Hoyas 70 Louisville 60 Game Discussion

[lichoya68]

IMPORTANT POInt THE VILLE IS 9-5 and we are 8-6 soooo theyre in fifth were in seventh and if we LOSE were in big trouble re playing on tues IF we win then we are tied with them AND since there is only one game with them this year WE win the tie breaker for seeding MUST NOT PLAY ON TUES NOPE NEVER NADDA CANT PLAY ON TUES its february and money time PLEASE move move move move and beat the villle

[CAHoya07]

Game is huge.

Big East Tournament seeding - We've dropped to 7th behind Marquette and Louisville. A win could get us back to 5th. A loss would drop us to 8-7 and could make things scary.

NCAA Tournament seeding - It seems we're clinging on to a 3-seed at this point, which is a bit surprising to me, given our conference record (but I guess a nod to our quality wins and strength of schedule). Need to win to maintain that or risk dropping further. I don't think the selection committee would look at a three-game losing streak at this point in the season very kindly.

Louisville is a good team - They've won three in a row and five of their last six, including that big win at the Dome against 'Cuse. The Cards tend to peak at the right time. They seem to be an NCAA Tournament team, and the type of team we could potentially face early in the tournament. Finally, Freedom Hall is a tough place to play. A solid road run like this would be another notch on our NCAA Tournament belt.

Confidence - I don't want another losing streak. It would be bad for the guys' heads. I am still not over last year. Just win, baby.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Sheesh. THis is why I avoid the board like the plague after a loss. A 2 game losing streak and suddenly the team sucks doesn't care and is a bubble team. I was very proud of the team on thursday. I thought they showed great heart and made a great comeback Reminded me of the game @ the dome last year. It sucks we lost. But I like the effort to comeback, but I don't want to talk about that right now.

GOign down the stretch we control our own destiny. We just need to focus and win games. This team is very good. We has lots of talent and can still have a great season. Everyone needs to step away from the edge.

This is a tough game for us. If we can attack the press the way we did against nova I like our chances. Let's continue to support the team and not throw them under the bus.

[superan]

The way the schedule is working out for other teams is that we still have a decent chance at getting a double-bye: *counter-jinx* *punches jinx in the face*

We need to go 1-0 in our next one game for four straight games.
Villanova needs to beat WVU in their last game. Hopefully 'Nova will be fighting for a Big East title and will show up.
Marquette needs to lose at least one of their remaining games (since they have the tie-breaker on us). They play SJU, Seton Hall, Louisville, ND. Since they lost to Depaul, I definitely think it's within themselves to lose one out of those four.

[westendhoya]

Feb 22, 2010 11:48:24 GMT -5 superan said:

...... Marquette needs to lose at least one of their remaining games (since they have the tie-breaker on us). They play SJU, Seton Hall, Louisville, ND. Since they lost to Depaul, I definitely think it's within themselves to lose one out of those four.

I pray we see Marquette somewhere in the BET

[chep3]

Biggest game of the year. That's all I have to say.

[hoyafreakinsaxa]

Since when is being #11 in the country with the #1 SOS being on the bubble? In that case everyone's on the bubble. We just lost to #4 Syracuse by four points. Relax, it's not the end of the world.

[FrazierFanatic]

Yes, we should be fine; but I think some people are concerned that after the horrible loss to Rutgers, we were ready to play Syracuse until the last 15 minutes. If we aren't ready from the start tomorrow, then I might start to wonder what is going on.

[vamosalaplaya]

I am not as fluent in the computer rankings as some will be on this board, but having watched how these things behave over the years, if GU loses this game the wheels will start to fall off the RPI rating of the team - and then suddenly games start to become "must wins" to make the NCAA.

So that is the point - a loss here, and the Hoyas enter "must win" territory - even though they should beat ND and Cincy at home, they should have beaten South Florida at home and Rutgers on the road too.

It was that %$%# Rutgers loss. That should only haunt GU when it comes to seedings - Big East, NCAA, etc - I don't think it will haunt them when it comes to making the tournament. But the Rutgers loss on top of the South Florida loss at home hung two mediocre losses on the team.

Even setting aside GU's OOC schedule of Duke, Butler, Washington and Temple - playing Nova and Syracuse twice each gives GU the hardest conference schedule in the Big East. Maybe that Nova win helps in a tie breaker for conference seedings when the time comes.

[hoyafreakinsaxa]

South Florida is a good team, and that wasn't a bad loss, in my opinion. Rutgers is our only bad loss of the season. I think a team can have one bad loss a season without getting worried.

For a reality check, look at #10 Butler. Here are the teams they've beat on their 17-game winning streak: GB, MILW, WRST, DET, CLEV, YSU, L-IL, UIC, GB, MILW, DET, WRST, L-IL, YSU, CLEV, UIC, SIE. That's how the team names are listed on ESPN. I've never even heard of any of those teams. Are they even all Division I?

I don't want a 17-game winning streak like that. We're freakin awesome. People should relax.

[SFHoya99]

Feb 22, 2010 15:03:33 GMT -5 FrazierFanatic said:

Yes, we should be fine; but I think some people are concerned that after the horrible loss to Rutgers, we were ready to play Syracuse until the last 15 minutes. If we aren't ready from the start tomorrow, then I might start to wonder what is going on.

We didn't play great for the first 30 minutes, but some credit should be given to Syracuse, right?

However, I do think there is reason for some cause for concern. The Rutgers and USF losses together are a problem; one is a fluke, two is a problem.

Add in that we don't have a deep team (so the potential for getting tired and wearing down is larger than other teams) and even if that isn't the cause, we live with a very small margin of error and...

...Louisville is a big game.

[FrazierFanatic]

Absolutley, 3 losses in a row will have the naysayers out in force with historical and statistical analyses up the wazoo.

[chep3]

Feb 22, 2010 15:34:40 GMT -5 SFHoya99 said:

However, I do think there is reason for some cause for concern. The Rutgers and USF losses together are a problem; one is a fluke, two is a problem.

This is it for me. USF left me frustrated and annoyed. We lost a very winnable game at home to an inferior opponent. And this is from a fan who was not all that upset by our loss to ODU because I thought it was exactly the kind of lesson that our guys needed that we had to show up every game or we could lose any one of them. But USF meant that we still were learning lessons in January, and wasting losses for a conference race that was shaping up to be tough.

The real problem was RU. We literally forgot a lesson we "learned" 2 weeks earlier, sleepwalked through a vastly inferior opponent (one we were 30 points better than a few weeks ago), and Editeded away any chance at a top 4 finish. Syracuse was a different game for me--they shot lights out (7-10 from 3 at one point, 90% from the line at another) and we missed some good looks. That loss, in a vacuum, really would give me nothing to worry about tomorrow's game--it would still be a tough one, but I wouldn't be asking questions about our team.

But the fact of the matter is, we've shown a proclivity as of late to lose to teams we shouldn't (RU, USF) and get the doors blown off us for periods of other games (Cuse x2, Nova). We are in dire need of a big win, and this game on the road would provide that. Another poor performance and we really have to start wondering why we're backsliding this late in the season.

[Big Dog]

This isn't just about the Hoyas playing well. The problem with blowing games like Rutgers and USF is that it makes games that were already difficult much more of a "must win" situation than they deserve to be. The team could play very well tomorrow night and still lose. Even if the Hoyas were on a 5-game winning streak right now I think there'd be plenty of reason to fear the possibility of a loss in this game.

The flip side of that is that if they do lose tomorrow it may not in fact be because the team is "choking" or "folding" or whatever, but just because they're playing an NCAA tournament caliber team at that team's very challenging arena. Not that I'd expect people around here to have such a measured reaction in the event of a defeat, but this is important to keep in mind.

Again, when you have a schedule as difficult as this one, you can't lay two eggs like this team already has or you're going to be facing an awful lot of pressure to win games that you may not be equipped to win.

I think it would be a mistake to act like all is lost if the Hoyas lose tomorrow night. Winning would be very big, and in my mind would lock up the Hoyas NCAA bid--they could lose the rest of their games and will still get in. Lose and the stories about choking will surface and the pressure will build such that it won't be unreasonable to say that the season may hang in the balance on Saturday at home against ND.

Its a high stakes week.

[JohnnyJones]

Feb 22, 2010 16:40:13 GMT -5 Big Dog said:

This isn't just about the Hoyas playing well. The problem with blowing games like Rutgers and USF is that it makes games that were already difficult much more of a "must win" situation than they deserve to be. The team could play very well tomorrow night and still lose. Even if the Hoyas were on a 5-game winning streak right now I think there'd be plenty of reason to fear the possibility of a loss in this game.

The flip side of that is that if they do lose tomorrow it may not in fact be because the team is "choking" or "folding" or whatever, but just because they're playing an NCAA tournament caliber team at that team's very challenging arena. Not that I'd expect people around here to have such a measured reaction in the event of a defeat, but this is important to keep in mind.

Again, when you have a schedule as difficult as this one, you can't lay two eggs like this team already has or you're going to be facing an awful lot of pressure to win games that you may not be equipped to win.

I think it would be a mistake to act like all is lost if the Hoyas lose tomorrow night. Winning would be very big, and in my mind would lock up the Hoyas NCAA bid--they could lose the rest of their games and will still get in. Lose and the stories about choking will surface and the pressure will build such that it won't be unreasonable to say that the season may hang in the balance on Saturday at home against ND.

Its a high stakes week.

Nice post - exactly right IMO.

[williambraskyiii]

People seem to be giving Louisville a lot of credit, but other than a very impressive road win at Syracuse, I don't really understand the hype. They are playing at home which is a major advantage, but appear to be just as inconsistent a team as Georgetown minus the resume-boosting wins.

I think we should be confident and focused coming into this game. After Samuels, Edgar Sosa is their second-leading scorer. Edgar Sosa is a bonehead. Contain Samuels + limit turnovers = win.

Have a little faith in the squad fellas...sure we've had a tough go as of late, but this is still a very talented team and I like our chances tomorrow night.

[GUJook97]

I am pretty confident about this game, too, especially after having 5 days off. I think you'll see a rested, relaxed and focused team take it to an inferior opponent. L'ville got pushed around pretty easily by a Harangody-free ND squad. Their defense can be had, and we've been eating up teams that dont execute the press well.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Louisville's defense is a lot worse than it was last year, but their offense is improved.
As long as we don't turn the ball over against the press, I like our chances. They don't shoot the 3 very well and are even worse at defending it. The thing they do well is crash the boards and make high percentage 2pt shots. But they also give up offensive boards. If we can get sammuels into foul trouble and have greg avoid foul trouble we'll be in good shape. Obviously hitting our 3s will be important as it is against any team that plays zone. But their zone is nothing like syracuse's. I like our chances in this game.

[RockawayHoya]

If we're getting screwed early by the refs (again), I want JTIII to make it clear that he's not going to put up with it (again). He's gotta stand up for his team at some point and take a stand. UConn was getting jobbed early tonight and Calhoun made it crystal clear that he wasn't going to take that BS tonight. Has inspired his team and worked perfectly so far (28-10 run since the T).

[Big Dog]

When you turn it over as much as we do, surrender as many offensive rebounds as we do, don't force turnovers, and have no depth in the event of foul trouble, it doesn't take a lot of craziness for the team to lose. They don't have a lot of margin for error against anybody.