Is this a must win?

[BFieldHusky]

Let me preface by saying I am one of the people who thinks we are in decent shape with a tourney bid right now with our RPI and other metrics. But in the back of my mind I think we need to win at least one of the three games we have left with top quality opponents in SMU and Cincy to feel like we are truly in good shape. I know we have played well on the road this year, but @Cincy (where we have really struggled) and @SMU (on their Senior night) are going to be very challenging games to win. A win tonight really boosts the profile up, and takes away some pressure of those road games.

 

[SirHypeAlot]

Every game has been a must win since the loss @ Tulsa yet we still fubar'd Cincy & Temple.

This team has a similar attitude to some people on the yard that we've "done enough".

They should be leaving nothing to chance, winning these close games and bettering position.

 

[Huskybass]

We need this one to be solidly in the field. Gotta win at home, because those road games are probably 1 and 1 at best.

 

[alexd]

For my sanity. Yes.

 

[SubbaBub]

Need one of two vs. SMU. Cincy is a must win as are the rest. Do that and avoid a bad tournament loss and we are comfortably in the NCAA.

 

[UconnFanDC]

I would say that this would be a great win to secure a seed. A must if we want a chance to winn the AAC. A need so a team on the bubble or not even turney worth team get hot and win their conference and start knocking teams out.

 

[Kitaman]

The question that really needs to be answered tonight against a good SMU team is; "are we there yet?". Its the end of February so the answer will really help to shed light on our future, because time is running out.

I also hope Ollie has a thought out rotation scheme with purpose, to allow for a good flow, consistency and team harmony. Please Coach don't just throw bodies in after one mistake or just to appease certain players.

So to me its a must win for the team this late in the season, but not necessarily a must win for the Tourney.

 

[tzznandrew]

With a Win:

RPI: 30s
vs. RPI 25: 2-1
vs. RPI 50: 4-3
vs. RPI 100: 7-7

With a Loss:

RPI: 50s (maybe still 40s, but I doubt it)
vs. RPI 25: 1-2
vs. RPI 50: 3-4
vs. RPI 100: 6-8

I'd say that it does eliminate us (not with another game against SMU and a game against Cincy...and Houston is RPI 100 also), but that resume is barely bubble-y, and really only survives on the fact that their losses are all in RPI Top 70...not particularly impressive.

 

[amory]

Yes. This is a must win.

 

[80shusky]

I'd say it is a must win since we are home. If we win this one we can afford to lose the game at their place. If we lost this one and won at Cincinnati and at SMU I think we would be ok but we'd be sweating it out until we got through those games.

 

[Leebo]

No

Do we really have to do this for every single game?

 

[Inyatkin]

Every game has been a must win since the loss @ Tulsa yet we still fubar'd Cincy & Temple.

This team has a similar attitude to some people on the yard that we've "done enough".

They should be leaving nothing to chance, winning these close games and bettering position.

What?
And to answer the question, officially no, but effectively it's pretty close.

 

[gtcam]

Need to avoid any WTF losses and win one of 3 vs SMU and Cinci
A home win tonight would ease a lot of pain felt by many in UConn nation

 

[OkaForPrez]

@tzznandrew creative accounting on that top 50 sir.

 

[ktuck911]

Pardon my French, but hell yeah it's a must win... this game is test of our mental make-up... so far, we've done OK, we're growing.. we've gotten better as the season has gone on... but Temple tripped us up twice when they could've easily been wins in both games .. Tulsa in the last game outworked us late and almost stole it from us.. SMU is the best of the bunch... Gotta come out and play our game from start to finish... and when we go through scoring drought, we gotta scratch and claw on D... until our offense comes back.. Don't give up any easy baskets and just be solid all game long on that end of the floor. We do that we win.

 

[uchusky32]

Yes, would be another home loss with road game at SMU and that's their last big game of the year.

 

[OkaForPrez]

This is a must win for no other reason than screw the ponies, we owe them.

 

[tzznandrew]

@tzznandrew creative accounting on that top 50 sir.

CBS RPI has Tulsa Top 50, ESPN has them just outside it. I split the difference.

 

[OkaForPrez]

CBS RPI has Tulsa Top 50, ESPN has them just outside it. I split the difference.

Michigan too no?

 

[Jerry1714]

This is the 14th "Is this a must win?" pre game thread we have had, can someone just make sure to repost one every game day now so we can have the same conversation over and over and over and over again.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

This is a must win in order to avoid @SMU and @Cincy officially being must win.

 

[tzznandrew]

Michigan too no?

ESPN RPI:

Tulsa: 51
Michigan: 53

CBS RPI:

Tulsa: 47
Michigan: 54

I averaged them, and so Tulsa was 49 and Michigan 53.5. I expect Michigan to be RPI Top 50 by the end of the year, but I'm less sure of Tulsa.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

I'm thinking some mojo can be squeezed out of these threads. Before every tourney game we will ask...is this a must win??

 

[Candyman]

Def NOT a must win specially since we play them again in two weeks.

If we win we're completely off the bubble and as long as we don't lose to Houston, UCF or USF we're in the tourny. Loses at SMU and at Cincy wont hurt us for being in just seeding.

 

[James]

Yes. The team needs to engineer some sort of momentum and this @ home vs a ranked squad. Couldn't ask for much else