grizophile said:
Potomac Griz said:
grizophile said:
Let somebody else be embarrassed by the Syracuses of the world. You thought last year was bad.
Yeah, that's exactly the attitude a mid major program should take :roll:
Glad the Griz didn't have that attitude in the 2009-2010 season when they nearly upset 3 seed New Mexico, or in 2005-2006 when they beat 5 seed Nevada & then hung around with 4 seed Boston College... or 2004-2005 when they put up a strong showing against 1 seed Washington.
I'd take being blown out in the tournament a few times with a few good showings and even a win occasionally over not making the tournament like the majority of our conference members.
The Griz had talented big men in those games as I recall?
So if mid way through the season the Griz don't have a Qvale, Strait or Davis in the middle we should just hope they don't make the tournament because they might get blown out?
Many of the upsets in the tournament hinge on great guard play, especially when going against some of the major teams in college basketball. Mid major teams typically aren't going to have a guy who can bang down low with a post player from one of the top teams... You hear that every year from the experts in how to pick an upset. Look at the guards.
Want a great example of the above? Siena (13 seed) vs Vanderbilt (4 seed) in the tournament a few years ago. Siena blew Vandy out 83-62 due to their guards (and they had a LOT of guards) shooting lights out. Siena's starting big (who was 6-7) was 0-5 with 0 points and 4 rebounds.
Here's another... When Weber shocked North Carolina did they do it with their center? Nope, Gill and Arceneaux combined for 52 of Weber's 76 points.
Of course the matchup plays a big part in it too. Sometimes you just match up better against one #3, 4 or 5 seed than another. Sometimes you get a good matchup in the tournament (like we got against Nevada and New Mexico) and sometimes you run into a buzz saw like Syracuse, who later held 3 seed Marquette to 39 points in that tournament.
Yeah this year isn't likely a year we'd pull an upset in the tournament if we made it, but if you don't even make it you definitely aren't going to pull an upset.
Would you rather be in Sac State or UND's shoes? Never having made the tournament? I guess that's better isn't it, since if you don't make it you never get blown out right? :roll:
I think I'll take our 10 tournament appearances with some blowout losses and some good performances over never being in the tournament or being like one of the many other Big Sky teams with only 1 or 2 tournament appearances ever.