njcoach
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 356
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Post by njcoach on Dec 5, 2008 17:37:13 GMT -5
It's easy for a good team like CT to appear "over-rated" playing away against a team like Buffalo. They have two really solid big guys underneath with great hands who don't mind being physical, they have a legit scorer in Pierce, they don't turn the ball over (6 for the game!), and they make their free throws. But as TMF said, CT won the game. Pierce had a chance to tie it up but, in the end, talent won out. Adrien and Thabeet both missed easy chippies that would have provided some breathing room. I think that win will help them get better.
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,440
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Post by lichoya68 on Dec 5, 2008 17:37:39 GMT -5
dailey i DO agree with you about uconn and i have manymore reasons to hate them than most on this board but they are a force to be reconded with yup will be very tough to beat em in hartford but GO HOYAS BEAT THEM ALL ONE BY ONE THE YOUNGINS ARE COMING
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,440
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Post by lichoya68 on Dec 5, 2008 17:39:02 GMT -5
NJ COACHYUP the announers kept saying all guys back.. alot of seniors ... men for buffalo ...adn the pitt game last year .. no slouch ...go hoyas BEAT THE HUSKIES ;D ;D ;D
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richfame
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,266
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Post by richfame on Dec 5, 2008 17:54:07 GMT -5
vjack the latter- tha there not vastly better than us and that there not a vintage calhoon team. On wfan Calhoon was on teh radio with mike francessa and said last year was one of the first teams that never gave 100 percent and looked lost. Other than kemba thats pretty much the same team.. Honestly i havent seen a ton of teams yet but i bet ya tennessee is just as good as uconn, unc, pitt,ND with a healthy harrengody,texas, and i think your going to be surprised by xavier this year. Also i think marquette can play with them with there experience, and wisconsin. There very good but there not unstoppable, not a vintage calhoon team.. Im telling ya we have a very good chance to win in storrs, going to do whatever it takes to go root us on there!!
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Post by grokamok on Dec 5, 2008 19:52:03 GMT -5
Question is, is the league overrated? I don't think so based on talent and the level of play that will be in effect during the conference and post-season, but it's frustrating (and damaging to the league's post-season placements) to see the under-performance thus far. Even discounting escapes like UConn had at Buffalo, we've got, relative to pre-season expectations:
Disappointments - Western Kentucky over Louisville (neutral floor) Dayton over Marquette (neutral floor) Lehigh over Rutgers (@ Rutgers) St. Bonaventure over Rutgers (@ Rutgers) Northeastern over Providence (@ Providence) St. Mary's over Providence (neutral floor, albeit west coast)
Pushes (loss) - Baylor over Providence (neutral floor) Florida St over Cincy (neutral floor) Kentucky over WVU (neutral floor) Tennessee over Georgetown (neutral floor)
Pushes (win) - Cincy over UNLV (essentially @ UNLV) ND over Texas (neutral floor) WVU over Ole Miss (@ Miss) Seton Hall over VA Tech (neutral floor)
Over-achievements - Seton Hall over USC (neutral floor) Syracuse over Florida (neutral floor) Syracuse over Kansas (essentially @ Kansas)
The other losses and wins were very much expected. At this point, there are more disappointments than over-achievements and an even score in the push-type games. The Big East seems to have more of these early-season disappointments than certain other conferences each year; I was hoping that this one would be different.
Despite having a large number of top teams in the polls, the conference is currently rated second or third, depending on the rating system. The league still has some opportunities to win some push games and to out-perform vs. OOC opponents:
Chances to win a push (7) - 12/6 Wisconsin @ Marquette 12/6 DePaul @ Northwestern 12/6 UAB @ Cincy 12/9 Davidson @ WVU (yes, Davidson was ranked, but WV was getting votes and will be at home) 12/13 Memphis @ Georgetown 12/20 UConn vs Gonzaga (neutral floor but close to Gonzaga) 12/27 WVU @ Ohio St.
Chances to over-achieve (13) - 12/9 Villanova vs Texas (neutral floor) 12/13 DePaul @ UCLA 12/13 Xavier @ Cincy 12/20 Syracuse @ Memphis 12/16 Marquette @ Tennessee 12/16 USF @ Vanderbilt 12/20 Providence @ BC 12/27 Miami @ St. John's 12/28 Rutgers @ UNC 12/29 Cincy @ Memphis 1/17 Georgetown @ Duke 2/7 Notre Dame @ UCLA 2/19 St. John's @ Duke
There might be a handful of games (like USF @ Murray State or URI @ Providence) in which an opponent might be favored but from which a win for the Big East would not be seen as an accomplishment (based upon pre-season expectations). The remaining OOC games on the Big East schedule would be disappointments to lose. Given that most of the above-noted games will be away, it will be a tall order for the conference to catch up to its pre-season hype.
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CTHoya08
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Bring back Izzo!
Posts: 2,879
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Post by CTHoya08 on Dec 5, 2008 20:20:32 GMT -5
Not to nitpick, but I hope all the posters who are talking about going to Storrs this December realize that the game is actually in Hartford.
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alexd
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 100
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Post by alexd on Dec 5, 2008 20:34:50 GMT -5
Quote:
12/20 UConn vs Gonzaga (neutral floor -- though this probably would not be counted as a push game when comparing pre-season expectations; UConn is supposed to win this one)
The game is in Seattle. I realize that is 4 hours drive from Gonzaga, but you can't really call that a neutral court. How many UCONN fans do you think will be there?
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tashoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 12,331
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Post by tashoya on Dec 5, 2008 22:13:20 GMT -5
I'm not gonna get into complimenting UConn. I have a nasty gag reflex. However.... they aren't overrated. Period.
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Post by grokamok on Dec 6, 2008 1:13:21 GMT -5
Quote: 12/20 UConn vs Gonzaga (neutral floor -- though this probably would not be counted as a push game when comparing pre-season expectations; UConn is supposed to win this one)The game is in Seattle. I realize that is 4 hours drive from Gonzaga, but you can't really call that a neutral court. How many UCONN fans do you think will be there? Point taken and edited accordingly. Still, coming into the season, this would be a push (#2 vs. #10) for Gonzaga, even with the crowd favoring them; it's those preseason expectations for the Big East being the clearly dominant conference about which I was writing.
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