AAC - the tourney numbers four years in

[kobe]

SMU non conference SOS: 192
Cincy non conference SOS: 163

Memphis non conference, their last 4 years under Calipari:
11
33
7
44




The two situations are not in the same stratosphere. SMU and Cincy had soft 30-win seasons. Memphis definitely did not.

Where did you get those OOC SOS numbers? By RPI, SMU was #139 and Cincinnati was #31.

 

[CL82]

Its sad that we are going to our grave because of football. This league will only get worse.

Auggy in case you didn't notice, the P5 are football conferences. Football isn't sinking the ship, rather it is the fragile lifeline that is our only chance of returning to being a major sports University.

 

[UConNation]

Where did you get those OOC SOS numbers? By RPI, SMU was #139 and Cincinnati was #31.

He may have used a different site, but according to ESPN's RPI, Cinci's non-conf SOS was 34, but SMU's was 171.

NCAA College Basketball RPI Rankings - ESPN

 

[kobe]

and btw I'm not saying Cincinnati had a good OOC schedule either. We got screwed by Michigan at the last minute (they scheduled the game during their exam week and then said "OOPS" and dropped the game). We had Rhode Island on a neutral court, played at Iowa State, at Butler and Xavier. We got pretty lucky with our mid-majors as Albany, Texas Southern, and Marshall all made the conference finals and Lipscomb finished 2nd in the A-Sun. Our scheduled wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. What really hurt the AAC is Tulsa, Temple, and UConn were not Top 50-60 RPI teams like they were the previous year.

 

[August_West]

Auggy in case you didn't notice, the P5 are football conferences. Football isn't sinking the ship, rather it is the fragile lifeline that is our only chance of returning to being a major sports University.

Or we couldve played in a more than decent basketball conference for 10 years while we waited for something that might never come and end up in the same spot anyway.

Sounds like a better deal to me.

 

[CL82]

Or we couldve played in a more than decent basketball conference for 10 years while we waited for something that might never come and end up in the same spot anyway.

Sounds like a better deal to me.

I guess sitting down and having a picnic on the train tracks is pleasant until the next train comes through. I'd rather run as fast as I can to try to get out-of-the-way though.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

and btw I'm not saying Cincinnati had a good OOC schedule either. We got screwed by Michigan at the last minute (they scheduled the game during their exam week and then said "OOPS" and dropped the game). We had Rhode Island on a neutral court, played at Iowa State, at Butler and Xavier. We got pretty lucky with our mid-majors as Albany, Texas Southern, and Marshall all made the conference finals and Lipscomb finished 2nd in the A-Sun. Our scheduled wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. What really hurt the AAC is Tulsa, Temple, and UConn were not Top 50-60 RPI teams like they were the previous year.

Agreed. Now, I think Cincinnati and SMU were both a bit underseeded, but by the same time, the biggest thing to blame is the teams themselves.

Now, do I think this year in particular did Cincinnati get screwed having to play the best 3 seed at a 10pm EST tip? Yes. In general though, if the AAC wants better seeds, UConn, Memphis and Temple could maybe just not suck?

For all the arguing and doomsday scenarios about this damn league, if UConn would just what it needs to do, we'd still be given favorable seeds.

 

[August_West]

I guess sitting down and having a picnic on the train tracks is pleasant until the next train comes through. I'd rather run as fast as I can to try to get out-of-the-way though.

I think the more accurate analogy is that "you have 10 years to live. do you want live out your days boning a 7 or a double bagger *" ?


* double bagger = one bag on her head, one bag on yours in case hers breaks.

 

[freescooter]

Hey knock Cronin all you want but if we had Cincy's record plus the title in 2014 we would be considered a national power. Instead it took a miraculous shot to get us into our only other NCAA tourney.

I do agree that Memphis and Temple have both disappointed bigly. I honestly thought this should be a 5-6 bid league most of the time and 4 in a bad year. But it looks to me like Houston Memphis and Tulsa are finally making an effort. Actually UCF too

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Sounds like a better deal to me.

As you also consider an Arby's heart attack on a plate to be a good deal your ability to identify good deals may be a bit suspect.

 

[Pudge]

Its sad that we are going to our grave because of football. This league will only get worse.

This is the Charlie Bfystyk - cloud always over my head - perspective.

Fact is ... every damn University (all 11) are seeking to be far better in Hoop (as they are in Football). How do I know? Look at who they are hiring and the dollars they are spending in Coaches and Capital Improvements. This is a league that is aiming to be better. You can say the results are mediocre; however ... I would argue. SMU and Cincinnati were very good teams this year; Houston is getting far better with Sampson. But, this BONEYARD crew? Yeah YOU. Every day you can read a post that the AAC is less than the A10. Or the CAA. Really? Have you been to Olean, NY? Do you really think the stickyness of longer term improvement will be at St. Josephs or Delaware or UMass?

 

[jibsey]

Have to have a strong and diverse enough team to succeed in this tourney. SMU plays 6 players. Players can go cold at any time and it's happened to a bunch of teams. Some of ACC's best teams with great RPI's and schedules are going down big time so what does that say? As a conference we have to qualify more teams but when the BE was strong with tons of bids it was UCONN that had to save the conference. All the hype and buildup of Duke all year long went up in smoke in the round of 32, showing that the propaganda machine can't be trusted.

 

[Pudge]

Have to have a strong and diverse enough team to succeed in this tourney. SMU plays 6 players. Players can go cold at any time and it's happened to a bunch of teams. Some of ACC's best teams with great RPI's and schedules are going down big time so what does that say? As a conference we have to qualify more teams but when the BE was strong with tons of bids it was UCONN that had to save the conference. All the hype and buildup of Duke all year long went up in smoke in the round of 32, showing that the propaganda machine can't be trusted.

Can't argue with this ...

A HIGH level UConn would pull this AAC from modest to something far greater. They/WE need to be far greater. Cincinnati, Houston, SMU - all - are on a upswing. Memphis (IMHO) and UCF are both better than the last few years. Dunphy will have good Temple teams. The AAC needs a solid lead horse and UConn has not been to our standard.

 

[freescooter]

People think about the old Big East in the 2000s but forget that it went through a period in the late 80s 90s when it was far from dominant. Really it was the addition of Louisville Cincinnati Marquette and the departure of BC and Miami (BC fell of the charts in the ACC, Miami was good only late in its tenure) that made the league so dominant and pushed the others to improve.

 

[kobe]

First order of business is move the conference tournament from Hartford,
CT. If the arena's gonna be empty let it be empty in New Orleans so I will actually go to one.

 

[Pudge]

First order of business is move the conference tournament from Hartford,
CT. If the arena's gonna be empty let it be empty in New Orleans so I will actually go to one.

Two can play that game ... I would rather stick chopsticks up my rectum than have skyline chili.

WE could have done what the AAC Women's tourney did - and many UConn fans would have been happier - place the tourney at the Mohegan Sun Arena (45 minutes away) a you would have entertainment, bars, restaurants, hotels etc.

Placement at Liacouras or at several home venues would be worse. Not by much - and we know that as well as Aresco.

 

[USNA90]

More disturbing than the early tournament exit of SMU and Cincy is the fact that UConn played five games against those two teams this year, lost all of them, and was only in one of the games. Those two teams looked unbeatable, and I had almost convinced myself that SMU and Cincy were legitimately good. But I guess we have no right to complain about the perceived weakness of the conference when UConn is part of the problem, rather than the solution. It would be nice if one of these years UConn is actually in striking distance of being the regular season champion, instead of a middle of the pack team in a two-bid conference.

 

[4in16]

First order of business is move the conference tournament from Hartford,
CT. If the arena's gonna be empty let it be empty in New Orleans so I will actually go to one.

It wasn't supposed to be in Hartford again this season, it got moved so Orlando could host 1st and 2nd round NCAA games. It was a late change and Hartford stepped up.

 

[BFieldHusky]

This was an extremely young and thin league. Lot of turnovers on teams, 3 new coaches. I actually think the league is going in the right direction. UCF hired a decent coach. I like Dunleavy short term at Tulane. I thought Tubby Smith hire at Memphis was decent. Cincy and SMU have been consistent in the regular season. Memphis, UCONN and Temple have been the big disappointments in league play.

I think next year could be the best year yet for the league. Cincy should be a Top 20 team. SMU if Semi comes back could be Top 20. UCONN hopefully returns to the Top 25. UCF is a borderline tournament team. Watch Temple next year. And maybe Memphis can return to glory. Houston is opening a new building in two years which should help.

The big key, and many have mentioned it, is scheduling OOC. SMU really did nothing out the league. That part they control. UCONN, Temple and Cincy to an extent schedule competitively out of league. Other teams need to do the same for this to work.

 

[freescooter]

Two can play that game ... I would rather stick chopsticks up my rectum than have skyline chili.

WE could have done what the AAC Women's tourney did - and many UConn fans would have been happier - place the tourney at the Mohegan Sun Arena (45 minutes away) a you would have entertainment, bars, restaurants, hotels etc.

Placement at Liacouras or at several home venues would be worse. Not by much - and we know that as well as Aresco.

I favored the Palestra myself. It is a historic site for basketball. Size is good for this league at 9000 and it is easily reachable from everywhere with a major hub airport and NE corridor rail. Major tv market. And it is a neutral site. Alas now it's the Ivy tourney home I think.

 

[kobe]

The SEC requires that all OOC schedules get approval. You see it paid off this year with 10 teams in the top 100 RPI teams. Maybe Aresco needs to do the same.

 

[jibsey]

This has been discussed ad nauseum but isn't it time for every team in the AAC to try to schedule as strong an OOC as possible? I realize that it's hard to get the games but we need the competitiveness. It's hard to push this after losing to Wagner and Norteastern ( ours sced was pretty good) but it should come from the top of the league.

 

[BugsyCT]

Strong OOC and early season tourneys like Maui & Atlantis. (SMU is in Atlantis next year)

 

[CL82]

I think the more accurate analogy is that "you have 10 years to live. do you want live out your days boning a 7 or a double bagger *" ?


* double bagger = one bag on her head, one bag on yours in case hers breaks.

Lol, how is that even remotely an accurate analogy.

(If we were on a different board I'd reference your LCW...)

 

[Slasher]

The lower half of the league definitely has to schedule better. Temple, Cincy and UConn schedule fine every year. SMU, Memphis, Tulsa and Houston need to do better. UCF/ECU/USF/Tulane need to do way better.