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Post by 00hmh on Mar 17, 2024 15:19:31 GMT -6
This March we watched Houston, Purdue, NC, all possible one seeds lose in conference tournament play.
That the best team in the MAC fails also seems very ordinary. How often does the MAC regular season champ survive?
It does show we need a team with some depth and some really hard nosed competitors playing well at tourney time. If we do that anything can happen.
I'd love holding home court all year and winning all the close games, but that almost doesn't in the end matter much if we only care about MAC NCAA one bid.
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Post by realitycheck on Mar 17, 2024 20:33:48 GMT -6
You know Kent kind of bumbled their way through the MAC season and finished just one game above us in the standings. It didn't seem like there was a whole lot to choose from between us and them by regular season's end, and we even handled them relatively easily in Muncie in March. But who is surprised Kent came within a hair of winning a championship in the MAC final? I was not the least bit surprised. On the other hand, I think I am like most in that it would have been absolutely shocking and almost incomprehensible to me for Ball State to have had that same run. Sometimes I step back and just marvel at how thoroughly and completely our program sucks in every way, and how hopeless and downtrodden it has become. We played really well in the home finale against Kent without Jihad despite not having any bench depth. It was obvious though watching the championship game last night that both Kent and Akron have more competent players on their bench. You have to go eight deep over three days to win it. That wasn’t this year’s roster by the end of the year. If we’re ever going to win this again, then Lewis must convince quality guys with experience to come here. Bryce Drew’s Grand Canyon Antelopes just won the WAC again and are back in the Dance. He has transfers from Arizona State, Louisville, DePaul, UNLV and Oregon. That’s how you win in the new world order. |
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 18, 2024 3:11:15 GMT -6
You know Kent kind of bumbled their way through the MAC season... We played really well in the home finale against Kent without Jihad despite not having any bench depth. It was obvious though watching the championship game last night that both Kent and Akron have more competent players on their bench. You have to go eight deep over three days to win it. That wasn’t this year’s roster by the end of the year. If we’re ever going to win this again, then Lewis must convince quality guys with experience to come here. Bryce Drew’s Grand Canyon Antelopes just won the WAC again and are back in the Dance. He has transfers from Arizona State, Louisville, DePaul, UNLV and Oregon. That’s how you win in the new world order. Quality depth may be more important than finding the elusive stud starter. Grand Canyon has some resources, No football. No plans for FB. Real commitment to BB. |
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Post by universityjim on Mar 18, 2024 6:50:06 GMT -6
We played really well in the home finale against Kent without Jihad despite not having any bench depth. It was obvious though watching the championship game last night that both Kent and Akron have more competent players on their bench. You have to go eight deep over three days to win it. That wasn’t this year’s roster by the end of the year. If we’re ever going to win this again, then Lewis must convince quality guys with experience to come here. Bryce Drew’s Grand Canyon Antelopes just won the WAC again and are back in the Dance. He has transfers from Arizona State, Louisville, DePaul, UNLV and Oregon. That’s how you win in the new world order. Quality depth may be more important than finding the elusive stud starter. Grand Canyon has some resources, No football. No plans for FB. Real commitment to BB. They are also a for profit university. |
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 18, 2024 7:15:27 GMT -6
Soccer FB, stadium is consider high quality...
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Post by villagepub on Mar 18, 2024 7:32:38 GMT -6
Prepping and playing regular season games is totally different than prepping and playing tourney games. Having the post season conference tournament gets teams (or a team) ready to play into the NCAA tourney. You have to be tough on successive days to work through a tournament. I think it is good preparation. For the first game preparation and practice, even your regular rotation and substitution can be the same.
That next game though...Not just less time to prepare. There is a much greater issue with depth.
Depth is always good. But a lack of depth problem is exaggerated when you have such a physical grind, less time to recover. And if you have to play 6 or 7 for the bulk of minutes, in that second game you are at a big disadvantage. Pure physical strength and endurance starts to trump any preparation, and you can do less of that to start with...
In the NCAA teams seem to be able to overcome that. There is a day to recover.
In the MAC tourney the problem is more severe, 3 days, 3 games. Even 8 or 9 deep you are going on fumes on day 3. A team that relies on shooting is going to have tired legs at the end of the first half, not just end of the game. A team with any deficit in size or athleticism, that is magnified. In the NCAA you always have a full day to recover, can prepare and practice.
In the MAC you rely on preparation you have done in previous games at least. Physical side is harder.
It is a different rhythm. |
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Post by Lurkin McGurkin on Mar 18, 2024 7:56:20 GMT -6
They are also a for profit university. Not sure why that matters. Public schools are considered "non-profit" but that only means they have to spend all that they take in. They do that, and then some, which is why they also get state funding. |
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Post by villagepub on Mar 18, 2024 7:58:19 GMT -6
Quality depth may be more important than finding the elusive stud starter. Grand Canyon has some resources, No football. No plans for FB. Real commitment to BB. They are also a for profit university. Exactly. |
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 18, 2024 9:00:52 GMT -6
They are also a for profit university. Not sure why that matters. Public schools are considered "non-profit" but that only means they have to spend all that they take in. They do that, and then some, which is why they also get state funding. GCU is not a typical for profit. It is also a religious institution. That makes it an outlier in several ways.
The for profit education industry has a history of scandal, outright fraud. Mostly in not delivering what they advertise, and in admitting students who may not be qualified, advising students into choices milking student loan money they may be eligible for.
GCU doesn't seem to be guilty of most abuses, but has had some issues. The profit in for profit education has often in other cases come by not having any oversight, transparency. State budget review is part of that for public schools. Not for profit private schools usually seek out accreditation which provide some degree of oversight. Abuses in for profit are associated with schools with no or suspect accreditation.
The for profit aspect here as applied to athletics is that most for profit schools don't have athletics programs. In this case GCU does, but as we often argue about here, football is a money pit and money loser. That may be the most significant difference here that is relevant. That they have any sports probably indicates an athletic program has value in attracting students and making them a viable choice, but avoiding football may make their athletic programs cost efficient.
GCU has experienced tremendous growth over last 15-10 years so they are appealing to the marketplace. There were something like a 1000 on campus students 20 years ago, 25K now, and in their various divisions over 100K including online. That online is a huge profit center...
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Post by Lurkin McGurkin on Mar 18, 2024 12:49:06 GMT -6
GCU is not a typical for profit. It is also a religious institution. That makes it an outlier in several ways. And a target for "traditional" universities. Religious bias is alive and well in America. |
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 18, 2024 14:53:39 GMT -6
GCU is not a typical for profit. It is also a religious institution. That makes it an outlier in several ways. And a target for "traditional" universities. Religious bias is alive and well in America. BYU, ND and Liberty are doing pretty well in academic circles, but they have always sought high academic standards and been accredited by high quality accreditation outfits. Not a hint if scandal or failure to provide high quality to students. GCU is on a little different path trying to outsource key academic functions. |
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Post by Hoopsmith on Mar 18, 2024 16:58:19 GMT -6
And a target for "traditional" universities. Religious bias is alive and well in America. BYU, ND and Liberty are doing pretty well in academic circles, but they have always sought high academic standards and been accredited by high quality accreditation outfits. Not a hint if scandal or failure to provide high quality to students. GCU is on a little different path trying to outsource key academic functions. Yes, that poor, poor oppressed religion that well over half of Americans of faith abscribe to. When will someone look out for them? Definitely Notre Dame, maybe BYU, but I don't think Liberty is well-thought-of academically. They are mostly well-known for admitting anyone who will play by their rules and pay their fees. They rake revenue from online students. |
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Post by 00hmh on Mar 18, 2024 17:20:01 GMT -6
Liberty is not in the class of BYU and ND. On line education is an issue. Every school...
If your revenue stream is in large part on line it's really a red flag.
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Post by Lurkin McGurkin on Mar 19, 2024 8:43:49 GMT -6
BYU, ND and Liberty are doing pretty well in academic circles, but they have always sought high academic standards and been accredited by high quality accreditation outfits. Not a hint if scandal or failure to provide high quality to students. GCU is on a little different path trying to outsource key academic functions. Yes, that poor, poor oppressed religion that well over half of Americans of faith abscribe to. When will someone look out for them? Definitely Notre Dame, maybe BYU, but I don't think Liberty is well-thought-of academically. They are mostly well-known for admitting anyone who will play by their rules and pay their fees. They rake revenue from online students. So you're cool with bigotry as long as it only happens to someone in a majority. Good to know. |
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Post by Hoopsmith on Mar 19, 2024 12:26:28 GMT -6
.[/quote]So you're cool with bigotry as long as it only happens to someone in a majority.
Good to know.
[/quote]
That is YOUR wrong assumption about me. I was sarcastically disagreeing with your opinion. If I wanted to make it personal, I could’ve pointed out you are one of the quickest here to call out “woke bullsh@t” on topics not having anything to do with politics or sociology. Yet you’re crying foul when your ox is gored.
Ted Cruz himself couldn’t whine any harder.
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