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I realize it's hard to be positive about the team after our last two games. We haven't won four consecutive games this season (unless you count the exhibitions), and now we're tasked with winning four straight to make the NCAA Tournament.
However, if the end goal was always winning the AAC Conference Tournament in order to make the NCAAs, starting from the six seed may have been just what we needed. Think back to last year's NCAA tournament. We were under-seeded, but our matchups were favorable. The same will likely be the case for this year's conference tournament. With the tournament in Hartford, all of these games will be home games, with (hopefully) an electric crowd cheering on the team in what amount to play-in games. We all remember the advantage we had at MSG. That advantage should be even more pronounced in Hartford. We are 6-1 at the XL Center with our lone loss to Temple, when Boatright missed the majority of the game. For whatever reason, almost all of our best games this season have come in Hartford.
There are two major games that will affect seeding, both tomorrow. Tulsa plays at SMU to determine the 1/2 seeds, and Memphis plays at Cincinnati. If Cincinnati wins, they claim the 3 seed, if they lose, Temple gets the 3. I'd say the most likely scenario is that SMU and Cinci win at home, giving them the 1 and 3 seeds respectively.
Our first game will likely be against Houston. Perhaps this could be the confidence boosting win we need. We have gone 7-1 against the bottom half of the league, and at home, I can't see us falling to Houston again.
If seeds hold and we keep winning, our next matchups would be Cinci, then Tulsa, then SMU; all teams we have beaten in Hartford this season.
It's a tall task for a team that has been agonizingly inconsistent, but playing in front of a home crowd, it's at least feasible. As others have said, we need to pack the XL Center. I'm not ready to give up on our Huskies just yet.
However, if the end goal was always winning the AAC Conference Tournament in order to make the NCAAs, starting from the six seed may have been just what we needed. Think back to last year's NCAA tournament. We were under-seeded, but our matchups were favorable. The same will likely be the case for this year's conference tournament. With the tournament in Hartford, all of these games will be home games, with (hopefully) an electric crowd cheering on the team in what amount to play-in games. We all remember the advantage we had at MSG. That advantage should be even more pronounced in Hartford. We are 6-1 at the XL Center with our lone loss to Temple, when Boatright missed the majority of the game. For whatever reason, almost all of our best games this season have come in Hartford.
There are two major games that will affect seeding, both tomorrow. Tulsa plays at SMU to determine the 1/2 seeds, and Memphis plays at Cincinnati. If Cincinnati wins, they claim the 3 seed, if they lose, Temple gets the 3. I'd say the most likely scenario is that SMU and Cinci win at home, giving them the 1 and 3 seeds respectively.
Our first game will likely be against Houston. Perhaps this could be the confidence boosting win we need. We have gone 7-1 against the bottom half of the league, and at home, I can't see us falling to Houston again.
If seeds hold and we keep winning, our next matchups would be Cinci, then Tulsa, then SMU; all teams we have beaten in Hartford this season.
It's a tall task for a team that has been agonizingly inconsistent, but playing in front of a home crowd, it's at least feasible. As others have said, we need to pack the XL Center. I'm not ready to give up on our Huskies just yet.
