(01-05-2011 06:24 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  Truth be told I would rather beat Villanova, GTown, ND etc and the all of the other top 25 RPI games in the Big East, and there are a bunch of those opportunities out there. Attendance will be good for Big East play. The important item for UC is make the dance and win a game or maybe 2.
Beating X is great and all of that but it is far from defining the season.

of course it is preferable to beat all of the top twenty teams in the big east, but if uc can't beat xavier this year it's probably an indication that they can't beat the teams that you mentioned, who are clerarly better than xavier is. at the very least, i think it would be a discouraging loss for a team that hasn't had a whole lot of encouragement for the past several years.

(01-03-2011 08:06 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Coming to an ulcer near you...

that guy HATED Huggs.....was he the one that threw Huggs out of the UAB game @UAB in 1993-1994 season...the game ended with UAB tipping in a shot to win it (was CLEARLY offensive goaltending).....

For me, the problem with this game is that UC seems to NEVER win the closely contested ones. It's either a UC blowout or eggsaier wins every single very close game, where some Bearcat bounces the ball off his leg or otherwise does something stupid to give them a chance to win. To their credit they take full advantage and accept our offer. It's frustrating, and I'm ready to accept our payback.

(01-05-2011 10:27 PM)UnivCinBrct Wrote:  For me, the problem with this game is that UC seems to NEVER win the closely contested ones. It's either a UC blowout or eggsaier wins every single very close game, where some Bearcat bounces the ball off his leg or otherwise does something stupid to give them a chance to win. To their credit they take full advantage and accept our offer. It's frustrating, and I'm ready to accept our payback.

That seems to be pretty accurate both for Huggs and Cronin as Coach.
I didn't watch Cronin's first game vs. X, but UC won. AK lost a close one, was that OT? Last year was double OT and that was a loss.

(01-05-2011 10:12 PM)3rd Wise Man Wrote:  

(01-05-2011 06:24 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  Truth be told I would rather beat Villanova, GTown, ND etc and the all of the other top 25 RPI games in the Big East, and there are a bunch of those opportunities out there. Attendance will be good for Big East play. The important item for UC is make the dance and win a game or maybe 2.
Beating X is great and all of that but it is far from defining the season.

of course it is preferable to beat all of the top twenty teams in the big east, but if uc can't beat xavier this year it's probably an indication that they can't beat the teams that you mentioned, who are clerarly better than xavier is. at the very least, i think it would be a discouraging loss for a team that hasn't had a whole lot of encouragement for the past several years.

X is the team that really needs this game, ask the RPI bracket experts.
Probably same deal with beating Georgia.

(01-05-2011 05:59 PM)3rd Wise Man Wrote:  i get the sense that uc REALLY needs this one. uc has been playing to a half empty house the majority of the past several years. a lot of the enthusiasm that used to surround the program has gone away. we've seen bits and pieces of it on occassion, but never really sustained. even now, with a ranked team, the house is still half empty because it's hard to build up momentum against a weak schedule, even if you win all fourteen of them.

i think a win in this game will make uc's fans enthusiastic again, and give the team a huge surge of momentum. it's a sold out game (presumably) against a rival on national tv. xavier is not all that strong this year, and is really kind of one dimensional. it's set up for uc. whether or not they sustain that momentum all the way through conference remains to be seen, but if they don't win, but at least they'd have a huge head of steam built up for the time being. i'd go so far to say that it would be a huge dissapointment for uc if they didn't win. yeah, they're 14-0 and ranked, but if they lose to a rival on national tv who's having a down year, it kind of kills what little enthusiasm they currently had.

Wise thoughts. Thx!

Got a new podcast up that breaks down the Shootout tonight. Hope you guys enjoy it!

http://chuges.podbean.com/2011/01/06/161...l-preview/

Quote:X is the team that really needs this game, ask the RPI bracket experts.
Probably same deal with beating Georgia.

i'll be sure and ask them, although most of them probably feel the way i do and question whether or not xavier is good enough to play their way in whether they win or lose.

be that as it may, i don't see what it has to do with what i was saying. if uc loses to xavier, i don't think it bodes well for them. you say that you'd rather beat nova and georgetown and all of the ranked teams in the big east. i don't disagree, but that seems like a moot point to bring up. it's not as if teams get to choose which games they'd rather win. if uc doesn't win against xavier, i think it demonstrates that they have less of a chance of winning against anyone else that they would "rather beat." it's not that uc lacks opportunities. it's that a loss to xavier indicates that they lack the ability, and i think they would miss out on building up a lot of momentum.

My biggest concern: Yancy and Rashad keeping cool heads. If that happens, I love our chances. If either of those two gets booted, the game gets difficult.

Mark Lyons will be the biggest hothead on the floor. Get a few buckets on him early and he will lose this game for Xavier.

(01-03-2011 08:06 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Coming to an ulcer near you...

At the Shoe tonight the wife said Burr looks like the lost third Rock Em' Sock Em' Robot. Good stuff.