3/11 Bracketology update

[CadaverDawg]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology?iteration=254&region=4&year=2019&wjb

6 seed playing Temple, winner gets Michigan

Michigan is tough, but I've pretty much decided no matter who we would potentially play in the second round, it will take a big upset for us to win. The 3 seeds are pretty tough this year.

Would love for us to pull an upset or two in the SECT and find our way into a 5 seed, but I don't see it happening

-fixed link -scooba

[basedog]

Upset indeed IF we make the sweet 16 and win, history says only 3 times to sweet 16. Let that sink in, Msu is tough place to win.

[msstate7]

Don't like being matched up with great defensive teams. The other projection was with Texas tech. Texas tech and Michigan are 1-2 in defensive efficiency according to pomeroy. Purdue or VT would be a much better matchup... really good offense and defense in the 30s

[CadaverDawg]

Don't like being matched up with great defensive teams. The other projection was with Texas tech. Texas tech and Michigan are 1-2 in defensive efficiency according to pomeroy. Purdue or VT would be a much better matchup... really good offense and defense in the 30s

I agree

[maroonmania]

We can't catch a break from a bracket perspective anyway. Heck, we are the 6 seed in the SEC tourney and would have to beat TN and KY just to get to the final. On the other hand Auburn, as the 5th seed, has a near cakewalk into the final with an average SC team and an LSU team with all kind of off the court issues at the moment including a suspended HC. And that happened all because Auburn pulled off the TN upset on the final weekend.

[CadaverDawg]

We can't catch a break from a bracket perspective anyway. Heck, we are the 6 seed in the SEC tourney and would have to beat TN and KY just to get to the final. On the other hand Auburn, as the 5th seed, has a near cakewalk into the final with an average SC team and an LSU team with all kind of off the court issues at the moment including a suspended HC. And that happened all because Auburn pulled off the TN upset on the final weekend.

Very True....you can make your own breaks though, and we had many opportunities to get big wins this year and failed to get it done. Beating LSU on our home court might have us a 5 seed in the dance for instance. We'll get at least 1 more shot at a big time seed altering win in the SECT....but nobody has confidence that we can pull it off. Time for our guys to step up and prove they aren't a pretender that just beats the teams they're supposed to.

[Tbonewannabe]

Very True....you can make your own breaks though, and we had many opportunities to get big wins this year and failed to get it done. Beating LSU on our home court might have us a 5 seed in the dance for instance. We'll get at least 1 more shot at a big time seed altering win in the SECT....but nobody has confidence that we can pull it off. Time for our guys to step up and prove they aren't a pretender that just beats the teams they're supposed to.

No matter how far we go in the Big Dance, we got back there. We have been wandering in the desert for quite a while. Howland had to rebuild the foundation similar to how Mullen did, only Howland didn't have Pro talent on the roster that wasn't being used correctly. Howland had a bigger rebuild although in not as tough of a league.

[CadaverDawg]

No matter how far we go in the Big Dance, we got back there. We have been wandering in the desert for quite a while. Howland had to rebuild the foundation similar to how Mullen did, only Howland didn't have Pro talent on the roster that wasn't being used correctly. Howland had a bigger rebuild although in not as tough of a league.

Yeah, but if you want to know why Howland doesn't get the love and fan support Mullen got, I think it comes down to wins compared to personnel. In other words, Dan had a roster of primarily 3 and 4 stars, and while he didn't pull a ton of upsets he did win almost all of the games he was supposed to win in addition to a few LSU, AU, & A&M teams we weren't favored against.....meanwhile Howland has a starting lineup of 4 four stars and 1 five star, yet hasn't really beaten anybody this year that we didn't have better or equal talent than. To me, a win vs LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc or even a road win vs an AU level talent would have changed many people's view and excitement of this team. But instead we pretty much could pencil in losses against every decent to good team on the road, and had zero expectations of upsetting one of the big boys even at home. Hopefully going forward we can take that next step of beating some of the better teams in the league next year.

[sleepy dawg]

Very True....you can make your own breaks though, and we had many opportunities to get big wins this year and failed to get it done. Beating LSU on our home court might have us a 5 seed in the dance for instance. We'll get at least 1 more shot at a big time seed altering win in the SECT....but nobody has confidence that we can pull it off. Time for our guys to step up and prove they aren't a pretender that just beats the teams they're supposed to.

I think we're one good win away from a 5 seed too. In any ranking system the NCAA will look at we slot in a 5 or 6 spot. There's also some rumblings that it's being discussed that LSU may even decline a spot in the tournament. I doubt this will happen, but that would only help us.

[Tbonewannabe]

Yeah, but if you want to know why Howland doesn't get the love and fan support Mullen got, I think it comes down to wins compared to personnel. In other words, Dan had a roster of primarily 3 and 4 stars, and while he didn't pull a ton of upsets he did win almost all of the games he was supposed to win in addition to a few LSU, AU, & A&M teams we weren't favored against.....meanwhile Howland has a starting lineup of 4 four stars and 1 five star, yet hasn't really beaten anybody this year that we didn't have better or equal talent than. To me, a win vs LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc or even a road win vs an AU level talent would have changed many people's view and excitement of this team. But instead we pretty much could pencil in losses against every decent to good team on the road, and had zero expectations of upsetting one of the big boys even at home. Hopefully going forward we can take that next step of beating some of the better teams in the league next year.

We should have beaten LSU (at the time the best team in the SEC) and had a good chance against UK. One thing I heard on our game was the announcers talking about how you only play certain teams twice and the rest once. We played the toughest schedule possible in the SEC. We played the top half twice and the bottom half once. It just worked out that way but it was the equivalent of playing UGA and UF as our two East games in Football.

I will say that most schools lose on the road against good teams. UK blew out UT at home then got blown out at UT. Right now, we are essentially the 4th-6th best team in the SEC. Other than UT just gelling perfectly and playing great team ball (Barnes deserves coach of the year), most schools that beat us have about as much or more talent. Other than Perry, we don't have the same talent level as LSU, UK, or UT, we are on the same level with everyone else. It does suck to see Davis take UM and make them competitive but it shouldn't mean we blow up our program. UM had somewhat a good foundation when he got there whereas Howland had to build it from the ground up.

[HailState39110]

Both ESPN and CBS has us a 6 seed playing Temple . Temple would be a tough out and hasn’t lost to any bad opponents this year . They just won at UConn and beat uCF

Other potential 11 seeds are St Johns and Arizona St ( who was our only non conf loss this year )

A 6 would match us up with a 3 seed for the 2nd round . Potential 3 seeds we would be in the bracket with are Texas Tech and Michigan

[Bubb Rubb]

Both ESPN and CBS has us a 6 seed playing Temple . Temple would be a tough out and hasn’t lost to any bad opponents this year . They just won at UConn and beat uCF

Other potential 11 seeds are St Johns and Arizona St ( who was our only non conf loss this year )

A 6 would match us up with a 3 seed for the 2nd round . Potential 3 seeds we would be in the bracket with are Texas Tech and Michigan


Temple sucks. Beating UConn and UCF are not major accomplishments.

Michigan is a bad matchup for us. They are very good defensively, and they are very well coached.

[Dawg61]

Yeah, but if you want to know why Howland doesn't get the love and fan support Mullen got, I think it comes down to wins compared to personnel. In other words, Dan had a roster of primarily 3 and 4 stars, and while he didn't pull a ton of upsets he did win almost all of the games he was supposed to win in addition to a few LSU, AU, & A&M teams we weren't favored against.....meanwhile Howland has a starting lineup of 4 four stars and 1 five star, yet hasn't really beaten anybody this year that we didn't have better or equal talent than. To me, a win vs LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc or even a road win vs an AU level talent would have changed many people's view and excitement of this team. But instead we pretty much could pencil in losses against every decent to good team on the road, and had zero expectations of upsetting one of the big boys even at home. Hopefully going forward we can take that next step of beating some of the better teams in the league next year.

Dan Mullen has the worst record of all-time vs ranked teams. Howland has 8 Q1 wins this year which puts us top 5 in the nation in that category. He's already beaten 8 of the 64 teams that are about to be in the tourney this year.

[yjnkdawg]

Dan Mullen has the worst record of all-time vs ranked teams. Howland has 8 Q1 wins this year which puts us top 5 in the nation in that category. He's already beaten 8 of the 64 teams that are about to be in the tourney this year.


I agree with what you say. My question is why do some on here want to compare our football program and basketball program, and then here we have Mullen referenced again for whatever reason. Comparing basketball to football, or vice versa, is like comparing apples to oranges. In reference to CD's comment on we should have done this or that. Well every other teams wish they could have done this or that too.

[BuckyIsAB****]

We can't catch a break from a bracket perspective anyway. Heck, we are the 6 seed in the SEC tourney and would have to beat TN and KY just to get to the final. On the other hand Auburn, as the 5th seed, has a near cakewalk into the final with an average SC team and an LSU team with all kind of off the court issues at the moment including a suspended HC. And that happened all because Auburn pulled off the TN upset on the final weekend.

Its our own fault for not giving a shit after we beat Missouri

[Tbonewannabe]

I agree with what you say. My question is why do some on here want to compare our football program and basketball program, and then here we have Mullen referenced again for whatever reason. Comparing basketball to football, or vice versa, is like comparing apples to oranges. In reference to CD's comment on we should have done this or that. Well every other teams wish they could have done this or that too.

We have close to the same historic success in football and basketball. Other than 1996, our basketball team has been in NY6 Bowl game level a few times and the rest is like going to various bowls. Howland had to rebuild the program on a lot worse issues than Mullen. Rick Ray was like Croom only he didn't leave high level players for the next coach. Mullen at least inherited 1st round draft pick and a couple NFL players in the 2 deep. Howland inherited Fred Thomas, Gavin Ware, and Craig Sword. I think Sword is in the G League and that is the extent of it.

We gave Mullen a pass because he was building his program but apparently Howland needs to go to the Final Four or he should be fired. I don't know if it is society that wants immediate results or what but people seem to go off the deep end of what they expect.

[StarkVegasSteve]

I just keep thinking we have a run left in us. I don't know why, maybe it's just blind hope that we can click for the next 6-8 games and make a run at this thing. Regardless, I'll be along every step of the way. Howland has brought this program back from the grave and let's not forget, he's got something to prove too. Because while UCLA has struggled since his talent pool ran dry, he's quietly been building a program and now he gets the chance to show it off to the nation on the biggest stage. And so what if we're outmatched, it's March. Basketball logic takes a break this month.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Its our own fault for not giving a shit after we beat Missouri

Or just playing 2 good teams on the road. Either or

[yjnkdawg]

We have close to the same historic success in football and basketball. Other than 1996, our basketball team has been in NY6 Bowl game level a few times and the rest is like going to various bowls. Howland had to rebuild the program on a lot worse issues than Mullen. Rick Ray was like Croom only he didn't leave high level players for the next coach. Mullen at least inherited 1st round draft pick and a couple NFL players in the 2 deep. Howland inherited Fred Thomas, Gavin Ware, and Craig Sword. I think Sword is in the G League and that is the extent of it.

We gave Mullen a pass because he was building his program but apparently Howland needs to go to the Final Four or he should be fired. I don't know if it is society that wants immediate results or what but people seem to go off the deep end of what they expect.



I think it's just a minority of our fan base, and they just happen to post on message boards and/or social media. I would have definitely liked to have won the games we lost, but I'm glad that our coaches and players have gotten us back to the Big Dance.

[yjnkdawg]

Or just playing 2 good teams on the road. Either or


I think that would be the either or the or.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Or just playing 2 good teams on the road. Either or

Auburn is playing better lately but that was a winnable game. Winning @ UT aint easy but the performance we had up there was so predictable its why I havent watched a game since Auburn

[Tbonewannabe]

Auburn is playing better lately but that was a winnable game. Winning @ UT aint easy but the performance we had up there was so predictable its why I havent watched a game since Auburn

UT had just beaten UK a couple days earlier on that same court by more points.

[Todd4State]

Yeah, but if you want to know why Howland doesn't get the love and fan support Mullen got, I think it comes down to wins compared to personnel. In other words, Dan had a roster of primarily 3 and 4 stars, and while he didn't pull a ton of upsets he did win almost all of the games he was supposed to win in addition to a few LSU, AU, & A&M teams we weren't favored against.....meanwhile Howland has a starting lineup of 4 four stars and 1 five star, yet hasn't really beaten anybody this year that we didn't have better or equal talent than. To me, a win vs LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc or even a road win vs an AU level talent would have changed many people's view and excitement of this team. But instead we pretty much could pencil in losses against every decent to good team on the road, and had zero expectations of upsetting one of the big boys even at home. Hopefully going forward we can take that next step of beating some of the better teams in the league next year.

Dan Mullen got a lot of support because he did "well" relative to our history and followed an extremely unpopular head coach.

[Tbonewannabe]

Dan Mullen got a lot of support because he did "well" relative to our history and followed an extremely unpopular head coach.

Mullen also got fan support because people were excited to see a competent offense. Croom left some talent even on offense but couldn't make it work. Mullen walked into the same situation at UF. The players were there but the old staff couldn't get them to be successful.

Moorhead was the flip side of that. Getting Shoop and the other defensive coaches, he improved the defense but his offense took a step back against Good to Great defenses. Normally that is only an issue against Bama and LSU but UK and UF also had great defenses last year. Moorhead has to figure it out because those are the defenses you see in the upper tier SEC games.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Yeah, but if you want to know why Howland doesn't get the love and fan support Mullen got, I think it comes down to wins compared to personnel. In other words, Dan had a roster of primarily 3 and 4 stars, and while he didn't pull a ton of upsets he did win almost all of the games he was supposed to win in addition to a few LSU, AU, & A&M teams we weren't favored against.....meanwhile Howland has a starting lineup of 4 four stars and 1 five star, yet hasn't really beaten anybody this year that we didn't have better or equal talent than. To me, a win vs LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc or even a road win vs an AU level talent would have changed many people's view and excitement of this team. But instead we pretty much could pencil in losses against every decent to good team on the road, and had zero expectations of upsetting one of the big boys even at home. Hopefully going forward we can take that next step of beating some of the better teams in the league next year.

We're 8-6 against quadrant 1 teams. Second most in the conference behind LSU who had 9.

[Tbonewannabe]

We're 8-6 against quadrant 1 teams. Second most in the conference behind LSU who had 9.

Don't you throw facts into this bitch fest. How dare you talk about the quality teams we have beaten and the lack of bad losses. Did you not hear that if we don't make the Sweet Sixteen that we are planning on firing Howland and Moorhead (just because we are still pissed about losing UF and the Outback Bowl).

[basedog]

I'm just amazed reading excuses, Howland has done a great job! You guys that don't like what he has done haven't been around long enough. Having a winning record in men's basketball is a plus.

Shoe companies and sport agents have made college basketball so dirty, when you aren't elite it's really tough. Women's game is more pure and clean, not enough money for agents and even shoe companies to be concerned as Pro Women league is irrelevant.

[basedog]

Don't you throw facts into this bitch fest. How dare you talk about the quality teams we have beaten and the lack of bad losses. Did you not hear that if we don't make the Sweet Sixteen that we are planning on firing Howland and Moorhead (just because we are still pissed about losing UF and the Outback Bowl).

You nailed it! +1

[CadaverDawg]

Who's bitching? Who said he wasn't doing a good job? Good grief, y'all take a few comments out of a paragraph and make a mountain out of it. All I meant was that Howland is doing solid, but until he beats some top team's with his great talent, you may not see the excitement level increase. Is what it is. And the Q1 stuff sounds great, but it's the Top what, 64 teams in Q1? Our best win this year is what, Ole Miss on the road? Auburn at home? That's what I'm talking about. Not knocking Howland at all, just saying that I feel like we were one big win over LSU, UT, or UK, or maybe even at AU from really getting a lot of extra excitement around the program. Until then, a lot of regular fans will think "We're playing UK, we aren't going to win...I'll just go to New Orleans with the fam Saturday instead", etc. I don't like that attitude, but I think many of our fans know this team is talented, but doesn't play with the effort to beat the best teams, so it deters folks.

That's my opinion, so if y'all want to say I'm bitching or melting, whatever...but I'm not. Just discussing

[Tbonewannabe]

Who's bitching? Who said he wasn't doing a good job? Good grief, y'all take a few comments out of a paragraph and make a mountain out of it. All I meant was that Howland is doing solid, but until he beats some top team's with his great talent, you may not see the excitement level increase. Is what it is. And the Q1 stuff sounds great, but it's the Top what, 64 teams in Q1? Our best win this year is what, Ole Miss on the road? Auburn at home? That's what I'm talking about. Not knocking Howland at all, just saying that I feel like we were one big win over LSU, UT, or UK, or maybe even at AU from really getting a lot of extra excitement around the program. Until then, a lot of regular fans will think "We're playing UK, we aren't going to win...I'll just go to New Orleans with the fam Saturday instead", etc. I don't like that attitude, but I think many of our fans know this team is talented, but doesn't play with the effort to beat the best teams, so it deters folks.

That's my opinion, so if y'all want to say I'm bitching or melting, whatever...but I'm not. Just discussing

I think most people's biggest knock on this team is they don't typically play with emotion. Q is the leader of our team and he just doesn't show that emotion like that. He is a quiet type of guy which might lead to him being calm and making game winners. That is just his personality and I don't get the hate about it.

We haven't knocked off the great teams yet but we are on the cusp of it. We should have beaten LSU and we hung with UK. We are building towards it but are not quite there yet.

[Dawg61]

LSU, UK and UT are all top 3 seeds. It's unfair to expect Howland to upset a top ten ranked team just yet. (Not saying you expect it). Rick Ray was far worse than Croom.

[Tbonewannabe]

LSU, UK and UT are all top 3 seeds. It's unfair to expect Howland to upset a top ten ranked team just yet. (Not saying you expect it). Rick Ray was far worse than Croom.

Basketball is easier to get back to competitive but people don't take into account that Croom at least left several NFL players on the 2 deep roster. Rick Ray didn't recruit well at all. Unless you are recruiting like Duke and UK, or Wade buying players at LSU, then it takes a few years to get competitive like that. UT is loaded with upperclass men so they have been building to this year for a couple of years. We need to restock and then when Perry and Woodard are Juniors is probably when we can maybe make a big run as long as we keep bringing in the talent.

[basedog]

It's just ridicules to say we haven't beaten anyone when you win 20 games and have a winning record in the Sec.

Here is the question about not exciting, if one feels this way how in the hell would one feel sitting in the stands instead of watch on TV NO?

Winning is exciting, when teams have a losing record I'd say "they haven't beaten anyone"!

Stop the madness and enjoy what we are. Dancing is always exciting instead of watching other teams compete while we sit home.

[CadaverDawg]

It's just ridicules to say we haven't beaten anyone when you win 20 games and have a winning record in the Sec.

Here is the question about not exciting, if one feels this way how in the hell would one feel sitting in the stands instead of watch on TV NO?

Winning is exciting, when teams have a losing record I'd say "they haven't beaten anyone"!

Stop the madness and enjoy what we are. Dancing is always exciting instead of watching other teams compete while we sit home.

Remind me again who said "we haven't beaten anyone"? I'll wait

Some of you just make shit up so you can say "why is everyone so negative! Our fans are the Worst!!!". Nobody said "we haven't beaten anyone".

I said we were probably one BIG win away from getting folks more excited about this team. In no way should that be classified as "bitching", "melting", or "madness". Just an observation in a discussion. For ****s sake, not every discussion has to be paragraphs of solid praise. It's a discussion forum.

[basedog]

Remind me again who said "we haven't beaten anyone"? I'll wait

Some of you just make shit up so you can say "why is everyone so negative! Our fans are the Worst!!!". Nobody said "we haven't beaten anyone".

I said we were probably one BIG win away from getting folks more excited about this team. In no way should that be classified as "bitching", "melting", or "madness". Just an observation in a discussion. For ****s sake, not every discussion has to be paragraphs of solid praise. It's a discussion forum.

Dude, chill, I ain't mad nor did I call u out. I don't worry or care who we beat as long as we win. I use to Coach basketball, I never looked backed and thought bout we haven't played anyone. Neither do every Coach I've known, winning takes care of where teams are headed or going.