Mens Hoops and March Madness

[Ari Gold]

I had this as a post but decided to thread it because it need to be ....


Its pretty amazing how we as a fan base are able to suck the ****ing life out of making it to the Dance for the first time in over a decade and the field hasn?t even been announced yet ..

Here is an idea:

Enjoy the next few weeks knowing we are playing meaningful games In March ..
Bottom line is no one knows what?s going to happen come the dance
Thats the beauty of college basketball . Im sure all of you honks had Loyola Chicago in the final 4 last year or USCe in the final four in 2017 ect...
Again this isnt ****ing football , where right now we can prob pencil in 3 or possible all 4 of the teams in the playoffs next year and its March

We might lose the first game , we may make it to the elite 8.

So either enjoy the ride the next few weeks. If you dont give a **** or want to bitch or complain about losing 2 road games agaisnt 2 quad 1 opponents , or I dont like CBH or I hate watching this team play , or whatever ..take that shit somewhere else and let the few on here that enjoy March madness and us finally being apart of it enjoy it .

[msstate7]

If you say anything short of we are a lock to be a sweet 16 team, you start cursing. Here's a news flash... you can enjoy being a tournament team and still have a realistic view of what our team is and isn't.

ETA... nice thread lock on other thread. Take a shot at someone and lock it. You so bad

[Ari Gold]

Also last night was an indication Of how crazy college hoops can be .
Wake Forrest a 24 point dog goes into Cameron Indoor and loses to Duke by 1 and should have won the game

[Ari Gold]

If you say anything short of we are a lock to be a sweet 16 team, you start cursing. Here's a news flash... you can enjoy being a tournament team and still have a realistic view of what our team is and isn't.

ETA... nice thread lock on other thread. Take a shot at someone and lock it. You so bad

See once again you run your mouth at bullshit. I didn’t lock that thread

[msstate7]

Also last night was an indication Of how crazy college hoops can be .
Wake Forrest a 24 point dog goes into Cameron Indoor and loses to Duke by 1 and should have won the game

Duke is not good without Zion. They're a top 20 team, nowhere near top 5

[Ari Gold]

If you say anything short of we are a lock to be a sweet 16 team, you start cursing. Here's a news flash... you can enjoy being a tournament team and still have a realistic view of what our team is and isn't.

ETA... nice thread lock on other thread. Take a shot at someone and lock it. You so bad

Wow it took one post ,and shocker it was from you, to make a negative post ... it took you 1 minute to sabotage a thread..
All I am saying is enjoy the ****ing ride..

[msstate7]

Wow it took one post ,and shocker it was from you, to make a negative post ...
All I am saying is enjoy the ****ing ride..

How is that negative? Anything short of this is negative here...

https://i.postimg.cc/NMhQx2hH/27-D8-E109-FF90-4-AA2-B958-E0-F2-D8-CFA173.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Ari Gold]

How is that negative? Anything short of this is negative here...

https://i.postimg.cc/NMhQx2hH/27-D8-E109-FF90-4-AA2-B958-E0-F2-D8-CFA173.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

And you wonder why half the board thinks you the biggest bag on ED.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Duke is not good without Zion. They're a top 20 team, nowhere near top 5

Wouldn't the oddsmakers factor in Zion not playing?

[smootness]

Our basketball team is really weird right now, there's no getting around it. On the one hand, yes, it's definitely exciting that we'll actually be playing real games in the Tournament again. I don't think we'll remember until the time comes just how exciting that is.

On the other hand, I've seen nothing from us that makes me think we might beat someone legitimately good. That's not to say it can't happen, of course it can. But even some of our 'worse' teams, on paper or by seeding, in the past gave me more hope we could take someone down. Teams like the 05 team that still had Roberts and Frazier and Power and Harper or the 08 team with Rhodes, Gordon, Stewart, Hansbrough, and Varnado.

Now, maybe the relative strength of the SEC now blinds me to how good the wins of those teams actually were compared to this year's team. It's certainly possible I'm being pessimistic on this team while I was optimistic on those. But I can't deny the way it feels to me. I just go into games against any good team assuming we will lose...and then we always lose.

It's just a weird year. Everyone should be (and will be) excited about being in the Tournament. But you can't fault someone for not being head over heels for this team. And again, once the time comes, you'll see everybody's excitement level rise as we remember just how it feels.

[msstate7]

Wouldn't the oddsmakers factor in Zion not playing?

I'm sure they're banking on him being back assuming you're talking future bet. Duke will not win it without him. I don't think they'll win it period though... I'm going with Virginia.

[Ari Gold]

Our basketball team is really weird right now, there's no getting around it. On the one hand, yes, it's definitely exciting that we'll actually be playing real games in the Tournament again. I don't think we'll remember until the time comes just how exciting that is.

On the other hand, I've seen nothing from us that makes me think we might beat someone legitimately good. That's not to say it can't happen, of course it can. But even some of our 'worse' teams, on paper or by seeding, in the past gave me more hope we could take someone down. Teams like the 05 team that still had Roberts and Frazier and Power and Harper or the 08 team with Rhodes, Gordon, Stewart, Hansbrough, and Varnado.

Now, maybe the relative strength of the SEC now blinds me to how good the wins of those teams actually were compared to this year's team. It's certainly possible I'm being pessimistic on this team while I was optimistic on those. But I can't deny the way it feels to me. I just go into games against any good team assuming we will lose...and then we always lose.

It's just a weird year. Everyone should be (and will be) excited about being in the Tournament. But you can't fault someone for not being head over heels for this team. And again, once the time comes, you'll see everybody's excitement level rise as we remember just how it feels.

No one is saying pencil us in for the final four, Hell we might lose in the first round ... and going back to that 2008 team they were 9-7 in league play , the SEC was very weak, and the only reason we made it to dance was we won the SEC championship . And lost in round 1

[missouridawg]

I had this as a post but decided to thread it because it need to be ....


Its pretty amazing how we as a fan base are able to suck the ****ing life out of making it to the Dance for the first time in over a decade and the field hasn?t even been announced yet ..

Here is an idea:

Enjoy the next few weeks knowing we are playing meaningful games In March ..
Bottom line is no one knows what?s going to happen come the dance
Thats the beauty of college basketball . Im sure all of you honks had Loyola Chicago in the final 4 last year or USCe in the final four in 2017 ect...
Again this isnt ****ing football , where right now we can prob pencil in 3 or possible all 4 of the teams in the playoffs next year and its March

We might lose the first game , we may make it to the elite 8.

So either enjoy the ride the next few weeks. If you dont give a **** or want to bitch or complain about losing 2 road games agaisnt 2 quad 1 opponents , or I dont like CBH or I hate watching this team play , or whatever ..take that shit somewhere else and let the few on here that enjoy March madness and us finally being apart of it enjoy it .

I, for one, can’t wait to finally get to watch us in March Madness while I’m in Vegas. I started an annual trip there about 7 years ago with some friends. It’s going to be very fun to finally get to see us play in it.

[smootness]

No one is saying pencil us in for the final four, Hell we might lose in the first round ... and going back to that 2008 team they were 9-7 in league play , the SEC was very weak, and the only reason we made it to dance was we won the SEC championship . And lost in round 1

That was 09 that it took us winning the SECT to get in. We were an 8 seed in 08, that was the tornado year.

I'm not getting onto people who are excited, I'm just saying we shouldn't get on to people who aren't yet. It's not a mystery as to why people aren't excited. Watching this team a lot of times leads to a lack of excitement, because this team just isn't exciting to watch and they lose to good teams pretty much every time. So it's hard to get a lot of momentum going.

But again, give it time. Everyone will be excited in 2 weeks, I promise.

[tcdog70]

I am amazed at how well we are doing considering
1. LP has lost His MOJO
2. Holman is a matador
3. Little Spoon is gone
4. Ado can't catch it
5.and we are playing 2 freshmen.

all things considered this is a great year.

[Ari Gold]

I, for one, can’t wait to finally get to watch us in March Madness while I’m in Vegas. I started an annual trip there about 7 years ago with some friends. It’s going to be very fun to finally get to see us play in it.

Boom... see that wasnt hard was it.

[Ari Gold]

I am amazed at how well we are doing considering
1. LP has lost His MOJO
2. Holman is a matador
3. Little Spoon is gone
4. Ado can't catch it
5.and we are playing 2 freshmen.

all things considered this is a great year.

I think CBH is also doing a really good job of limiting Perry’s minutes as much as he can. That freshman wall is a bitch when you are depending upon as much as he is right now

[sleepy dawg]

I had this as a post but decided to thread it because it need to be ....


Its pretty amazing how we as a fan base are able to suck the ****ing life out of making it to the Dance for the first time in over a decade and the field hasn?t even been announced yet ..

Here is an idea:

Enjoy the next few weeks knowing we are playing meaningful games In March ..
Bottom line is no one knows what?s going to happen come the dance
Thats the beauty of college basketball . Im sure all of you honks had Loyola Chicago in the final 4 last year or USCe in the final four in 2017 ect...
Again this isnt ****ing football , where right now we can prob pencil in 3 or possible all 4 of the teams in the playoffs next year and its March

We might lose the first game , we may make it to the elite 8.

So either enjoy the ride the next few weeks. If you dont give a **** or want to bitch or complain about losing 2 road games agaisnt 2 quad 1 opponents , or I dont like CBH or I hate watching this team play , or whatever ..take that shit somewhere else and let the few on here that enjoy March madness and us finally being apart of it enjoy it .

I appreciate the post Ari. I agree. It gets tiresome that I can't even come here and share with others my appreciation of the best team we've had in the past decade. For some reason everybody wants to compare this team to the best 1 or 2 teams we've ever had at MSU instead of just being able to appreciate this team for what it is... A pretty good tournament team and the first opportunity to see Mississippi State mens basketball win a bunch of games in a season in forever.

I get that many of you don't think we're a sweet 16 team. Why is it necessary to make that post after anything positive is said about this team? If anyone says anything good at all about this team someone follows it up with the fact that we just don't look that good and we're not a sweet 16 team like all those other teams we've had go to the sweet 16. By saying that you're basically saying we're not the 2nd best team we've ever had.... well no sh*t.

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

Great Post, Ari.

I don't like the militant wing of our fanbase that thinks that if we don't make the Sweet 16 the season is a total wash.

Making the tournament is a big deal for a program like Mississippi State. Hell, we have only been there 10 times ever. We have been playing basketball for 110 years. We are on track to where we should be. We are going to make the tournament, and anything can happen from there. I am simply ready to be excited watching our team play in March Madness- It's the best sporting event of the entire year.

Lastly, we have a good core coming back next year. Perry and Woodard are going to be hard to deal with in future. We have a solid core coming back, and I am expecting to have another solid season next year.

[msstate7]

Great Post, Ari.

I don't like the militant wing of our fanbase that thinks that if we don't make the Sweet 16 the season is a total wash.

Making the tournament is a big deal for a program like Mississippi State. Hell, we have only been there 10 times ever. We have been playing basketball for 110 years. We are on track to where we should be. We are going to make the tournament, and anything can happen from there. I am simply ready to be excited watching our team play in March Madness- It's the best sporting event of the entire year.

Lastly, we have a good core coming back next year. Perry and Woodard are going to be hard to deal with in future. We have a solid core coming back, and I am expecting to have another solid season next year.

Assuming we find a pg and perry is back, we'll be much better

[MadDawg]

I appreciate the post Ari. I agree. It gets tiresome that I can't even come here and share with others my appreciation of the best team we've had in the past decade. For some reason everybody wants to compare this team to the best 1 or 2 teams we've ever had at MSU instead of just being able to appreciate this team for what it is... A pretty good tournament team and the first opportunity to see Mississippi State mens basketball win a bunch of games in a season in forever.

I get that many of you don't think we're a sweet 16 team. Why is it necessary to make that post after anything positive is said about this team? If anyone says anything good at all about this team someone follows it up with the fact that we just don't look that good and we're not a sweet 16 team like all those other teams we've had go to the sweet 16. By saying that you're basically saying we're not the 2nd best team we've ever had.... well no sh*t.

Taking a shit on the basketball team for not living up to expectations is a long held tradition on MSU message boards.

[BB30]

Taking a shit on the basketball team for not living up to expectations is a long held tradition on MSU message boards.

What were your expectations for an NIT team coming back the following year? Were you expecting to be a 1 or 2 seed?

I think a major problem with our fan base in most sports is an unrealistic expectation of what that particular team should do. When you have unrealistic expectations it is hard to get excited about a generally positive thing. This team had the same up and down game last year. Yes, we added some quality freshman but we didn't add a Zion that would come in and immediately take us to the next level.

This is another good building block year for our basketball program. If yall will sit back and enjoy Howland you won't be disappointed with our basketball program over the next several years.

I am not saying we shouldn't have high expectations, I am saying we should have realistic expectations that improve incrementally over time as a program continues to improve. If we had been to several NCAAT over the last few years and this became a trend like it did with Stans then yes, getting mad would be in order.

[sleepy dawg]

What were your expectations for an NIT team coming back the following year? Were you expecting to be a 1 or 2 seed?

I think a major problem with our fan base in most sports is an unrealistic expectation of what that particular team should do. When you have unrealistic expectations it is hard to get excited about a generally positive thing. This team had the same up and down game last year. Yes, we added some quality freshman but we didn't add a Zion that would come in and immediately take us to the next level.

This is another good building block year for our basketball program. If yall will sit back and enjoy Howland you won't be disappointed with our basketball program over the next several years.

I am not saying we shouldn't have high expectations, I am saying we should have realistic expectations that improve incrementally over time as a program continues to improve. If we had been to several NCAAT over the last few years and this became a trend like it did with Stans then yes, getting mad would be in order.

I just like to see our programs improving, and as long as we are improving and not falling backwards, I am pleased. That's what we are doing. We are slowly but surely getting better and I like that, and I'm happy with that.

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

Good thing is the message board posts have nothing to do with results on the court. I guess we should just eliminate all preseason hype, not sell any season tickets, and just hope for the best?

https://media.giphy.com/media/Ll2fajzk9DgaY/giphy.gif

I guess we can't be critical of the team and excited about making March Madness at the same time.

[MadDawg]

What were your expectations for an NIT team coming back the following year? Were you expecting to be a 1 or 2 seed?

I was hoping just to make the NCAAT. Just because I pointed out that shitting on the team for not living up to expectations is what our MB fanbase loves to do doesn't mean I was one.

[BB30]

Good thing is the message board posts have nothing to do with results on the court. I guess we should just eliminate all preseason hype, not sell any season tickets, and just hope for the best?

https://media.giphy.com/media/Ll2fajzk9DgaY/giphy.gif

I guess we can't be critical of the team and excited about making March Madness at the same time.

You certainly can be. Being critical and being down right ignorant of facts are two completely different things.

[msbulldog]

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm going to fill out 1 bracket with MSU going all the way to the national championship for the hell of it. By the way, is anybody going to do a ED group bracket?

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm going to fill out 1 bracket with MSU going all the way to the national championship for the hell of it. By the way, is anybody going to do a ED group bracket?

75-1 at local sportsbook last time I checked. Worth the $5

[msstate7]

75-1 at local sportsbook last time I checked. Worth the $5

I got it at 100-1 at Mandalay Bay in Vegas. We need to win it so I can go back

[Lord McBuckethead]

I am amazed at how well we are doing considering
1. LP has lost His MOJO
2. Holman is a matador
3. Little Spoon is gone
4. Ado can't catch it
5.and we are playing 2 freshmen.

all things considered this is a great year.

Well hell, when you put it that way it does sound pretty good.
And everyone is excited to play in March.
And most of us that watch this team know we can definitely play better than we have.
At the same time, it is also hard to get excited when we shit the bed when we play someone with a pulse this last two months.
Just doesn't blow my skirt up.
With that, I hope they win every game and I will continue to watch every week. But damn, I am allowed to bitch about sub-par performances.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Our mens basketball team has a bad culture. Like it or not we play hard when we want and thats the way its been all year. If you say anything else you are lying to yourself. We are talented but selfish entitled and soft. Sorry if this offends you

[BuckyIsAB****]

And yes Im excited to be in the tourney again and I should appreciate it more but you know what a toxic culture is when you see it and last night was just another example of it. We lock up a tourney seed and dont give a shit about anything. Holman quit caring when someone mentioned him getting drafted just like our team did after we beat Mizzou. And you cant just flip the switch back on and start playing well, it doesnt work that way in any sport

[DeputyDawg94]

It seems to me the complainers about the complainers complain more than the complainers. If we all had the same opinions on everything why have message boards? There are overly negative people and overly positive people and people in between. It takes all 3. It’s gotten to where I hate to try and read a thread that because it always winds up in a pissing contest between the 2 opposites instead of a decent conversation. It’s not hard to figure out. If you see a post by someone you know you ain’t gonna agree with either don’t read it or don’t respond to it. Some of y’all act like teenage drama queens. It really gets old to those of us who just want to discus MSU sports good or bad.

[CadaverDawg]

Jean approves of this thread.

[CadaverDawg]

It seems to me the complainers about the complainers complain more than the complainers. If we all had the same opinions on everything why have message boards? There are overly negative people and overly positive people and people in between. It takes all 3. It’s gotten to where I hate to try and read a thread that because it always winds up in a pissing contest between the 2 opposites instead of a decent conversation. It’s not hard to figure out. If you see a post by someone you know you ain’t gonna agree with either don’t read it or don’t respond to it. Some of y’all act like teenage drama queens. It really gets old to those of us who just want to discus MSU sports good or bad.

Amen man

[chef dixon]

I don't think anyone is really upset with the end result from this season, but I certainly understand the viewpoint of being tough to watch at times.

I went and looked through some team stats for this season and really found some interesting stuff. We are currently sitting at #23 in the NET, but we fall in the 100-250 range on so many statistics out of 353 teams.

Here are some negative of note that I have found particularly frustrating (slightly nitpicking I realize):

Turnovers per game: 13.4 (ranks 207th)
Turnovers % per possession: 18.9% (ranks 230th)
Opponents offensive rebounds per game: 8.9 (ranks 234th)
Opponents blocks per game: 3.6 (ranks 264th)
Opponents fouls committed per game: 16.8 (ranks 268th)

We don't do anything extremely well, but we are a pretty solid shooting team with most of those statistics in the 50-100 ranking range. The only two stats that are anywhere close to our NET ranking are steals per game (22nd) and blocks (11th) per game, but that's only translating to 100th in turnovers forced and 137th in opponent FG%.

[sleepy dawg]

I don't think anyone is really upset with the end result from this season, but I certainly understand the viewpoint of being tough to watch at times.

I went and looked through some team stats for this season and really found some interesting stuff. We are currently sitting at #23 in the NET, but we fall in the 100-250 range on so many statistics out of 353 teams.

Here are some negative of note that I have found particularly frustrating (slightly nitpicking I realize):

Turnovers per game: 13.4 (ranks 207th)
Turnovers % per possession: 18.9% (ranks 230th)
Opponents offensive rebounds per game: 8.9 (ranks 234th)
Opponents blocks per game: 3.6 (ranks 264th)
Opponents fouls committed per game: 16.8 (ranks 268th)

We don't do anything extremely well, but we are a pretty solid shooting team with most of those statistics in the 50-100 ranking range. The only two stats that are anywhere close to our NET ranking are steals per game (22nd) and blocks (11th) per game, but that's only translating to 100th in turnovers forced and 137th in opponent FG%.

That is really odd to me, and I verified you're right. How can you be ranked so high in steals and blocks but so low in turnovers forced.... not even margin, but forced. I figured steels would be the primary factor for turnovers followed by blocks. What else is there besides stepping out of bounds or offensive fouls? I figured those wouldn't be enough to sway it back that much. I'm sure I'm missing something major here.

[Ari Gold]

It seems to me the complainers about the complainers complain more than the complainers. If we all had the same opinions on everything why have message boards? There are overly negative people and overly positive people and people in between. It takes all 3. It’s gotten to where I hate to try and read a thread that because it always winds up in a pissing contest between the 2 opposites instead of a decent conversation. It’s not hard to figure out. If you see a post by someone you know you ain’t gonna agree with either don’t read it or don’t respond to it. Some of y’all act like teenage drama queens. It really gets old to those of us who just want to discus MSU sports good or bad.

Not calling you out, but this team has taken more shit and shown less support than any team that I can remeber for a squad that is locked into and has been locked into a tourney bid for a while now.
I personally don’t give a shit what an individual fan thinks of this team. It’s just embarrassing and laughable since all we have been asking for the last decade is for a team to be competitive and make it to the dance. Well we are there and it’s not enough ..
If an outsider was to only look at the support, tweets, message boards ect and not results on the court they would come to the conclusion that we might be a .500 team and no where near a tourney team

Just like IYOK stated..... We as a fan base bitched for a winner, we have a winning team and some still bitch about that..

[smootness]

Not calling you out, but this team has taken more shit and shown less support than any team that I can remeber for a squad that is locked into and has been locked into a tourney for a while now.
I personally don’t give a shit what an individual fan thinks of this team. It’s just embarrassing
It’s laughable since all we have been asking for the last decade is for a team to be competitive and make it to the dance.
Well we have that..
If an outsider was to only look at the support, tweets, message boards ect and not results on the court they would come to the conclusion that we might be a .500 team and no where near a tourney team

Just like IYOK stated..... We as a fan base bitched for a winner, we have a winning team and some still bitch about that..

I think the excitement came before the season that we finally had a winner. And we have won...but not at a great pace since the start of 2019. It's hard for people to realize that the SEC is much better in basketball as a whole now, so only a decent record in-conference doesn't seem great, and a lot of our good 'resume' wins just aren't exciting.

I'll ask this - since pretty much any talk on a message board among fans is going to be related to specific games, give me one game that should have led to a lot of excitement among the fanbase. Missouri? South Carolina? Squeaking one out @UGA? Arkansas? Alabama?

I haven't seen you guys posting like you're super excited or pumped, either. I get that some people are irrationally down on the team, but that will always be the case among some in a fanbase. The fact is, this team simply hasn't won a big, meaningful game in a while, and they've mixed in some disappointing play and never seem to quite do all they're capable of doing.

It's one thing to step back, see a 6 seed in the Tournament and say, we should all be thrilled. It's another to watch this team game in and game out and have to try to get excited about what is rarely exciting play. Again, this will change once the Tourney is actually here. Then, being in it and a decent seed will get people excited, just like you say it should. But right now, all we have are games that just don't get people into it.

[Ari Gold]

I think the excitement came before the season that we finally had a winner. And we have won...but not at a great pace since the start of 2019. It's hard for people to realize that the SEC is much better in basketball as a whole now, so only a decent record in-conference doesn't seem great, and a lot of our good 'resume' wins just aren't exciting.

I'll ask this - since pretty much any talk on a message board among fans is going to be related to specific games, give me one game that should have led to a lot of excitement among the fanbase. Missouri? South Carolina? Squeaking one out @UGA? Arkansas? Alabama?

I haven't seen you guys posting like you're super excited or pumped, either. I get that some people are irrationally down on the team, but that will always be the case among some in a fanbase. The fact is, this team simply hasn't won a big, meaningful game in a while, and they've mixed in some disappointing play and never seem to quite do all they're capable of doing.

It's one thing to step back, see a 6 seed in the Tournament and say, we should all be thrilled. It's another to watch this team game in and game out and have to try to get excited about what is rarely exciting play. Again, this will change once the Tourney is actually here. Then, being in it and a decent seed will get people excited, just like you say it should. But right now, all we have are games that just don't get people into it.

Arky beat LSU in Baton Rouge
Bama beat UK
USCe beat Aub
UGA and Usce beat Fla in in Gainesville
So 5-2 against that bunch is pretty good.

it doesn’t have to be all positive 24/7 . Damn I get it this team is frustrating to watch at times and can play bad.
I didn’t get how y’all can’t see the point I’m making and a handful have tried to get across.
The positive posts, tweets , ect are 1 for about every 10 bad.

And this thread proved that .. that’s why I did iit
I wanted to see how many positive responses and good talking points I would get from it . And I proved my point .. go back and read them...

[smootness]

Arky beat LSU in Baton Rouge
Bama beat UK
USCe beat Aub
UGA and Usce beat Fla in in Gainesville
So 5-2 against that bunch is pretty good.

it doesn’t have to be all positive 24/7 . Damn I get it this team is frustrating to watch at times and can play bad.
I didn’t get how y’all can’t see the point I’m making and a handful have tried to get across.
The positive posts, tweets , ect are 1 for about every 10 bad.

And this thread proved that .. that’s why I did iit
I wanted to see how many positive responses and good talking points I would get from it . And I proved my point .. go back and read them...

So fans should get excited because we beat teams who beat good teams? If anything, it can lead to reduced excitement because we see that teams like that can get it done against LSU and Kentucky, but we can't seem to.

And once again, the positive talk will come once we have something to be excited about. Yes, we are in the Tournament. Yes, we should (and will) be excited for that. But it's not here yet. So it's hard to get excited about it yet. But we will, I promise you. As for now, all we have is inconsistent and disappointing play that still manages to beat the lower teams in the SEC.

[DancingRabbit]

Good luck Ari

https://media.giphy.com/media/sXOj0wtpyELdu/giphy.gif

[Gutter Cobreh]

Arky beat LSU in Baton Rouge
Bama beat UK
USCe beat Aub
UGA and Usce beat Fla in in Gainesville
So 5-2 against that bunch is pretty good.

it doesn?t have to be all positive 24/7 . Damn I get it this team is frustrating to watch at times and can play bad.
I didn?t get how y?all can?t see the point I?m making and a handful have tried to get across.
The positive posts, tweets , ect are 1 for about every 10 bad.

And this thread proved that .. that?s why I did iit
I wanted to see how many positive responses and good talking points I would get from it . And I proved my point .. go back and read them...

When you personally start hurling insults and taking shots at people that disagree with you in the 3rd post of the thread, don't you think that skews things a bit???

This team is hard to watch... I don't take anything away from their accomplishments, but when you're down 20+ at UT in the last game - to think they don't deserve some criticism on a message board is a bit naive.

Also, making the tournament is an accolade (no doubt) but for some perspective - there are 67 other teams that also made it. It isn't like we're one of 4 teams in football. Do we celebrate baseball because they made a regional? Isn't it better if we make it to Omaha? I enjoyed our run in the NIT last year more than I would if would have been one and done in the big dance. Evidently, you put more weight into making the big tournament - but understand not everyone views that in the same regard as you do.

[confucius say]

When you personally start hurling insults and taking shots at people that disagree with you in the 3rd post of the thread, don't you think that skews things a bit???

This team is hard to watch... I don't take anything away from their accomplishments, but when you're down 20+ at UT in the last game - to think they don't deserve some criticism on a message board is a bit naive.

Also, making the tournament is an accolade (no doubt) but for some perspective - there are 67 other teams that also made it. It isn't like we're one of 4 teams in football. Do we celebrate baseball because they made a regional? Isn't it better if we make it to Omaha? I enjoyed our run in the NIT last year more than I would if would have been one and done in the big dance. Evidently, you put more weight into making the big tournament - but understand not everyone views that in the same regard as you do.

Going to the NCAA tournament is a big deal. Only 68 of 347 teams go right? That is less than 20%. And only 34 (10%) of the 347 get in as an at large. That is the equivalent of a NY6 bowl game (12 out of 130 football teams get a NY6 game).

For a non basketball school that has been in the wilderness for a decade, that is a huge deal and we don't even harp on it.

[basedog]

Well we are a baseball school, some think we are a basketball school, we aren't. Dancing is a big deal, and yes it's hard to watch when we are down by 20, good thing about this team is overall they have been very competitive.

[basedog]

Going to the NCAA tournament is a big deal. Only 68 of 347 teams go right? That is less than 20%. And only 34 (10%) of the 347 get in as an at large. That is the equivalent of a NY6 bowl game (12 out of 130 football teams get a NY6 game).

For a non basketball school that has been in the wilderness for a decade, that is a huge deal and we don't even harp on it.

Big +1

[confucius say]

I don't think anyone is really upset with the end result from this season, but I certainly understand the viewpoint of being tough to watch at times.

I went and looked through some team stats for this season and really found some interesting stuff. We are currently sitting at #23 in the NET, but we fall in the 100-250 range on so many statistics out of 353 teams.

Here are some negative of note that I have found particularly frustrating (slightly nitpicking I realize):

Turnovers per game: 13.4 (ranks 207th)
Turnovers % per possession: 18.9% (ranks 230th)
Opponents offensive rebounds per game: 8.9 (ranks 234th)
Opponents blocks per game: 3.6 (ranks 264th)
Opponents fouls committed per game: 16.8 (ranks 268th)

We don't do anything extremely well, but we are a pretty solid shooting team with most of those statistics in the 50-100 ranking range. The only two stats that are anywhere close to our NET ranking are steals per game (22nd) and blocks (11th) per game, but that's only translating to 100th in turnovers forced and 137th in opponent FG%.

Really good post with good info.

We don't value the ball or possessions near enough.

[Gutter Cobreh]

Going to the NCAA tournament is a big deal. Only 68 of 347 teams go right? That is less than 20%. And only 34 (10%) of the 347 get in as an at large. That is the equivalent of a NY6 bowl game (12 out of 130 football teams get a NY6 game).

For a non basketball school that has been in the wilderness for a decade, that is a huge deal and we don't even harp on it.

Getting in as an at-large in basketball is not the same as a NY6 in football...

[smootness]

Getting in as an at-large in basketball is not the same as a NY6 in football...

Not even close. For the most part, it's P5 teams fighting for both. Add in the automatic qualifiers and it's probably more like the same number of teams fighting for ~35 spots vs. 11.

[confucius say]

Getting in as an at-large in basketball is not the same as a NY6 in football...

How so. Mathematically, as I set out above, 10% of eligible football teams get a NY6 bowl and 10% of eligible basketball teams get an at large bid. Just bc society views it differently doesn't change the numbers

[confucius say]

Not even close. For the most part, it's P5 teams fighting for both. Add in the automatic qualifiers and it's probably more like the same number of teams fighting for ~35 spots vs. 11.

What!? That is so wrong. Almost half the teams slated to get at large bids are non power 5.

Seton Hall, Buffalo, Gonzaga, Houston, Villanova, central Florida, Belmont, temple, St. John's, cinncy, VCU, Utah State, Nevada, Wofford.

All of those are slated in as at large teams today. That is 14 of the 34 at large bids.

[ScoobaDawg]

What were your expectations for an NIT team coming back the following year? Were you expecting to be a 1 or 2 seed?

I think a major problem with our fan base in most sports is an unrealistic expectation of what that particular team should do. When you have unrealistic expectations it is hard to get excited about a generally positive thing. This team had the same up and down game last year. Yes, we added some quality freshman but we didn't add a Zion that would come in and immediately take us to the next level.

This is another good building block year for our basketball program. If yall will sit back and enjoy Howland you won't be disappointed with our basketball program over the next several years.

I am not saying we shouldn't have high expectations, I am saying we should have realistic expectations that improve incrementally over time as a program continues to improve. If we had been to several NCAAT over the last few years and this became a trend like it did with Stans then yes, getting mad would be in order.

I think the "problem" for some people is unrealistic expectations based on other factors. MSU has played for 3 national championships in the past 5 years. Finished 3rd another time. Have been to 9 straight bowl games in football and Ranked #1 in the nation for several weeks. So Baseball, Football, and Women's Basketball are all excelling to historic levels and Basketball is turning it around. Add on the fact Howland has been to the final 4 twice and then the run to the NIT Final 4...and then everyone wants instant results now a days...

I don't know what to expect in the NCAA's until I see who the opponents we will be paired with. Plus.. Will we have Nick??? and will Peters ever find himself again...?

Just enjoy the ride boys... whatever the high mark is this year.. it's the low water mark for next year...and that's exciting.

[BrunswickDawg]

I think the "problem" for some people is unrealistic expectations based on other factors. MSU has played for 3 national championships in the past 5 years. Finished 3rd another time. Have been to 9 straight bowl games in football and Ranked #1 in the nation for several weeks. So Baseball, Football, and Women's Basketball are all excelling to historic levels and Basketball is turning it around. Add on the fact Howland has been to the final 4 twice and then the run to the NIT Final 4...and then everyone wants instant results now a days...

I don't know what to expect in the NCAA's until I see who the opponents we will be paired with. Plus.. Will we have Nick??? and will Peters ever find himself again...?

Just enjoy the ride boys... whatever the high mark is this year.. it's the low water mark for next year...and that's exciting.

I would add to it that many people believe that our run from '02-'09 meant we were at a higher level on the totem pole then we were. That run also built huge expectations in our younger alums for where we "should be", more so then those of us who were on campus during sucky years. I know that my basketball expectations are tempered by having only gotten 1 good team in my 4 years on campus ('95)

[smootness]

What!? That is so wrong. Almost half the teams slated to get at large bids are non power 5.

Seton Hall, Buffalo, Gonzaga, Houston, Villanova, central Florida, Belmont, temple, St. John's, cinncy, VCU, Utah State, Nevada, Wofford.

All of those are slated in as at large teams today. That is 14 of the 34 at large bids.

Partly fair. However, some of these will win their conference tournament. Let's say Gonzaga, Wofford, Buffalo, one of the Big East teams (you missed Marquette, but I'll add them), one of the American teams, one of Utah St/Nevada, and Belmont win their conference tournaments (Murray St. has a real shot of winning the Ohio Valley tourney, but if they do, Belmont likely doesn't get in).

That means you have the P5 teams fighting for 34 spots. The actual number of at-large bids is 36, not 34; then take away 7 of the teams you listed that we'll assume win their conference tournament, and then add back 5 spots for P5 conference tournament champions.

Then you have 11 P5 spots in NY6 bowl games. So, yes, the math is pretty much correct. The bottom line is that there are far more at-large spots open in the NCAA Tournament for P5 teams than NY6 bowl slots. It is asinine to count all the teams in D1 as though teams 150+ in basketball are comparable to football teams that are 50+.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I think the "problem" for some people is unrealistic expectations based on other factors. MSU has played for 3 national championships in the past 5 years. Finished 3rd another time. Have been to 9 straight bowl games in football and Ranked #1 in the nation for several weeks. So Baseball, Football, and Women's Basketball are all excelling to historic levels and Basketball is turning it around. Add on the fact Howland has been to the final 4 twice and then the run to the NIT Final 4...and then everyone wants instant results now a days...

I don't know what to expect in the NCAA's until I see who the opponents we will be paired with. Plus.. Will we have Nick??? and will Peters ever find himself again...?

Just enjoy the ride boys... whatever the high mark is this year.. it's the low water mark for next year...and that's exciting.

TRUTH. Perry and Woodard get another offseason to develop. Tyson, Ado, and (hopefully)Nick will be back. Add in DJ Stewart, Oduro, and maybe get some minutes out of a freshman(King?) and you've got a chance to be really good again next year. The interesting thing to watch will be what Lamar does. Looking more and more like he might come back.

[shannondawg]

Wow it took one post ,and shocker it was from you, to make a negative post ... it took you 1 minute to sabotage a thread..
All I am saying is enjoy the ****ing ride..

You surprised?