that the committee would put an emphasis on this if my theory that the committee is more interested in ratings and revenue than they are in the best basketball teams.

I could care less about the tourney, ratings ect. When you have a comfortable lead, you play the bench. You do what is right. And, I can only hope our staff has no idea how the margin of victory relates to the Sagarin ranking. The team is 23-5, the staff is a hell of a lot more qualified then ANY person on this board to coach the team.

let me nitpick the nitpick by adding that nitpicking a nitpick is dumb

If the National Champion only wins by a few points does that make them less of a National Champion?

Leave RobSmith alone. He went away for a long time and now he's back. His contributions, from RPI data to what the weather is going to do is valuable.

He wasn't griping that we played our bench. He was just pointing out (tongue in cheek, I think) that we would have benefitted by winning by a bigger margin. I don't think he was criticizing anyone.

Everyone needs to calm down.

Friendly fire?
I understood your statement at the beginning, but I made my own statement that I believed injury, or possibility thereof, to have been singularly more important than a bigger win over a conference bottom dweller. I'm still of that opinion. But, you are a numbers guy, and that makes sense as it is the nature of your profession to use numerical models in your line of work.
It was your immediate return fire that intimated that I didn't understand your statement.
I understood. Instead, I made my own analysis as happens oftentimes on this web board. It wasn't meant as a jab. I think you took it as such, and fired back without confirming your sight picture.
I meant no disrespect. Instead, I made my own observation.
So Rob, have an A1 Blazer Day!!! and more importantly, GO BLAZERS, let's take the next 2 games and cruise into the CUSA tourney .in a high #2 or #3 seed! Let's show the cbs,espn-types, and all their minions that the blzers came to finish the final season and sweep through the tournament on our way to the 64 tourney!

Let's just win the next two games and take this thing out of the hands of the judges. Hell, win the conference tournament while we're at it.

(02-27-2010 05:31 PM)bigpoppablazer Wrote:  I could care less about the tourney, ratings ect. When you have a comfortable lead, you play the bench. You do what is right. And, I can only hope our staff has no idea how the margin of victory relates to the Sagarin ranking. The team is 23-5, the staff is a hell of a lot more qualified then ANY person on this board to coach the team.

Amen, brother!

Another way to learn how to avoid disappointment is to learn how to spell "disappointment."

This may be the most embarrassing thread I have ever read (other than the ones I have started).

I say we delete it, look away, and whistle. Then grow up.

If the difference between us making the tournament and not making the tournament depends on whether we beat Tulane by 21 or 27, I give up on college basketball. The good news is we control our destiny with two weeks left. In recent years, the only chance we had was to win the tournament. This year, we can win a few winnable games and get in. If we win two games this week, there'll be a lot less angst this time next week.