Providence Game Is Not The Most Important Game of The Season

[TallTitan34]

The most important game of the season is Villanova.  Every other conference game only moves the needle half a game.  If we win, we gain half a game on Nova.  If we lose, we lose half a game on Nova.

When we play Villanova if we win, we gain a full game on Nova.  If we lose, we lose a full game on Nova.  That is a two game swing in a single game.  I would have to say that is far and away the most important game of the season.

Luckily, I am not on the team so it doesn't matter if I look past Providence... which I am not doing because I think it will be a tough game on the road against a good defense.

That being said, let's win them all!

[Dish]

Beating Providence and Villanova in the next two would really put MU in the drivers seat. They'd be up 2 in the loss column with three to play (and of those three, two are at home). It ain't easy, but if MU wins the next two road games, barring injury, it's hard to imagine them not being BE regular season champs.

[TallTitan34]

Beating Providence and Villanova in the next two would really put MU in the drivers seat. They'd be up 2 in the loss column with three to play (and of those three, two are at home). It ain't easy, but if MU wins the next two road games, barring injury, it's hard to imagine them not being BE regular season champs.

Agreed. It would give us some wiggle room and allow us to lose one of the remaining games.

[brewcity77]

Beating Providence and Villanova in the next two would really put MU in the drivers seat. They'd be up 2 in the loss column with three to play (and of those three, two are at home). It ain't easy, but if MU wins the next two road games, barring injury, it's hard to imagine them not being BE regular season champs.

Win the next two and the engraver can start etching Marquette's name on the trophy.

[wadesworld]

Huh?  If Marquette loses to Providence and Nova beats Xavier this weekend that's a 1 game swing in the standings...

[TallTitan34]

Huh?  If Marquette loses to Providence and Nova beats Xavier this weekend that's a 1 game swing in the standings...

Ok and if Marquette beats Nova that's a two game swing...

2 > 1

[wadesworld]

Ok and if Marquette beats Nova that's a two game swing...

2 > 1

What? Math is not this hard.

We win, Nova doesn't. That gives us 0.5 games in the standings. Nova loses, we don't. That gives us 0.5 games in the standings. 0.5 + 0.5 = 1, not 2.

[TallTitan34]

If MU beats Nova you guarantee they lose. If Marquette beats Providence you have to rely on Xavier to beat Nova to gain ground.

What game would you rather win wades?  At Providence or at Villanova?  Pick one.

That's the most important game.

[GooooMarquette]

Our most important game of the season will be on April 8.

[wadesworld]

If MU beats Nova you guarantee they lose. If Marquette beats Providence you have to rely on Xavier to beat Nova to gain ground.

What game would you rather win wades?  At Providence or at Villanova?  Pick one.

That's the most important game.

Glad you backed off the 2 games in the standings thing.

You can't beat Nova when you're playing Providence. You don't get to pick 1 of 2 games to win. That's not how it works in sports. The biggest game is the next 1.

Nova smoked Xavier twice last year. Obviously Nova won the Big Eas...wait, that's right, Xavier won the Big East last year.

I'll choose to win the game in front of you every single time. Last time we had this discussion about Nova meaning so much before they were our next opponent we took an L after coming out flat. Had we not done that we'd have a nice 1.5 game cushion. As a result right now we still have no margin for error if we want an outright BE title.

[TallTitan34]

I won't back off the two game thing. Marquette plays tomorrow. Villanova doesn't. So we will only move half a game.   Yes I realize Nova will move half a game on Sunday but that's out of MUs control.

So you want to beat Providence and lose at Nova. Got it. Great decision right there.

[TallTitan34]

Personally I'd rather beat the team that is our only competition for a conference title but that's just me.

[brewcity77]

I won't back off the two game thing.

The real reason not to back off it is because beating Nova not only picks up a game in the standings but it also guarantees Marquette wins the tiebreaker. In terms of conference tourney seeding, it is 2 games.

[wadesworld]

I won't back off the two game thing. Marquette plays tomorrow. Villanova doesn't. So we will only move half a game.   Yes I realize Nova will move half a game on Sunday but that's out of MUs control.

So you want to beat Providence and lose at Nova. Got it. Great decision right there.

So riddle me this.  A head to head win is worth 2 games in the standings I guess?  So according to your math, Nova gained FOUR games on Xavier last year by virtue of their TWO head to head wins over them (2 head to head wins x 2 games in the standings per head to head win = 4, if my math is correct).  Villanova lost a total of 4 Big East games last season.  So, according to your math, it was mathematically impossible for Xavier to win an outright Big East title last year.  Yet...

Math and standings really aren't this hard.

Please quote where I said I want to lose to Villanova.  You're struggling here.  We play Providence tomorrow.  We can't beat Villanova this weekend.  I want to beat Providence, because that's the only team we can beat.  The beauty of sports is we don't have to choose 1 of 2 games to win.  We get an opportunity to win both.  And you can't win both without winning the first one.

[muguru]

Personally I'd rather beat the team that is our only competition for a conference title but that's just me.

Now Titan, I do NOT disagree with you at all here...HOWEVER, if MU fails to beat PC tomorrow(which would be a disaster), that take's A LOT of luster off the Nova game because..MU would then no longer control their own destiny to win the BE OUTRIGHT. That's what I want...I want the title outright. Co Champions of anything has never sat well with me in anything. One trophy, one Champion. That being said...if they win tomorrow and then win against Nova, it is for all intents and purposes...OVER.

[brewcity77]

Now Titan, I do NOT disagree with you at all here...HOWEVER, if MU fails to beat PC tomorrow(which would be a disaster), that take's A LOT of luster off the Nova game because..MU would then no longer control their own destiny to win the BE OUTRIGHT. That's what I want...I want the title outright. Co Champions of anything has never sat well with me in anything. One trophy, one Champion. That being said...if they win tomorrow and then win against Nova, it is for all intents and purposes...OVER.

Sure they would. Lose to Providence, beat Nova, MU would have 3 in the loss column and Nova would have 4.

Also, the reason THIS game is worth two is because of the tiebreaker. It's only worth that because we beat Nova already, so the two games combined are effectively worth 3 (1 each game, 1 bonus if either team sweeps. The reason Xavier won the league last year over Nova was because in games not against each other, Xavier went 15-1 and Nova went 12-4. They made up the 3 game margin. Had they won one fewer game, Nova would've been the 1-seed on basis of tiebreakers.

[wadesworld]

Sure they would. Lose to Providence, beat Nova, MU would have 3 in the loss column and Nova would have 4.

Also, the reason THIS game is worth two is because of the tiebreaker. It's only worth that because we beat Nova already, so the two games combined are effectively worth 3 (1 each game, 1 bonus if either team sweeps. The reason Xavier won the league last year over Nova was because in games not against each other, Xavier went 15-1 and Nova went 12-4. They made up the 3 game margin. Had they won one fewer game, Nova would've been the 1-seed on basis of tiebreakers.

Aka head to head games are not worth 2 games. Had Xavier won 1 less game they would've split the BE title and been the 2 seed. If head to head games are worth 2 games it'd be mathematically impossible for a team that lost 2 head to head matchups to win an outright title if the team they lost both head to head matchups to had a total of 4 losses.

[RushmoreAcademy]

The only ones that need to have the next game is the most important mentality are the coaches and players.
As fans we can look ahead to any and all games without consequence.
So please let's stop telling a message board not to look ahead.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

The next beer is the most important beer of the year.

[TallTitan34]

That is a two game swing in a single game. 

I didn't say it was worth two games (though as Brew pointed it out it is because of the tiebreaker) but that it is a two game swing.

When we play Nova we wil either pick up a full game or lose a full game. That is a two game swing.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

This belongs on scoops Mt. Rushmore of stupid back and forths.

[mileskishnish72]

The title of this thread is a perfect recipe for laying an egg in RI.

I've always laughed at the old sports adage "We'll play 'em one at a time" thinking what the hell are you going to do, play them two at a time? But playing them one at a time applies perfectly to our current situation. The job right now is Providence!

Hopefully, we'll take care of Nova as well but for all the one-game, two-game in the standings debate above, every game is important, none more so than the next, which is Prov.

[Lennys Tap]

If we lose to Providence and beat Villanova we'll be one game ahead of Villanova and own the tiebreaker for the #1 seed in the BET.

If we beat Providence and lose to Villanova we'll be be tied for first and the tiebreaker will be out of our control.

Of course beating Villanova is more important. No need to even discuss.

[Class71]

Entertaining thread. Much to do about nothing.

[MuMark]

If we lose to Providence and beat Villanova we'll be one game ahead of Villanova and own the tiebreaker for the #1 seed in the BET.

If we beat Providence and lose to Villanova we'll be be tied for first and the tiebreaker will be out of our control.

Of course beating Villanova is more important. No need to even discuss.

Agreed..... you obviously want to win both but if you have to choose one it's obvious.

Fortunately you don't have to choose