First Four In

[biscuit]

We've moved to the last* four in on jerry palms braketology.

[msudawg1200]

So, it's us, Purdue, Bama, and Houston? Just being a Smart A. I know you meant Last Four In.

[biscuit]

Oops. Guess I better edit that

[RockyDog]

I'd take that 11/11 game and then matchup against Illinois or SDSU.

He has us in over Arkansas, Auburn, and Kentucky. Makes this game on Wednesday a HUGE opportunity. Keep rolling!!

[Ari Gold]

Love the prediction by Palm, but if selection Sunday was today
Hate to tell him
We ain’t getting in over arky or Aub.. maybe over UK

Just gotta keep winning
Every game is huge but have to beat UK and OM this week
We can lose the game at mizzu and that won’t hurt if we handle our business rhe next 2
Then AM because the in or out game for us IMO
If we only have one more loss going into Vandy A loss there won’t hurt us that bad either but will make things very dicey if we drop the first game in the sec tourney and a couple of bubble teams make noise in their conference tourneys

I think the SEC only gets 7 in the dance (May only be 6 if so not good for us) , don’t see 8 and damn sure don’t see 9 unless something crazy happens in the sec tourney
So basically there are 7 teams battling for 5 spots or maybe just 4
Bama and Tenn locks

[R2Dawg]

We are on a roll and deserve a last 4 in IMO. We still got to finish. Ark win gave us a little margin but lets leave no doubt and go 2-0 this week.

[tireddawg]

I feel if we beat KY we?ll get in. Not that KY is the end all, be all, I just feel we?ll continue to win enough to get in.

[msstate7]

This will be a tough week. Kentucky is fighting for their lives just like us, and OM and Kermit would like nothing more than to ruin us

[PGHBulldogBG]

We don’t necessarily have to beat UK to make the NCAA but that means we have to beat aTm, Ole Miss, Vandy and SC. Beating UK gives us a small cushion by not having to go 3-0 in those 3. I honestly don’t see them leaving us out if we go 9-9 in conference play along with our non conference wins against Marquette, Utah and TCU. That would be really terrible if the committee does that

[BrunswickDawg]

So, essentially, we are in the exact same boat we have been in every year since 2017/8 - a bubble team that needs to perform down the stretch.
Don't get me wrong, I like Jans and I love the job he has done this year and the direction of the team, but it is very interesting to see the flip in attitudes of fans for essentially the same performance. If we finish 9-9 in SEC play that will have us 1 game better than the last 2 seasons and at the same level or less than Howland's 18/19/20 teams.

[SteelCurtain74]

So, essentially, we are in the exact same boat we have been in every year since 2017/8 - a bubble team that needs to perform down the stretch.
Don't get me wrong, I like Jans and I love the job he has done this year and the direction of the team, but it is very interesting to see the flip in attitudes of fans for essentially the same performance. If we finish 9-9 in SEC play that will have us 1 game better than the last 2 seasons and at the same level or less than Howland's 18/19/20 teams.

I don't disagree with your assessment but many would argue that Howland's teams were more talented, especially the 17-20 teams. No one would trade away Q for any of the guys we have now nor Reggie Perry with the possibile exception of Tolu. What Jans has done with this roster, and yes he brought a lot of these guys in, is a hell of a coaching job. If we get to 9-9 with the current roster, I feel very good about the future assuming Jans can get better at closing the deal with portal players.

[RocketDawg]

This will be a tough week. Kentucky is fighting for their lives just like us, and OM and Kermit would like nothing more than to ruin us

Yes it is. We should handle the Bears OK, but as you say, Kentucky is at the desperate point. We really need to be all hands on deck Wednesday evening.

[PGHBulldogBG]

So, essentially, we are in the exact same boat we have been in every year since 2017/8 - a bubble team that needs to perform down the stretch.
Don't get me wrong, I like Jans and I love the job he has done this year and the direction of the team, but it is very interesting to see the flip in attitudes of fans for essentially the same performance. If we finish 9-9 in SEC play that will have us 1 game better than the last 2 seasons and at the same level or less than Howland's 18/19/20 teams.

That’s because with Howland we knew it was all a facade. Nothing was ever going to truly materialize from those teams. The effort was not there all game like it is with Jans. The floor coaching is night and day. If we don’t make the tournament this year it will be for a lack of raw talent. That was never the case under Howland. I would watch hard playing basketball with similar results over guys thinking they are good enough to take plays or games off.

[QuadrupleOption]

So, essentially, we are in the exact same boat we have been in every year since 2017/8 - a bubble team that needs to perform down the stretch.
Don't get me wrong, I like Jans and I love the job he has done this year and the direction of the team, but it is very interesting to see the flip in attitudes of fans for essentially the same performance. If we finish 9-9 in SEC play that will have us 1 game better than the last 2 seasons and at the same level or less than Howland's 18/19/20 teams.

Those teams were wildly inconsistent. For every great win we had under Howland, we'd have an equally head-scratching loss. Howland also had far more talent on those rosters than we do this year.

So far this year's team has the same fight regardless of circumstance. They could have packed it in but they kept fighting and it's starting to pay off.

When you watch this team, you see tough defense coupled with an offensive plan that consists of more than dribbling around the perimeter and jacking up a late 3. Jans is active with his team and demands effort at all times - much like a certain women's basketball coach whose tenure we all enjoyed immensely.

It's a night and day difference. I didn't hate Howland but I KNEW every year it was going to be wildly inconsistent and disappointing. The effort this team plays with makes them worth watching, even if they struggle from 3 (starting to heat up) or miss a bunch of free throws (c'mon Tolu!). I enjoy watching them play. I hope they can keep it going and make the tourney. If they do I think they can make a little bit of noise.

[R2Dawg]

So, essentially, we are in the exact same boat we have been in every year since 2017/8 - a bubble team that needs to perform down the stretch.
Don't get me wrong, I like Jans and I love the job he has done this year and the direction of the team, but it is very interesting to see the flip in attitudes of fans for essentially the same performance. If we finish 9-9 in SEC play that will have us 1 game better than the last 2 seasons and at the same level or less than Howland's 18/19/20 teams.

No I don't think so. Same record, maybe. Same tourney stuff, maybe.

But same performance, absolutely not. Apples and oranges. This team works hard, plays D, not selfish, good attitudes, etc. We ain't had that in a long time. That is why this team has won much of the fan base over.

BTW, we doing this with less talent than previous rosters. Combine past talent with this team's fight and they were Final 4 quality.

[PGHBulldogBG]

No I don't think so. Same record, maybe. Same tourney stuff, maybe.

But same performance, absolutely not. Apples and oranges. This team works hard, plays D, not selfish, good attitudes, etc. We ain't had that in a long time. That is why this team has won much of the fan base over.

BTW, we doing this with less talent than previous rosters. Combine past talent with this team's fight and they were Final 4 quality.

If Jans can start to get some better talent in here, he has the potential to become the Tony Bennett of the SEC and we can keep him. He certainly has the defensive coaching ability to do it, we just need to recruit some top notch players that can play that style.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

The SEC will do everything possible to keep us from winning against Kentucky.

[smootness]

Love the prediction by Palm, but if selection Sunday was today
Hate to tell him
We ain?t getting in over arky or Aub.. maybe over UK

He was wrong, Palm has both Arkansas and Auburn in as 10 seeds above us. UK is out but the first team out, so literally one spot below us.

[Jack Lambert]

Speaking of KY is their coach going to survive?

[parabrave]

Speaking of KY is their coach going to survive?

If he wants to he will but he sometimes looks like he wants a break. This started last year.

[EdwardDrayton]

This will be a tough week. Kentucky is fighting for their lives just like us, and OM and Kermit would like nothing more than to ruin us

All this ^^^^^^