I think we’re in a good position to win it. I think losing to Wku is going to actually be beneficial because it’s hard to beat a team three times. If we can find ANY defense and rebounding it might just happen....
Cusa tourney
- Thread starter PullmanFinger
- Start date
The HERD needs some "HELP" from other CUSA members to add a loss to MTSU. At 1-loss...the Racers are in the drivers seat......and looking in their rear-view window at the rest of the League......
Zilla22 in RAINY Charlotte
Zilla22 in RAINY Charlotte
Interesting year... Can't believe UTSA beat WKU yesterday afternoon. Other than the away games @ MTSU and UAB, we should be favored in the rest of our games.
We hold a nice wild card in that we are the only team to beat MT thus far. If seeding comes to that.
We don’t need any help. If we can’t beat a team that’s not on a bye then we shouldn’t win it anyway.
TRUE...BUT.....that Trump/Wild Card (I likes the sounds of that===TRUMP).......may be negated on the HERD's road-trip to MTSU on March 3 and the March 1 contest @ UAB (recall MU beat the Blazers in OT at The Cam....).
Lots of work ahead for the D'Antoni Bunch....
Zilla22 STILL BELIEVING in Charlotte
No. If we split and are tied with UAB, we win the seeding battle with them since we beat the #1 team and they haven't. Unless, of course UAB beats MTSU later in Murfreesboro
Isn't that something MU has been looking for all season?
Peneva obviously adds a tremendous boost but teams will adjust to him, so we need another outlet.
Yes agreed but what I am saying is sometimes a draw can kill a team but I think this year with the confidence of beating MTSU and being 'due' to beat WKU I think it plays out well. That being said, I hope someone knocks off MTSU and we see WKU in the finals. That would be ideal and opportunity knocking
I agree. Also, one should consider the fact these will be neutral site games, so we won't have to worry about too much from wku or MTSU's crowds...at least not like Memphis where they were always favored and had a massive home crowd advantage.
With UTSA beating WKU, it's showing me that even the top 5 isn't really set and anyone can beat anybody at any time.
I'm pretty excited to go to Frisco to see how it all works out. Could be a rather open tournament.
How do you seeing it playout, @Herdmeister ?
I think MTSU will have to collapse late to give up that #1 seed. They’ve beaten WKU , UAB, & ODU on the road. They’ve only really got us, WKU, & UAB left to play....and all of them are home.
I think the 2-3 seeds will be a toss up between WKU and ODU. If ODU takes care of business in a few weeks when they travel to Huntington & (especially) BG, they should take the #2. If they split that week by losing to us and beat WKU, I think the Mop Tops (that’s what I’ll call them until Hollingsworth cuts that Elfrid Peyton looking crap—ugh, that sounded so much like “get off my lawn” guy—I must be getting old haha) will have to sweep the UAB/MTSU week. If I’m not mistaken, ODU’s schedule is easier than WKU’s the rest of the way.
That leaves the highly coveted 4 seed. We’re currently in that spot and if we take care of business, there’s no reason why Dan can’t get his second 1st round bye. Our competition for that spot should be UAB, UNT, & UTSA.
- I’m not a fan of UAB. Great talent on paper, but they just haven’t handled decent teams well. Of course, they have the ability to get hot, so we’ll see. Norton was billed as an All-CUSA type of player, but the knee injury either is still bothering him (confidence in that knee) or her still hasn’t shaken the rust/found a groove from sitting out last season. I don’t think they run their offense through Lee nearly enough either. They have the UNT/Rice series this weekend. They get UNT at home Thursday night, so there’s a scoreboard watcher.
- I don’t know much about UNT. They’ve won their last 3 games at home against Rice (4pts), FIU (2pts in OT), and FAU (6pts). That’s not too inspiring at home and those three wins give them half of their CUSA wins. I don’t see them being a contender, but we’ve got to go there (Texas) and play. This is a big one for us, IMO. Got to win this game.
- Honestly, I’m still not sure about UTSA either. Yes, they went on the road and handled UAB, they held us off at their place, and handled WKU for the entire game. Maybe I’m slow to give them the respect they deserve—like most people in CUSA were with us when Elmore, Browning, Loop, Taylor, Kelly, Burks, and Thompson burst onto the scene in Dan’s second season? They’ve still got to go to ODU & UNT, while getting La Tech at home. So I guess there’s a chance for them getting another loss or two.
A couple of points from watching this team all year...
1. We need to get that bye... It's hard to have to play that extra game and win. We hit a wall last year and it was pretty clear in the second half of the CUSA championship our guys were gassed.
2. This team is one serviceable big man from being a force... Paneva is a nice player offensively, but he's soft. If this team had an Oakley-type big that could defend the rim and rebound it would be a huge boost. We need an old-school guy that gives you the 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 hard fouls stat line.
3. We need to press more, but lack the depth... Our starting guards are really good at pressuring the ball, unfortunately we don't have enough guys to rotate in to keep them fresh.
1. We need to get that bye... It's hard to have to play that extra game and win. We hit a wall last year and it was pretty clear in the second half of the CUSA championship our guys were gassed.
2. This team is one serviceable big man from being a force... Paneva is a nice player offensively, but he's soft. If this team had an Oakley-type big that could defend the rim and rebound it would be a huge boost. We need an old-school guy that gives you the 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 hard fouls stat line.
3. We need to press more, but lack the depth... Our starting guards are really good at pressuring the ball, unfortunately we don't have enough guys to rotate in to keep them fresh.
Don’t disagree. We’re a good team, but the things you mentioned keep us from being an elite CUSA team.
The only thing i’ll Disagree with is us needing an “Oakley-type” big. Iran Bennett should bring that presence, but he’s got some offensive skill to go with his game. Levi Cook is developing and I think could turn into a serviceable offensive player by next season.
All of our guards return. Darius George should be able to kick up and play his more natural wing position next year, which will add some depth. We’ll also be adding Jeremy Dillon as someone who can play anywhere from the 1-3 and Cam Brooks who will be able to play that wing position. Having George be able to play the wing, Jannson possibly being able to kick up as well, and if the redshirt stays off of Cam Brooks, there’s some wing players who will allow Watson to get some more 2/off guard minutes.
Dan is going to have some nice puzzle pieces that fit in at 2-3 different positions next year. He can play with lineups/rotations to where depth shouldn’t be an issue.
I think it is also interesting to note that Lunardi has WKU and one of the Next Four Out. Not that it has anything to do with the CUSA tourney but It would be interesting to see two teams get in. Hypothetically if MTSU and WKU both win out (minus themselves) they are only going to strengthen their resume. If MTSU is a projected 8/9 going into the CUSA tourney and loses in the finals (lets just say to the Herd for shyts and giggles 
) does that mean it's a two bid league this year? I would say definitely. You can't drop that far for losing a game in the conference finals. I would love to see that happen.
) does that mean it's a two bid league this year? I would say definitely. You can't drop that far for losing a game in the conference finals. I would love to see that happen.MTSU has made a great case for an at-large bid. They are 18-5 and with their remaining schedule, the worst they are going to finish is 23-7 in the reg season (and that is if they lose to WKU and either us or UAB). They are ranked 22 in RPI and have a strength of schedule ranked 52nd.
I would say right now, if they go 23-7 and win their first CUSA tourney game they are probably in. It would be pretty hard to leave a team out that goes 24-8 with an RPI in the top 30... If they make the CUSA title game they would definitely be in even with a loss at, for the sake of this example, at 25-8.
Not that CUSA leaders would root for such a thing, but the best scenario for the league is MTSU makes the conference tournament finals and loses to get two teams in the big dance.
I would say right now, if they go 23-7 and win their first CUSA tourney game they are probably in. It would be pretty hard to leave a team out that goes 24-8 with an RPI in the top 30... If they make the CUSA title game they would definitely be in even with a loss at, for the sake of this example, at 25-8.
Not that CUSA leaders would root for such a thing, but the best scenario for the league is MTSU makes the conference tournament finals and loses to get two teams in the big dance.
Danny is still hoping to red shirt BOTH George and Harris-Brooks next year.
I cant believe how far Levi has come in the 2-3 weeks he's been here. His jump shot has improved tremendously
I think we have a good shot at the 4 spot. UNT has the dreaded trip this week to MTSU and UAB. You have to figure they lose 1 or both of them. We should be able to hold serve with a pair of a wins over the Florida schools in the Cam.
Our ace in the hole with any ties with UAB or UNT is our coveted win over MTSU as long as UNT and UAB both lose upcoming games vs the Blue Raiders.
ODU has had the easiest trip of the top 4-5 teams all year. WKU and MU have had by far the toughest. I think that will serve us well in Frisco.
That would be ideal for both players. I really thought George needed one this year, but he’s surprised me by how physically ready he’s been. Give him a year to further develop in the weight room, improve his ball handling, and get his shot on par where it needs to be and we’re looking at a REALLY nice wing player who can kick down to play some 4 when we need it.
I think Cam is a little different story. I’ve talked to him a few times and done a few articles on him. I think he has such a high ceiling that we need to trade his true freshman season for a redshirt senior season, regardless if he’s ready or not. I know that can be said for every player, but he’s truly only scratching the surface of the type of player he can become. With Dan, the sky is the limit on what he can become if he’s willing to put in the work.
Good to hear about Levi too. I had my doubts, but the early returns sound promising!
How well can Bennett and Cook run the floor as really big men? How many minutes can they go next year at the pace we play at?
Great question! Both of those guys have lost and are still losing bad weight. I know the few preseason practices I attended, Bennett logged enough minutes on the stationary bike to qualify for a leg on the Tour de France.
I haven’t seen either practice while running the floor, so I’m not sure what they look like there, but Dan runs them a lot so I figure they’ll be in decent shape. If it’s an issue during the season, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a three man rotation at the 5 with Penava still playing some 5 and giving both of those guys a few minute breather while we really pick up the pace at times.
As you said, if you have seen practice you will quickly see that Danny runs, runs and runs some more in practice. Both guys are keeping up, quite nicely. I really cant believe how well they are doing
HERDmeister......great to HERD. If Bennett is really the Big Deal as reported...with NBA dreams...He better be able to get up & down the floor with speedy legs & good wind.
Zilla22 in charlotte
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