Mid-majors 2020-21 predictions: Gonzaga transcends labels, can win title

[UR Fan 2]

ESPN article with tons of Richmond mentions.

Mid-majors 2020-21 predictions: Gonzaga transcends labels, can win title

As the countdown to the 2020-21 college basketball season continues, ESPN's predictions series focuses on the top leagues beyond ... the top leagues.

www.espn.com

 

[PhillySpider]

WTF - - - Lunardi is the only one of five guys NOT to pick us to win the A-10??

 

[GKiller]

WTF - - - Lunardi is the only one of five guys NOT to pick us to win the A-10??

Why is that a WTF. It is expected. Lunardi has treated us much more poorly than we deserved ever since Hardt, in all his pretentiousness, put him on the payroll.

 

[spider23]

Lundardi is an odd cat. A few of us on this board called out his expected MO once it was revealed he was on payroll: Have us outside the dance on all his projections, until the very last one - and that is exactly how it played out. He's a philly special.

 

[SFspidur]

I've said it before, but I don't have an issue with Lunardi not showing favoritism towards us in brackets and picks. That's not what we're paying him for (though I'm happy to debate whether the services he is providing are worth paying him for).

It's completely reasonable to pick SLU over us. If I wasn't a Spider fan, I probably would too, especially with Nick out. They spanked us in the RC last year.

 

[spider23]

If we get to play it, will be an interesting race in the A10 this year. I am feeling like Dayton will be as much as a threats as SLU. Dayton is building a beast in years to come with multiple top 100 guys on their roster.

 

[RichmondNative]

I don’t care what Lunardi has to say in a preseason poll. Such polls just set expectations and we all know the expectations are high for UR regardless of what a preseason poll says. Plus, it looks like he is trying to be contrarian where he can, just so he has a chance to pretend he is the smartest person in the room.

 

[dobbiethespider]

Just beat VCU. Everything else is eye-wash.

 

[97spiderfan]

Honestly think that because Lunardi is on our payroll that he deliberately is not picking us. I think if word gets more widely out on the street that teams are paying him to provide them scheduling assistance, that will impinge on his bracketology gig that by its nature has to be impartial.

I'm actually kind of surprised he is able to do this side work and someone at ESPN hasn't said, wait a second. More surprised that as the PBP guy at St. Joes, that St. Joes hasn't said, wait a second, you are getting paid to help a fellow conference member.

Can you imagine if Bob Black was suddenly getting paid by St. Joes to help their MBB program? Would Spider fans be pissed about that.

 

[SFspidur]

Lunardi needs to consult with St. Joe's on scheduling...Kansas, Auburn, and Villanova confirmed, and Maryland reportedly still on the schedule. They're going to get killed.

 

[97spiderfan]

Lunardi needs to consult with St. Joe's on scheduling...Kansas, Auburn, and Villanova confirmed, and Maryland reportedly still on the schedule. They're going to get killed.

It's gonna make their NET look good for us, playing all of those good teams. I personally love going out and scheduling the toughest schedule you can, no matter your team. You get better by playing good teams.

 

[spiderman]

You get better by playing good teams.

I think that's stated as fact way too often. usually by a losing coach or a dad consoling his kid. I'm not sure it really works like that.

 

[gcarter52]

I think that's stated as fact way too often. usually by a losing coach or a dad consoling his kid. I'm not sure it really works like that.

That is true, only in time.

 

[Eight Legger]

I think that's stated as fact way too often. usually by a losing coach or a dad consoling his kid. I'm not sure it really works like that.

You don’t get better playing worse teams, but I agree that StJ is going to get annihilated in all of those games. They probably need the money, though, so...

 

[plydogg]

WTF - - - Lunardi is the only one of five guys NOT to pick us to win the A-10??

We don’t pay Lunardi as a bribe for him to blindly pick us. That’s not how it works. That’s some VCU level BS right there and I want nothing to do with even insinuating our institution would sink to such unethical and despicable levels

 

[nathanw19]

We don’t pay Lunardi as a bribe for him to blindly pick us. That’s not how it works. That’s some VCU level BS right there and I want nothing to do with even insinuating our institution would sink to such unethical and despicable levels

By pointing out that Lunardi is the only one that didn’t pick us, instead of insinuating he should he should because we pay him for scheduling advice, he could be implying that out of all the analysts, Lunardi should know our team the best, and he for some reason doesn’t think we’re better than St. Louis?

Which could be a problem if he is helping us pick winnable games “tough” games to help the schedule and doesn’t think we’re good enough to win the league.

 

[GKiller]

We don’t pay Lunardi as a bribe for him to blindly pick us. That’s not how it works. That’s some VCU level BS right there and I want nothing to do with even insinuating our institution would sink to such unethical and despicable levels

why did we pick Lunardi? It wasn't because he was good at understanding what the committee values. factually he's below average at picking the teams & seeding. It's very debatable if we even needed another set of eyes on what we call a 24/7 operation that's only behind recruiting - our veteran staff should have a great handle on how to schedule. But even if we did there are many better & cheaper options out there. what lunardi offers is the most eyeballs, he's the most visible bracketologist. yes that is exactly why hired and what my sources tell me. Bribe is not correct but we did anticipate a wink wink extra benefit. Which was always an obvious miscalculation by Hardt, when the more logical result is Lunardi would be harder on us due to the optics. And so we've been hurt by this arrangement.

Lunardi getting these gigs with his ties to ESPN and NCAA is shady anyway, and a questionable conflict of interest yet we willingly swam in this pool. If you've ever been involved with higher education RFP/contract processes I can tell you from experience it's not always ethical. Even look at our own AD hire, billed as a competitive "bid" i.e. hire, yet it was a setup. UR is an above the board institution overall but we are not immune.

 

[spiderman]

we talk about this Lunardi arrangement an awful lot on here. there's 2 important pieces of information missing for me.
1) I have no idea what involvement he has in our scheduling. I lean towards thinking it may simply be reviewing what we have penciled in and seeing if there are glaring weaknesses. i.e. very minimal involvement.
2) I have no idea his compensation but I lean toward very minimal there as well.
so in general, I think the issue is overblown. and I also think his predictions have no effect on anything. so I don't care where he puts us.

 

[spider23]

Gkiller, agree completely, shady as hell. With all the metrics and ability to run them, he is not needed other than for the "wink wink" factor. Shady and not effective. Big announcement by Hardt and Black while deflecting the anti Mooney crowd at that point in time.

 

[SpiderRick]

Lunardi needs to consult with St. Joe's on scheduling...Kansas, Auburn, and Villanova confirmed, and Maryland reportedly still on the schedule. They're going to get killed.

How about just fire Lunardi and hire the St. Joseph guy instead...

 

[97spiderfan]

I think that's stated as fact way too often. usually by a losing coach or a dad consoling his kid. I'm not sure it really works like that.

We are not talking about 10 year old YMCA leagues here. If it were, I would agree. But this is major D-1 hoops, if you are an A-10 program and get the opportunity to play these games, the answer is yes every single time. You are gonna be on TV, get your highlights on Sportscenter, and if you pull the upset, it really presents a statement.

 

[spiderman]

We are not talking about 10 year old YMCA leagues here. If it were, I would agree. But this is major D-1 hoops, if you are an A-10 program and get the opportunity to play these games, the answer is yes every single time. You are gonna be on TV, get your highlights on Sportscenter, and if you pull the upset, it really presents a statement.

oh, I'm with you that there's definitely a program benefit to playing great teams. the TV, the buzz, fan excitement, recruiting benefits, etc...
I'm just saying I'm not a believer in the the old adage. some people think we're a better team on Sunday for losing to a strong team on Saturday instead of beating a lesser team. I don't buy it.

 

[urmite]

oh, I'm with you that there's definitely a program benefit to playing great teams. the TV, the buzz, fan excitement, recruiting benefits, etc...
I'm just saying I'm not a believer in the the old adage. some people think we're a better team on Sunday for losing to a strong team on Saturday instead of beating a lesser team. I don't buy it.

Do you believe that playing against better backups all year in practice make you a better player?
I think that is the basis for people making that claim. The question seems to be is it valid to go from multiple practices to 1 live game and assume it has a similar affect.

 

[spider23]

Saw this mid major poll, though it is a pain on fansided, you have to progress page to page to see the full list:

Mid-major Basketball: Preseason Top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season

Who are the top mid-major basketball teams heading into the 2020-21 season? Here's a look at our top-25 collective rankings.

bustingbrackets.com

Interesting top 5;
5. Northern Iowa
4. SDSU
3. SLU
2. Spiders
1. Gonzaga

 

[Eight Legger]

Saw this mid major poll, though it is a pain on fansided, you have to progress page to page to see the full list:

Mid-major Basketball: Preseason Top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season

Who are the top mid-major basketball teams heading into the 2020-21 season? Here's a look at our top-25 collective rankings.

bustingbrackets.com

Interesting top 5;
5. Northern Iowa
4. SDSU
3. SLU
2. Spiders
1. Gonzaga

After reading this article, I am excited to learn more about our senior forward Nath Mayo! Sounds like he must be a late transfer.