virginia lost by 35 to tennessee last nite

[Alsacs]

The ACC needs to develop a middle tier which NC State, Pitt, Notre Dame, Virginia, Miami, Boston College, Florida State, Wake Forest and others should provide most years to go with Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, and Syracuse which should be the leaders year in and year out.

The problem this year has been UVA, NC State, Notre Dame are all struggling. FSU has stepped up, but Miami has gone back. Pitt scheduled nobody so we have no clue how good they are, and Boston College has been the worst team in the conference when they should be a bubble team with their offensive talent if their coach could teach them to play defense.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Syracuse hasn't exactly had many What losses the last five years, so I'm not worried about one this year.. This isn't the 2005-2006 Syracuse Orange. I don't see us losing at home. Not after Saturday, and that was Nova. That was the loudest game I have been to in probably three years and the students weren't even here. If we lose a game at home this year I will be surprised, more than one shocked. At FSU and DUKE are the two toughest games on the schedule. Pitt doesn't scare me this year. I know Dixon has had our number, but he didn't beat us two years ago when we were ranked in the top five all year, and this is one of his least talented teams he has ever had at Pitt. 16-2 would not surprise me. Keep in mind Nova plays against us every year, and they could not do anything on offense after they got hot early.

I'll say this, I've watched DUKE about 5 times this year and while they are a good team, I do not think they match up with us well. They are going to pull a NOVA and shoot 30 threes against us. They made 33 percent against Eastern Michigan and that is not our 2-3. If thats the kind of offense Coach K wants to run against a 2-3 we should be inviting it. We won't get killed by 20 on the glass like Eastern Michigan did, and there is no way Quinn Cook will be able to guard Ennis. I'm really liking this Cuse team this year. Yes there is always potential for a slump mid-season, but with Tyler Ennis as our point guard and Trevor Cooney as our Shooting Guard I am so confident we can make the plays to win any game on the schedule.

 

[Townie72]

How long are we going to use the Vermont game as a proxy of possible failute? C'mon it was 8 years ago.

Just a little reminder that things can go wrong badly in a game or in a season. I can list a lot of other losses that stung to "inferior" teams.

Heres another one for you ... RICHMOND

And our record in the Dome in big games in front of huge crowds is not all that good.

Enthusiasm and optimism are great, but they both need to be tempered with some sense of history.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Not that I think it will happen this year, but the best Cuse team I ever watched lost to an unranked team at home...twice.

 

[texascpa]

Just a little reminder that things can go wrong badly in a game or in a season. I can list a lot of other losses that stung to "inferior" teams.

Heres another one for you ... RICHMOND

And our record in the Dome in big games in front of huge crowds is not all that good.

Enthusiasm and optimism are great, but they both need to be tempered with some sense of history.

Okay, now a game from when I was a teenager. Lest I remind you both of those games were in the tournament.

I would normally agree about tempering, however, there's more a risk of repeating history when things don't change. Other than the zone, players are different, gameplay is different, times are different.

I'd rather be confident that we will win than worried about losing.

 

[Townie72]

Okay, now a game from when I was a teenager. Lest I remind you both of those games were in the tournament.

I would normally agree about tempering, however, there's more a risk of repeating history when things don't change. Other than the zone, players are different, gameplay is different, times are different.

I'd rather be confident that we will win than worried about losing.

Oh, I know they were in the Tournament. I was in Cole Field House for the Richmond debacle.
And that makes it even worse, not better.

I don't know how you handle disappointment. Some people don't have a problem with it. But brace yourself because there are going to be nights when things don't fall for us. It's the nature of the college game and of basketball itself. A 14-4 ACC record is pure optimism given history.

 

[Townie72]

Not that I think it will happen this year, but the best Cuse team I ever watched lost to an unranked team at home...twice.

The 2003 Championship team with Superman (Carmelo) lost to Rutgers during the season.

 

[Cusefan0307]

This isn't 1999 or 1989 or 2006. THe last What loss I remember us having was against Cleveland St when someone made a 70 footer 6 years ago. Yeah we could get picked off somewhere unexpectedly, I just don't see it happening. Jim Boeheim is a better coach than he was 10 years ago, let alone 20 years ago. If we were going to have a What loss this year, or a couple of them, we would of lost to ST. Francis.

 

[CorduroyG]

Just a little reminder that things can go wrong badly in a game or in a season. I can list a lot of other losses that stung to "inferior" teams. Heres another one for you ... RICHMOND And our record in the Dome in big games in front of huge crowds is not all that good. Enthusiasm and optimism are great, but they both need to be tempered with some sense of history.

How bout recent history, like going 15-3 in 2010 and 17-1 in 2012 in much tougher leagues.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Pitt's dominance was from having a talented teams play thug ball. Based on the Nova game and complaints from Russ Smith (we can't use our hands anymore, waaaha), the constant clutch and grab defense might take away whatever advantages Pitt formerly held.

 

[AlaskaSU]

How long are we going to use the Vermont game as a proxy of possible failute? C'mon it was 8 years ago.

I still get nightmares from spiders and midshipmen.

 

[jncuse]

Here are some ACC scores just from the month of December ...

UNC Greensboro 55 Virginia Tech 52
Xavier 68 Wake Forest 53
VCU 69 BC 50
Boston U 83 Maryland 77
VCU 82 Virginia Tech 52
North Dakota State 73 Notre Dame 69
Green Bay 75 Virginia 72

Notre Dame did crush Canisius by 6 a few days ago.

VCU and Xavier are pretty good teams. Them thrashing bottom feeders is not that bad. The others don't look good (especially Virginia and Maryland).

But some of those bottom feeder losses would be just as bad if we were in our old confines - the girls from New Jersey alone have lost to UAB, Drexel, Seton Hall, William and Mary , Fairleigh Dickinson, and Princeton (the last 5 all at home). USF lost to Detroit and Santa Clare. Seton Hall lost to Mercer, St. Peter's and Fairleigh Dickinson. DePaul lost to Illinois St.

I think we tend to forget the crap that tended to linger at the Bottom of the Big East forever.

 

[Townie72]

How bout recent history, like going 15-3 in 2010 and 17-1 in 2012 in much tougher leagues.

I hope w never lose. I HATE it when we lose to anyone in any sport ... especially basketball (and lacrosse).

But the optimism I read on here from some posters seems to me to be foolish.

If that's what "floats your boat", have fun. As for me, I am stocking up on extra throw pillows in the den to throw and kick and scream into. And extra Jamiesons to drown my sorrows in as I curse the basketball Gods, the refs and the undeserved luck of the opposition and their probably illegal recruiting practices.

I see this team as having flaws. So while I may be disappointed at times during the season, I won't be surprised. That's college basketball.

 

[Gonzo]

werent they supposed to be a "dangerous" team in the acc this year? if we lose more than 2 games in this conference im gonna be disappointed.

Jimmy Dykes last night (pre-game) characterized Virginia as one of the country's top defensive teams in the country who can really bring it

 

[Madbiker]

The four games with Duke and Pitt will be wars and could go either way. We always have trouble with Pitt no matter where we play them. Hopefully we get a 2-2 split. Everyone is overlooking UNC but they are a dangerous team. But what worries me most is that the schedule is back-loaded with 4 road games the last 2 weeks of the season. If we lose 2-3 of those games (Duke, FSU?) the losses are concentrated in a short period which colors the perception of us...as in oh my Cuse is collapsing) and can have a greater impact on our seeding/placement than it really should.

 

[jncuse]

I can already hear the ACC homers in March when Virginia goes 11-7 in conference (and has a 60 RPI) and is on the outside of a bid looking in..."but they won 11 conference games!"

I miss the old 8-8 or 9-7 Virginia Tech teams that were always in the last team left out year after year. They beat Duke a few times and thought that in itself would be enough.

 

[jncuse]

Pitt's dominance was from having a talented teams play thug ball. Based on the Nova game and complaints from Russ Smith (we can't use our hands anymore, waaaha), the constant clutch and grab defense might take away whatever advantages Pitt formerly held.

I think I remember getting a tweet a few weeks back that Pitt did not get a foul in the entire first half in a recent game. Not sure how it happened.

 

[texascpa]

Oh, I know they were in the Tournament. I was in Cole Field House for the Richmond debacle.
And that makes it even worse, not better.

I don't know how you handle disappointment. Some people don't have a problem with it. But brace yourself because there are going to be nights when things don't fall for us. It's the nature of the college game and of basketball itself. A 14-4 ACC record is pure optimism given history.

I'm probably as bad as you in handling disappointment, especially when it comes to SU , but I go in every year overly optimistic.

 

[zeekay]

3 losses in ACC:
-Pitt on road
-Duke on road
- a What loss when Fair has the flu and some random bench guy on the opponent's team goes for 30 points on 8-9 shooting from three

Anything more is embarrassing in a league that's so down this year. Big Ten looks absolutely crazy in comparison.

 

[Doc5120]

I never understood the preseason Virginia hype. Other than Joe Harris, who do they really have? Although seeing as how the rest of the ACC isn't all that inspiring, I guess you have to put someone behind 'Cuse, Duke & UNC.

 

[Hoo's That]

Lest I remind you both of those games were in the tournament.

You don't think that you will be @Wake's and @BC's "NCAA tournament"? I'd say "GTech's," too, but you have them at home.

You're an elite team. I would assume your players expect they're going to get the best possible effort from their opponents. On most nights talent overcomes a lot of mistakes, but always remember there are nights when it doesn't. It's a very rare year in the ACC when the regular season champion doesn't have a What loss, usually on the road.

 

[senorpalmer]

I miss the old 8-8 or 9-7 Virginia Tech teams that were always in the last team left out year after year. They beat Duke a few times and thought that in itself would be enough.

Yes, after I made that post I had thought about going back to edit it and refer to this as the Seth Greenberg phenomenon.

 

[jncuse]

Yes, after I made that post I had thought about going back to edit it and refer to this as the Seth Greenberg phenomenon.

I remember going to a Virginia Tech message board after the 3rd year in row they were snubbed (all fair snubs IMO). There was posts about Suing the NCAA, leaving the NCAA, conspiracies of every kind. They were pissed.

I was not a member of this board (or any SU board) back in 2007 and 2008 - was it that bad after the 2007 snub here?

 

[HOFCeluck]

Yes, after I made that post I had thought about going back to edit it and refer to this as the Seth Greenberg phenomenon.

In retrosect firing him seems like a swell idea!

 

[jncuse]

Without Seth they now get snubbed by the NIT and the CBI.