If my math is right, Pitt or UConn game is now big for bye-bye

[MarquetteDano]

Let me know if I am reading this right (see tiebreaker formula below), but if I do read this right, a two-team tiebreaker is determined by the win against the highest rated team(s), adding records as you go down.  If Marquette and Nova end up 13-5, which is highly possible, and given the 1-1 split during the conference season, we need to win UConn to guarantee the tiebreaker (since we would have the highest ranking win and Nova lost to them).  If we don't beat UConn, we MUST beat Pitt otherwise Nova wins the tiebreaker (assuming Pitt ends up second, of course).

If we lose to UConn and beat Pitt, then it goes to the next highest team, which could very well be Looeyville.  Since Nova lost, if we won that game, then we would win the tiebreaker (though, my guess is if we win both Pitt and Looeyville, we would probably go 14-4 at least and move past Nova anyways).  If we lose against UConn and Looeyville and beat Pitt, then things get confusing (if they are not already!) as Nova plays Syracuse twice and we only play them once.  Again, this assumes Cuse ends up fifth in the standings and Pitt ends up second.  Confused?   

Bottom line:  beating UConn and going 13-5 could very well guarantee us the bye-bye.  There is still a chance!

http://www.bigeast.org/fls/19400/pdfs/mensbball/tiebreaker07.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=19400&KEY=&SPID=11228&SPSID=94715

[The Man in Gold]

If we lose against UConn and Looeyville and beat Pitt, then things get confusing (if they are not already!) as Nova plays Syracuse twice and we only play them once.

If this situation does happen where we are tied with Villanova down to Syracuse, the procedure for breaking an uneven games tie is to look at the potential record of each team. Nova has already beaten SU once, if they win again to go 2-0; we will have to beat SU so that we are 1-0.  According to the tie breaker rules, since we did not have the opportunity to win the second game you must down the list to the next team in line.  If we would lose their 2-0 beats are 0-1 record and Nova wins the tie breaker.

On the other hand if Nova loses at Syracuse, then the tie breaker is meaningless because at 1-1, our result won't matter.

Let's hope the Mountaineers can take care of business of Friday night.  Of course we could just win out.

[muboy262]

Of course we could just win out.

I like that route better.  Even with 2 losses in BE play, we still control our destiny to win the conference...not that a lot of people are thinking this way currently.