Last 2 games and A10 tourney options

[brooklyn brownstone]

I am glad UR is winning on the road and playing better ball. However, since the at large chances went out the window multiple times in the OOC (and at GMU) I don't think that is realistic. So UR should focus on the A10 tourney. The options:

1 - win out regular season and perhaps get a double bye to the quarterfinals as the #4 seed. Likely matchups: vcu (5 seed), Davidson (1 seed), Dayton/URI (2/3 seeds). This is based upon DC beating vcu. That's a tough draw.

2 - win out regular season, but team ahead (vcu) also win out and UR is #5 seed. In A10 second round, #5 seed gets GMU/Fordham winner (GMU is mooney kryptonite, FU playing better and in NYC). Then likely get #4URI, #1 UD, #2/3 vcu/davidson in Brooklyn (b/c if vcu wins at DC they sweep them and win that tiebreak for #2 seed. URI likely loses at UD and gets #4 seed in that 3 team tiebreak w/vcu, DC, URI. Top 4 seeds would be 1-UD, 2-vcu, 3-DC, 4-URI)

3 - lose to UMass, beat SLU. UMass is 5 seed, UR is 6 seed. Get SLU/Duquesne winner in round 2 (much preferable for me) and likeliest scenarios (DC beats vcu at home, UD beats URI at home) leave the top 4 seeds as DC, UD, URI, vcu, so UR is on the side of the bracket with UD and URI. Draws URI in quarters, UD in semis and whoever else in finals.

Obviously, the 4 wins in 4 days is incredibly tough to pull off but since UR still needs help even w/ a win at UMass AND that side of the bracket would be a horrible grind (GW would also be on that side as #8 seed) it may not be the worst thing to be the 6 seed.

URI can also blow up all the above and win the conference outright with 2 wins plus a vcu win at DC in which case I think DC is the #4 seed.

Kind of wish UR had the Thursday game to see where the standings are before playing UMass.

 

[97spiderfan]

Originally posted by brooklyn brownstone:


1 - win out regular season and perhaps get a double bye to the quarterfinals as the #4 seed. Likely matchups: vcu (5 seed), Davidson (1 seed), Dayton/URI (2/3 seeds). This is based upon DC beating vcu. That's a tough draw.

This is the scenario I want. First, we get the all important bye. Secondly, I like our match-ups with VCU and Davidson way more than I like our match-up with Dayton and Rhody. Not seeing either of those teams until the finals, I think is best case scenario for us, especially Rhody.

I don't relish seeing VCU for a 3rd time in Brooklyn, beating a team 3 times in a year is really hard and we lose our bragging rights if they beat us up there. So, that is the downside to that seed. But having watched us play VCU twice already, pretty clear we match up really well with them.

 

[MolivaManiac]

I don't want any part of Rhody up there and I'm warming to the idea of playing the sheep for a 3rd time.

 

[Eight Legger]

I think the teams we match up best against are Bonaventure, VCU, Duquesne, St. Joe's and (surprisingly) Dayton. We don't match up well with Rhody.

Everyone else I think we can beat or have already beaten, whether or not the matchups seem to favor us or not. Davidson is a great shooting team, but we have defended the three really well, so I wouldn't be upset playing them. Lasalle has big guards but we still should have beaten them and probably would on a neutral floor. GW should be a bad matchup for us, but we should have swept them this year too.

 

[SpiderTrap]

I think the BYE is the key for every team in the tourney.

It is a hard task in any league to win 4 games in 4 days, let alone the A10, where any of the top 5-6 teams can beat each other.

And I have not gone back and check., but I can't remember any team outside the top 4 winning the A10 tourney in recent memory.

 

[SFspidur]

2006 was the last time, when X won it from the 10-seed. Notably, they never had to play the 1,3, or 4 seed because they all got knocked out early. That was the year GW went undefeated in conference play then promptly lost to Temple in their first tournament game. Saved the A-10 from being a one-bid conference that year.

 

[SouthJerseySpiderFan]

Just get a bye and play whoever. Would be so nice to finish ahead of those guys even though they will get into the tourny no matter what.

 

[urfan1]

playing 7 deep the bye is critical, let the others fall in place as they do

 

[urmite]

Originally posted by SFspidur:
2006 was the last time, when X won it from the 10-seed. Notably, they never had to play the 1,3, or 4 seed because they all got knocked out early. That was the year GW went undefeated in conference play then promptly lost to Temple in their first tournament game. Saved the A-10 from being a one-bid conference that year.

I believe the only other time was 2004. I knew there was a second one but couldn't remember when.


Xavier