Pre-BigEast Predictions

[Warrior of Law]

Now that the nonconference action is all but wrapped up, what are some reasonable expectations for this team?...I think they are good enough to win the league.  I think Pitt and G'town may have something to say, but MU is deeper and shooting the ball well enough to beat anyone.  In the spirit of semester break, here's my grading breakdown with regards to the NCAA predictions:

Lose 1st round: D
Win 1st round, lose second: C
Advance to Sweet Sixteen: AB
Anything after that: A

I think I'm a pretty fair grader...thoughts?

[🏀]

1.) Savannah State, Saturday, 1:00PM.

2.) What?

[77ncaachamps]

Those are his grades for the team based on how they might fare in this year's NCAA tourney.

Here are mine (of course, not taking into account possible future injuries, ineligibility, etc.):

Lose 1st round: F
Win 1st round, lose second: D
Advance to Sweet Sixteen: B-
Anything after that: A

[MarquetteDano]

I have never believed you can sum up an entire season just on the NCAA tournament.  Since everyone is giving grades, the grade should not just be based on the final.  There are many things to consider...

1) Maui Tournament:  B+

2) Non-Conference Schedule:  assuming we win out, A- (Wisconsin win, but Duke loss)

3) Big East Regular Season: ?

4) Big East Tournament: ?

5) Post Season: ?

  You may be able to weight the Post Season at 50-60% but it shouldn't be the whole grade.

[bilsu]

F would be not making the tournament at all.
Under Crean MU has lost the first round game 3 times including the last two with the current players who have not played well in NCAA.
first round loss C-
second round loss C+
third round loss B-
fourth round loss B+ this is what I am expecting baring a bad draw.
final four loss A

[farmdaddy]

Although I have no grades for my predictions in the post season, I have a strong feeling that we will perform better in the Big East than the "experts" predicted.

[chapman]

I have never believed you can sum up an entire season just on the NCAA tournament.  Since everyone is giving grades, the grade should not just be based on the final.  There are many things to consider...

1) Maui Tournament:  B+

2) Non-Conference Schedule:  assuming we win out, A- (Wisconsin win, but Duke loss)

3) Big East Regular Season: ?

4) Big East Tournament: ?

5) Post Season: ?

  You may be able to weight the Post Season at 50-60% but it shouldn't be the whole grade.

I like this perspective a lot.  It factors in how important things are to you and the team's performance.  It seems fun to weigh it out. Here's my go with it...

1) Maui Invitational (5%)
B.  Made the final, played Duke close.  Not making the final would have been a big disappointment though.

2) Non-Conference Schedule (10%)
A. (Assuming wins vs. Savannah State and FL-Gulf Coast in March) Not very exciting outside of Duke and Wisconsin.  But winning in the hated rival's house for the first time in a few years and making UWM quit were nice.  It could have been an A+ had we beaten Duke or played a couple tougher mid-majors or major conference teams to make the resume a little nicer.

3) Big East Season (25%)
Projected grades:
0-7 wins: F
8-9 wins: D
10-11 wins: C
12-13 wins: B
14+ wins: A
Of course it all depends on what games are won and lost and how the games are played.

4) Big East Tournament (10%)
Projected grades:
Missing the tournament: F
First-round exit: D
First-round win/bye, second-round exit: C
Second-round win, third-round exit: B
Third round win, championship game loss: A
Championship win: A+

Again, it depends on matchups, as well as expectations going into the tournament after the regular season ends.

5) Postseason (50%)
Projected grades:
No postseason: F-
NIT or CBI invite: F
NIT or CBI invite and title: D-
NCAA berth, first-round exit: D
NCAA berth, round of 32 exit: C
NCAA berth, Sweet 16 exit: B
NCAA berth, Elite 8 exit: A
NCAA berth, Final Four or Championship Game exit: A+
Winning it all: Automatic 100% for season.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I'd give us an A up to this point. As far as the rest of the season goes, if we win the Big East, the season gets an A. If we were to lose in the first round after a conference title, it might knock it down to a B+, but the season would have to be considered a success.

If we finish 3rd or 4th and lose in the first round, I'm giving it an F.

[4everwarriors]

Anything less than an NCAA Championship and I'm burning Crean a new one.