spiderman said:

if all of our home conference games are ranked in the top 160, worst we can get is a Q3 loss.
if all of our road conference games are ranked in the top 135, worst we can get is a Q2 loss.

so that's good.

but with no weak teams in the conference, I expect a lot of teams within a few games of .500
while fun, that's not the formula for multiple bids.

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In other words, it is basically like last year. Like it or not, the new normal for the A10 is competitive conference games with 1-2 teams going to the NCAAs. I guess this year there is some “hope” that it could be 3 teams, but I don’t see it happening. There are too few “open spots” in the field. The power conferences keep getting bigger and will take the majority of the spots and then you have the Big East and everyone else competing for something like 10 spots. I can’t recall which article I read that had the 10 number, but I believe it.

Gallipoli said:

You are projecting again.
The invasion of Ukraine and the plundering of Ukrainian resources are a direct result of the Biden Doctrine. It has nothing to do with Trump. Russia is making a hard push towards the lithium mines in Ukraine, because Russia knows that lithium is one of the metals that Biden is not allowing to be mined in the US. Lithium is most directly used in EV batteries, which Biden has mandated to be produced in great quantities by 2027. This triples US demand for foreign mining.

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Trump is the only one that has suggested Ukraine should just give the land up to Russia. That is stating facts, not projecting.

urfan1 said:

And Trump's solution is to give it to Putin. No wonder Putin supports him.

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You are projecting again.
The invasion of Ukraine and the plundering of Ukrainian resources are a direct result of the Biden Doctrine. It has nothing to do with Trump. Russia is making a hard push towards the lithium mines in Ukraine, because Russia knows that lithium is one of the metals that Biden is not allowing to be mined in the US. Lithium is most directly used in EV batteries, which Biden has mandated to be produced in great quantities by 2027. This triples US demand for foreign mining.

And Trump's solution is to give it to Putin. No wonder Putin supports him.

if all of our home conference games are ranked in the top 160, worst we can get is a Q3 loss.
if all of our road conference games are ranked in the top 135, worst we can get is a Q2 loss.

so that's good.

but with no weak teams in the conference, I expect a lot of teams within a few games of .500
while fun, that's not the formula for multiple bids.

This post explains in a nutshell Russia's reasons for invading Ukraine- riches and natural resources. The Ukrainians simply want freedom. If Biden and Harris want to support green initiatives, they must help Ukraine.

While the invasion and annexation of Crimea was focused to obtain the hydrocarbon resources in these areas, the invasion of Ukraine's East focus on obtaining the ore deposits, specifically the huge lithium ore deposits, which are crucial for battery production.

There are currently three known sites which contain an extraordinary high amount of lithium ore, plus a fourth site where it is suspected. Those are:

1.) Polokhivka (Kirovohrad region)
2.) Shevchenko (Donetsk region)
3.) Dobre (Kirovohrad region)
4.) Kruta Balka (Zaporizhzhia region) - unconfirmed

When checking my maps, you will see that Russians are heading for the Shevchenko lithium deposits site, almost directly. This is certainly no coincidence.


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yes, but still need more top teams. 2 in top 50 is in line but only 3 in 50-100 is a couple short of historical it seems. A10 unable to keep the quality at the top while improving the middle/bottom simultaneously is an issue for quality wins and "bad" losses since we know that any 100+ loss by a non P4 team is always flagged, regardless of circumstances. Lose @109 Wake Forest and it's overlooked bc of quality wins opportunities cashed in the ACC. A10 doesn't have that luxury.

Trump just canceled an upcoming interview with CNBC. He's been pulled off the road. After last night's clear proof of his complete mental decline, they can't allow him to appear in public.

If he were a dog, Black Hills Barbie Kristi Noem, who moderated the "event," would have taken him outside and shot him.

so projections say the bottom of the A10 is stronger than ever.
no gimmies. should be a very competitive fun season. probably plenty of upsets.

I hope the Dems can find a few more like him. I’m afraid the days of moderate Dems may be in the rear view mirror. If I recall correctly, his administration was the last time the US had a balanced budget.

Agree that the much maligned Ryan Butler should get some consideration. That group of players, along with K Smitty, KA and Gonzo were all just so mentally tough. Butler worked himself into a very very good all around player - and he was not afraid to take and make a big shot or pass. And he hates VCU, and maybe according to reports on here not so nice to Richmond fans. But he was a winning player.

Kevin Smith was the ultimate tone setter and competitor. And to 97's point was just a highlight reel that could motivate the fans and his teammates. SMitty would definitely by in my top 20. Oh i see he is in JOC's but I'll have to take a stab at mine.

Ferrum Spider said:

Of all the players Mooney has had trouble replacing or finding, I think a player like Gonzo is his biggest struggle. Tall lanky SG who can handle, defend and has range. Put him on any of those teams that were close to NCAAs and would elevate them to a NCAA lock. You could argue maybe Darien Brothers, but there is quite a gap in that talent level that isn't present with KA2/KA3/CL/JK, TEEJ/Grant, etc.

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And I would say another player that's been tough to find is the Ryan Butler type. Not a prolific scorer, but a good shooter, ballhandler, passer and a great defender who with his length could guard all 5 positions on defense back when the defense was switching on every screen.

1. Anderson
2. Harper
3. Cline
4. Gilyard
5. Golden
6. Allen
7. Ced L
8. Shawndre Jones
9. K Anthony
10. Gonzalvez
11. Geriot
12. Brothers
13. Burton(tie)
13. King(tie)
14, Francis
15. Quinn
16. Garrett
17. Bucknor
18. Sherod
19. Andre "Goose" Gustafson (best on ball defender of Mooney era)
20. Buckingham

Captain Anderson said:

I'll be there as always. Hoping we get a better crowd this Saturday but not holding my breath. VPI plays on Thursday night, UVA is at Clemson, and the weather forecast looks great so no reason not to have some local folks show up for what is a big game. Fingers crossed that we get some injured players back for this one. Back in the City Stadium days this would have been a well attended contest but my guess is that aluminum will out number actual bodies in the stands. Go spiders.

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fan2011 said:

Preseason was 126, final was 89. Not a huge swing. A10 was very, very weak last year. Kenpoms numbers are more about the conference improving than Richmond being worse.

Additionally, it is very hard for computer models to take into account every piece of info for every team. All they have is past on court performance for the players on the team, and historical team performance. When there are so many unknowns on the roster they tend to just use historical performance over the past 5 or so years. That is what is giving us these rankings.

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Do these numbers I compiled seem correct for the A10?
2019-2020
KenPom 1-50 2 teams
51-100 5 teams
101-179 3 teams average 154
180-364 4 teams average 231.8

2020-2021
KenPom 1-50 2 teams
51-100 4 teams
101-179 4 teams average 124.3
180-364 4 teams average 234.8

2021-2022
KenPom 1-50 2 teams
51-100 4 teams
101-179 4 teams average 145.3
180-364 4 teams average 230.0

2022-2023
KenPom 1-50 0 teams
51-100 3 teams
101-179 5 teams average 140
180-364 7 teams average 222

2023-2024
KenPom 1-50 1 teams
51-10 7 teams average 85.2
101-179 2 teams average 113.5
180-364 4 teams average 177.4

9 in top 102 last season?

Preseason
2024-2025
KenPom 1-50 2 teams
51-100 3 teams
101-179 10 teams average 135.1
180-364 0 teams

Wood Hall said:

Or Trump, who was totally incoherent at tonight's town meeting.

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Clinton may have lost a step or two but he still runs laps around Trump.

KE Spider said:

Anyone see the Bill Clinton video campaigning for Dem ticket? Jeez, looks/acts like he ought be sharing a nursing home room with Biden.

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Here's a summary of Trump's town hall in PA last night:

"In Oaks, Pennsylvania, tonight, Trump was supposed to take questions from preselected attendees at a town hall with North Dakota governor Kristi Noem. He did, at first, although his answers were all over the place and he urged people to vote on January 5. But then, in the hot and crowded space, two people needed medical attention. Slurring, Trump then said: “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?” And then he stood on stage and swayed for 39 minutes of songs from his personal playlist before seeming to recall that he was supposed to be talking about the election, which he suddenly told the confused crowd was “the most important election in the history of our country” before turning back to the music."

I certainly hope all the Trump voters show up to vote on January 5 as he implored them to do. Biden and Clinton in a nursing home? Trump has lost it, if he ever had it, and is in worse shape than Biden.

I'll be there as always. Hoping we get a better crowd this Saturday but not holding my breath. VPI plays on Thursday night, UVA is at Clemson, and the weather forecast looks great so no reason not to have some local folks show up for what is a big game. Fingers crossed that we get some injured players back for this one. Back in the City Stadium days this would have been a well attended contest but my guess is that aluminum will out number actual bodies in the stands. Go spiders.

Hawaii moving the rest of the sports it can from Big West to Mountain West, joining its football program there.

KE Spider said:

Anyone see the Bill Clinton video campaigning for Dem ticket? Jeez, looks/acts like he ought be sharing a nursing home room with Biden.

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Or Trump, who was totally incoherent at tonight's town meeting.

spider23 said:

Yep, I'm a big Gonzo proponent. No back down in that guy. The more I think about it, the KA/Gonzo back court really may be my number one all time UR back court.

Also agree about Ced, he could play with anyone - you could drop him into an ACC line up and most teams you are not losing anything, probably gaining. And he was a clutch performer too.

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Of all the players Mooney has had trouble replacing or finding, I think a player like Gonzo is his biggest struggle. Tall lanky SG who can handle, defend and has range. Put him on any of those teams that were close to NCAAs and would elevate them to a NCAA lock. You could argue maybe Darien Brothers, but there is quite a gap in that talent level that isn't present with KA2/KA3/CL/JK, TEEJ/Grant, etc.

2020: Kenpom had us 2nd best A10 team at 46.
2021: 4th best at 65.
2022: 6th best at 85.
2023: 8th best at 150.
2024: 4th best at 89.

So, it's hard for me to agree that he is using some kind of analytical data to put us 11th. I already showed where we finished in the standings. Now, looking at this.....like I said, he is pretty much just drawing names out of a hat right now.

Or, just say looking at our team THIS YEAR, we are 11th based on all the other A10 teams THIS YEAR. That's fine and, even though I think we will do much better than that, hard to argue with that opinion too much if he feels there are 10 teams better. Because it's an opinion. But, save the analytical crap....as if any data at all the past 5 years would justify being 11th.

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brooklyn brownstone said:

Maybe it's not individual stats but things like team efficiencies as a whole year over year over year? UR should be the easiest to peg bc we always have the same coach, always had the same style of offense and until last year I'd imagine the defense was fairly consistent since we went away from the matchup.

Saying analytics is stupid is not smart IMO. I understand your point that personnel change happens, but if you can look at numbers and they have the ability predict fairly accurately future results based on past performances (year over year over year) you'd be dumb to ignore them.

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I didn't say all analytics were stupid. I said so many of these analytics are stupid. They just are. And that would include using our 2020 season as even 1% of what we might do this year. And I say that knowing how great our 2020 season was. But, if kenpom is using efficiencies, we are also way better than 11th too. Just saying...he is just picking names out of a hat right now for the most part.

He might be right. He might be wrong. But, what we do know is all of these analytics dudes were way off last year when they had us 11th.

Anyone see the Bill Clinton video campaigning for Dem ticket? Jeez, looks/acts like he ought be sharing a nursing home room with Biden.

ncspiderfan said:

The AnyGivenSaturday poll has Spiders #18.

Just info, but I like to watch this poll since the group voting are for the most part FCS junkies like me (though I am not a voter). The one drawback is many of them do not have Flo Sports access and as a result they might be giving the CAA a bit of a pass at present. I would add that many of them post their own polls in a thread week to week and they question each other's reasoning for particular placements of teams to get feedback and justify their thoughts on placement in their voting.

They are not putting Delaware in their polling this year and have the following ranked for the CAA

5 Nova
16 W&M
17 Rhode Island
18 Richmond
23 New Hampshireo
24 Towson

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I follow their poll as well but rarely post. It seems to me that there is a hugh regional bias but enough voters scattered about to smooth it out a bit. It also seems that many voters take "beauty" points into account when voting as well. With that said their poll by year's end is pretty close to playoff lineup.