Pitt/Depaul

[jesmu84]

Depaul down 2 with 9 sec. left.  Pitt +20 in rebounds.

What the hell has happened to Pitt this year??

[groove]

Depaul is better this year though

[Tugg Speedman]

Depaul ties with 1 second left and has a FT to shoot.

[jesmu84]

wow. Pitt bricks 2 FT. Depaul, no timeout, drives to the rim, makes the layup and gets fouled with 1.3. Depaul about to take a FT to win the game.

[groove]

and Pitt is just downgrading it's program looking ahead to the move to the ACC

[brewcity77]

Pitt blew a 10-point lead with 16:17 to play. Granted, it's not 17 with 13:10 to play, but DePaul also sure as hell ain't no Georgetown.

[Dish]

I said previously, but Pitt will miss the tourney this year.

[jesmu84]

Pitt loses. First 4 game losing streak under Jamie Dixon. Yikes

And Depaul fans rushed the court. Yikes

[Tugg Speedman]

Pitt's collapse is now historic  The worst four game stretch in the Jamie Dixon era.

... not make the Tourney ... they might have to break a sweat to make the NIT.  They lost to Wagner at home and DePaul.  NIT teams can beat them, Pitt did not.

[We R Final Four]

Pitt is lost.  It took them 3 times to figure out their press break.  If DePaul could make some free throws they would have run away with this one.

[brewcity77]

DePaul is 5 points away from being 12-2 right now. They controlled most of the game against Minnesota before falling by one point and had the lead against Ole Miss at home in the final minute before losing by two. Granted, not the strongest SOS, but all of their losses are to current top-100 RPI teams. Their mirrors are St. John's, SHU, and Louisville. I know it's really premature, but if Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young keep playing like studs, could they go 4-2 in their mirrors (win at home, beat SJU on the road) and possibly end up at 9-9 in conference and be in the mix for a bid? Probably still too weak a non-conference schedule, but it's not impossible, and NIT looks like a solid bet right now. After all, they have as many Big East wins by January 5 as they did in any of the past three seasons total.

[DCWarriors04]

Pitt blew a 10-point lead with 16:17 to play. Granted, it's not 17 with 13:10 to play, but DePaul also sure as hell ain't no Georgetown.

Not a 17 point lead, but we blew a 17 point lead on the road to the #9 team in the country...Pitt blew a 10 point lead to DePaul...DePaul!

I'm going to say that the Pitt loss was a big choke job than ours.

[DCWarriors04]

That said, hopefully we don't overlook them when we visit Chicago in a month.

[groove]

Way too early in season to make any conclusions. Hell, if DePaul finishes 9-9, that could very well be better what we finish. I think people are jumping to a look of conclusions. Someone on the board earlier mentioned, off-handedly, that we were a lock to make the NCAA. And in this thread the attitude is that DePaul making the tourney is a longshot. I just dont see those conclusions being so obvious. I think we might be lucky to finish 9-9 if our seniors keep crapping in the bed.

[brewcity77]

Way too early in season to make any conclusions. Hell, if DePaul finishes 9-9, that could very well be better what we finish. I think people are jumping to a look of conclusions. Someone on the board earlier mentioned, off-handedly, that we were a lock to make the NCAA. And in this thread the attitude is that DePaul making the tourney is a longshot. I just dont see those conclusions being so obvious. I think we might be lucky to finish 9-9 if our seniors keep crapping in the bed.

We already have 7 RPI top-100 wins. Even if we aren't as good as people think and we only win the games that Pomeroy has us as 70+% to win, that still puts us at 9-9 in the Big East and 20-11 going into the Big East tournament. That will include at least 3 more top-100 RPI wins (probably more). That is a lock for the NCAA tournament.

Non-con SOS is the reason I can't see DePaul making it. They don't have any bad losses, but they also don't have any good wins. Currently 5 but possibly as many as 8 sub-250 RPI teams on their non-con resume. Now THAT is a team that would need 11 Big East wins to make the tournament.

[groove]

We already have 7 RPI top-100 wins. Even if we aren't as good as people think and we only win the games that Pomeroy has us as 70+% to win, that still puts us at 9-9 in the Big East and 20-11 going into the Big East tournament. That will include at least 3 more top-100 RPI wins (probably more). That is a lock for the NCAA tournament.

Non-con SOS is the reason I can't see DePaul making it. They don't have any bad losses, but they also don't have any good wins. Currently 5 but possibly as many as 8 sub-250 RPI teams on their non-con resume. Now THAT is a team that would need 11 Big East wins to make the tournament.

Yeah I understand what your are saying about where we are right now with our 7 RPI top-wins. Hopefully we can continue on the path that you are saying about winning the 70+% games. Just difficult sometimes to have faith when our defense has been so awful.

[nyg]

Its the way they lost.  How does a Depaul player go full court and then get fouled in a situation like that.  That was just unreal.

[nyg]

And USF smoked Nova, at Nova by 14. 

[brewcity77]

Yeah I understand what your are saying about where we are right now with our 7 RPI top-wins. Hopefully we can continue on the path that you are saying about winning the 70+% games. Just difficult sometimes to have faith when our defense has been so awful.

LSU was going to be tough against an athletic high-major on the road. Georgetown and Vandy are probably among the ten best teams in the country, even if the rankings don't reflect it. Watching this season so far, I can't see us losing to teams like St. John's, Pitt, DePaul, Rutgers, Providence, or South Florida. That's 7 Big East wins right there. Even if we lose one, I have to imagine that with home games against Louisville, Seton Hall, Cincy, and Georgetown, and away games against 'Nova, Notre Dame, WVU, and Cincy, if we can get 3 of those 8, we are still going 9-9 in the Big East.

Losses like last night are tough, but it's important to keep the season in perspective. Not every game will be as tough as Georgetown on the road. I honestly believe we'll have 20+ wins after we play Cincy on February 11 and this will all be moot. The conference slate starts tough, but gets a lot easier after Saturday.

[mubb34]

This is a crazy start this year....wow..Seton Hall knockin off Uconn...now Depaul over Pitt...

[Wade for President]

LOVE seeing Pitt go down in flames as they make their way to the door.

[muguru]

We already have 7 RPI top-100 wins. Even if we aren't as good as people think and we only win the games that Pomeroy has us as 70+% to win, that still puts us at 9-9 in the Big East and 20-11 going into the Big East tournament. That will include at least 3 more top-100 RPI wins (probably more). That is a lock for the NCAA tournament.

Non-con SOS is the reason I can't see DePaul making it. They don't have any bad losses, but they also don't have any good wins. Currently 5 but possibly as many as 8 sub-250 RPI teams on their non-con resume. Now THAT is a team that would need 11 Big East wins to make the tournament.

That would be really sad if you think about the talent on this team. 9-9 in the Big East?? I know that's not what you are predicting, but it can't be dismissed. With normal "powers" Nova, PITT, even Notre Dame down this year, that's why it was a golden opportunity for MU to at worst finish top 4, if not legitimately contend for the BE title. Now that ultimately may still happen, but it's not looking as promising as it was a couple of weeks ago. 

[brewcity77]

That would be really sad if you think about the talent on this team. 9-9 in the Big East?? I know that's not what you are predicting, but it can't be dismissed. With normal "powers" Nova, PITT, even Notre Dame down this year, that's why it was a golden opportunity for MU to at worst finish top 4, if not legitimately contend for the BE title. Now that ultimately may still happen, but it's not looking as promising as it was a couple of weeks ago. 

My contention is that 9-9 is an absolute minimum we will go. I truly believe something in the 12-6 to 14-4 range is more realistic.

[We R Final Four]

My contention is that 9-9 is an absolute minimum we will go. I truly believe something in the 12-6 to 14-4 range is more realistic.

14-4?  That maybe reaching just a little bit.  We have a long, long way to go to get to that point.

[brewcity77]

14-4?  That maybe reaching just a little bit.  We have a long, long way to go to get to that point.

When you look at it as a net number, yes. But look at the individual games. Other than Saturday, do any look unwinnable? UConn, WVU, and Cincy all look tough on the road, but none are insurmountable. This is a down year for the league. It won't be easy, but it's a realistic possibility, and I expect at least 12-6. With our schedule, even 11-7 might be a disappointment.