Regular season thoughts

[ChicosBailBonds]

Off topic, but I disagree with this.  Dom went backward his SO and JR seasons perhaps, but his SR season he realized he didn't have to try to be the lead scorer and focused on being a PG and an absolute beast of a defender on the perimeter.  The #8 MU team was beating #2 UConn when he went down and effectively ended their run.

Fair enough....his scoring production certainly went down, his FT % dropped like a rock (not sure what happened there), his assists rebounded a bit....I absolutely agree with you that his injury was the killer for that team.

[wadesworld]

What's really sad is, people are now happy with showing an improvement from winning 4 BE games to 8 BE games. It's rather pathetic that a program that won a BE title, made the NCAA's 7 years straight, had two sweet 16's, consistently ranked in the top 25, just 3 years later and the fans are now happy with 8 BE wins, and a possible NIT berth because it's "better than last year"?? Wow...some of you just don't get it, at all. This program was on the cusp of being elite in the old BE, a few years later and fans are happy they won 8 conference games?? Okay, so what...Wojo lost a lot of recruits, lots of programs do every year...Duke does, Kentucky does etc etc. They don't rebuild, they reload. I can understand a year missing the NCAA's after such a big change, but going on year 3 now?? How does a program that close to being elite, fall so far so fast??

Again...I will keep asking until someone answers me, because I want all of you to understand the reality of the situation...has any team in America, that's a major program fallen so far, so fast in a few years like MU has?? Find me one please...You can't. has any school been more affected(in a bad way) by the conference switch than MU has?? Not a single one...It's been great for Butler and creighton who moved up(Xavier too) and maybe Providence...but Not one single school in this conference has fallen so far in such a short period of time as MU has.

It wasn't that long ago, where winning at the BC was not only frequent, it was expected. They rarely lost at home, to anyone. Now, opposing teams walk in and it's basically a win before the game is even played...the building is empty, students don't show up etc. Sure all of think the move was great(even if it was all they could do), and yet fail to realize the affects this has had on the program in a bad way. The signs are obvious...MU will likely never come as close to being an elite program again, due to many factors, but who would have thought, they'd be slightly above the Dean years now??

I read up until "Wow...some of you just don't get it, at all."  The irony...

[wadesworld]

I just don't buy this.  We miss post season again next year and ticket numbers start to plummet I think his seat will get very warm very fast.  To suggest otherwise is to completely misunderstand the economics of MUBB.  But hopefully well never see who is right.

I think you're the one who is completely misunderstanding here.

[Loose Cannon]

One word: Uninspiring.


We can get any home slice to come in here for a million bucks, recruit traditionals and lose.   We need Wojo to prove he's a winner soon.

I'm trying to gain an accurate view of your position and have 2 questions.

1)  What is your definition of a Winner?

2)  And in the following year will the definition remain the same, or will it change???

     I don't think there are wrong answers,  just how definitions vary by posters.
   
     Thanks

[dgies9156]

I'm trying to gain an accurate view of your position and have 2 questions.

1)  What is your definition of a Winner?
2)  And in the following year will the definition remain the same, or will it change???

Great questions generally. I'll try my shot at them and hope other Scoopers follow. First though, as frustrated as I am with 2015-2016, I like Wojo. I don't expect he will be on the hot seat unless season tickets decline and we continue to stagnate.

That said:

1) A winner at Marquette is a consistent NCAA tournament team. We expect to be in the tournament every year and regularly run deep. We expect to be in the Top 25 and to be in the talk for the National Championship. Yes, this is an elite program and I want my Warriors to again be elite and the talk of the NCAA.

2) We have not attained this consistently, but this view is pervasive among anyone who was graduated by Marquette from about 1968 until 1982.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Guru, if you're wondering how we fell so hard and fast, its because of how we rose in the first place. Buzz was very good at bringing in transfers and jucos but missed on most of his HS recruits. Transfers and jucos are great ways to bring in immediate boosts in talent. Most teams use them to fill in holes in their teams. Buzz built his team with them and tried to fill holes with high school players. This strategy worked for years but is exhausting. Buzz was constantly having to reload and find new pieces because jucos and transfers don't have four years of eligibility. Fortunately, Buzz was great at reloading and was a bit of a mad genius as a coach. But eventually it caught up with him. Buzz missed on several recruits and had some unexpected transfers and didn't have the base of high school talent to fall back on. Essentially, Buzz ran out of rope. So when we fell and Buzz took off, Wojo had to do almost a complete rebuild.

[muguru]

Great questions generally. I'll try my shot at them and hope other Scoopers follow. First though, as frustrated as I am with 2015-2016, I like Wojo. I don't expect he will be on the hot seat unless season tickets decline and we continue to stagnate.

That said:

1) A winner at Marquette is a consistent NCAA tournament team. We expect to be in the tournament every year and regularly run deep. We expect to be in the Top 25 and to be in the talk for the National Championship. Yes, this is an elite program and I want my Warriors to again be elite and the talk of the NCAA.

2) We have not attained this consistently, but this view is pervasive among anyone who was graduated by Marquette from about 1968 until 1982.

My sentiments exactly, yet so many MU fans seem okay with the status quo. It's not like it's that way in every program in the country. Look at UW for cripes sakes...as much as I hate them, how many consecutive years have they been in the NCAAS now?? Not too mention back to back final fours. This is their worst team(on paper) in a long freaking time and they are still going to the tourney. This is EXACTLY how it should be at MU if not even better. MU should get to the point where when it "bottoms" out for a year or two they barely get in the tournament, but still get in. Sadly, the above definition is exactly where this program was just 3 short years ago...it's taken a complete 360 since then, and it's perplexing. if it doesn't happen at UW, it sure as hell should NEVER happen at MU where they spend as much or more on their BB program than any other in the country.

For a program that spends as much as they do and dump as many resources into it as MU does, the results should certainly be much better than what they currently are, and that's a hard point to argue against for any one. There are programs around the country that spend a lot less on their men's BB teams than MU does, yet they have much more consistent results, and when they do "bottom out" the fall isn't nearly as precipitous as MU's has been.

Many here will spin it many different ways(coaching change etc), but again many schools go through what MU has and they don't fall as hard and as fast as MU has. It's quite perplexing. I'm not just talking the results on the court(though that's the most important), if no one notices the HUGE drop off in fan support then they are blind. More than anything it has to do with the conference change(Creighton just doesn't resonate like a Syracuse or Louisville). Maybe they can't do anything about the conference, I get that(even if I don't like it), but then you better damn well be sure the results on the court don't fall or you get what you have now.

This administration better figure out where they want their place to be in the CBB landscape...if you spend like an elite program, you damn well better make sure the results you are getting continuously are at an elite(or close to it) level. If they aren't(which they aren't currently) you better figure out really quick how to get it back to that level. The longer you stagnate like this, the more and more fans you lose. MU fans are used to sustained success(and they have the previous 7 years to fall back on) . Once you lose that, especially in a "lessor" conference(from a name perspective), it's a steep mountain to climb to get back there. Patience only lasts so long for everyone.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

My sentiments exactly, yet so many MU fans seem okay with the status quo. It's not like it's that way in every program in the country. Look at UW for cripes sakes...as much as I hate them, how many consecutive years have they been in the NCAAS now?? Not too mention back to back final fours. This is their worst team(on paper) in a long freaking time and they are still going to the tourney. This is EXACTLY how it should be at MU if not even better. MU should get to the point where when it "bottoms" out for a year or two they barely get in the tournament, but still get in. Sadly, the above definition is exactly where this program was just 3 short years ago...it's taken a complete 360 since then, and it's perplexing. if it doesn't happen at UW, it sure as hell should NEVER happen at MU where they spend as much or more on their BB program than any other in the country.

Not all of us live in the 1970s. We haven't been at that level in a long time. We all want to get back there. But some of us realize that it takes years, decades even for that to happen. You have to build to it.

[muguru]

Guru, if you're wondering how we fell so hard and fast, its because of how we rose in the first place. Buzz was very good at bringing in transfers and jucos but missed on most of his HS recruits. Transfers and jucos are great ways to bring in immediate boosts in talent. Most teams use them to fill in holes in their teams. Buzz built his team with them and tried to fill holes with high school players. This strategy worked for years but is exhausting. Buzz was constantly having to reload and find new pieces because jucos and transfers don't have four years of eligibility. Fortunately, Buzz was great at reloading and was a bit of a mad genius as a coach. But eventually it caught up with him. Buzz missed on several recruits and had some unexpected transfers and didn't have the base of high school talent to fall back on. Essentially, Buzz ran out of rope. So when we fell and Buzz took off, Wojo had to do almost a complete rebuild.

And this is EXACTLY what Wojo should be doing...mixed in with his HS recruiting(he's great at that). Yet, he doesn't even seem to look at any Jucos whatsoever...had he brought in a JUCO or two this year, this team may very well be in the tourney and there wouldn't be the worry about "what happens two years from now when these JUCOS are gone", because Wojo does have a much better ability to recruit, and the program would have barely missed a beat had he used this approach. I don't get it...it's the same problem I have with Ted Thompson and Free agency, the fact that he ignores it year after year after year is the reason the Packers never go far in the playoffs. Why would you continually ignore an important tool available to improve your team. That's negligent if you ask me. Same with Wojo, JUCOS are exactly what this program has needed the last couple of years to keep it from "bottoming" out. Assuming you added the "right ones" and they made an immediate impact, we would have been talking about MU's seed this time last year and this year rather than wondering if we have improved eough this year to make the NIT. Why ignore Jucos when they are there for this very reason...to fill in holes.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Well part of the reason is that the program doesn't seem to be as accepting of jucos as they were in the past. I'm not sure how exactly true this is, but my understanding is the university will only take players who have a reasonable chance to graduate before their eligibility expires. That takes out a lot of jucos.

But wojo has gone after some jucos, he just hasn't been successful. He also went after grad transfers to fill in the holes. Damion Lee or Shonn Miller would have cured a lot of what was ill about this team.  But he missed there too. Like I said, this route is exhausting and dangerous because once you miss your man, you are exposed.

If we had landed a stud juco or grad transfer and still had these results, I would share your concerns. But we didn't. Frankly, Wojo overachieved with what he had to work with.

[ChicosBailBonds]

And this is EXACTLY what Wojo should be doing...mixed in with his HS recruiting(he's great at that). Yet, he doesn't even seem to look at any Jucos whatsoever...had he brought in a JUCO or two this year, this team may very well be in the tourney and there wouldn't be the worry about "what happens two years from now when these JUCOS are gone", because Wojo does have a much better ability to recruit, and the program would have barely missed a beat had he used this approach. I don't get it...it's the same problem I have with Ted Thompson and Free agency, the fact that he ignores it year after year after year is the reason the Packers never go far in the playoffs. Why would you continually ignore an important tool available to improve your team. That's negligent if you ask me. Same with Wojo, JUCOS are exactly what this program has needed the last couple of years to keep it from "bottoming" out. Assuming you added the "right ones" and they made an immediate impact, we would have been talking about MU's seed this time last year and this year rather than wondering if we have improved eough this year to make the NIT. Why ignore Jucos when they are there for this very reason...to fill in holes.

He looked, he didn't land them.  Again, why are you not paying attention? Multiple options were pursued. 

[MU82]

I don't get why no one seems concerned that three years in to this new BE and MU hasn't even come close to winning it.

I'm not concerned because it's basketball, not real life.

I have real concerns about real things that really affect me and my family.

I love Marquette basketball, but it's a diversion. I want us to be great again, but I have far bigger concerns. Most grown-ups do.

[ChicosBailBonds]

That description of a winner is met by maybe 5 schools in the country.  It hasn't been seen at MU in 30 years.  It was a special time, with a special coach, and not near the competition as there is today.  Duplicating what we had in the 1970's fails to recognize college basketball realities of today.

That doesn't mean we can't be very good, but I tire of people saying "we're just settling" for status quo.  Think back what it was like, the market conditions, etc, when MU was one of the top 5 programs in the country and what has changed.

Hell, UCLA isn't close to what they used to be either.  IU isn't.  NC State isn't.  Every game is on TV now.  The scholarships are reduced per team, but the number of D1 teams has grown by more than 100 since then.  Schools like Gonzaga one wouldn't dream of being very good, let alone a number of others. 

[WarriorFan]

Youth.   Lack of size beyond Henry and Luke.   Lack of width.  Second year coach.
Take 'Marquette' off the jersey.     Now imagine a generic team with the following set up.   4 players back from a 13 win team.  Only two of them starters.  The one upperclass incoming transfer never played in two years at his prior school.  No seniors.  10 scholarship players.   Only 3 taller than 6'6.    Virtually all PG minutes played by freshman, one of whom never played PG in high school.  No deadeye 3 pt shooters.     In a conference featuring 3 different teams that have been in the top 10 this season, one of whom was #1.     A second year head coach surrounded by no head coaching experience.   Best player is a freshman.   Arguably the second best player is a freshman (some debate, I grant you).    With an increasingly apathetic student body and fanbase that doesn't turn out and support its team through thick and thin, so with a diminishing home court advantage. 

What should the record of that generic team be?

The aforementioned reasons were why I predicted a 14 win season.   Henry, Haanif, and Traci were all better than I expected.    That is what is, not what I wish was.

Exactly the point I wanted to make.  Wojo inherited an empty cupboard.  Some house cleaning was expected because players want to play for people who are committed to them and have made them progress.  So guys left.  No surprise.  Of the remaining guys 2 have sustained major injuries and have been up and down since.  Another (Sandy) was a "marginal" recruit for Big East but was better than any available alternative.  The other guy (JJJ) is a great athlete with huge potential but a slow learner with a badly broken jumper.  Wojo went out and got 2 stellar recruits and 2 more contributors and 2 projects.  Rebuilding is a 3-5 year process.  I'm willing to be patient. 

[bilsu]

For those suggesting that if MU doesn't significantly improve next year Wojo's seat will be very warm, I can tell you with 100% certainty that Wojo's seat is the furthest thing from any kind of warmth at all.

MU gave him an extension Mid-season. What fans think is often irrational. It is what the president and athletic director think. Crean would of been gone at Indiana, if it was the fans decision.

[CTWarrior]

My basic take on the season is that while we were not as good as my original guess, I realized how dumb that guess was after watching us for about 10 minutes. 

There was a lot to like about this season.  I think Haanif and Traci are going to be four year stalwarts.  JjJ was incredibly efficient down the stretch.  Hopefully he can carry it forward to a full season next year.  Luke's low post moves and particularly his hook shots became very reliable as the season wore on.  He is a nice low post scorer, if not the defender and rebounder you want in the middle.  Henry was unspectacularly spectacular, if you get my meaning.  He's not the flashy, I can't believe he just did that kind of player that most lottery pick stud freshman are, but he was a brutally efficient defensive rebounder and just a solid all around player.  His defense improved a great deal over the course of the season, too.  The team steadily got better as the season wore on, the last game notwithstanding.

The biggest disappointment to me was Duane, who was the one guy I liked watching last season.  I was hoping he'd take another step forward, but he treaded water at best.  I like that he is willing to take the big shot and be the man when push comes to shove, though.  Anim looks like an athlete, but it was a wasted season for him as we don't know what we have, Wally is just another guy (and right now the leading candidate for our PF next year?), and Heldt looks like a guy in need of a redshirt season.

I am not as optimistic as many of you for the next couple seasons, however.  I can't see how we will be better next year without Henry.  I get everyone is a year older and better and we've got a few new guys coming in, but we are woefully short on big people.  Our two big men are a foul-prone guy who is an adequate at best rebounder and an unproven guy who didn't remotely resemble a guy who you could expect to be in your rotation next year.  We don't have a PF.  We are going to be small and thin again.  We need to get at least two 6-8 or better athletic big guys into the mix.  If Wojo could pull at least one of those out of his hat for next season, it would make a huge difference.

[GGGG]

My sentiments exactly, yet so many MU fans seem okay with the status quo.

No.  Actually NO ONE would be satisfied if this season were the status quo.  Not one single Marquette fan.

However many believe that there has been progress.  It maybe slow and steady, but it's progress.  If that's not good enough for some people, then fine.  But what do you want Marquette to do?  Fire Wojo?  Fire his staff?  Give him a stern talking to?  Wojo knows this isn't good enough. 

And most believe that ranting about how far we have fallen since winning the OBE and getting to the E8 DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Not one bit of good can be had for getting angry on a message board about it.  So why bother?

[THRILLHO]

Well part of the reason is that the program doesn't seem to be as accepting of jucos as they were in the past. I'm not sure how exactly true this is, but my understanding is the university will only take players who have a reasonable chance to graduate before their eligibility expires. That takes out a lot of jucos.

But wojo has gone after some jucos, he just hasn't been successful. He also went after grad transfers to fill in the holes. Damion Lee or Shonn Miller would have cured a lot of what was ill about this team.  But he missed there too. Like I said, this route is exhausting and dangerous because once you miss your man, you are exposed.

If we had landed a stud juco or grad transfer and still had these results, I would share your concerns. But we didn't. Frankly, Wojo overachieved with what he had to work with.

And (this is also related to your earlier point) Buzz is from that world and has tons of connections while Wojo seems much better connected to the traditional high school recruiting world (and already recruits WI outside of Milwaukee better than Buzz ever did). Even in the cases where Wojo wants a JUCO that meets the standards he will probably not be as successful as Buzz would be because that's just not his strength. I'm sure the people who hired him are aware of that tradeoff and are probably satisfied with it even though it likely meant an extra year in the rebuild.

[muguru]

No.  Actually NO ONE would be satisfied if this season were the status quo.  Not one single Marquette fan.

However many believe that there has been progress.  It maybe slow and steady, but it's progress.  If that's not good enough for some people, then fine.  But what do you want Marquette to do?  Fire Wojo?  Fire his staff?  Give him a stern talking to?  Wojo knows this isn't good enough. 

And most believe that ranting about how far we have fallen since winning the OBE and getting to the E8 DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Not one bit of good can be had for getting angry on a message board about it.  So why bother?

Hell, I'd be satisfied with getting in the tourney every single year...that should be the goal, and the benchmark. People act like that is a "pipedream" yet forget just 4 years ago, that was the norm for MU. It wasn't like that was a thing 10-15 years ago. Regardless of circumstances(losing a coach etc), MU should have NEVER fallen to the point where two years in a row(maybe three now), where they don't even make the postseason. That was what happened during the Dukiet days. Deane was satisfied with NIT berths every year. MU had gone to the tourney 7 straight years, that was becoming the norm, and it still should be. For those of you that thinks that's "outrageous" to expect that, look at how many programs sustain that level...Hell look no further than Madison...It sucks, but they are at that level...how can they do it, and MU can't?? MU spends way more on their BB program than UW does. Gonzaga does it, there are many others.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I am not as optimistic as many of you for the next couple seasons, however.  I can't see how we will be better next year without Henry.  I get everyone is a year older and better and we've got a few new guys coming in, but we are woefully short on big people.  Our two big men are a foul-prone guy who is an adequate at best rebounder and an unproven guy who didn't remotely resemble a guy who you could expect to be in your rotation next year.  We don't have a PF.  We are going to be small and thin again.  We need to get at least two 6-8 or better athletic big guys into the mix.  If Wojo could pull at least one of those out of his hat for next season, it would make a huge difference.

I agree with this 100%.  I am bullish on the player development for next year but unless we get another big man, I am preparing myself for a very similar season as this year (up/down - NIT & knocking on the door for NCAA).  I also hope Wojo grabs an experienced coach to help manage the sideline. 

Next year is important in my mind for Wojo -- before everyone jumps on me, I don't think its get to the tourney or get fired - but I do think the program only has so many years it go without the tourney before the financial implications start to hurt.   

[muguru]

And (this is also related to your earlier point) Buzz is from that world and has tons of connections while Wojo seems much better connected to the traditional high school recruiting world (and already recruits WI outside of Milwaukee better than Buzz ever did). Even in the cases where Wojo wants a JUCO that meets the standards he will probably not be as successful as Buzz would be because that's just not his strength. I'm sure the people who hired him are aware of that tradeoff and are probably satisfied with it even though it likely meant an extra year in the rebuild.

Then shouldn't he have someone on the staff that is connected to the JUCO world?? Same with internationally...that's an untapped market, that MU has rarely explored seriously.

[GGGG]

Hell, I'd be satisfied with getting in the tourney every single year...that should be the goal, and the benchmark. People act like that is a "pipedream" yet forget just 4 years ago, that was the norm for MU. It wasn't like that was a thing 10-15 years ago. Regardless of circumstances(losing a coach etc), MU should have NEVER fallen to the point where two years in a row(maybe three now), where they don't even make the postseason. That was what happened during the Dukiet days. Deane was satisfied with NIT berths every year. MU had gone to the tourney 7 straight years, that was becoming the norm, and it still should be. For those of you that thinks that's "outrageous" to expect that, look at how many programs sustain that level...Hell look no further than Madison...It sucks, but they are at that level...how can they do it, and MU can't?? MU spends way more on their BB program than UW does. Gonzaga does it, there are many others.

I agree with you that NCAA bids should be the norm for this program.  I also agree with you that Marquette should be in the hunt for BE conference titles.  Neither has happened yet.  So you can either get mad about what happened in the past, or look at signs that it will be better in the future.

As someone who lived through both Dukiet and Deane, I know it can and will get better.

[connie]

He made a veiled threat. Actually, it wasn't even veiled. I want to know what he will do if the Warriors don't meet his specific standards by his specific deadline.

First, it wasn't a threat.  You need to step away from the internet and relax.  What would I even have to threaten?  That I won't renew my season tickets?  I am sure MU will be crushed.  No, about the most this means is I might miss one or two 8:20 tip off games on a Tuesday night next year because I admit I am not as inspired watching a questionable NIT team play the #273 RPI opponent as I am watching an NCAA team fight for a conference championship.  Go ahead and question my fan status. I have far bigger concerns than my college basketball hobby. Life will go on and I will still pull for the Warriors.

Second, I don't see either a "specific" set of criteria or a "specific" timeline.  I would like "some obvious growth" next year.  Let's start with better ball control. I expect as the team matures we see this.  I don't think that is unreasonable.  I would like to see some better in game adjustments by both the players and the staff.  Again, I don't think this unreasonable. 

I see a young team with a lot of talent that plays well for stretches.  I would like those stretches to be longer, and yes, I am frustrated that even though they are young they were unable to put together those longer stretches this year.  Is that unrealistic?  Maybe.  In that case I must be the first fan to have unrealistic expectations of my team. 

Finally,  I imagine that if my arbitrary demands and timelines are not met that I will find a fan message board and post messages about how, whether it is fair to the team or not, I was disappointed and frustrated in their overall performance, and how I want to see some improvement in 2017-18.

So now you know what I will do, or more accurately, won't do if there is no improvement next year.  I am sorry you felt threatened by my earlier comment.  That was not my intent. Hope this makes it better.

[jsglow]

I agree with this 100%.  I am bullish on the player development for next year but unless we get another big man, I am preparing myself for a very similar season as this year (up/down - NIT & knocking on the door for NCAA).  I also hope Wojo grabs an experienced coach to help manage the sideline. 

Next year is important in my mind for Wojo -- before everyone jumps on me, I don't think its get to the tourney or get fired - but I do think the program only has so many years it go without the tourney before the financial implications start to hurt.

They are already starting to hurt.  I think most of us are on the same page.  And I totally agree with you that Wojo needs a credible big next year.  Apart from Markus, his recruiting suggests he understands that too.

Let's give him some credit here.  Last year about now he was in desperate need of a PG after Nick flamed out.  I think most of us would agree that he did a very good job of filling that need.  Sure there were growing pains with Traci but there's every reason to believe that he'll be a quality contributor for 4 years and a good enough PG to dance with.  If next year's PF (let's speculate a Frosh) plays 25 minutes, grabs 6-7 boards, puts in 6 garbage rebound points and plays decent D we'll be fine.  And I think Wojo can get that done.  We win 20 this year after beating St. John's.  We'll match or exceed that next year assuming the #4 isn't a black hole.

BTW. Next year Matt is Luke's true backup.  He'll play a solid 8-10 minutes and play them fundamentally well.  Wally will run 10-15 at the #4 (hopefully) with rebounding and hustle as his mantra.  And our guard rotation will be Top 40 worthy right out of the box.  Who knows if that'll be enough. 

[MUfan12]

I agree with you that NCAA bids should be the norm for this program.  I also agree with you that Marquette should be in the hunt for BE conference titles.  Neither has happened yet.  So you can either get mad about what happened in the past, or look at signs that it will be better in the future.

As someone who lived through both Dukiet and Deane, I know it can and will get better.

And to add to that, it's incredibly rare to have extended NCAA streaks. MU made it 8 years in a row, only 6 programs currently have a streak longer than that. And Gonzaga could miss out this year, ending their streak.

6 out of 350. It sucks that one of them is our rival, but it's really hard to have 10+ consecutive years in the dance. I thought this year's team would have a chance, but it wasn't to be.