A-10 Down Again

[bleedXblue]

Looks like another year of Xavier carrying the league.

Temple gets drubbed by Miami at home at stand at 3-3 ? Charlotte is 1-5 ? Umass is 1-6 and St Louis is 2-4.

WTF ?

The only other team making some progress is Dayton.

I'm venting.......so now I feel better.

[IVANHOE]

a10 is pathetic this year. Fordham lost to Hofstra by 20. i think Fordham is 0-6.

I thought Temple with Dionte Christmas was going to be alot better this year.

UMASS is a big disappointment.

URI will die once Jimmy Baron stops hitting his threes.

Charlotte? 1-5! Terrible.

All these teams were on the bubble last year at one point. they look like garbage so far this year.

Bonaventure is looking strong with a 3-3 record!

[dc_x]

Here is the summary of the A-10 so far:

NCAA At-Large Candidates (good win(s), no bad losses) - XU, UD

Teams with a shot at the NCAA if they finish top-2 in A-10 play - (no marquee win, no bad losses either) - URI, Duquesne

Teams that are dead - Temple, Bonnies, SJU, GW, LaSalle, Richmond,SLU, UMass, UNCC, Fordham

It's really pathetic.

[Frank D.]

While there's no disputing the conference as a whole has been lousy so far, I don't really think it will affect Xavier much. We've already beaten some quality teams and we have a few more still to come in the non-conference. In years past, when we didn't play anyone out of conference, we needed the A-10 to have some quality teams to boost us up. Now, as long as we take care of business in the non-conference, and don't lose to any crappy A-10 teams, we'll be fine.

Would it be nice to have some marquee conference games like last year? Sure, but as long we beat who we're supposed to beat, we don't need the A-10 to boost our SOS, so it doesn't really matter what the other teams are doing.

[X-man]

Yeah but we better not lose to too many of these "crappy" A10 teams once league play begins. If we do, any good non-league wins will be a distant memory to the Selection Committee.

[dc_x]

While there's no disputing the conference as a whole has been lousy so far, I don't really think it will affect Xavier much. We've already beaten some quality teams and we have a few more still to come in the non-conference. In years past, when we didn't play anyone out of conference, we needed the A-10 to have some quality teams to boost us up. Now, as long as we take care of business in the non-conference, and don't lose to any crappy A-10 teams, we'll be fine.

Would it be nice to have some marquee conference games like last year? Sure, but as long we beat who we're supposed to beat, we don't need the A-10 to boost our SOS, so it doesn't really matter what the other teams are doing.

From the perspective of whether or not X makes the NCAA tournament I agree. The problem will be when it comes time to give out seeds.

Xavier lost 7 games last year and got a 3 seed. If X loses 7 games this year, they will be an 9 seed.

[kyxu]

If X loses 7 games this year, they will be an 9 seed.

If Xavier loses seven games this year, they deserve a 9 seed.

[Frank D.]

Yes, if we lose that many games, our seeding will take a hit. My point was that we don't need the A-10 to be good to accumulate quality wins. Of course if you lose to the lousy teams, it will hurt. The good news is that Dayton is seemingly one of the good teams . . . that's 3 quality wins right there ;). Although I recall Dayton was in a similar position last year at this time and we all know how that turned out.

[PMI]

The problem is that we will get most of these clowns' best efforts of the season against us. Teams in conference get up to play the big dog, so we have to be ready every night and one off night could end in an upset. That will be Miller's biggest challenge come January, but I think he's up for it. I really hate our league though. Come tourney time I hope we won't have already forgotten what good competition was like.

[Snipe]

I am with PMI. We will get some tough games in conference play. Those teams know us and we will be their superbowl.

Our road schedule
@ Fordham
@ URI
@ Bona
@ Duquesne
@ Dayton
@ Charlotte
@ St. Joe
@ Richmond

Plenty of chances to stumble on the road in A-10 play.

[GoMuskies]

@ Fordham



If Xavier loses this one, I would personally recommend to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee that they leave the Muskies out.

[nuts4xu]

I look at the road schedule and see it as pretty easy. The games at St Joes and ud are always tough, and URI should be a good test. But none of those other teams scare me in the least.

We haven't lost in Olean in years. With the Pablo Memorial Magic Bus full of Xavier fans in attendance at the Duquesne, no way we lose that one either. Charlotte hasn't beaten a division 1 team yet, and Bobby Lutz could have his worst season ever. Richmond lost to Old Dominion, so again, there is very little chance of this team losing there.

We have built our schedule to build our resume in the non con part of the schedule. The lousy conference shouldn't affect us too much, so long as this team doesn't lose an unexplainable game to some shit team along the way.

[AdamtheFlyer]

Here's the thing that's so frustrating about Charlotte and Richmond's slow starts: They have the talent to beat Xavier on their home floors. Richmond may have the best backcourt in the league, and Charlotte really has enough raw talent to be a top 4 team in this league. I'd call those games toss ups for Xavier, even if they play relatively well. Charlotte nearly beat a better X team last year, and it took a career night from Duncan to get a win.

Road games in league play are tough. 5-3 is a good road record, but this year that might include two "bad" losses to teams that really aren't that inferior.

Dayton has to go to UMass, and I view them the same as Charlotte and Richmond. Enough talent to beat us, but enough suckitude to make them bad losses.

[DC Muskie]

This is why I'm really starting to hate this conference.

[bleedXblue]

No question that this conference is a double edged sword for X.......it's weak enough consistently that we should be able to win the league on a regular basis. The problem is that if we don't win the league, we lose credibiity with the selection committee.

Would much rather X look to a stronger conference where a finish in the top 2-3 spots in the league, gets your ticket punched to the tourney.

The problem is, that we'll have to wait for a Big East shakeup before anything can happen. That could 4-5 years away.........no way Marquette and Depaul and a few other teams are a long term viable options in the Big East.

[Flyer1407]

No question that this conference is a double edged sword for X.......it's weak enough consistently that we should be able to win the league on a regular basis. The problem is that if we don't win the league, we lose credibiity with the selection committee.

Would much rather X look to a stronger conference where a finish in the top 2-3 spots in the league, gets your ticket punched to the tourney.

The problem is, that we'll have to wait for a Big East shakeup before anything can happen. That could 4-5 years away.........no way Marquette and Depaul and a few other teams are a long term viable options in the Big East.

I don't mean to stir the sh!t stick here but.....

Do you really think Xavier has had that much more recent success than Marquette? They were in the Final 4 not all that long ago and have been a solid team in the Big East since they joined.

[XUfaninJAX]

http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:z6MLl_7n-17AjM:http://www.solware.co.uk/archery-crossbows/ARC3115-3116.jpg

Get used to it... all the teams that are in the middle of the pack are going to give us a game like last year...

Overall, this league is down, down, down. The A-10 is losing games I thought that they would win, and keeping it close on some games that I figured they would get blown out. Either way, we are going to be in for some dogfights this year like always, and they are going to be ugly. It's Big Ten football at it's finest....

[XUfaninJAX]

I don't mean to stir the sh!t stick here but.....

Do you really think Xavier has had that much more recent success than Marquette? They were in the Final 4 not all that long ago and have been a solid team in the Big East since they joined.

Agreed on Marquette being successful, but there are some teams that are wasting breath in there. USF? DePaul has no reason being in there? Providence? Syracuse.. yeah they should have been in before X two years ago.. but really... alright just kidding (Bias and Vitale reference)... But seriously, there are two teams that are from the NY area (the basketball mecca) that can't keep pace with the league. Understood it comes down to football and blah blah... it's a league X would fit very well in. Don't get me wrong I know that this might be a down year for the A-10 and I can only hope that some schools start putting the effort into basketball like X does. Know where the bread and butter is and make strides to succeed. No matter what happens now or down the road X will be successful, it's a known fact. We have provided the foundation for success, we can lose players for any reason and provide positive results. We aren't a one-hit wonder and everyone knows it. I wore my Xavier Sweatshirt to the FL-Alabama game tonight, and had a couple people saying that they hoped that Florida during their NC years would not play us. The name and the game is known, X is success!

[GuyFawkes38]

Many of the assholes at ESPN (Bilas and Vitale included) are trying to throw their weight behind shortening the season to January through March. Of course, this would be a disaster for X, Memphis, Gonzaga, etc.. I think it's a concern that the BCS conferences might be in favor of such a move.

Anyways, I like the A10. In fact, I think X has a better chance at consistently making the tourney being in the A10 than the Big East.

The situation we have now is awesome.

[jdm2000]

A10 finally had a decent day yesterday.

[nuts4xu]

Many of the assholes at ESPN (Bilas and Vitale included) are trying to throw their weight behind shortening the season to January through March.

Seriously? I haven't heard this anywhere before. No way it would work.

[jdm2000]

Even the BCS schools need the money they make off of college basketball.

[xudash]

Fordham should go. Zero leadership there and improvement will not be forthcoming.

If LosSalle finishes .500 or sub-.500 in their OOC schedule, enough is enough, they should go as well. Seriously, enough of their crap about waiting until next year. This has gone on way too long and they're the third wheel in a week college sports town anyway.

Duquesne and SBU? SBU should find a new home for sure, though they sure as hell try and have contributed in the past. They're just not positioned well to compete in the more competitive future. Perhaps Duquesne gets one more reprieve; they're not too far off and have the resources to turn it.

[Masterofreality]

Fordham should go. Zero leadership there and improvement will not be forthcoming.


What is even worse about the F word is that the door has been wide open for them to take over New York college basketball with St. Johns recent problems, and they fumbled the ball horribly. I never thought I'd see New York City college b-ball at such a low level with the wealth of talent that is there. F word, St. Johns, Manhattan, Seton Hall, Iona, Columbia, Hofstra, LIU, Fairly Ridiculous, Rutgers, St. Francis all suck rocks.

I don't know if Ms. Commissioner can "counsel" aggressively with those incompetent boobs over there on Rose Hill, but if they would ever get their act together, it could really help the league with a flagship program in the City.

[bleedXblue]

When I referenced Marquette in my previous reply, I was not at all diminishing their program and recent success.......I was simply making a point that their lack of football (along with several other teams) will eventually make them not as attractive to the Big East......I think the Big East has three problems that will eventually cause some shakeup :

1. They want to look and act like the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Pac 10 and Big 12 (all schools participating in football and basketball)....their biggest revenue generators

2. 16 teams in a basketball conference is too many.

3. Logistics.....there are quite a few teams that do A LOT of traveling Marquette, Depaul and Notre Dame top the list of basketball only schools that are located in the midwest....not to mention the schools located in the east that have to travel there in the middle of winter.......Chicago, South Bend and Milwaukee are awful markets to get to in Jan and Feb.

[PMI]

I think Marquette actually is a bit of a question mark. Yes, they were a Final Four team and in great shape when they had Wade, but since then they have gradually leveled off, lost their coach, had a no luck finishing the season ranked higher than where they started, and were beaten badly by Dayton. These are not things Xavier does. I think given what Miller has already built and is still building, we are in better shape right now than Marquette. It is apples to oranges however seeing as to how they play in a conference with 25 or so of the best teams in college basketball and we play in the A10, but I would take our program over theirs in a heartbeat.

[BBC 08]

From the perspective of whether or not X makes the NCAA tournament I agree. The problem will be when it comes time to give out seeds.

Xavier lost 7 games last year and got a 3 seed. If X loses 7 games this year, they will be an 9 seed.

We lost 6 games and got the 3 seed, our 7th loss was to UCLA. You could even argue that we lost 5 games and got the 3 seed with the 6th loss coming in the A10 tournament.