2017-2018 OOC Schedule

[Jay Bee]

Show of hands.  Any of you boys married?   I thought so.   

"If ur married you can speak up on topics u are ignorant on, but ol girl stuck w u"

[Newsdreams]

#marriedman   

28 years and counting....

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

28 years and counting....

49 days and counting 

[jsglow]

49 days and counting 

Been relegated to the couch yet?   

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Been relegated to the couch yet?   

Not yet. Is that a MUScoop best?

[GGGG]

Not yet. Is that a MUScoop best?

I have met been relegated to the couch. However we sleep apart as much as together because I'm a morning person and she's up til all hours.

[muguru]

https://twitter.com/MarquetteMBB/status/887070348423942145

[MU82]

I have met been relegated to the couch. However we sleep apart as much as together because I'm a morning person and she's up til all hours.

Good thing I'm there to keep her warm!

(Sorry, couldn't resist the standard I'm-sleeping-with-your-wife hilarity. Mrs. MU82 has put up with my hilarity for 34 years of wedded bliss.)

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

https://twitter.com/MarquetteMBB/status/887070348423942145

Really hoping for 1 of VCU/LSU/CAL in the first round. Gives us a likely quality neutral court win in the first round and gets us into the winner's bracket for 2 shots against quality teams (assuming they don't match WICH/MICH/ND together in the first round and no surprise upsets). Would love VCU. Both LSU and Cal could end up finishing outside the top 100 this season.

[brewcity77]

First round pairings should be announced in about an hour.

[4everwarriors]

Hawaiian time, hey?

[BM1090]

Marquette will play VCU according to Jon Rothstein

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Marquette will play VCU according to Jon Rothstein

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/887323251713691648

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Marquette will play VCU according to Jon Rothstein

Confirmed

https://twitter.com/MauiInv/status/887324892219273217

[The Lens]

From the Maui site:

The Maui Jim Maui Invitational today announced its 2017 Tournament bracket. The top half of the bracket features competitive tilts between Marquette and VCU, and Wichita State and California. The bottom half showcases Notre Dame facing Chaminade and Michigan taking on LSU as the eight programs vie for early-season bragging rights and the Wayne Duke championship trophy.

So we will play Cal / WSU in game two. 

[cheebs09]

Marquette will play VCU according to Jon Rothstein

A matchup of Shaka Smart's former schools. It's like an NCAA Tourney storyline.

[brewcity77]

And looks like we'll be the early game. Time to start getting plans in motion to get out of work early, if you're into that sort of thing.

[fjm]

Lame. No ND probably.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This was a good draw for us. VCU should be down this season and we should be able to win the game. But because they play in the A10 (which will be down this season) they will rack up a lots of wins which makes them a great opponent from an RPI standpoint. We should be able to beat them though a loss wouldn't be out of the question.

Wichita State is the best team in the tournament and they should run roughshod through everyone in the American not named Cincinnati. Its a likely loss for us, but a very high quality neutral court loss that we will have a chance to win. Assuming we get past VCU we should get a shot at Wichita State and 1 of Michigan/Notre Dame. If I had to guess I would say it will look like this:

VCU: Win
Wichita State: Loss
Michigan: Toss Up. Evenly matched with us on a nuetral court.

[brewcity77]

No question, the VCU game is the most important game on the schedule right now. Win and we play Wichita State and either Michigan or Notre Dame, all likely top-35 teams. Lose and we likely play Cal and LSU, who could both be sub-100.

That VCU game will have a big impact on our SOS and the number of quality opponents we play

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

No question, the VCU game is the most important game on the schedule right now. Win and we play Wichita State and either Michigan or Notre Dame, all likely top-35 teams. Lose and we likely play Cal and LSU, who could both be sub-100.

That VCU game will have a big impact on our SOS and the number of quality opponents we play

Uh oh. Cue Wadesworld in 3...2...1...

[PGsHeroes32]

Went just as I figured it would.

I'm happy. Woulda liked to avoid WSU to have a better shot at the finals but they will be a great opponent for our computer numbers should we play.

And VCU is a way better get then Cal or LSU

[brewcity77]

So...looking at VCU. They return their two leading scorers in JeQuan Lewis and Justin Tillman. Both of them are potential all-conference players in the A-10 and I expect should be enough to propel them to 20-25 wins. But after that...woof. They only have one other player on the roster that averaged 13+ mpg or 5+ ppg. 5 freshmen coming in, but none rated in the top-200 composite on 247. They lost three important seniors (Alie-Cox, Brooks, & Burgess) while also seeing two key players transfer out (Hamdy, Doughty).

The good news is that there's enough talent there to win games, but playing them early in the season means that talent likely won't have acclimated to the new system or the new pieces. They have a shot at a tourney berth because Dayton will be down and after Rhode Island there's a lot of parity for what should be 3-4 bids from that league. I see us as the favorite, though expect we'll end up with the loser of the ND/Michigan game because I can't see any way we get past that monster Wichita State team.

[brewcity77]

One bit of good news, if we manage to win our first two games, the second game is an 8:30 am local tip-off while our opponents will come from the 5:30 pm game. We should have about 9 more hours of rest if we make the final.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

VCU also brings in two transfers. They both put up monster numbers for terrible teams (Maine and Longwood). Hard to know how they'll translate to a higher level of competition.