The loss to Cincinnati was a major setback. Not only in the respect that it was a home loss to an inferior opponent, but because it was such a lopsided victory, the committee could possibly use the performance to exclude us from the tournament if we end up a bubble team. I was very pleased with the response on the road against Providence on Saturday. We started slow but responded with a 17-2 run to end the half and overcome a 12 point deficit. The second half was more of the same and we were able to pull away comfortably for the win. Though Providence has been struggling (3-6 in BE), after losing to the Bearcats, this was a must win if we are to have any hope at making the NCAA Tourney.
So here we are halfway through the conference schedule in a 3-way tie for 7th. Of these 9 teams that still have a legitimate spot at making the NCAA's (Villanova could also still be included), we are 2-3 versus those teams. We will likely need to finish the BE at 7-2 and win a game in the BE tourney to have a chance to make the NCAA's. Last year's team finished 21-8 (9-7) prior to the BE postseason and was overlooked for the Tourney. A 7-2 finish would have us at 23-8 (12-6). Though 12-6 would be considerably better than last years 9-7, we didn't have any bad home losses last year and we beat #2 UCLA and #9 UCONN. We only have one significant win this year (Marquette). If we slip to 6-3 in the last half, we will likely have to win 2 games in the BE tournament to be considered. It seems to be a task that will be extremely difficult, but if we can win the next on at (sh)Pitt, we may find the confidence needed for such a strong finish.
2 comments:
No question that we are on outside looking in at this point in time. Truth be told we have had bad January's for several years now. I am hopeful that we will rise to the occasion and get us close. I am sure that practice was rough after the Cincy destruction considering that Huggy had some personal issues with that game. We may get a chance to right that ship in BE tourney. Anyway, we shall see... as you said hope springs...
Monday night was slightly positive for Mountaineer tourney chances. Villanova is taking a beating by crosstown rival St. Joe's which will end any slim hopes of the tourney they may have been clinging to. And Marquette lost by 14 at home to Louisville which puts them at 6-4 in the BE. Personally, I think that is a positive outcome for WVU. We probably have a better chance at catching and passing Marquette in the standings than we do Louisville. It does, however, diminish some of the importance of our best win so far this year.
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