TC
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 9,480
|
Post by TC on Mar 16, 2012 16:27:29 GMT -5
Hoya is Spanish for Winner!!!
|
|
ScreamingHoya
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Ted Valentine: Getting it wrong since 1979.
Posts: 451
|
Post by ScreamingHoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:28:16 GMT -5
And Doug Gottlieb just said on ESPN that he was never down on the Hoyas. He took great offense to the anchor saying that Gottlieb was down on them. What an ass.
|
|
DanMcQ
Moderator 
Posts: 32,509
|
Post by DanMcQ on Mar 16, 2012 16:28:33 GMT -5
Enough. This board is exhibiting all the symptoms of battered wife syndrome (note: first Syracuse reference) in the way that it is assessing our prospects against Belmont. I am aware – and if by some miracle of denial I had managed to forget, pretty much every poster on this board would remind me – that our recent tournament performances have been less than stellar. I am further aware that Belmont is a crafty mid-major (since when is the Atlantic Sun Conference a mid-major?), possessed of indomitable will, senior leadership, the offensive firepower of the 1993 Bulls (Chicago not South Florida), and the cuddliness that will grab at America’s heartstrings. And I am also aware that Pomeroy calculates us to be only a two point favorite over Belmont, which I would guess is the lowest 3-14 spread ever recorded. What I am mostly aware of, however, is how EVERYBODY is picking us as the chic upset choice of the first, oops second, round. And by everybody I mean more than just Seth “Georgetown has no quality Big East wins” Davis and Dougie “Visa” Gottlieb. I mean more than the legion of pundits that CasualHoya cited in a list of quotes that was way too long. I mean more than my staff in the United Kingdom whose instinct for self preservation (I have known to be cranky after Hoya losses) caused them to ask me if I thought the Hoyas had any chance to beat Belmont. I mean the posters on this board whose angst is palpable and whose judgment has been clouded by a combination of traumatic post season fiascoes and over-reliance on computer stats. Take for example SFHoya99, each of whose 15,000 or so posts I have appreciatively perused in my time on this board. He gives the Hoyas a 70% chance of victory over Belmont which is actually better than the Pomeroy calculation. I am guessing that he wants to say 90% but that he is transfixed by Belmont’s 23 Pomeroy ranking. And, normally, that would be a source for concern. But in this case, that ranking is a statistical anomaly, overwhelmingly composed of blowouts against Pomeroy 150-250 teams, teams whose defenses are not in the same area code as that of the Hoyas. Belmont’s best win during the regular season was against Pomeroy #61 Middle Tennessee State (they actually split their two games). Their second best win was by 5 at home against #74 Marshall (against whom they also split). And their best win after that was against #110 Mercer. But wait you say, what about that 1 point loss to Duke at Cameron in their opening game of the season, a game in which Duke showed less commitment to defense than Fab Melo has to classes (note: Syracuse reference 2). I mean, Belmont lost to Lipscomb at Belmont (Pomeroy #210). Can you imagine the meltdown on this board if we lost to Lipscomb? Which is really the point. Belmont, despite its gaudy offensive statistics, has put up its numbers against bad defensive teams. The Hoyas are a far better defensive team than anything that Belmont will have seen. And we are superior in a way that low majors never see because of our length and athleticism. Belmont shoots a lot of threes and makes a high percentage of those they take. Their leading 3 point shooter – the leading three point shooter in the nation – is five foot eleven, extremely unathletic and shoots a push shot from his chest. We lead the nation in defending the three. After each of our last three NCAA losses this board has bemoaned our lack of perimeter defense. Now that we have a great perimeter defense and too many among us assume it is irrelevant. Belmont does not have Yancy Gates or Kevin Jones or Jae Crowder. Belmont does not have Andre Drummond or Fab Melo (Note 3: Syracuse no longer has Fab Melo). The type of physical player that has beaten us this year does not exist on Belmont’s roster. On Friday, we will beat Belmont because Belmont will not be able to score – enough. We will beat Belmont because they will not be able to rebound. We will beat Belmont because we are simply a far better team than they are. Of course, it would also help if we made a few free throws. The Hoyas have been a pleasant surprise this year, but this board keeps expecting the team to revert to the board’s lower pre-season expectations. We need to embrace the reality that we are a very good basketball team who will club Belmont like baby seals on Friday. I strongly believe a 20 point win is far more likely than a loss. If we cannot enjoy the leadup to this game then why are we fans of the Hoyas? Friday will be fun. Who’s with me? HoyaChris wins the internet. |
|
hoyazeke
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,839
|
Post by hoyazeke on Mar 16, 2012 16:29:09 GMT -5
Great win today. The way Hank played had to help with the recruiting of NN.........
|
|
|
|
Post by wisconsinhoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:31:00 GMT -5
Who cares what Seth Davis thinks? How many games has he ever won as a coach? Hope he trashes us again for the NC State game. Go Hoyas
|
|
Hoya Rich
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 205
|
Post by Hoya Rich on Mar 16, 2012 16:31:58 GMT -5
Boy did Gottleib just get defensive on the ESPN live coverage show!
"You were down on Georgetown going into this tournament, what do you think of them now?," asked the host.
"I was DOWN on Georgetown? Why?"
"You picked them to lose to Belmont, didn't you?"
"Just because I picked them to lose doesn't mean I'm down on them."
He looked a little flustered; it was great.
Dykes was highly complimentary of the Hoyas and seemed to be irked that everyone else was positing how difficult NC State would be to beat. "I think Georgetown is the team that's going to be tough to beat!"
|
|
TC
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 9,480
|
Post by TC on Mar 16, 2012 16:33:32 GMT -5
Here's where Pomeroy's study of 3PFG defense goes wrong - at least today - you have to be able to make cross-court passes, you have to be able to get the shot off without it being swatted away a la Whittington, you have to be able to pass the ball to the wing.
Georgetown's defense defends those things. Belmont ended up at 37% and I still think the team did a fantastic job of defending the three.
|
|
jackdog74
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 343
|
Post by jackdog74 on Mar 16, 2012 16:34:02 GMT -5
Doug Gottlieb -- future politician. Screw him too. There is no room on this bandwagon for him.
|
|
Nevada Hoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 18,698
|
Post by Nevada Hoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:34:59 GMT -5
Special delivery, Mr. Davis: "Well, I think the Hoyas took the monkey off their backs and put it onto your. There it remains until you make some intelligent picks;-)" |
|
|
|
Post by wisconsinhoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:35:03 GMT -5
Who cares what Doug Gottleib thinks? Last time I saw him in person, he was trying and I'll stress the word trying to guard Allen Iverson and Victor Page in January of 1996 in South Bend, IN. I'll listen to Jay Bilas or a Bill Rafterty before I would ever worry about Doug's opinions of the Hoyas!
|
|
alleninxis
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,216
|
Post by alleninxis on Mar 16, 2012 16:36:07 GMT -5
Damn good performance.
|
|
NCHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,927
|
Post by NCHoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:37:34 GMT -5
As expected, the HOYAS treated Belmont like the A-Sun champions and blew them out in the second half. Stats are for suckers, we all knew those stats were accumulated against a bunch of nobodies.
Well done all around offensively and defensively. Otto and Whit give this team so much length on the wings that we have missed in the past. Henry and Jason played like seniors who know this is it and they are going out on their terms.
Well done Hoyas, proving the pundits wrong. The monkey is now off our back time to break the chains and come out to dominate on Sunday.
|
|
RG
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 187
|
Post by RG on Mar 16, 2012 16:39:33 GMT -5
Am I wrong or has Hollis been a no show lately, at least scoring wise?
|
|
Hoya Rich
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 205
|
Post by Hoya Rich on Mar 16, 2012 16:39:42 GMT -5
Great performance. And it's with Hollis struggling to hit threes. Imagine if he heats up!
|
|
royski
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,297
|
Post by royski on Mar 16, 2012 16:39:44 GMT -5
Here's where Pomeroy's study of 3PFG defense goes wrong - at least today - you have to be able to make cross-court passes, you have to be able to get the shot off without it being swatted away a la Whittington, you have to be able to pass the ball to the wing. Georgetown's defense defends those things. Belmont ended up at 37% and I still think the team did a fantastic job of defending the three. Actually, Pomeroy's analysis covered that. He pointed out that teams DO have a significant amount of control over how many 3's get ATTEMPTED, his point was that they have little control over what percentage of those attempted go in. Having said that, I think the analysis is still likely to be overstating its case vis a vis teams on the extremes of the spectrum, that are likely doing something fundamentally right or fundamentally wrong. GREAT WIN. Let's bring on the Wolf Pack! |
|
NCHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,927
|
Post by NCHoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:41:33 GMT -5
Here's where Pomeroy's study of 3PFG defense goes wrong - at least today - you have to be able to make cross-court passes, you have to be able to get the shot off without it being swatted away a la Whittington, you have to be able to pass the ball to the wing. Georgetown's defense defends those things. Belmont ended up at 37% and I still think the team did a fantastic job of defending the three. See this is where stats are meaningless. Belmont shot 37%, basically their season average, and took plenty of attempts (27) but anyone who watched the game knows the three point shot was ineffective for them. Sometimes I really think basketball is over-analyzed. |
|
OldHoyafan
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,387
|
Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 16, 2012 16:41:59 GMT -5
Great! Barkley and Smith called Seth Davis the kiss of death for cinderella teams. Love it.
|
|
Nevada Hoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 18,698
|
Post by Nevada Hoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:43:31 GMT -5
I was thinking this week about DePaul in the early '80s. I have a sports calendar that on Wed. had a paragraph on DePaul's travails and on that day in 1982, they lost their third straight first round game as a number one seed in their region (not yet 64 teams in those years). Their collective win-loss record for those three years going into the tournament was 79-3. It made me think about the Hoyas the last two years and didn't want them to follow DePaul's model. Whew, this is a nice relief. Now we have to duplicate (and beat) the 2007 Hoya team's model. Way to go, Hoyas!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by wisconsinhoya on Mar 16, 2012 16:45:37 GMT -5
Hopefully we can copy the 2007 model and after beating Belmont, now beat an ACC team in the round of 32! Let's Go Hoyas!
|
|
|
|
Post by pxw on Mar 16, 2012 16:46:59 GMT -5
Great game!!!
We never got flustered: this team seems to have JTIII's personality...
|
|
