Vandy in trouble against Cleveland State

[downtown85]

Vanderbilt down by 10 with 5 minutes to go.  They are not able to handle Cleveland State's pressure D. 

[Clam Crowder]

Jenkins is shooting awful from 3-pt land. If we get him on a night like this, and Festus is still out we should win that game.

[downtown85]

Jenkins was off but I think the Cleveland State defense had something to do with it.  Vandy had more than 20 turnovers.  I don't think that Festus Ezili dude would have helped their ball handling if he had been playing. 

Cleveland State looks pretty good, particularly their full court pressure. 

I think if we play our normal pressure man-to-man defense, we should give Vandy fits as long as we blanket Jenkins.

[RyanConroy]

That's somewhat disappointing, given Vanderbilt should have been one of our best home games. I'll be rooting for them to turn it around until they come to the BC.

[brewcity77]

Ezeli is suspended the first 6 games, he'll be back for our game.

This is crappy, though, an RPI and SOS hit already. Come Monday, we might even be higher ranked than they are. Early season losses can be killers to highly-ranked teams that aren't regularly in the top-ten.

[PGsHeroes32]

Ezeli is suspended the first 6 games, he'll be back for our game.

This is crappy, though, an RPI and SOS hit already. Come Monday, we might even be higher ranked than they are. Early season losses can be killers to highly-ranked teams that aren't regularly in the top-ten.

Ezeli isnt just suspended, hes hurt.

[MUMac]

Ezeli is suspended the first 6 games, he'll be back for our game.

This is crappy, though, an RPI and SOS hit already. Come Monday, we might even be higher ranked than they are. Early season losses can be killers to highly-ranked teams that aren't regularly in the top-ten.

I believe Cleveland State's RPI last year was better than ours.  They finished tied with Butler and UWM for the regular season championship and return all 5 starters.  This is not a RPI killer, as you believe it to be. 

[Silkk the Shaka]

I believe Cleveland State's RPI last year was better than ours.  They finished tied with Butler and UWM for the regular season championship and return all 5 starters.  This is not a RPI killer, as you believe it to be. 

Not true - their best player last year (Norris Cole) just joined forces with our all-time best player Dwyane Wade in Miami.  He was picked 2 slots ahead of last year's best player Jimmy Butler.  Regardless, you are correct in stating that they are a legitimately good senior-laden team.  That game was encouraging to watch, as they played the exact same style we did on Friday and Vanderbilt looked very vulnerable to the press.

[brewcity77]

I believe Cleveland State's RPI last year was better than ours.  They finished tied with Butler and UWM for the regular season championship and return all 5 starters.  This is not a RPI killer, as you believe it to be. 

Killer? No. But I'd much rather have Vandy as a top-ten RPI opponent than somewhere in the 20s where they were last year. With a non-con that includes us, Xavier, and Louisville, that's possible. Any losses, even to a decent team like Cleveland State, hurts their value.

[copious1218]

I believe Cleveland State's RPI last year was better than ours.  They finished tied with Butler and UWM for the regular season championship and return all 5 starters.  This is not a RPI killer, as you believe it to be. 

It also helps that we play UWM and UWGB since they will both play Cleveland State this year.

[MUMac]

Killer? No. But I'd much rather have Vandy as a top-ten RPI opponent than somewhere in the 20s where they were last year. With a non-con that includes us, Xavier, and Louisville, that's possible. Any losses, even to a decent team like Cleveland State, hurts their value.

What does it matter, as RPI at the end of the season is the only one that counts.

[MUMac]

Not true - their best player last year (Norris Cole) just joined forces with our all-time best player Dwyane Wade in Miami.  He was picked 2 slots ahead of last year's best player Jimmy Butler.  Regardless, you are correct in stating that they are a legitimately good senior-laden team.  That game was encouraging to watch, as they played the exact same style we did on Friday and Vanderbilt looked very vulnerable to the press.

That's what I get for reading one of those Horizon League preview's.  I guess that writer put as much effort into it as I did verifying it!   

[brewcity77]

What does it matter, as RPI at the end of the season is the only one that counts.

Umm...didn't you answer your own question?

RPI at any point of the season is made up of what you did during the season. So losing to CSU now hurts their RPI in March, and thus hurts our RPI in March. If Vandy loses 4-5 games in the non-con, their chances of being a top ten RPI team come March aren't very good. I want all our opponents to win games when they aren't playing us because that improves our resume.

[MUMac]

Umm...didn't you answer your own question?

RPI at any point of the season is made up of what you did during the season. So losing to CSU now hurts their RPI in March, and thus hurts our RPI in March. If Vandy loses 4-5 games in the non-con, their chances of being a top ten RPI team come March aren't very good. I want all our opponents to win games when they aren't playing us because that improves our resume.

I admit that I misread your comment. I thought you were speaking about their RPI when we play them.

This loss will not be an RPI killer.  You believe it is, I do not, but whatever.  Keep worrying.   

[Marqus Howard]

It's early still, but Vandy isn't looking very good against Bucknell tonight either.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Vandy is overrated as they were last year. In our game at their place they looked soft as hell. We blew that game.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Vandy is overrated as they were last year. In our game at their place they looked soft as hell. We blew that game.

Jenkins is out injured tonight, along with Ezeli (NCAA suspension, injured knee).

[MUMac]

It's early still, but Vandy isn't looking very good against Bucknell tonight either.

Last year we didn't look very good against Bucknell either.  At least until the last few minutes.

[brewcity77]

This loss will not be an RPI killer.  You believe it is, I do not, but whatever.  Keep worrying.   

You're reading waaaaaaaaaaay too much into my comments 

I'm not worrying, I'm just pointing out that the better our opponents do when they aren't facing us, the better it is for us. When I said killer, I was talking about their rankings, because early season losses tend to knock highly-ranked teams down the top-25 polls. That's exactly what happened, as Vandy fell 11 spots in the AP Poll to #18 and 13 spots in the Coaches Poll to #20 (1 spot behind us).

As far as RPI and SOS, the better our opponents do, the better it is for us. Games against top-15 RPI teams (like Wisconsin, Vandy, and Washington could be) would help get us into the top-15 RPI and SOS. Do that, win 24-26 games, and we can be a 2/3 seed.

Besides, I like having reasons to cheer for Marquette even on nights Marquette isn't playing.

[CTWarrior]

Vandy pulled out the game against Bucknell in what sounds like much the same manner we beat them last year.  On the other hand, future opponent LSU lost last night at Coastal Carolina.