The Atlantic 10 Thread

[CM1847]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

What is going on? I haven't checked any box scores for them lately. Is Goldwire not playing well and no one else is stepping up?

Goldwire played well enough against Hofstra(25 points or something), and others stepped up, but they didn't rebound at all. Tulsa was lights out, Goldwire had an off night, others stepped up but it wasn't enough.

They simply don't have a road warrior mentality, they haven't in the last few years. As bad as of a team as they were last year, they were still 11-4 or something at home, their road record was terrible.

On the A10 plus side, the league went 4-0 last night. Easy competition, but wins are wins.

[CM1847]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Xavier with two tough losses in a row, they should take care of business next time out but that Kansas State game will be a tough one, hopefully they can get these next 4 games, only the first one will be easy, but a good run against good competition heading into A10 play will keep them in the national spotlight.

UMass, Dayton and URI get their easy wins. URI should cruise untl their A10 opener against Dayton which is shaping up to be a very good game. If Dayton can beat Pitt this weekend it could be two top 25 A10 teams playing in that URI/UD game, that probably hasn't happened in at least a few years.

[boomhauertjs]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Got to my first UD game in like 6 years on Saturday. I was disappointed that Chris Wright didn't play, but it was still good to see a win. The Flyers have great depth in the backcourt, but the frontline worries me, especially against teams with talented big guys.
I had not been in the Arena since the remodeling, but it looks great. It's an older building, but it is still a great place to watch college hoops.

[CM1847]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Got to my first UD game in like 6 years on Saturday. I was disappointed that Chris Wright didn't play, but it was still good to see a win. The Flyers have great depth in the backcourt, but the frontline worries me, especially against teams with talented big guys.
I had not been in the Arena since the remodeling, but it looks great. It's an older building, but it is still a great place to watch college hoops.

I've not had the chance to see them or URI play this year, I'm hoping the UD/Pitt game will be on a national network so I can catch them, they are usually pretty fun to watch.

[SlimKibbles]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

I've not had the chance to see them or URI play this year, I'm hoping the UD/Pitt game will be on a national network so I can catch them, they are usually pretty fun to watch.

UD game is on ESPN2 @ 8:00 ET on Sat. I'll be watching and pulling for the upset!

The Xavier/Tennessee game was one of the more frustrating XU games I've ever attended. Xavier has the team to beat Tennessee, and they honestly should have on Saturday, but they weren't able to finish them off, which has plagued them, more often than not, for years now. They have been able to finish off weaker teams this season, or as BJ Raymond put it a couple of weeks ago, "Knock 'em down and then step on their necks." XU should have won that game. One of the worst choke jobs I've seen them pull off. Sadly, that's twice within a year if you count the game against the Buckeyes in March. They're never going to be able to take that next step until they can finish off games against a big-time opponent. They have Roy Bright and the Delaware State Hornets @ home this Friday, K-State @ home on Monday, Virginia @ home next Thursday, and then @ Auburn a week from Sunday to finish their OOC schedule. Need to go 4-0 to head into conference play with some momentum.

[khujo711]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Got to my first UD game in like 6 years on Saturday. I was disappointed that Chris Wright didn't play, but it was still good to see a win. The Flyers have great depth in the backcourt, but the frontline worries me, especially against teams with talented big guys.

Keeping Pitt of the offensive glass is going to be difficult, especially if Wright doesn't play (last I saw he was listed as game time decision).

Really need an all round scoring effort, like the Flyers have been getting recently. Can't just rely on Roberts to get 25+ like he did against Louisville.

Should be a relatively low scoring game, so hopefully the Flyers can keep hitting there free throws like they have been. Can't wait for this game.

Anyone seen a line? I know they normally come out the same day in college bball.

[CM1847]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Got to catch the second half of the Dayton/Pitt game(thanks WVU/Oklahoma!), needless to say, Dayton looked pretty impressive. They should join Rhode Island in the top 25 next week, probably replacing WVU. UMass & SLU also take care of business while La Salle, Temple and GW all miss chances at good wins.

[SlimKibbles]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

UD was hot the whole game and Pitt was a bit undermanned. Not sure if they ever had a chance. Great win by the Flyers and for the conference. Conference play is on the horizon and it's going to be a battle this year.

UD Arena is a tough place to win a game with the kind of atmosphere they had Saturday night. Been through that and have come out on the losing end before. The one I'll never forget is the 1990 MCC Tournament Championship game. Xavier had been ranked pretty much all season and were led by Tyrone Hill, among others. The Flyers won with Negele Knight leading the way. That place was rocking that night. X had to overcome a lot to win and they didn't. The entire arena went crazy when they played "Back to Life" by Snap and some dude in the band, or a cheerleader, went out there and danced.

[ELDoro]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Brian Roberts is my hero

[SlimKibbles]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Statline of the night in Xavier's 103-77 win over K-State:

M. Beasley 1-6 FG (0-3 3PT FG), 3-6 FT, 12 REB, 3 PF, 5 TO, 5 TP

Great win by the Muskies. Derek Brown and Jason Love played hard down low and Beasley couldn't do anything. I wish the team had shown this killer instinct against Tennessee. Next up, UVa on 1/3.

[CM1847]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Big win for X the other night, good to see them bounce back so well against a good team. Their next two are far from gimmies, but they will be in great shape if they can get both of the wins heading into A10 play.

[boomhauertjs]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Big win last Saturday for the Flyers. If they can get to 20 wins, I gotta think they'll be dancing this year with wins over Pitt and at L'ville.

[CM1847]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Big win last Saturday for the Flyers. If they can get to 20 wins, I gotta think they'll be dancing this year with wins over Pitt and at L'ville.

If they get by a good(but mostly untested) Akron team they will be in great shape heading into A10 play. A top 3 A10 finish would certainly lock up and at-large bid, but given how good they have been OOC they could probably slip to 4th if UMass finished above them.

URI is also looking like a lock right now as long as they finish in the top 3 of the league(and don't lose to Fairleigh-Dickinson tonight). If Xavier wins their next two OOC games they will be in the same position, as will UMass since they play two very quality teams before heading into A10 play.

A lot of teams are in very good shape right now, but there's no telling what will happen in conference play, if St. Louis or St. Joe's finishes in the top 3 of the league then it will hurt possible at-large bids for the previously mentioned teams. Either way, the league is in far better shape than it has been the past few years.

[elicoleman]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

Big game tonight between UMass and Houston. Both teams could certainly use another win to add to their resume before conference play.

And IMO, the A-10 is atleast a four bid league, possibly pushing a 5th depending on how everything shakes out in other conferences. I think Duquense could potentially be the 5th team. Currently 9-3 and RPI of 56.

It's funny how two weeks ago, I was really high on Charlotte after wins over Davidson, Wake Forest and SIU. Now, those wins don't look that good, and the Hofstra loss looks worse and worse.

[ehh]

Re: The Atlantic 10 Thread

I really doubt Duquesne will get in but who knows. True they are 9-3 but they don't have a single impressive win.