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

Wednesday 12/14

Current NET Rating - 67 (0-1|0-0|3-1|4-0)

Alabama State (1-8) - next game at Georgia Tech (12/17)
Charlotte (8-2) - next game at Monmouth (12/17)
Florida Atlantic (8-1) [11] - defeated St. Thomas [NR] 97-74
Florida International (4-5) - next game at FAU (12/17)
Georgia (7-3) - next game Notre Dame (12/18)
Jacksonville (5-3) - next game Charleston Southern (12/17)
Louisiana Tech (6-3) [164] - lost to Stephen F. Austin [178] 79-80
Middle Tennessee (7-3|1-0) - next game Chattanooga (12/15)
North Texas (8-2) - next game Massachusetts (12/17)
Presbyterian (2-9) - next game Elon (12/15)
Rice (6-3|0-1) - next game vs. North American (12/15)
South Alabama (4-6) - next game vs. Spring Hill (12/19)
South Carolina (5-4) [296] - lost at UAB [61] 70-84
South Florida (4-6) - next game vs. Dartmouth (12/16)
Southern (4-6) [217] - next game at Youngstown State (12/17)
Texas-El Paso (6-3) - next game Louisiana Tech (12/17)
Texas-San Antonio (5-5) - next game Bethune-Cookman (12/18)
Toledo (7-3) - next game at Marshall (12/17)
West Virginia (8-2) - next game Buffalo (12/18)
Western Kentucky (8-1) [128] - lost at Louisville [359] 83-94

Thursday's Games
Middle Tennessee [85] vs. Chattanooga [135]
Rice [226] vs. North American [NR]
Presbyternian [334] vs. Elon [352]

Wow! FAU is 11 and South Carolina is 296 and Louisville is 359!

(12-14-2022 12:33 PM)notnow Wrote:  Wow! FAU is 11 and South Carolina is 296 and Louisville is 359!

Yep, there are few conference games that we will need to Pack Bartow for.
FAU is definitely one of them.

Did FAU add anyone to their roster from last year, or are they just that much better organically??

They were decent to pretty good last year, but no where near where they are ranked currently

(12-14-2022 01:36 PM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  Did FAU add anyone to their roster from last year, or are they just that much better organically??

They were decent to pretty good last year, but no where near where they are ranked currently

It looks like they added a UConn transfer and CC/HS guys here and there, but it looks like it’s largely the same team for the most part. Continuity from year to year with quality players is a big strength, which is something we’ll likely never have, judging from AK’s first couple recruiting cycles. Which is fine, if he’s bringing in quality players, but it’s just something we’ll never really be able to develop if we continue to focus on the portal for recruiting.

FAU was pretty darn good last year, real close to being a lot better. They lost several close games on the road, including one to us that was one of Jelly’s breakout games. They are scrappy and very well coached.

(12-14-2022 02:26 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  FAU was pretty darn good last year, real close to being a lot better. They lost several close games on the road, including one to us that was one of Jelly’s breakout games. They are scrappy and very well coached.

Just on a basic level, having a giant big who can score and defend the rim, then surrounding him with athletic guys that can shoot is a winning formula, and thats pretty much what they are.

Leave it to the Hilltoppers to lost to a horrendous Louisville squad.

I also want to point out to those of you whining about the schedule and wanting to play more bad teams from big conferences, last nights win over South Carolina DROPPED us 6 spots in the NET. From 61 to 67.

(12-15-2022 11:24 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  Leave it to the Hilltoppers to lost to a horrendous Louisville squad.

I also want to point out to those of you whining about the schedule and wanting to play more bad teams from big conferences, last nights win over South Carolina DROPPED us 6 spots in the NET. From 61 to 67.

Those last few points South Carolina had in the final minute hurt. Going from a 21 point win to 14 likely made a difference in that ranking, at least I would think.

(12-15-2022 12:17 PM)Blazer4Life14 Wrote:  

(12-15-2022 11:24 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  Leave it to the Hilltoppers to lost to a horrendous Louisville squad.

I also want to point out to those of you whining about the schedule and wanting to play more bad teams from big conferences, last nights win over South Carolina DROPPED us 6 spots in the NET. From 61 to 67.

Those last few points South Carolina had in the final minute hurt. Going from a 21 point win to 14 likely made a difference in that ranking, at least I would think.

I would also say that, low rankings or not, I would play these type of games (And even the USF And UGA games), 100 times out of 100 versus the other crap we have on our OOC schedule.

Look at how badly we played to start against WVU. We tried to do too much, we were nervous, and we hadn't been in anything remotely similar to that situation before. This team, and last year's team, has a tendency to go fully clenched butthole when they play against any "big name" team. I would argue that USC team, while bad, had more talent on it than a lot of teams we will play. They also have the "name factor." Playing and beating these teams handily gives the team a lot more confidence and experience than playing 9 or 10 of the other teams on our OOC schedule. It also generates some fan excitement, and we can all see we had a pretty good crowd last night.

Bottom line, our scheduling has sucked, and it hasn't prepared the team so far to go into tough environments and win, and it has also reinforced the team's mindset that they can just coast, play sloppily, and win most games. Games like USC, UGA, USF, aren't great, but they're better than the other crap we play.

I just want to see us play hard every game, not slack or take opponents for granted, and go into games against big name teams with confidence and play OUR game. I'm tired of the little man syndrome clenched butthole UAB. Hopefully beating the crap out of UGA and USC help that a little bit, even though they may not be very good teams.

Little bit of a rant, sorry.

(12-15-2022 12:17 PM)Blazer4Life14 Wrote:  

(12-15-2022 11:24 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  Leave it to the Hilltoppers to lost to a horrendous Louisville squad.

I also want to point out to those of you whining about the schedule and wanting to play more bad teams from big conferences, last nights win over South Carolina DROPPED us 6 spots in the NET. From 61 to 67.

Those last few points South Carolina had in the final minute hurt. Going from a 21 point win to 14 likely made a difference in that ranking, at least I would think.

Maybe slightly, but not enough to alter the rating by more than 1 or 2 spots.

The Scoring Margin component is capped at 10 points per game (plus 1 additional point for each OT period. So the difference between a 23 point win and 14 point win doesn't really come into play.

It might have slightly changed the NET efficiency of the game.

(12-15-2022 12:25 PM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  

(12-15-2022 12:17 PM)Blazer4Life14 Wrote:  

(12-15-2022 11:24 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  Leave it to the Hilltoppers to lost to a horrendous Louisville squad.

I also want to point out to those of you whining about the schedule and wanting to play more bad teams from big conferences, last nights win over South Carolina DROPPED us 6 spots in the NET. From 61 to 67.

Those last few points South Carolina had in the final minute hurt. Going from a 21 point win to 14 likely made a difference in that ranking, at least I would think.

I would also say that, low rankings or not, I would play these type of games (And even the USF And UGA games), 100 times out of 100 versus the other crap we have on our OOC schedule.

Look at how badly we played to start against WVU. We tried to do too much, we were nervous, and we hadn't been in anything remotely similar to that situation before. This team, and last year's team, has a tendency to go fully clenched butthole when they play against any "big name" team. I would argue that USC team, while bad, had more talent on it than a lot of teams we will play. They also have the "name factor." Playing and beating these teams handily gives the team a lot more confidence and experience than playing 9 or 10 of the other teams on our OOC schedule. It also generates some fan excitement, and we can all see we had a pretty good crowd last night.

Bottom line, our scheduling has sucked, and it hasn't prepared the team so far to go into tough environments and win, and it has also reinforced the team's mindset that they can just coast, play sloppily, and win most games. Games like USC, UGA, USF, aren't great, but they're better than the other crap we play.

I just want to see us play hard every game, not slack or take opponents for granted, and go into games against big name teams with confidence and play OUR game. I'm tired of the little man syndrome clenched butthole UAB. Hopefully beating the crap out of UGA and USC help that a little bit, even though they may not be very good teams.

Little bit of a rant, sorry.

Unfortunately that is not how the NET looks at things. Last season everyone was ranting about playing San Francisco and that turned out to be one of our most highly rated opponents. It's not about the name. It's more about the quality of that season's team and the quality of their schedule and results. That being said, we will likely get a bump from South Carolina playing an SEC schedule...as long as they win a few.

(12-15-2022 12:32 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  

(12-15-2022 12:25 PM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  

(12-15-2022 12:17 PM)Blazer4Life14 Wrote:  

(12-15-2022 11:24 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  Leave it to the Hilltoppers to lost to a horrendous Louisville squad.

I also want to point out to those of you whining about the schedule and wanting to play more bad teams from big conferences, last nights win over South Carolina DROPPED us 6 spots in the NET. From 61 to 67.

Those last few points South Carolina had in the final minute hurt. Going from a 21 point win to 14 likely made a difference in that ranking, at least I would think.

I would also say that, low rankings or not, I would play these type of games (And even the USF And UGA games), 100 times out of 100 versus the other crap we have on our OOC schedule.

Look at how badly we played to start against WVU. We tried to do too much, we were nervous, and we hadn't been in anything remotely similar to that situation before. This team, and last year's team, has a tendency to go fully clenched butthole when they play against any "big name" team. I would argue that USC team, while bad, had more talent on it than a lot of teams we will play. They also have the "name factor." Playing and beating these teams handily gives the team a lot more confidence and experience than playing 9 or 10 of the other teams on our OOC schedule. It also generates some fan excitement, and we can all see we had a pretty good crowd last night.

Bottom line, our scheduling has sucked, and it hasn't prepared the team so far to go into tough environments and win, and it has also reinforced the team's mindset that they can just coast, play sloppily, and win most games. Games like USC, UGA, USF, aren't great, but they're better than the other crap we play.

I just want to see us play hard every game, not slack or take opponents for granted, and go into games against big name teams with confidence and play OUR game. I'm tired of the little man syndrome clenched butthole UAB. Hopefully beating the crap out of UGA and USC help that a little bit, even though they may not be very good teams.

Little bit of a rant, sorry.

Unfortunately that is not how the NET looks at things. Last season everyone was ranting about playing San Francisco and that turned out to be one of our most highly rated opponents. It's not about the name. It's more about the quality of that season's team and the quality of their schedule and results. That being said, we will likely get a bump from South Carolina playing an SEC schedule...as long as they win a few.

I understand that. Fully. That's not my point. And I was never one of the ones complaining about USF - who complained about that game? That was one of our best games last year. If we had 5 more like that game we would have an excellent OOC schedule.

My point is that I am OK with games like last night because of the reasons I mentioned, even if it hurts our net a little bit. I think blowing out a team like USC does more for this specific team and group of players' psyche than being fed nothing but cupcakes and reinforcing their bad habits.

I'd play a game like last night over a "better" team like Jacksonville or USA that moves our net ranking up 5 spots after we beat them, simply for the reasons I stated.

I don't know of anyone who complained about playing San Francisco last year. They were a good team and play in a good conference. Most UAB basketball fans knew that.

Good players want to play good teams and in good environments. We need to raise the quality of the schedule moving forward, anyone can see that. I would be completely fine with fewer home games if it meant getting rid of 3-4 really bad games.

Yea folks complained about San Francisco.

Whoever did is dumb