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Message: [QUOTE="Sphinx, post: 3421710, member: 4623"] Considering that we have an 11-10 team that has lost 7 of its last 9 and has another tough test coming up at Tulsa, little actual damage has been done to pre-season expectations. You can argue, in fact, that realistic hopes for the post-season have improved. Consider -- after the Tulsa game, all the remaining nine games will be against teams not as as good, or in venues not as tough, as in the last five close losses. If they go into those nine games at 11-11, there is chance for a nine-game win-out to 20-11. Shy of that, there is solid likelihood of a 6-3 or better finish that will get them into the NIT. But here's what's improved from pre-season. The team has proved itself totally competitive with both ranked teams and the top-tier conference teams. They have proved this on neutral courts and in the toughest road venues -- at Houston, at Memphis, at Villanova. They have thus established themselves as a realistic Las Vegas choice in the conference tournament. Truth is, they have about as good a chance as anyone. And that's a large improvement from pre-season expectations. The only pre-season hope that's down the toilet is the at-large NCAA bid. That has gone from a wildcard to a near impossibility. (Although a 20-11 finish and 2-1 in the tournament would stir hope,) [I][B]"So often the perception that something can't be done is an obstacle illusion." [/B]-- Short Thoughts For The Long Haul[/I] [/QUOTE]