We better not take MTSU lightly

[FrancoPizza]

Vermont actually had a better RPI and was probably underseeded.

vermont was a crap team. Stop apologizing for JB. The minute we went trunk monkey they pooped their pants.

 

[Marroniac]

Some of you guys are pretty miserable. We're playing with house money here.
Enjoy the ride.

 

[bozophobe]

vermont was a crap team. Stop apologizing for JB. The minute we went trunk monkey they pooped their pants.

Thing about that game - didn't Hak have 10 turnovers? I can't recall any SU player ever having that many since I started following (around 1980). Especially from a non-guard.

 

[rrlbees]

Some of you guys are pretty miserable. We're playing with house money here. Enjoy the ride.

That's for sure. It's the same few people craping negativity in numerous threads. They'd rather bitch than enjoy the win. Don't get it.

 

[strumpfasaurus]

I don't understand how some people are bringing up the fact that us losing 5 out of our last 6 games has any bearing on this game at all. Once you get to the tournament I feel like your season completely resets and anything you did before that means nothing. While this may not be the most talented team Beoheim has ever fielded we are still Syracuse Basketball with Mcdonalds All Americans and amazing athletes and a hall of fame coach. We have the talent to make it to the final four we also have the inconsistency to lose tomorrow as well. Let's enjoy that cards fell in our favor and this may be the most surprising run of all time.

 

[Orangemen]

That's for sure. It's the same few people craping negativity in numerous threads. They'd rather bitch than enjoy the win. Don't get it.

To be sitting where we are right now is borderline unbelievable. A week ago the majority of this board reasonably thought we were done. Now we're in the second round against a 15 seed. 538.com has us a 70% to make the sweet 16. Most of this board wouldn't have had us at 70% win one NIT game a week ago.

To be lined up against MTSU is a gift from the basketball gods and I'm ecstatic about it. Of all the times this year to be negative, this is definitely not one of them.

 

[CorduroyG]

If anyone thinks we would have lost to st johns with boeheim i dont know what to tell you. Gtown who knows, but theres no way we lose to st johns.

 

[EnnisEnvy]

Depends if they end up like your namesake or not, which is why I'm shocked that good one came from you! Also depends if the other 2 are closers, like in Glengarry Glen Ross or not!

Ennis is "playing" with house money in the NBA and I hope he's smart with it. I think he could have been a great college player but don't blame him for going for the cash. Might be on his one and only NBA contract.

Great avatar by the way!

 

[KaiserUEO]

That's for sure. It's the same few people craping negativity in numerous threads. They'd rather bitch than enjoy the win. Don't get it.

Beating Dayton and squaring up v 15 seed, does not give the board idiots carte blanche to come on here and pontificate that there was anything right or just about the unmitigated disaster that was Hops coaching job v St. John's.

If we play them 1000x this year...then that's 1000 guaranfluckingteed WINS.

 

[721Comstock]

If anyone thinks we would have lost to st johns with boeheim i dont know what to tell you. Gtown who knows, but theres no way we lose to st johns.

Just like there's no way Boeheim loses to teams like DePaul. Or Seton Hall.

Oh, wait. He did.

Occasionally, awful teams get ridiculously hot from 3 and beat good teams.
See: MTSU vs MSU for a recent example.

As a Syracuse fan, it's not like this has never happened to us before.
And Hop wasn't the coach all the other times that happened.

 

[cusetown1]

Who cares who we lost to. As a 10 seed we are looking at playing mid Tennessee st, while Kansas who lost very little is playing Uconn. Regular season Wins and losses mean nothing, as long as you get in the tourney and win, and hope to have some things go your way.

 

[Orange2389]

now more than ever its obvious that the NCAA tourney is not defined by logic. get in and anything can happen.

 

[CaptainJ]

You can't even say I'm taking Middle Tenn whatever lightly. They don't even rate lightly. I've never heard of them and never thought of them. Heck, I didn't even know the state of Tennessee has a middle, let alone that there's a school there. They beat Michigan State. Great. I don't care. Things I've scraped off of my shoe merit more attention and concern. And I don't even mean for me personally. I mean every member of this board cares more about things I scrape off of my shoe than this team. Middle Tenn is just another team in our way. Someday, they'll look back on the privilege that it was to receive a beat down from us as we marched to glory.

Right on! I just want to know if this beat down is going to be by more than 6.5 points so I can bet again!

 

[CaptainJ]

now more than ever its obvious that the NCAA tourney is not defined by logic. get in and anything can happen.

So true. It's not like we have to look that far back to see examples of such. It is NOT about the season now, it's about right now. Would MTSU have beaten MSU 2 months ago? I have no idea, nor do I care!(nor do they)

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

Two things had to happen for MTSU to beat MSU. The first was that Sparty took them too lightly. The second was that MTSU played out of their minds. If those two teams play 10x, MSU wins 9/10...no question...The win was a fluke and had nothing at all to do with parity...

If we play like we did during the second half at Dayton we'll win going away. If we struggle to make shots we can still win if we play good defense. I love this match up for a spot in the Sweet 16...LGO!

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

Not trying to take anything away from MTSU basketball here. They've got a decent program for who they are, and my heart goes out to them, at least a little, even today.

But in the school's formation, some board made a conscious decision to call themselves "Middle" TSU instead of "Central" TSU. I'm curious as to why. I don't believe there are any other "Middle" state universities. In fairness, I am not from Tennessee, and I've never spent any time there. I hear it is a wonderful state. Perhaps that is how native Tennesseeans refer to that part of their state.

 

[Day2]

Just like there's no way Boeheim loses to teams like DePaul. Or Seton Hall.

Oh, wait. He did.

Occasionally, awful teams get ridiculously hot from 3 and beat good teams.
See: MTSU vs MSU for a recent example.

As a Syracuse fan, it's not like this has never happened to us before.
And Hop wasn't the coach all the other times that happened.

Both DePaul and Seton Hall were conference opponents familiar with the zone. SJU was a conference opponent, sure, but not with Mullin or the current roster.

No way JB lets the game get out of hand like that. He would have made a bunch of adjustments. Like pressure. Like extending the zone or keying on certain players. Our offense has also been more effective under JB. Hopkins just isn't there yet. And that's OK. Not everyone's a HOF coach overnight.

 

[two3zone]

More ridiculousness from 2-3 Zone. That is, if you can wade through all the bet-hedging in it. ("I'm not saying we should take the lightly but we shouldn't have a problem" Which is it?)

And Bad Losses? Let's see. Who else has some bad losses on their resume and was the 62nd or 63rd team put into the Tourney?

I just watched them soundly beat MSU. And MSU is a very good team.

MTSU is tough. They are athletic. They can shoot. They are unlike any one we play during the regular season.

I believe what I see before my eyes.

I can easily see them beating SU. Especially because I never know which SU is going to show up for any given game. If we have a first half like we just did against Dayton, this will be a laugher. But we won't be the ones laughing.

What did you see with your eyes today? I saw a much more talented team beat a team that was outmatched in ever facet of the game. Beating MSU was a fluke.

 

[br801]

What did you see with your eyes today? I saw a much more talented team beat a team that was outmatched in ever facet of the game. Beating MSU was a fluke.

They matched up well against MSU and essentially dominated that game and answered about four or five MSU runs. This was a problematic matchup for them, coming down off the high and facing the zone. Just further proof that it's all about how you match up in today's game.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Can we confirm if Jim is alive?

 

[kirbivore]

after all of townie's lectures he's probably disappointed in the blowout result.

 

[pulaski74]

We are better than our record?

Parcells says, accurately I think, that you are what your record says you are.

Welcome to the new world of college basketball parity. Maybe that parity hasn't spread to the top 2 seeds, but once you get to 3 and 4 and 5, the differences between teams is a lot less than it used to be.

Meanwhile the unwashed masses are still tied to the structured hierarchy of past years. They go through their brackets picking the higher seeds mindlessly, and by the Round of 32, their brackets are hopeless broken.

Any SU fan that sits down to watch that game tomorrow with an air of smug confidence, better have some Roll Aids handy just in case.

Well, all I had was a fifth of beefeaters and a pack of smokes, no rolaids required. true blue fan a long time but no antacids needed to watch a bb game.

 

[samspann1]

D -III guard with 12 points. I believe that he even outscored the great Giddy Potts

 

[pulaski74]

st johns doesn't know how to dribble.

and hop never bothered to pressure the ball.

I don't care how hot the shooters are, if they cant get the ball up the court they aren't going to make shots.

st johns was an absolute disgrace, Hop should have his job in waiting title taken away from him because of it.

there is ZERO excuse to lose to st johns...ZERO.

and judging by how scared and crappy he coached the whole 9 games, having gtown at gtown for his 1st game was bad timing...for he was likely doubly scared and crapping his pants. JB would've won that easily.

Hey bro, you trying to tell me you are on top of your game 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year? Man this is a grind for these guys, so they s--t the bed against sju. Who cares now?

 

[two3zone]

Hey bro, you trying to tell me you are on top of your game 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year? Man this is a grind for these guys, so they s--t the bed against sju. Who cares now?

I had the flu and diarrhea all week, wasn't on top of my game the duration of it. Sometimes you have it sometimes you don't. We just obviously didn't have it that day but we do now and I for one am enjoying the ride!