USA Today love for the basketball team

[lamont]

https://twitter.com/USATODAYsports/status/795694296557060096


I didnt think Howland did a very good job on the court last season- but he probably did as well as most could had because of the turd Sr's we had plus Horatio wearing him out about Malik. We got rid of the bad attitudes of the old regime and now some top notch recruits are on campus. Really looking forward to watching this team and see them grow from Nov to Feb. We should be an NIT team this year- an NCAA berth would be gravy.

Ready for tip off

[msbulldog]

Wow, wouldn't that be cool. Imagine that, getting no pre-season votes to getting in the Dance.

[msudawg1200]

Wow, wouldn't that be cool. Imagine that, getting no pre-season votes to getting in the Dance.

We actually got 14 votes in the AP poll.

[BrunswickDawg]

How far the SEC has fallen though. KY, A&M, UF, us, and Bama in a play in game. Guess the days of 7-9 SEC teams getting in are long gone.

I actually think Howland did a very good job. Those obstacles you mentioned could have completely sunk the team - especially the Malik situation - but they grew and got better as the season went on. If Howland had last year's team coming back minus Malik, I think they would make the NIT. Thankfully, that is not the case. I think we surprise a lot of people this season.

[Political Hack]

Howland is a good coach. He's a good recruiter. It was a great hire. We are going to be very good in 1-2 years, with an outside chance of being really good this year. I actually expect us to make the tournament, but I think we'll likely run into a level of competition we just haven't seen during the regular season really quickly. A 1st or 2nd round exit would still be a great year though and a huge stepping stone for this team. Making the tourney and losing helps young teams a lot. They'll be more prepared when they return.

[smootness]

How far the SEC has fallen though. KY, A&M, UF, us, and Bama in a play in game. Guess the days of 7-9 SEC teams getting in are long gone.

I actually think Howland did a very good job. Those obstacles you mentioned could have completely sunk the team - especially the Malik situation - but they grew and got better as the season went on. If Howland had last year's team coming back minus Malik, I think they would make the NIT. Thankfully, that is not the case. I think we surprise a lot of people this season.

For now, they definitely are. Several programs are recruiting better than they have, though - us, Auburn, Alabama. If Anderson can continue to improve Arkansas and Florida can gain some of its luster, then things could change within the next few years. But for right now, I'd say you enter the season expecting 3-5 teams to get in.

[thf24]

If this team is going to make the dance, it's going to have to grow up very fast. Maybe it was a product of fighting for minutes, but there was way too much selfish play and poor shot selection in the exhibition the other night, especially in the first half. Wasn't really a problem against Delta State, but playing that way against decent teams could get ugly. The talent is definitely there though. Even if it doesn't come together this year, next year should be one of our best historically.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Wonder if they have seen our OOC schedule?

[starkvegasdawg]

I would be ecstatic with a NIT birth and maybe get to play some postseason games in front of a home crowd.

[Dawg61]

Of course the days of 7-9 SEC teams getting in are gone. There's like 350 Division 1 teams now.

[smootness]

Of course the days of 7-9 SEC teams getting in are gone. There's like 350 Division 1 teams now.

That hasn't really changed much. The number of automatic bids that get in has gone up, but not by all that much. And most of the lower conferences are still just 1-bid leagues. There were 4 conferences that got 7 teams in last year.

[Dawg61]

That hasn't really changed much. The number of automatic bids that get in has gone up, but not by all that much. And most of the lower conferences are still just 1-bid leagues. There were 4 conferences that got 7 teams in last year.

It keeps going up and yet the tournament has only expanded by 4 spots over the last 30 years. How many D1 teams were there in 1984? In the last 30 years I'm going to say there's been roughly 100 teams added yet the tournament hasn't expanded really at all. Mix that into the power basketball conferences that have put more of an emphasis on basketball in the last ten years. Schools like Villanova, Wichita State, Butler, VCU, Gonzaga and on and on are locks every year for the tournament now when in 1985 they were more like bubble teams hoping to get in. Tournament needs to expand to 96 or 128 imo.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

The tourney definitely doesn't need to expand. It's hard enough finding quality teams to fill the back end of the tourney now.

[Dawg61]

The tourney definitely doesn't need to expand. It's hard enough finding quality teams to fill the back end of the tourney now.

Agree to disagree. The first two rounds are great and so are the final four in games. Give the top 32 seeds a bye and add 32 teams and replace the two days with the first four games with the first 32. There's already 4 teams waiting to see who they play and now it would be all top 32 teams waiting to see who they play. I think it'd be awesome!

[sleepy dawg]

The tourney definitely doesn't need to expand. It's hard enough finding quality teams to fill the back end of the tourney now.

Agreed... If anything, I would shrink the tourny. If you're going to make the tourny 120+ teams, you may as well just play a few exhibition games, then start the tournament with everybody included... Then everybody gets a trophy at the end.




USA Today love for the basketball team

They have us at an 11 seed??? And not even in the last 4 in group. That is very hard for me to believe, but it is somewhat encouraging. I won't get my hopes up until we're actually playing and winning games, but seeing this gives me a little hope.