How is AZ #16?!?

[Xman95]

Wow! I just realized that Miller's team is ranked #16. How? They haven't beaten anybody and play in a shitty conference. If anyone has ever doubted that name recognition means something, there's the proof that it does.

[X-band '01]

To be fair, Arizona is the only team in the Pac-10 that looks like they want to be an NCAA contender. Imagine if they didn't shit the bed at Oregon State - they could even be higher.

It's too bad that a 68-team field won't permit a Juan Bid BCS league anymore.

[GuyFawkes38]

I don't want to ignite another debate about the Big East. But IMHO, Miller is really, really lucky he's in the weak Pac10 and not the Big East or even the Big10 and Big12 this year.

Arizona isn't playing many top 30 teams and are winning a lot of games.

[Xman95]

To be fair, Arizona is the only team in the Pac-10 that looks like they want to be an NCAA contender. Imagine if they didn't shit the bed at Oregon State - they could even be higher.

I don't disagree that they appear to be the only Pac-10 team worth a damn. They're probably a Top 35 team. But #16?!? That's just absurd.

[Xman95]

I don't want to ignite another debate about the Big East. But IMHO, Miller is really, really lucky he's in the weak Pac10 and not the Big East.

He's lucky that team isn't in the A10, Big Ten, SEC, Mountain West...hell, he's lucky they're not in the GCL!

[GuyFawkes38]

He's lucky that team isn't in the A10, Big Ten, SEC, Mountain West...hell, he's lucky they're not in the GCL!

ha, definitely. I'm sure he's doing a pretty good job there, but the weak pac10 has set up nicely for him.

[GoMuskies]

If Xavier somehow managed to sneak up to a #6 seed, Arizona is the type of team I'd love to see sitting on the 3 seed line in the same bracket.

[GuyFawkes38]

Bracketology has Arizona as a #5 seed. They have a good chance at winning out and receiving a #3 seed.

Again, not trying to ignite a debate about the Big East, but they would not get a #3 seed with a tough Big East schedule.

[rhyno2110]

I tend to root for Miller more than Matta. I'm glad to see he is doing well, and Arizona will blow up with him as their head coach as long as he stays there for a decent amount of time. However, I don't care where Arizona is ranked. I think this thread reveals a little bit of jealousy that I don't have. Xavier is a big time program. Soon enough, we will have the same "name recognition" as BCS programs like Arizona.

[blobfan]

I have little interest in AZ and tOSU but admit I would feel a certain amount of pride to see the last 3 XU coaches win their conferences this year. That's kind of cool.

Funny how even after several years of Miller I could still complain about Matta's departure but after only one and a half seasons of Mack I no longer care how our former coaches left and wish them nothing but success (except against X of course). He is Xavier through and through.

[Xavier]

I actually root for both of them (unless they are playing Xavier obviously). I really appreciate what they gave to X. I liked them both when here and hope they succeed--as for AZ being 16, I dont really care what they are ranked- they can be dangerous in the tournament. If Miller has his normal strong D, they have a potential number 1 overall pick in the NBA draft (Not my opinion, saw it on college game day or collge bball live) I could easily see them in the sweet 16.

[Benxman]

Yeah, Matta and Miller are both good coaches. In fact, the job Matta has done at OSU has somewhat vindicated him for going there. Look a the recruits he gets. Miller is doing well at Arizona like I expected and he will continue to get better.

Meanwhile, we still have a great coach. Mack just refuses to give in to adversity. How about the way he coached against UGA and Duquesne this week. I am proud to be a Musketeer and I am proud of our coach and our team.

I wonder how many other schools will make the NCAA and also have their previous two coaches make it? I'll root for them all unless they play us.

GO MUSKIES!

:logo:

[GuyFawkes38]

This thread isnt intended to evaluate miller or matta (they are fine coaches). The question is whether Arizona is overrated. IMHO, if you look at their wins and losses, they are.

[Snipe]

If Xavier somehow managed to sneak up to a #6 seed, Arizona is the type of team I'd love to see sitting on the 3 seed line in the same bracket.


This.

[Ledgewood]

I hate Sean Miller.

[chico]

If Xavier somehow managed to sneak up to a #6 seed, Arizona is the type of team I'd love to see sitting on the 3 seed line in the same bracket.

Because we may get a second round game against a 14 seed. Arizona has the look of a paper tiger this year.

[xufan02]

Arizona is an interesting team; they play a lot of guys, but you never know who is going to step up outside of Derrick Williams. Also they do not play Sean Miller defense, and take some of the worst shots. They have some explosive scorers but they really make a lot of boneheaded plays. You do not know what your going to get out of Lamont Jones, Solomon Hill, or Kevin Parrom on any given night.

If they were in our bracket I would really like it.

[xubrew]

This thread isnt intended to evaluate miller or matta (they are fine coaches). The question is whether Arizona is overrated. IMHO, if you look at their wins and losses, they are.

i agree that they're overrated in regards to not being the #16th best team, but the reason they're rated that high has more to do with how the polls typically work than it does a bias toward arizona.

the most important factor in the polls is when you're most recent loss was. if you keep winning, even against mediocre competition, you move up as other teams who play strong competition beat each other. how did utah state get as high as #17?? clearly they're not the 17th best team. arizona has lost once since january 2nd. most of the teams below them, although they're probably better, have lost more often and more recently. therefore, they're ranked lower. it's like that in both football and basketball every year.

i really don't think their seed would reflect their ranking if the tournament started today. the committee does a much deeper examination than what the pollsters do. most of them probably don't even watch the games. they just look to see who won and who lost, and generally don't really even factor in who they're winning and losing against.

[smileyy]

At the same time, Sagarin and Pomeroy put Arizona in the 15-17 range too.

[jco17]

Arizona is an interesting team; they play a lot of guys, but you never know who is going to step up outside of Derrick Williams. Also they do not play Sean Miller defense, and take some of the worst shots. They have some explosive scorers but they really make a lot of boneheaded plays. You do not know what your going to get out of Lamont Jones, Solomon Hill, or Kevin Parrom on any given night.

If they were in our bracket I would really like it.

At the beginning of the year I would have totally agreed with you on this. However, this isn't true anymore. Derrick Williams has score 23 points combined in the last 2 wins and Momo Jones was the Pac 10 POW and was just edged out by Catron the week after for the same honor. We score 107 points against Cal in triple ot and Derrick had 12 of the 107 points. Momo has been a different player this past month. He's letting the game come to him a lot more, he had 2 pts and 6 assists last night, but took great care of the ball, and really controlled the game for us. Kyle Fogg had 26 pts and was our most effective player offensively. Different players are stepping up every game. ASU triple teamed Derrick and everybody else made them pay.

Derrick has a fractured finger on his shooting hand and it's obviously effecting his ability to shoot the ball, but he's drawing crowds and getting the ball to open teammates. Not sure how you can say they aren't playing Sean Miller defense anymore either. They are the #1 3pt% defense in the country. We're a much better team right now. The beginning of this year was rough and the comments you made would have been spot on with my assessments as well, but those assessments are outdated now. This is a much better team.

Do I think we are overrated? Yes, I think college basketball in general is a bit down this year. Teams are losing and we are winning. Sometimes who you lose to really helps you as is in our case. We lost 1 bad game on the road to Oregon State, but Washington also lost to them @OSU, so it's not uncommon. We've won every game at home and 2 of our 4 losses came to top 10 teams (Kansas on a neutral court and BYU on the road) and 1 came to a team that was in the top 25 in Washington on the road. That's why we are ranked where we are right now. Overrated, most likely, but we're definately a top 25 team without any doubt in my mind. 21-4 right now is pretty good and we're looking to build on that with a tough test coming really soon when we player Wazzu and UDub at home this week.

[doug204]

Lol @ this thread. Arizona is now #12/#13 :p

The PAC-10 stinks this year and has stunk for 2 years thanks to the NBA draft, coaching changes and one and done's. That is nearly over as Arizona and UCLA are on its way back, Washington will be Washington, Oregon, Stanford and CAL will all be good next season. I'm never Pro-PAC 10 but to say its worse than the A-10 is foolish. Didn't CAL (who's mediocre) beat Temple?

Clearly 95% of people in this thread have never watched Arizona play and are just glancing at stats. I've seen Xavier play 4 times to have a clear opinion about them. It use to be Williams + 9 others, now its 10 guys getting it done. The team has improved by leaps and bounds since the loss to Oregon State. Miller is bring in a top 10 class next year, possibly top 5 with a pending recruit and 2012 will be top 3 for sure. Wildcat nation says Thank you for Sean Miller oh and Book Richardson too. :D

[jco17]

Lol @ this thread. Arizona is now #12/#13 :p

The PAC-10 stinks this year and has stunk for 2 years thanks to the NBA draft, coaching changes and one and done's. That is nearly over as Arizona and UCLA are on its way back, Washington will be Washington, Oregon, Stanford and CAL will all be good next season. I'm never Pro-PAC 10 but to say its worse than the A-10 is foolish. Didn't CAL (who's mediocre) beat Temple?

Clearly 95% of people in this thread have never watched Arizona play and are just glancing at stats. I've seen Xavier play 4 times to have a clear opinion about them. It use to be Williams + 9 others, now its 10 guys getting it done. The team has improved by leaps and bounds since the loss to Oregon State. Miller is bring in a top 10 class next year, possibly top 5 with a pending recruit and 2012 will be top 3 for sure. Wildcat nation says Thank you for Sean Miller oh and Book Richardson too. :D

Why do this doug? Remember this is their board not ours. Can't we just debate without stooping to backhanded comments and poking wounds. Just not necessary. How would you feel if Miller left right now, took our staff, and then went to UCLA, UK, KU, UNC, etc?

[xubrew]

Lol @ this thread. Arizona is now #12/#13 :p

The PAC-10 stinks this year and has stunk for 2 years thanks to the NBA draft, coaching changes and one and done's. That is nearly over as Arizona and UCLA are on its way back, Washington will be Washington, Oregon, Stanford and CAL will all be good next season. I'm never Pro-PAC 10 but to say its worse than the A-10 is foolish. Didn't CAL (who's mediocre) beat Temple?

Clearly 95% of people in this thread have never watched Arizona play and are just glancing at stats. I've seen Xavier play 4 times to have a clear opinion about them. It use to be Williams + 9 others, now its 10 guys getting it done. The team has improved by leaps and bounds since the loss to Oregon State. Miller is bring in a top 10 class next year, possibly top 5 with a pending recruit and 2012 will be top 3 for sure. Wildcat nation says Thank you for Sean Miller oh and Book Richardson too. :D

yes, and arizona will probably move up again. notre dame is at west virginia, who is tough to beat at home and notre dame isn't nearly as strong on the road. purdue also plays ohio state and wisconsin, and will probably lose one of those. if they win both, then it means they will have beaten purdue, and they'll drop in the rankings.

arizona is at home against wazzu and washington, who isn't at full strength and is just 3-5 on the road. you have easier games to win, but that doesn't matter to the voters. they just care who lost recently. those teams will drop behind you not because they're not as good, but because they lost. the fact that they lost in games that were really tough to win doesn't matter.

i've seen arizona play. i believe they're a good team. i don't think they're the #12th best team, though. their ranking will probably rise even higher than that after this week, but that's not because you're th 9th best. it's because of the way the polls work. if arizona played uconn, nova, louisville, vandy, and even west virginia on a neutral floor, i think you would lose most of the time. mizzou is a little bi-polar, but i could see them beating arizona as well.

at the end of the day, you're best win is against ucla, who currently isn't ranked and whom you beat at home. your next best win was a triple overtime win against cal, who isn't even a tournament team. to zona's credit, they're winning the games that are on their plate, but the teams you're jumping over in the rankings are playing and losing to far better teams than the ones you're beating. that's why you're so high. i don't think that's even debatable.

[smileyy]

I think people look at a #12 or #16 team as an objective rating of quality. That is, if you're #12, you must be this good. And don't think Arizona is there.

Outside of the top-5 powers (OSU, Kansas, Duke, Texas, Pitt), you could probably shake up the next 15 teams, put them down in a random order, and be able to justify those rankings.

This pretty much plays itself out, year over year. There's bands of roughly 1-5, 6-15, 16-35 where there's not a whole lot of distance between the teams in those bands.

[waggy]

I don't want to face Miller in the tourney. Too much emotional bs, and he's too familiar with the team. I'd rather face someone who doesn't know X as well.

I think Arizona is basically ranked about where they should be.

[Xavgrad08]

Arizona has closed out games and won a lot of close games. They are a good team that gave # 1 Kansas a good game earlier in the year. Derick Williams is really good and will be a lottery pick whenever he leaves. Arizona might be a little overrated, I would put them somewhere between 16-25. But, if you keep beating the teams on the schedule, you will likely move up as teams in front of you lose. No doubt the pac 10 is down but I stll think UCLA and Washington will end up in the tournament.

I will always pull for Sean becuase he did a lot for our program in his 8 years here. It was obviously a tough decision for him to leave. We have Mack now so everything worked out fine.

[Xavgrad08]

I have no problems with posters such as JCO17 becuase he gives good info on a team he follows, but more importantly he is respectful. Poster like Doug204 could learn a few things from him.

[Xavier]

Lol @ this thread. Arizona is now #12/#13 :p

The PAC-10 stinks this year and has stunk for 2 years thanks to the NBA draft, coaching changes and one and done's. That is nearly over as Arizona and UCLA are on its way back, Washington will be Washington, Oregon, Stanford and CAL will all be good next season. I'm never Pro-PAC 10 but to say its worse than the A-10 is foolish. Didn't CAL (who's mediocre) beat Temple?

Clearly 95% of people in this thread have never watched Arizona play and are just glancing at stats. I've seen Xavier play 4 times to have a clear opinion about them. It use to be Williams + 9 others, now its 10 guys getting it done. The team has improved by leaps and bounds since the loss to Oregon State. Miller is bring in a top 10 class next year, possibly top 5 with a pending recruit and 2012 will be top 3 for sure. Wildcat nation says Thank you for Sean Miller oh and Book Richardson too. :D

didnt they get blown out by....BYU! UCLA beat byu and zona got killled. Hopefully they dont have to match up again in the tournament-that would be a nightmare.

[Xavier]

Why do this doug? Remember this is their board not ours. Can't we just debate without stooping to backhanded comments and poking wounds. Just not necessary. How would you feel if Miller left right now, took our staff, and then went to UCLA, UK, KU, UNC, etc?

Luckily for AZ- the pitt job won't open any time soon. I think Miller is going to be at AZ for awhile and will bring at least 1 final four in his tenure.

[Masterofreality]

You know what? I don't give a flying F*#k!

We've got a better coach, now- a XAVIER guy who is a coach.

All former coaches are dead to me- unless we play them. Then heads explode.

[ZONACAT]

You know what? I don't give a flying F*#k!

We've got a better coach, now- a XAVIER guy who is a coach.

All former coaches are dead to me- unless we play them. Then heads explode.

Both schools are better off. And I'm happy to see Mack succeeding and STAYING at Xavier. I do hope we avoid each other in the tournament unless it is in the S16 or EE, otherwise it is a game neither SM and Mack want. The players might want it, but it would be awkward for both coaches.

I personally think that parity in college basketball makes it difficult to discern rankings. Doesn't really matter. Do we have good wins? Not really. But we are rolling through a mid-major conference (P10 sucks) and will probably get treated as such by the committee. Which makes it exciting because I believe we can surprise some people in March.

Win the A-10.

[Xman95]

Both schools are better off. And I'm happy to see Mack succeeding and STAYING at Xavier. I do hope we avoid each other in the tournament unless it is in the S16 or EE, otherwise it is a game neither SM and Mack want. The players might want it, but it would be awkward for both coaches.

I personally think that parity in college basketball makes it difficult to discern rankings. Doesn't really matter. Do we have good wins? Not really. But we are rolling through a mid-major conference (P10 sucks) and will probably get treated as such by the committee. Which makes it exciting because I believe we can surprise some people in March.

Win the A-10.

I respect the fact that you can admit that. So many people want to think they're conference is soooo tough, when it's really not. There are probably a couple solid wins in the Pac-10, just like the A10 has Temple, Richmond, Duquesne, etc. Nothing to get really excited about unless you're in that conference going for a title. X and AZ are doing just that.

[SixFig]

Both schools are better off. And I'm happy to see Mack succeeding and STAYING at Xavier. I do hope we avoid each other in the tournament unless it is in the S16 or EE, otherwise it is a game neither SM and Mack want. The players might want it, but it would be awkward for both coaches.

I personally think that parity in college basketball makes it difficult to discern rankings. Doesn't really matter. Do we have good wins? Not really. But we are rolling through a mid-major conference (P10 sucks) and will probably get treated as such by the committee. Which makes it exciting because I believe we can surprise some people in March.

Win the A-10.

Agree. Actually, AZ and XU are mirror images of each other this year. So-So non-conference, but heating up in conference and making a strong case to be a top 6 seed.

I feel Sean Miller is a top 10 coach in all of college basketball, which is why I was so pissed we lost him. For Xavier, though, Chris Mack is a better match and I hope he stays for ten years.

[GuyFawkes38]

Both schools are better off. And I'm happy to see Mack succeeding and STAYING at Xavier. I do hope we avoid each other in the tournament unless it is in the S16 or EE, otherwise it is a game neither SM and Mack want. The players might want it, but it would be awkward for both coaches.

I personally think that parity in college basketball makes it difficult to discern rankings. Doesn't really matter. Do we have good wins? Not really. But we are rolling through a mid-major conference (P10 sucks) and will probably get treated as such by the committee. Which makes it exciting because I believe we can surprise some people in March.

Win the A-10.

definitely.

I guess all that matters is that the selection committee does a good job.

[Xman95]

We've got a better coach, now

I agree 100% with this. Miller's game management never blew me away and he did many things that could have been (and often were) called into question. The one thing he brought that not many can match is his level of passion and intensity. Luckily we get that from Mack, in addition to better game management. I'm not saying I always agree with Mack and obviously he's still going to make mistakes, but his decisions seem far better than Miller's at this same stage. And Chris is every bit the recruiter that Sean is.

All that being said, Miller was a perfect hire for the Wildcats. He brought his passion and recruiting skills to a university that still had name recognition. Had they made the wrong hire and Miller went 3 or 4 years later, I don't think it works out so well. As it stands now, he went while AZ's name still carried weight, despite recent struggles.

Ultimately, I think both programs improved when the current coaches took over.

[doug204]

didnt they get blown out by....BYU! UCLA beat byu and zona got killled. Hopefully they dont have to match up again in the tournament-that would be a nightmare.

That was in December and we just beat UCLA not too long ago. So your "x beat y beat z" comparison is flawed at best.


Luckily for AZ- the pitt job won't open any time soon. I think Miller is going to be at AZ for awhile and will bring at least 1 final four in his tenure.

The bridge between Miller and PITT is burned, no one in Tucson is worried about PITT.


Why do this doug? Remember this is their board not ours. Can't we just debate without stooping to backhanded comments and poking wounds. Just not necessary. How would you feel if Miller left right now, took our staff, and then went to UCLA, UK, KU, UNC, etc?

So am I suppose to bow down? Last time I checked this was the "Around the NCAA" sub-forum. I didn't say anything negative about Xavier, their coach or any posters in particular around here. I think they have a good team, watched them against RI and they looked fantastic. But to say we're ranked #12 based off name is bogus. I guarantee you most of the voters voting that high don't vote based on the quality of the team. Most voters don't even watch games, that's why the polls are almost meaningless. Just the other day Miller said we don't get enough respect. And apparently I'm not poking wounds since they have a better coach. :rolleyes: Xavier is doing just fine.

And thanks GoMuskie for the neg rep. Like I could care what my rep is around here.

[GoMuskies]

And thanks GoMuskie for the neg rep. Like I could care what my rep is around here.

I only wish I could do it again.

[LadyMuskie]

Its such a breath of fresh air to have another team's fans come on here and make sense, doug notwithstanding.

I don't miss Miller, and I never really missed Matta either. I guess I just don't endear myself to the coaches the way I do to the program as a whole. If a coach wants to leave, then leave. Don't let the door hit ya on the ass on the way out. That said, I'm not going to actively root against Sean or Thad. I just ignore them unless we have to play them in the tourney, or if one of them suddenly grows a pair and agrees to play us in the regular season.

[rhyno2110]

Its such a breath of fresh air to have another team's fans come on here and make sense, doug notwithstanding.

I don't miss Miller, and I never really missed Matta either. I guess I just don't endear myself to the coaches the way I do to the program as a whole. If a coach wants to leave, then leave. Don't let the door hit ya on the ass on the way out. That said, I'm not going to actively root against Sean or Thad. I just ignore them unless we have to play them in the tourney, or if one of them suddenly grows a pair and agrees to play us in the regular season.

I don't think any of us miss Miller or Mattta. I attribute that to the promise, dilligence, and devotion that Mack displays on a daily basis. Nobody doubts Mack anymore like they did earlier in the season, but if we were still struggling, I guaruntee a lot of posters would be bitching about how if we still had Miller, there never would have been a dip. It's pretty ridiculous how far some Xavier fans take things, but that comes with any fanbase.

[jco17]

didnt they get blown out by....BYU! UCLA beat byu and zona got killled. Hopefully they dont have to match up again in the tournament-that would be a nightmare.

Yes we played horrible against BYU and Jimmer Fredette went crazy on us. We're a much better team now, but I still would rather stay away from Jimmer. He's the best player we've played against this year and I'm not sure it's close. KU had some studs, but Jimmer was just uncontrolable that night. He's a great player and he's a 100% class act. Even when he was torching my favorite team, I couldn't help but root for him. If he gets hot in the tournament, a lot of brackets are gonna be busted. Think Curry from Davidson a few years back.

The Pac 10 is down this year for certain. It's still tough to beat teams on the road and it's nearly impossible to be UDub in Seattle. We haven't won any significant games, but we also only have 1 bad loss on the road to Oregon State. We are the best 3pt shooting team in the conference and the best ft shooting team, but had very little luck in either aspect. We played really bad that game and credit Oregon State, they wanted more than we did that night. We're learning how to close out games, it's tough to put your opponent down and keep them there without losing focus.

Like a previous poster said, it's just how the polls work. We're winning and the teams ahead of us are losing. It really is that simple. One could easily argue we don't deserve to be ranked where we are in the polls currently. I would agree with said person. There's more parody in college basketball this year, then I've seen in quite some time. There really is no definitive team that's favored to win the NC this year. For those who would argue Texas, I'd say Barnes has a habbit of underachieving in the tournament. KU still has some pretty big holes.

If I had a gun to my head, I guess I would pick Pitt to win it all this year. That's a really hard nosed team that is well coached. Maybe this is finally the year Dixon wins it all. I do think that Xavier and Arizona are 2 teams you don't want to see come March.

[jco17]

That was in December and we just beat UCLA not too long ago. So your "x beat y beat z" comparison is flawed at best.



The bridge between Miller and PITT is burned, no one in Tucson is worried about PITT.



So am I suppose to bow down? Last time I checked this was the "Around the NCAA" sub-forum. I didn't say anything negative about Xavier, their coach or any posters in particular around here. I think they have a good team, watched them against RI and they looked fantastic. But to say we're ranked #12 based off name is bogus. I guarantee you most of the voters voting that high don't vote based on the quality of the team. Most voters don't even watch games, that's why the polls are almost meaningless. Just the other day Miller said we don't get enough respect. And apparently I'm not poking wounds since they have a better coach. :rolleyes: Xavier is doing just fine.

And thanks GoMuskie for the neg rep. Like I could care what my rep is around here.

I never said anything about bowing down to anybody. Your post are very sarcastic and most of your compliments are actually back handed remarks. Being respectful doesn't mean bowing down. It's not a weakness to ask to receive the same repsect you give to others.

[jco17]

I don't think any of us miss Miller or Mattta. I attribute that to the promise, dilligence, and devotion that Mack displays on a daily basis. Nobody doubts Mack anymore like they did earlier in the season, but if we were still struggling, I guaruntee a lot of posters would be bitching about how if we still had Miller, there never would have been a dip. It's pretty ridiculous how far some Xavier fans take things, but that comes with any fanbase.

I know since I've been following Arizona, we've only had 1 great coach so far. I think Sean could be one as well. Xavier had Prosser, Matta, Miller, and hopefully Mack will follow donw that path. That's pretty impressive to me. Coaches keep leaving, but it seems like X keeps headed in the right direction. I think in the future the A-10 will hold you guys back a bit with the national perception. The people that actually know basketball never refer to X as a mid-major. It's unfortunate that joe blow public does, but it's just ignorance. I'd love to see you guys in the Big East!

[xsteve1]

I'm just very happy that Mack coached under Miller. He would not be the coach he is if hadn't worked for Miller. The same with Miller who worked for Matta. Miller would not be the coach he is without working with Matta here at X.
Mack grew up and learned a lot from Skip but Mack really cut his teeth working with Sean. Mack took what these mentors gave him and put his own personal touch on what he does today with his own program.

[Xman95]

I only wish I could do it again.

Got it for you!

[blobfan]

I only wish I could do it again.


Got it for you!

Me too, just to show there are no hard feelings after the smackdown you gave me in the 1st round of the tourney.

Douglas missed the part where he's posting to the around the NCAA boards and not the smack boards. How exactly is sticking out your tongue at us while saying you are glad you have Miller and Book NOT rubbing it in that our coaches keep leaving us?

Thankfully, I think Mack will be a blend of Miller and Prosser, which may just be a perfect fit for both for a long time to come.

[smileyy]

The bridge between Miller and PITT is burned, no one in Tucson is worried about PITT.


Pitt is a lateral move for Sean Miller at this point. Besides, doesn't he like the weather? :)

Seriously, can anyone compete with XU's current coaching lineage?

[xufan02]

At the beginning of the year I would have totally agreed with you on this. However, this isn't true anymore. Derrick Williams has score 23 points combined in the last 2 wins and Momo Jones was the Pac 10 POW and was just edged out by Catron the week after for the same honor. We score 107 points against Cal in triple ot and Derrick had 12 of the 107 points. Momo has been a different player this past month. He's letting the game come to him a lot more, he had 2 pts and 6 assists last night, but took great care of the ball, and really controlled the game for us. Kyle Fogg had 26 pts and was our most effective player offensively. Different players are stepping up every game. ASU triple teamed Derrick and everybody else made them pay.

Derrick has a fractured finger on his shooting hand and it's obviously effecting his ability to shoot the ball, but he's drawing crowds and getting the ball to open teammates. Not sure how you can say they aren't playing Sean Miller defense anymore either. They are the #1 3pt% defense in the country. We're a much better team right now. The beginning of this year was rough and the comments you made would have been spot on with my assessments as well, but those assessments are outdated now. This is a much better team.

Do I think we are overrated? Yes, I think college basketball in general is a bit down this year. Teams are losing and we are winning. Sometimes who you lose to really helps you as is in our case. We lost 1 bad game on the road to Oregon State, but Washington also lost to them @OSU, so it's not uncommon. We've won every game at home and 2 of our 4 losses came to top 10 teams (Kansas on a neutral court and BYU on the road) and 1 came to a team that was in the top 25 in Washington on the road. That's why we are ranked where we are right now. Overrated, most likely, but we're definately a top 25 team without any doubt in my mind. 21-4 right now is pretty good and we're looking to build on that with a tough test coming really soon when we player Wazzu and UDub at home this week.

Momo scored only two point against ASU, and was in double figures only 5 of the first 18 games. He has had a good stretch lately, but he is still very inconsistant. The fact that you only have one double digit scorer is a testament to the other players inconstancy. If Williams is held in check I do not see Arizona getting out of the first weeked.

[doug204]

I only wish I could do it again.

Congrats?


Momo scored only two point against ASU, and was in double figures only 5 of the first 18 games. He has had a good stretch lately, but he is still very inconsistant. The fact that you only have one double digit scorer is a testament to the other players inconstancy. If Williams is held in check I do not see Arizona getting out of the first weeked.

lol

Having 1 player in double figures says nothing when you play 10 players in all 25 games with 10 guys averaging at least 10 minutes a game. Even when they went to triple OT last week nobody logged 40 minutes, heck Williams' doesn't even average 30 MPG. Every starter not named Williams' has a legit backup (Kyryl sucks, thank GOD he's leaving next year). One guy has an off night, no problem so and so off the bench will pick things up.

BTW Jones only had 2 points but he had 6 assist. As a PG no one can really complain about that, unless you're just looking at stats.

[jco17]

Momo scored only two point against ASU, and was in double figures only 5 of the first 18 games. He has had a good stretch lately, but he is still very inconsistant. The fact that you only have one double digit scorer is a testament to the other players inconstancy. If Williams is held in check I do not see Arizona getting out of the first weeked.

Momo did his job against ASU. His job was to limit turnovers, not force anything, and control the pace of the game. We blew out ASU on their home court in a rivalry game. ASU took UCLA to Ot when they played in Tempe. Road wins are still hard to come by in most rivalry games. If you would have watched the game, you would have noticed that Momo played very well. Kyle Fogg was really hot in that game and Momo kept him going all night.

What you refer to as inconsistency, in my opinion, is other players rising to the occassion. They triple teamed Derrick Williams (who is playing damn near with one hand) and Kyle Fogg torched them. Cal did the same and Momo torched them. There was games where Parrom stepped up, Horne, Perry, and even Mayes hit some huge shots against UCLA. At the beginning of the year we were heavily reliant on D-Will, but the team has really stepped it up.

The major factor here is that consistently we are winning games, close/blowout, on the road or at home, and it's not just one player stepping up. There's always going to be critics and homers. I try to stay in the middle. I'm cautiously optimistic about this team. So far so good. I think we'll likely be a 5 seed come tournament time and that seed is always in danger. I know I don't want to see X in the tournament, nor do I want any part of Alabama right now. Coach Grant has them playing tough right now.

[ThePowerOfX]

How has Kryrl looked this year? I remember watching a few games last year and at times he seemed pretty lost out there. Just wondering what kind of strides hes made so far, obviously Parrom has made some strides himself.

[jco17]

How has Kryrl looked this year? I remember watching a few games last year and at times he seemed pretty lost out there. Just wondering what kind of strides hes made so far, obviously Parrom has made some strides himself.

I'm not so sure Kryl will be a Wildcat next year. We're very likely to land Angelo Chol tomorrow and we are minus a scholly next year and the year after. I think the writting may be on the wall for him. He's made some minor strides, but it may be in his best interest to transfer so he can get an extra year. Parrom was injured last season and missed a good many games. It was obvious that he was gonna be a really good player for us right away.

[WestFan]

Agree with the OP
I know the AZ fans will say they had the losses early in the year, but these guys lost BIG to any ranked team they played.

UCLA may shock, seem to be coming around and have wins against BYU and the hot team now SJ.

As for Chol? I'd almost lay money that this guy never gets into a AZ uniform. Well depending on their academic standards.
Once there I've heard the players take dumbed down courses so he may manage to pass if he gets in.

[WestFan]

Yes we played horrible against BYU and Jimmer Fredette went crazy on us. We're a much better team now, but I still would rather stay away from Jimmer. He's the best player we've played against this year and I'm not sure it's close. KU had some studs, but Jimmer was just uncontrolable that night. He's a great player and he's a 100% class act. Even when he was torching my favorite team, I couldn't help but root for him. If he gets hot in the tournament, a lot of brackets are gonna be busted. Think Curry from Davidson a few years back.

The Pac 10 is down this year for certain. It's still tough to beat teams on the road and it's nearly impossible to be UDub in Seattle. We haven't won any significant games, but we also only have 1 bad loss on the road to Oregon State. We are the best 3pt shooting team in the conference and the best ft shooting team, but had very little luck in either aspect. We played really bad that game and credit Oregon State, they wanted more than we did that night. We're learning how to close out games, it's tough to put your opponent down and keep them there without losing focus.

Like a previous poster said, it's just how the polls work. We're winning and the teams ahead of us are losing. It really is that simple. One could easily argue we don't deserve to be ranked where we are in the polls currently. I would agree with said person. There's more parody in college basketball this year, then I've seen in quite some time. There really is no definitive team that's favored to win the NC this year. For those who would argue Texas, I'd say Barnes has a habbit of underachieving in the tournament. KU still has some pretty big holes.

If I had a gun to my head, I guess I would pick Pitt to win it all this year. That's a really hard nosed team that is well coached. Maybe this is finally the year Dixon wins it all. I do think that Xavier and Arizona are 2 teams you don't want to see come March.

You can't be serious about that comment.... BYU will be a 3 seed at WORST.

Funny, several teams in the inferior:) MWC (who is ranked at the 4th most powerful league) have handled Jimmer pretty well. Even lowly Air Force gave them a run for their money.

Watching some of AZ games is painful. The start of the last 2 games showed me they'll get toasted by the big boys if they have those kinds of horrible starts.

[X-band '01]

Both BYU and San Diego State will get no worse than a 3 or 4 depending on how the rest of their seasons play out - it's always possible that someone will knock one of them off in the Mountain West tournament.

As for Arizona, don't blame them for the rest of the Pac-10 being a joke. I'll give you UCLA as another NCAA-worthy team, but other than that nobody else has stood out. Washington managed a Sweet 16 bid last year but they've fallen flat on their face this year.

[CinciX12]

I think I'm at the point where I wish Arizona well. Sean was never really a true Xavier guy and had no real relationship with the program.

Besides, winning the A10, PAC 10, and Big 10 for current and former Xavier coaches will be pretty bad ass and get us some bragging rights.

[GuyFawkes38]

I think I'm at the point where I wish Arizona well. Sean was never really a true Xavier guy and had no real relationship with the program.

I think that goes a little too far.

IMHO, it felt like Miller was closer to the X program than Matta. Ultimately, who cares. Matta was the beginning of some great things for the program.

[Xavier]

BYU and SDSU will be 2 and 3 seed (depending who wins the conference tournament).

[THRILLHOUSE]

I'm not sure if Arizona is really one of the 15 best teams out there, but the Arizona-Washington game was great. Williams is a hell of a player.

[doug204]

Both BYU and San Diego State will get no worse than a 3 or 4 depending on how the rest of their seasons play out - it's always possible that someone will knock one of them off in the Mountain West tournament.

As for Arizona, don't blame them for the rest of the Pac-10 being a joke. I'll give you UCLA as another NCAA-worthy team, but other than that nobody else has stood out. Washington managed a Sweet 16 bid last year but they've fallen flat on their face this year.

This and thanks. UCLA and Washington (although they're always iffy away from home) are quality opponents and Wazzu and CAL were doing okay, but injuries start to wear you out when as the season progresses and you don't have any depth. This is why I take our 10 deep over a lineup of 5 double digit scorers and no bench.

[GoMuskies]

Parrom is a helluva player (for a coach puncher). I don' t think we're missing much not having Natawhateverko.

I still think they're a bit like the Pitt team we played in the NCAA Tournament last year. Obviously a good team, but if they're a three seed you're really not afraid of them at all.

[THRILLHOUSE]

Parrom is a helluva player (for a coach puncher). I don' t think we're missing much not having Natawhateverko.

I still think they're a bit like the Pitt team we played in the NCAA Tournament last year. Obviously a good team, but if they're a three seed you're really not afraid of them at all.

Agreed on all accounts. If Zona is a 3 seed I will probably have them as the first 3 seed getting knocked out. They would be a title contender next season if Williams stays, but he will likely be one of the first picks of the draft so I doubt he stays.

[Cheesehead]

now #10 in both polls. FU Sean. Just saying. Not bitter or anything. ;)

Go X!:sword:

[xubrew]

again, barely beating an unranked team at home moves them up. it's because teams ahead of them lose. the fact that arizona barely won at home against a team that's just 3-6 on the road doesn't matter. neither does the fact that many of the teams right in front of them that lost did so to really good teams.

arizona is good, but they're not the tenth best team. they're ranked that high simply because of how the polls work.

[CinciX12]

Congrats to AZ for getting their first win against a top 50 RPI opponent of the season! In the middle of February. By a point. Against a Washington team that hasn't been good on the road.

I wouldn't put you in the top 20. This is honestly ridiculous. I don't see how you could even argue you deserve a 4 seed.

[jco17]

again, barely beating an unranked team at home moves them up. it's because teams ahead of them lose. the fact that arizona barely won at home against a team that's just 3-6 on the road doesn't matter. neither does the fact that many of the teams right in front of them that lost did so to really good teams.

arizona is good, but they're not the tenth best team. they're ranked that high simply because of how the polls work.

I agree. College Basketball as a whole seems to be down this year as well. There's really no clear cut favorite this year. It seems every team can lose to everybody this year. Texas just lost to Nebraska, Kanas to KSU, and the Big East is engaged in an all out brawl. They may get 10 teams in this year. The Pac 10 will likely get in 2-3 teams depending on the conference tournament. Our conference has been down the past few years, but it will come back. We're not done adding schools to our conference yet.

We're definately fortunate that the Pac is down and that other teams ahead of us are losing. The polls have been friendly to us this year for sure.

[jco17]

Congrats to AZ for getting their first win against a top 50 RPI opponent of the season! In the middle of February. By a point. Against a Washington team that hasn't been good on the road.

I wouldn't put you in the top 20. This is honestly ridiculous. I don't see how you could even argue you deserve a 4 seed.

UCLA is #43 in RPI and we lost to the #1 RPI team on a nuetral court and the #2 RPI team on the road. We have one bad loss. We're not as terrible as you are making us out to be. I agree that we're not a top 10 team.

[bobbiemcgee]

Looks like cake boss had a bad few days with losses to USC and getting hammered @ Pauley.

[Xavier]

UCLA is #43 in RPI and we lost to the #1 RPI team on a nuetral court and the #2 RPI team on the road. We have one bad loss. We're not as terrible as you are making us out to be. I agree that we're not a top 10 team.

Not a top 10 team- but a team that IMO will have a shot at the sweet 16 this year. Not sure I like them doing much more- but If they are a 4/5 seed I would have them in the sweet 16.

[xufan02]

Like I said last week, before some AZ poster tried to refute, Arizona is Derrick Williams and then a big question mark. They get very little steady play from anyone other than him, and when he is limited they lose. They are also a very poor road team, and their last two loses have been on the road. Derrick is an NBA talent, and I think he can get them through the first weekend, but other players are going to have to step up on a consistant basis if they are going to go any further.

[jco17]

Like I said last week, before some AZ poster tried to refute, Arizona is Derrick Williams and then a big question mark. They get very little steady play from anyone other than him, and when he is limited they lose. They are also a very poor road team, and their last two loses have been on the road. Derrick is an NBA talent, and I think he can get them through the first weekend, but other players are going to have to step up on a consistant basis if they are going to go any further.

What you were saying wasn't accurate at the current time. Derrick wasn't the reason we were winning a lot of those games. Our guard play was very good at that time and others were stepping up, which made your point incorrect. We lost 2 games on the road in which everybody played horrible. We haven't played this bad since we lost to Oregon State. The opportunities were there and we didn't execute like we have been. If we make our free throws like we normally do, we beat USC.

The UCLA game was a disaster, but they have 2 really good post players and another one in Brandon Lane that is gonna be good. We have Derrick Williams upfront and he had to guard 6ft 10" 350 pound Joshua Smith. Not good. Nelson was left to go bannanas on us and he did all game long. UCLA is gonna be a tough out come tournament time if their guards can play like they did against us. Although, our lives would have been made a lot easier if we would have played some extended minutes in a zone defense. No way our bigs can hold theirs down all game long, just a serious mismatch.

We played like garbage and they made us pay for it. We didn't deserve to win either of those games. Justice was served in my opinion. We should still win the conference and we'll definately make the tournament. That's well ahead of my expectations for this year. Major improvement. Thought for sure we'd end up 3rd or 4th in the Pac and one of the last teams out or in the tournament.

Players were stepping up in a big way. It seemed like it was somebody different every single game. Hopefully, Derricks hand heals before the tournament or we are do for an early out. He's our superstar for sure, but we do have good glue guys that for some reason decided not to show up in LA. It was pretty hard to stomach both of those games. It seemed like we regressed. Oh well, you can't win them all. If we take care of business at home, we still will win the conference. Not that it's a major accomplishment this year.