Providence Might....

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

...be a little worse than we originally thought.

https://twitter.com/KevinMcNamara33/sta ... 5565784064

Kevin McNamara
‏@KevinMcNamara33
It's a secret but heard Northeastern beat PC today by 15, led by 3 at half...Kyron Cartwright sat out w minor injury #PCFriars

It's a meaningless scrimmage and losing their PG is significant. But losing by 15 to Northeastern can't make Friar fans feel good.

[Herman Cain]

...be a little worse than we originally thought.

https://twitter.com/KevinMcNamara33/sta ... 5565784064

Kevin McNamara
‏@KevinMcNamara33
It's a secret but heard Northeastern beat PC today by 15, led by 3 at half...Kyron Cartwright sat out w minor injury #PCFriars

It's a meaningless scrimmage and losing their PG is significant. But losing by 15 to Northeastern can't make Friar fans feel good.

I figured since we beat Providence twice last year , we would probably beat them twice this year. So unfortunately , if Providence is truly sucking it doesn't change much of our trajectory from last year in my estimate.

[wadesworld]

I figured since we beat Providence twice last year , we would probably beat them twice this year. So unfortunately , if Providence is truly sucking it doesn't change much of our trajectory from last year in my estimate.

So from year to year we should just expect the results of our games with teams to remain the same despite the rosters of their teams and our teams vastly changing most years? Interesting take on it.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I figured since we beat Providence twice last year , we would probably beat them twice this year. So unfortunately , if Providence is truly sucking it doesn't change much of our trajectory from last year in my estimate.

I've been saying all summer that there is a significant gap between #7 and #8 in the conference. Some have challenged that, saying that Providence isn't that far behind at #8. Providence being bad this season is good for the conference IMHO. We have 7 teams worthy of tourney bid. Only way all 7 make it is if the bottom three lose a lot. The coaches actually picked Providence 9 and SJU 8. They might be correct.

Northeastern picked to finish 7th in the Colonial BTW. Again, meaningless scrimmage without one of their best players, but it certainly doesn't look good for the Friars.

[brewcity77]

I agree that there's a gap, but it may be between 8 and 9. I definitely think Providence is behind St. John's, though. Probably best case scenario for the league is for PC and DePaul to get absolutely shellacked by the other 8 teams. If everyone was getting 3-4 wins out of those frames, it increases the odds of teams getting the 9-10 wins they need to have a shot at postseason play.

[HoopsterBC]

I agree that there's a gap, but it may be between 8 and 9. I definitely think Providence is behind St. John's, though. Probably best case scenario for the league is for PC and DePaul to get absolutely shellacked by the other 8 teams. If everyone was getting 3-4 wins out of those frames, it increases the odds of teams getting the 9-10 wins they need to have a shot at postseason play.

After watching a non-physical type team Wojo put together, they will surprise a few teams and probably lose some as well.  St. Johns will be really physical and I am
sure Providence will be athletic as well.. But I can see a game we shot lights out and beat some better teams.

Markus Howard seems to be the shooter that MU has lacked for years and Rowsey can do it as well.  I thought he showed the most rust of the players coming back since he has not played in a game for a year.   He will be fine.  The question I have is that Wojo states he wants to play 9 players tops, who does not get time.  Cohen
adds some athleticism, not even sure who 10 is right now.  Heldt will play,  Carter and Rowsey will play,  Sam for sure, that leaves Duane and Cohen.  Duane looked
healthy yesterday.  It will be interesting.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Cohen is absolutely on the outside looking in right now. I think one of either Howard or Rowsey may see less minutes as well at some point during the season if we are getting abused by bigger guards.

[Marcus92]

Can't assume all 11 players stay healthy for all 31 games. At one point or another, someone's going to turn an ankle or come down with the flu. Wojo will have the luxury to rest players if they're not at 100%.

Players may take themselves out the lineup. If someone gets suspended for a game (for breaking a team rule or getting involved in a fight on the court), roster flexibility will come in handy.

Matchups will likely play a role, as well. If we're getting out rebounded, Wojo may play Hauser and Cohen more. Or he could stack the lineup with the best ball handlers if an opponent applies full-court pressure.

Beyond that, having competition between nine players at 4 positions throughout the season could be great for the team. (Think it's a pretty safe assumption that both Fischer and Heldt will play significant minutes.) Howard starting sends a message to Traci that playing the point isn't a lock. Every practice, he'll have to fight for time on the court during games. The same goes for the rest of the lineup.

Last season, Xavier had 10 players who appeared in at least 30 games, averaging between 7.0 and 30.6 mpg. But only 6 players appeared in every single game. I wouldn't be surprised if Wojo has something similar in mind for Marquette this year.

[GoldenDieners32]

It's a race for last this year between DePaul and providence

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It's a race for last this year between DePaul and providence

Make no mistake, Depaul is gonna be really bad this year. I think they will own last place.

I also think people are overhyping St. John's. Yes they brought in a lot of talent. But they will have the same issue we did last season. Lack of experience will keep them from being good. They will upset a few people but I think they are a 4-7 conference win team. Next season, they should be very dangerous.

[bilsu]

Cohen is absolutely on the outside looking in right now. I think one of either Howard or Rowsey may see less minutes as well at some point during the season if we are getting abused by bigger guards.

Cohen played pretty well yesterday. It seems to be a Cohen/Hauser combination when Fischer and Heldt were not in the game. Personally, I thought yesterday that the team would of been better if it left both Fischer and Heldt on the bench. However, MU did not really need size against Rockhurst so I would not project this feeling to the Vanderbilt game where size will be more important.

[Herman Cain]

So from year to year we should just expect the results of our games with teams to remain the same despite the rosters of their teams and our teams vastly changing most years? Interesting take on it.

I have said in many threads that Providence is worse than last year and we have a better team this year, but it will not help us improve our conference record at the margin in an opponent by opponent analysis, because we already beat Providence twice last year.

[brewcity77]

I also think people are overhyping St. John's. Yes they brought in a lot of talent. But they will have the same issue we did last season. Lack of experience will keep them from being good. They will upset a few people but I think they are a 4-7 conference win team. Next season, they should be very dangerous.

They are young, but not as young as they were last year. Yakwe, Sima, and Mussini have a year under their belts while Lovett was around the program last year. Ponds is a big addition. I don't think they'll be challenging for the postseason, but I think they'll beat some people they shouldn't and could be in that 6-8 win range. Not terribly far off your prediction, but I think they're clearly better than the Friars and Blue Demons and will steal some wins from teams further up the table.

[GoldenDieners32]

Cohen played pretty well yesterday. It seems to be a Cohen/Hauser combination when Fischer and Heldt were not in the game. Personally, I thought yesterday that the team would of been better if it left both Fischer and Heldt on the bench. However, MU did not really need size against Rockhurst so I would not project this feeling to the Vanderbilt game where size will be more important.

vandy has 2 bigs a 7'1 and 6'10