Miami over ND

[RockyMTblue2]

Article on loss by ND with Highlites Video is here:

http://www.und.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/010815aaa.html

 

[DobbsRover2]

Both Massey and Sagarin had ND rated #2 behind UConn prior to last night, so they did at least seem to deserve their #3 ranking at that point. Today the Irish are #3 behind USCar in both ratings, and just .01 in both indexes ahead of Baylor, so that will likely lead to further changes.

Fact is, they have played 6 games against top 50 teams, while USCar has only played 2 and Baylor 3, so they definitely have the SOS on their side. And yes I know that talking about top 50 teams is stretching things too far since top teams should only be concerned with the top maybe 20, but Stanford is at #26 (Massey) and #33 (Sagarin), so the worry point can extend further out.

Also, for those worried about UConn's future SOS, in Massey the Huskies are currently rated with the #1 SOS and are projected to finish at #5, so not too bad.

 

[Orangutan]

Turner is impressive but now with Reimer gone she will have too heavy a load. Did not think ND deserved current ranking either - thought 4-7 of Coaches Poll were questionable. See Tenn moving up while ND declines. Whether the switch positions- that may be a bit abrupt. A&M went out totally flat against Tenn and never c0uld dig themselves out, despite making a couple of good runs. ND team could have been numb over the departure of Reimer, but we cannot ignore it; it is a big loss to their program.

Easy to say that now, but RPI, Sagarin, etc. all showed ND as a top 5 team. They had some close shaves (i.e. DePaul that made the eye test less impressive) but even with those games all the statistical measures were very strong for them.

EDIT: Dobbs beat me to it.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Easy to say that now, but RPI, Sagarin, etc. all showed ND as a top 5 team. They had some close shaves (i.e. DePaul that made the eye test less impressive) but even with those games all the statistical measures were very strong for them.

EDIT: Dobbs beat me to it.

I said it last week actually off their game performances. I pay no heed to Sagarin et al. We'll have to see how ND rallies from here, won't we. What is your take on that Orangutan? I'd like you guys to beat Tenn but that could be tenuous now don't you think?

 

[Orangutan]

I said it last week actually off their game performances. I pay no heed to Sagarin et al. We'll have to see how ND rallies from here, won't we. What is your take on that Orangutan? I'd like you guys to beat Tenn but that could be tenuous now don't you think?

It's going to be hard to beat teams that are strong in the post without Reimer. We've sort of seen this before when Turner was out but that was an easier phase of schedule. ND just doesn't have a ton of post depth. Nelson is redshirting, Thompson is a long term injury absence, so that leaves Turner, Westbeld, and Wright. Turner is great but Westbeld is 6'1 (roster gives her 6'2 but look at she and Turner and tell me they are only one inch apart, no way) and still makes plenty of freshman mistakes (especially cheap fouls). Wright has played very limited minutes this year. Not sure if she's injured or the coaches just wanted to play the young players more.

I think Turner, Wright, and Westbeld can hang with the ACC rank and file but against teams like Duke and Tennessee it's going to be a struggle. I'd guess Muffet will go with 4 guards and play Cable at the "4" spot as much as she can, but against some teams it's just not an option. Also, ND was already giving up tons of offensive boards. Losing the 2nd best rebounder on the team will not help.

 

[DobbsRover2]

If we dismiss all of the rating services such as Sagarin and Massey that had ND #2 and thought their schedule hugely better than say USCar or Baylor, we aren't left with that much except maybe our often unsupported opinions, which IMHO aren't necessarily worth that much except maybe on the BY. Even brain-dead RPI had ND at #2 for those who worship it, though it had USCar at #13 and Baylor at #9.

Using either Sagarin or Massey as predictors for scores in upcoming games usually seems to do much better than any game prediction attempts on any message boards that I've ever seen.

 

[MilfordHusky]

OMG! I didn't look at the scores last night. ND loses by 15 after trailing 40-20 at the half.

Pitt blasted UNC by 25.

And Tenn beat TAMU by 23.

 

[Wonkster]

Miami shoots over 50% against the Irish and Jassany Williams has 9 blocks to intimidate the hell out of ND. Big part of story.

Motley is the guard who went off for 32.

I wonder if Miami will now call themselves The Motley Crew?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

If we dismiss all of the rating services such as Sagarin and Massey that had ND #2 and thought their schedule hugely better than say USCar or Baylor, we aren't left with that much except maybe our often unsupported opinions, which IMHO aren't necessarily worth that much except maybe on the BY. Even brain-dead RPI had ND at #2 for those who worship it, though it had USCar at #13 and Baylor at #9.

Using either Sagarin or Massey as predictors for scores in upcoming games usually seems to do much better than any game prediction attempts on any message boards that I've ever seen.

Dobbs, please understand I don't dismiss the usefulness of those services, just find life more adventurous ignoring them for my own game prognostications. Were I a gambler, dealing with spreads, etc., they would be my masters!

 

[ed4ourgirls]

OMG! I didn't look at the scores last night. ND loses by 15 after trailing 40-20 at the half.

Pitt blasted UNC by 25.

And Tenn beat TAMU by 23.

As an alumnus of Illinois I hope you will indulge me when I add that Illinois
knocked off 19th ranked Iowa last night. Earlier this year they beat Kentucky
and none of their four losses is a really bad loss, so it looks like Coach Bollant
is leading the Illini out of the wilderness and back toward respectability.

I'd guess that making the NCAA tournament is a long shot this year, but
Illinois won't be at the bottom of the Big 10 either.

 

[triaddukefan]

I wonder if Miami will now call themselves The Motley Crew?

Miami plays tough at home. The only teams that beat the 2012-13 Duke team was UCONN.... Notre Dame in the ELite 8, and Miami in Miami. Duke won in the last second last season down there... I think by one point.