FOTP
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,435
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Post by FOTP on Feb 14, 2005 15:25:49 GMT -5
I'm actually fine with MD in the Top 25. That doesn't bug me as much as Charlotte and Villanova being ranked. Neither of those teams deserve it.
If I'm DePaul I'm pretty ticked off right now too. They have a better record than Cincy and KILLED them this week.
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GUMBA
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 737
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Post by GUMBA on Feb 14, 2005 15:35:50 GMT -5
DePaul should be ticked. We have better Big East records than two of the ranked teams. Wins in South Bend and the Garden should vault us over Maryland. Not sure we will get in if we split. Funny how we could have a 9-4 Big East record and not be ranked. Shows you how hard it is to bust pre-season expectations.
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FOTP
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,435
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Post by FOTP on Feb 14, 2005 15:43:55 GMT -5
Sorry. I think we should be the most ticked. DePaul is just another example of how insane the preseason hype machine matters.
They are playing great and just crushed Cincy.
We get no respect either. I'd have us 24 and DePaul 25 at this point.
It's almost borderline ridiculous that we're 3rd in the BE at 8-3 and can't get into the Top 25 yet a 5-5 team in 7th place gets in at #25.
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gopaland
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 125
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Post by gopaland on Feb 14, 2005 15:47:24 GMT -5
Charlotte is a good team every year. This year that happen to be a bit better than usual and personally until today I think they may have been slightly more underrated than we are. Depaul is another team that I think deserves to be ranked. MD should not be ranked. I don't care if you beat Duke twice - that doesn't make you deserve a top 25 ranking. That's the exact kind of stupidness that has Nova being ranked for beating Kansas.
As for getting ranked, I hope that we win both this week and get snubbed again. This team deserves to be ranked - no doubt. But being unranked and everyone in the world "expecting us to fade" has that feeling of Hoya Paranoia that most of us young fans have never had a chance to be a part of. Nothing is more fun that proving all the critics wrong week after week.
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FOTP
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,435
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Post by FOTP on Feb 14, 2005 16:05:12 GMT -5
Oh and don't even get me started on Charlotte...that's a freaking joke.
They have 1 good win all year...at HOME to Cincy (and I think Cincy is way overrated). Other than that they lost to #196 East Carolina and FREAKING Rutgers early in the season. The same team we beat twice. Hell, Charlotte gets ranked after beating #204 in the RPI in OT this week!!! Whoever votes for these things needs to be accountable. SOS of 118!!!
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Post by AustinHoya03 on Feb 14, 2005 16:07:25 GMT -5
I'm less worried about being ranked than just completely dumbfounded by the fact that Villanova is ranked #25 and we're left out. Villanova is 5-5 in the big east and WE FREAKING beat them @ Nova. It's insane. Nova has one good win this year and hasn't won a game on the road. I'm sick and tired of these guys getting all this love for one win. It just goes to show you that the people who vote for these things are idiots. Pollsters are idiots because they become enchanted with being right. Even though teams like 'Nova and Oklahoma have been in virtual freefall after big wins earlier in the season, those teams are still in the Top 25 because the voters can't admit they were wrong. Heck, even though wounded Texas finally dropped out, they get a large number of votes. For us to get into the Top 25, someone has to drop out. And apparently if you're a major conference team, you have to really screw up to drop in position. Some pollsters even seem to think such teams are immune to dropping out: witness Georgia Tech receiving 27 votes this week. Other examples: UCONN gained a spot the day after a loss at home, Wisconsin lost to Illinois and didn't drop at all, and Cincinnati has lost 3 of 4 and got hammered at Depaul this weekend but didn't drop out. The bad news is that 'Nova, Cincinnati, and UMD all have pretty easy games this week. Florida has marginally tough games against LSU and Mississippi. Of the teams immediately above us, only Charlotte has a tough matchup (against Depaul). So it doesn't look like anyone will drop out this week, and we still have to go to Notre Dame and the Garden and win. Hopefully the lack of respect will serve as motivation for the Hoyas.
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gopaland
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 125
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Post by gopaland on Feb 14, 2005 16:34:48 GMT -5
FOTP
You have to be kidding me: Charlotte lost a heartbreaker to Alabama - a tourney bound team, beat Valpo (a team that had an incredibly tough schedule and only lost to ORAL ROBERTS by 7). They beat Davidson just as convincly as we did. It took a prayer but they miracled their way past Indiana on the road.
When you look at what they've done: They have bad losses to Rutgers (2 points) and East Carolina (3 points and on the road). Their other losses are to Bama (stated above) and Cincinasti.
I know this isn't a great argument but I think they will prove me right by winning their next three games (DePaul, Tulane, and Memphis)
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Boz
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
123 Fireballs!
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Post by Boz on Feb 14, 2005 16:35:32 GMT -5
There are no easy games for Maryland, especially on the road. I'm counting on them to drop three out of their next four (after being all cocky from beating Duke at home), culminated by a nice 20-point shellacking at the hands of the Tar Heels.
I am NEVER fine with that team being ranked. I don't mind if people argue that they deserve it or not, but never, ever be FINE with it.
Ugh.
Ugh, number two coming up. I can't believe I am about to say this, but I will be rooting for Syracuse tonight.
Oh God, I am going to be sick. Gotta' go.
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MassHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,786
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Post by MassHoya on Feb 14, 2005 16:42:31 GMT -5
Last week all we had to do was focus on WV. We took care of that business. Right now all we should do is focus on the Irish. I would rather not be ranked and still have some element of surprise for ND, Nova, Uconn (even thought it's a second time for these three), the BET, and whoever we face in the NCAA's. Enough wins will get us enough respect. Our RPI speaks for itself right now. The Hoyas just have to keep winning...and it starts Wednesday.
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Post by AustinHoya03 on Feb 14, 2005 16:42:32 GMT -5
There are no easy games for Maryland, especially on the road. I'm counting on them to drop three out of their next four (after being all cocky from beating Duke at home), culminated by a nice 20-point shellacking at the hands of the Tar Heels. Yeah upon further examination NC State has already beaten UMD in College Park, so the Terps may drop another one in Raleigh. Playing UVa in an empty stadium shouldn't be too tough for anyone, though. Man, if only the refs had given more calls to Duke...
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hoyabinx
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,043
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Post by hoyabinx on Feb 14, 2005 16:44:43 GMT -5
We have better Big East records than two of the ranked teams. That is exactly what makes us not being ranked dumb, IMO. Just click on this link and scroll down to the big east rankings, it makes it more ridiculous when you look at it. sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=250430046
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
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Post by MCIGuy on Feb 14, 2005 16:57:59 GMT -5
There are no easy games for Maryland, especially on the road. I'm counting on them to drop three out of their next four (after being all cocky from beating Duke at home), Michael Wilbon had the perfect name for it: The Duke Invitational. He told Kornheiser that was all Maryland has won; the goal is to get into the tournament though. Couldn't agree more. This is what I wrote on the MDVarsity site. Terp players and fans put all their eggs in one basket: Duke. If they were as inspired and as consistent when playing other teams as they are Duke then Gary and his boys would be challenging for the ACC regular season title more often rather than settling for middle of the pack status. But students and fans of Riot U act as if they should be crowned national champions just by beating Duke during the regular season.
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Post by snowdog on Feb 14, 2005 17:08:19 GMT -5
Actually, we are 4-2 since our signature win, hardly a "virtual freefall". The 2 losses being @uconn and against the Cuse. If I'm not mistaken, you are 0-2 versus those teams as well.
I do agree that once you are in the top 25, you really have to screw up to get bumped out. We are hanging in there. We have a good chance to have a nice 3-0 week to really cement our place in the polls.
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Big Dog
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,912
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Post by Big Dog on Feb 14, 2005 17:45:36 GMT -5
Don't underestimate the adverse impact that the Princeton offense can potentially have on a team's ability to be ranked. This certainly isn't always the case, but when scores for our games and generally low and we never blow anybody out, its naturally going to take longer to bring doubters around. In particular, the ugliness of the BC game probably lost us some attention in the eyes of voters.
Fortunately, as long as we keep winning, none of it matters. Instead, we'll just turn heads with our play.
I don't mind not having that number (and hence a target) next to our name. It would be nice to have the automatic increased attention that comes with the top 25 (highlights always on TV, better live updating over the internet, more extensive AP treatment, etc.) but its not essential. Win 2 this week and I think we'll be in the polls the rest of the season.
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paranoia2
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 847
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Post by paranoia2 on Feb 14, 2005 17:49:18 GMT -5
Villanova doesn't anger me at all as compared to Pitt. Who the hell have they beaten out of conference? Who have they played out of conference? Nova is going to cruise down the stretch as their schedule imo is very favorable. Pitt is going to enter a freefall starting tonight and Dixon will be primed for the hot seat. ND is big for us and if we lose SJU will be a must win.
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Big Dog
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,912
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Post by Big Dog on Feb 14, 2005 17:53:53 GMT -5
Pitt has a gaudy record and a recent tradition of excellence. That goes a long way. Its not purely a numbers game. This can help us too. Georgetown is a team of great tradition, from a large media market, with a feel-good story. Its the kind of team that if we're squarely on the bubble come selection Sunday, you want them in.
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hoyarooter
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 10,224
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Post by hoyarooter on Feb 14, 2005 21:53:13 GMT -5
Everyone who is grousing about our lack of a ranking ("we get no respect"), just relax and take a deep breath. It doesn't matter. It won't affect the judgment of the selection committee (remember how we came in as a 10 seed a few years ago, despite being in the top 25?), and it won't affect our tv appearances for next season. If we keep beating the teams we will be favored to beat, and can pull off one more win in addition (Wednesday, maybe?), we will end up with a 6 or 7 seed in the tournament, which, to my mind, is all the respect we need this season. Not being ranked this year doesn't bother me in the least.
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