18 Wins by February 6th

[BrunswickDawg]

Here is an interesting stat for you -

This season is only the 3rd time in program history that we have racked up 18 wins by the 6th of February.

The last time was 2011-2012 - on 2/6/12 we were 18-5 (#20 in the AP). We then went 3-5 down the stretch, 1 and done in the SEC and NIT,
and finished 21-12.

The only other time was 2003-2004 - on 2/6/04 we were 18-1 (#7 in the AP). We went 7-1 to finish the season, 1 and done in the SEC, and then 1-1 in the NCAA to finish 26-4.

We have 7 winnable games left on the schedule.

[VandelayIndustries]

Why is it every RPI website I look at it has us at 17-6?

[Bulldog1]

Because we played a D2 game, which doesn’t count for our rpi,

[Tbonewannabe]

Here is an interesting stat for you -

This season is only the 3rd time in program history that we have racked up 18 wins by the 6th of February.

The last time was 2011-2012 - on 2/6/12 we were 18-5 (#20 in the AP). We then went 3-5 down the stretch, 1 and done in the SEC and NIT,
and finished 21-12.

The only other time was 2003-2004 - on 2/6/04 we were 18-1 (#7 in the AP). We went 7-1 to finish the season, 1 and done in the SEC, and then 1-1 in the NCAA to finish 26-4.

We have 7 winnable games left on the schedule.

And we still have like the 10th youngest team in college basketball.

[Bully13]

And we still have like the 10th youngest team in college basketball.

I wonder how many of those 9 are either on the bubble or already "in".

[VandelayIndustries]

Because we played a D2 game, which doesn’t count for our rpi,

Gotcha thanks

[BrunswickDawg]

I wonder how many of those 9 are either on the bubble or already "in".

Teams younger than MSU - FAMU, Tennessee, Duke, Milwaukee, George Mason, Kansas, Morehead St., Rice, SIUE, UC Davis, Kentucky, La Tech.

Likely In - Duke (19-4), Kansas (19-5), Kentucky (17-7), Tennessee (18-5), UC-Davis (16-7, #1 in Big West ).
Bubble - MSU (18-6)
Everyone else is roughly .500 and below and won't be a factor.

[MarketingBully]

You sure Kansas is younger then us? They are led by a senior in Graham and Newman is a third year sophomore. They really only go seven deep and none of those guys are freshmen.

[BrunswickDawg]

You sure Kansas is younger then us? They are led by a senior in Graham and Newman is a third year sophomore. They really only go seven deep and none of those guys are freshmen.

I pulled it from CBS - https://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/roster-analysis?&_1:col_1=4

It goes by player age, not class. Kansas is 20.0, we are 20.1

[HossDawg97]

You sure Kansas is younger then us? They are led by a senior in Graham and Newman is a third year sophomore. They really only go seven deep and none of those guys are freshmen.

According to CBS Sports they are.

https://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/roster-analysis?&_1:col_1=4&_1:col_2=4

There are also several teams on this list that don't have the average age listed.

[Tbonewannabe]

Teams younger than MSU - FAMU, Tennessee, Duke, Milwaukee, George Mason, Kansas, Morehead St., Rice, SIUE, UC Davis, Kentucky, La Tech.

Likely In - Duke (19-4), Kansas (19-5), Kentucky (17-7), Tennessee (18-5), UC-Davis (16-7, #1 in Big West ).
Bubble - MSU (18-6)
Everyone else is roughly .500 and below and won't be a factor.

So 3 teams that get one and done type players, then Tennessee and UC Davis. Howland is doing a damn good job.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Teams younger than MSU - FAMU, Tennessee, Duke, Milwaukee, George Mason, Kansas, Morehead St., Rice, SIUE, UC Davis, Kentucky, La Tech.

Likely In - Duke (19-4), Kansas (19-5), Kentucky (17-7), Tennessee (18-5), UC-Davis (16-7, #1 in Big West ).
Bubble - MSU (18-6)
Everyone else is roughly .500 and below and won't be a factor.

Interesting stuff, Brunswick. I knew Tennessee was relatively young, but not that young.

I took at look at their roster to get a feel for their guys' experience. They have seven players that average over 20 minutes a game and that account for roughly 90% of their scoring and 80% of their rebounding. Among those seven dudes, there are four sophomores, two juniors, and one senior.

For comparison's sake, we've got eight guys who average 16 or more minutes a game and who account for roughly 83% of our scoring and 84% of our rebounding. Those eight dudes comprise three juniors (though X is only in his second active year under Howland), three sophomores, and two freshmen (I'm of course counting Ado as a freshman since this is his first year on the court).

Not having to rely on any freshmen is a probably big advantage to UT. But still, what Barnes is doing up there this year is really impressive, especially considering how mediocre his recruiting has been (three classes ranked 60th, 49th, and 55th).

Of course, to be fair, the state of UT basketball wasn't exactly in shambles upon his arrival. In the previous nine years before Barnes, UT made the NCAA tournament seven times (and the two other years they made the NIT). They went to four sweet sixteens in that span (including in the year before Barnes was hired) and one elite eight.

[BrunswickDawg]

So 3 teams that get one and done type players, then Tennessee and UC Davis. Howland is doing a damn good job.

And, that 1 and done talent has had a lot of the same issues we have had this year - primarily consistency. The difference is we played a softer early schedule, while they didn't.