The Next Six

[EasyEd]

I hope we go 1-0 over the next one game.

[hoyarooter]

Jan 10, 2010 19:58:51 GMT -5 EasyEd said:

I hope we go 1-0 over the next one game.

Yes!

I hate to be the curmedgeon, but if we play like we did in the first half yesterday during this stretch, the best we can hope for is 1-5. I'm not suggesting that's going to occur - in fact, I'm almost certain it won't. But I'm also almost certain that we won't play over this six game stretch just as we did in the second half yesterday. I rather doubt that we'll have any more halves like that this year, much less complete games or six game stretches. The only half of basketball that I can think of during the III era that matches up with the second half yesterday was the first half of the famous Duke game. A little perspective, please.

[prhoya]

4-2 with losses at Pitt and Syracuse... Scottie is still playing for Nova, so that means a key error from him leads to our victory there.

But, lets get by SHU first with a win at home and then worry about the next one.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Scottie beat us in his very first game against us but has lost the last 5 straight to us. I like our chances.

[Cambridge]

Jan 10, 2010 2:57:53 GMT -5 Big Dog said:

In addition to all of the big picture things about heart and development and tenacity that we hope will make a lasting impression from today's game, the win was also huge because the Hoyas now enter THE GAUNTLET--a run of six challenging games that will make up their hardest stretch of the season:

Thu Jan 14 Seton Hall
Sun Jan 17 @ Villanova
Wed Jan 20 @ Pittsburgh
Sat Jan 23 Rutgers
Mon Jan 25 @ Syracuse
Sat Jan 30 Duke

To me, a split of these games would be monumental, and is almost too much to ask. A win Thursday is essential, and after that, a Rutgers win is essential, but any other single victory out of the remaining four games would be huge--I think in reality we can reasonably lose all four without doing any real damage to the season (Pomeroy has the Hoyas losing all 4 and going 2-4 in this stretch, yet still going 12-6 in the conference).

Of the big four games, I guess I'd rank our chances of victory in the following order:

1. @ Pitt
2. Duke
3. @ Nova
4. @ Syracuse

I'm with you Dog, that schedule is absolutely brutal. We may be "better" than Pitt or Nova, but on their home courts and the short time span we'll be playing these games in suggests we could be looking at a dropping all four. I would be happy with a 1-3 and very excited about a split.

[Boz]

This thread is evil. Send it to quarantine.

[NCHoya]

I think everyone under estimates just how hard it is to win on the road. Look around the country, most upsets are when the ranked team is on the road. It is very difficult in a major conference to come out with a win on the road. All you have to do is look at Kansas @ Tenn, UConn @ UC, GU @ MU, WVU @ ND as examples. That is what made Pitt's win @ SU so impressive. We may be the more talented team, but I could have said that last year in many of our losses. The only game that is a lock is RU, they stink.

SHU is first and Gonzo will throw everything at us to make it a streetfight. We do not always respond well to those type of physical challenges. So let's just start with that one.

[Big Dog]

Jan 11, 2010 10:59:59 GMT -5 NCHoya said:

I think everyone under estimates just how hard it is to win on the road.

I agree. Any road victory in this conference not at Allstate Arena outside Chicago is a big win. Seems to me we haven't won in Providence for a while--or at least I have nightmares of losing there--and there also used to be a time when playing at the RAC was no picnic.

[SFHoya99]

Rutgers is as close to automatic as you are going to get.

Their best player, Greg Echenique, is transferring out. Mike Rosario isn't trying. Fred Hill is about to be fired. And the RAC is not longer the RAC. They aren't a complete doormat -- and it's not like this team hasn't lost to USF when they were awful awful, but Rutgers is completely falling apart.

[theexorcist]

Jan 11, 2010 11:30:36 GMT -5 SFHoya99 said:

Rutgers is as close to automatic as you are going to get.

Their best player, Greg Echenique, is transferring out. Mike Rosario isn't trying. Fred Hill is about to be fired. And the RAC is not longer the RAC. They aren't a complete doormat -- and it's not like this team hasn't lost to USF when they were awful awful, but Rutgers is completely falling apart.

Like, um, Georgetown did?

[SFHoya99]

That was what I was saying -- by "this team" I meant GU.

Just saying that somewhere along here -- I suspect when they lost by only nine to an overrated UNC squad -- Rutgers got legit. They aren't.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Jan 11, 2010 11:19:12 GMT -5 Big Dog said:

Jan 11, 2010 10:59:59 GMT -5 NCHoya said:

I think everyone under estimates just how hard it is to win on the road.

I agree. Any road victory in this conference not at Allstate Arena outside Chicago is a big win. Seems to me we haven't won in Providence for a while--or at least I have nightmares of losing there--and there also used to be a time when playing at the RAC was no picnic.

The opposite is true. We haven't lost @ providence in a while. But then again we've only played @ providence under JTIII once and that was in 2008. We lost the time we played them before that in esherick's last year when they were ranked 24th. year before that we won @ providence in the NIT. Maybe you're remembering the 2001 crushing we took. But the 2000s we've only played there 4 times and went 2-2.

[CAHoya07]

I'm with ed on this one. Not worried about the next six. Worried about the next one.

As even Dickie V admitted, the Big East is very strong and deep, pretty much top to bottom. There are no games off - although we won by 17, DePaul still put up a decent fight against us for a while.

Seton Hall will be no picnic, similar to Marquette in that they have played some good teams very close. They are coming off a nice win vs. Cincy, and we did lose to them last year. Bring it on.

[hoyas big supporter]

hmm seton hall is actually pretty good. we are gonna need to play a full 40 minuted to win this one..

[Buckets]

Last time a team won at Pitt, you didn't even know how much Tom Crean loved Diet Pepsi. Let's win there

[tjm62]

Except for that brief stretch, I thought we looked great against Seton Hall.

ON TO THE WACHOVIA CENTER -- ILL BE THERE TO WITNESS SIX IN A ROW

[lichoya68]

THIS SCHEDULE IS BRUTAL PAY EVERY TWO OR THREE DAYS THEN FIVE DAYS TILL DUKE BRUTAL win one by one by at least one hoyas play tough and smart and please BEAT NOVA REMEMBER 1985 OK REMEMBER

[Fan Of The Game]

I'm not sure it was ever a "six game stretch" aside from the fact that there were six games involved. If we're going to compete we can't lose to bad teams like Seton Hall and Rutgers at home (...and thankfully we didn't against the Hall). Here's hoping we can steal one on the road on a tough two game road trip. I think we'll take Villanova but struggle at Pitt.

[GIGAFAN99]

Rutgers is in fact, terrible. They're not Depaul bad in that when you see Rutgers run an offensive set, you don't shudder and want to light yourself on fire, but they are very bad.

I think we can win (and almost should win) two of these. Duke's 0-2 in true road games and 14-0 in everything else. So if we're not favored there, bet the Hoyas.

[guru]

So I just looked again at the upcoming schedule, and I think it could well be the most brutal stretch I've ever seen in all my years of following the Hoyas. It may be one of the most ridiculous 2 week regular season schedule in college hoops history - no team will face this type of gauntlet even in the NCAA tournament, and in a cursory look around the Big East, I don't see any other team that has a comparable stretch. 3 absurdly hard road games and - hello - Duke dropped in the middle of the Big East grind.

Four of our next five games are against teams in the top SEVEN of the current RPI. Amazing.

For a team that can't seem to shake "last year's collapse" - which seems to be referenced in every article written about the Hoyas, no matter what the outlet - it's about the toughest proving ground imaginable.

Honestly, 3-2 in this stretch would be doing VERY WELL. Excited to see how we do.