2009-2010 NCCA Basketball thread

[phins]

The basketball team isn't really any good, and their program is only decent in basketball and soccer. I'm not sure of any other sports they're any good in. Add the word "SLU, before is and it flows better.

Go see how many Juniors and Seniors they have on their team. If they finish strong, I think they land in the NIT...maybe the NCAA depending on how many A10 teams they take.

This team is just getting started.

Plus, I'll add that if they didn't lose 2 games in OT...they'd be 8-1 in conference (leading the A10) and 17-6 overall.

BTW, their team is all Freshmen and Sophomores.

Kwamain Mitchell is a beast.

If they didn't lose close games, they'd have a better record, that is understood. For me, they're not a special program and getting beter, but history is not on their side. On their home floor, they couldn't match up with Missouri State, and never really can handle that program, and they haven't been an elite program in ten years (Missouri State). In the past several years, with juniors and seniors, they have been mediocre. In years with freshman and sophomores, they have been mediocre.

Honestly, they had a nice year with Larry Hughes once, and other than that, what have they ever done? I don't see them as a sleeping giant type program, I see them as a nice program, who will crop up and have a great year every ten years or so, but is nothing to cause all this fuss, other than their media market. I'm looking bigger picture, but it's entirely possible I'm failing to see what SLU has done to make them special.

A poster asked if I looked at the future much, and the fact that SLU doesn't have football, and has two programs that they really care about, and nothing on the women's side are negatives to me. The academic side of things is a big positive for me...to go with Bradley, Creighton, and Drake as academic centric schools (with Missouri State improving markedly in this area).

[phins]

Geographically, the MVC is a better fit...local rivals with Missouri State, Creighton, and SIUC.

But I think the A10 is a stronger better conference with Xavier, Dayton, Temple, Rhode Island...I don't expect Richmond & Charlotte to hang on very long.

This whole mess makes me miss Conference USA.

Then I repeat:
The nearest A10 teams are Dayton and Xavier, I believe. 350 something miles and Illinois and Indiana away. The next nearest A10 team is what? Richmond? Charlotte? Some team in Pittsburgh?

That's the issue. Academically and in setting the A10 schools are very like SLU, urban and private. But is that enough to overcome the extreme distances?

Sorry, I guess I never did answer your question exactly. I'll take the A10.

It's worth the travel, IMHO.

The A-10 is ascending, and has impressive athletes, but five of the last nine years the Valley has been better. The A-10 has been better the past two years, and will probably be again next year, but with 14 teams, the actual financial gains are somewhat miniscule (the A-10 is 9th in conference money, and the Valley 10th, with a difference of around $750,000 per school, a not insignificant number).

[JL21]

I thought SLU was in the same conference as Vianney, DeSmet, and MICDS?

[albertmvpujols]

That looked to be an awful call on the intentional foul on English. What a break for Mizzou, hopefully they can steal this one.

[albertmvpujols]

Mizzou's awful defensive rebounding looks like it's going to be their demise. Crappy way to lose a game that there was a good chance to win at the end, but it didn't really feel like a game they were going to win until the English play.

[slide_into_first]

How will they seed the BigTen tournament when the top five teams tie at 14-4?

[lukethedrifter]

The A10 has 7 teams within one game of 1st as of this morning.

[slide_into_first]

Great comeback by SLU.

[TimeForGuinness]

If they didn't lose close games, they'd have a better record, that is understood. For me, they're not a special program and getting beter, but history is not on their side. On their home floor, they couldn't match up with Missouri State, and never really can handle that program, and they haven't been an elite program in ten years (Missouri State). In the past several years, with juniors and seniors, they have been mediocre. In years with freshman and sophomores, they have been mediocre.

Honestly, they had a nice year with Larry Hughes once, and other than that, what have they ever done? I don't see them as a sleeping giant type program, I see them as a nice program, who will crop up and have a great year every ten years or so, but is nothing to cause all this fuss, other than their media market. I'm looking bigger picture, but it's entirely possible I'm failing to see what SLU has done to make them special.

A poster asked if I looked at the future much, and the fact that SLU doesn't have football, and has two programs that they really care about, and nothing on the women's side are negatives to me. The academic side of things is a big positive for me...to go with Bradley, Creighton, and Drake as academic centric schools (with Missouri State improving markedly in this area).

You can thank Belmont when you beat SLU this year. Mitchell (who averages ~15 pts a night and the leader of the team) was out injured after taking a shot in the eye towards the end of the Belmont game. While the loss shows the lack of the depth of the team, losing your best player is hard to overcome. Oh, and Mitchell dropped 30 on UMKC at the following game. Plus, our super frosh, Cody Ellis, just got here from Australia over Christmas Break due to the NCAA keeping him out due to a class audit. I don't want to toot the SLU horn too loud, but this is our best run of recruiting in years...and next year looks good too (we need an outside shooter).

As for basing your future performance on previous history. SLU has had 4 appearances in the NCAA tournament and 3 NIT appearances in the last 16 years. Not bad. Over the same span, Southwest Missouri State has had 1 NCAA appearance and 5 NIT appearances. So I guess their not a special program either? Please, both are similar programs that are on the up and up. Neither teams are sleeping giants, but both programs have a shot to gain a lot of ground

I can't speak for Missouri State, but SLU has finally brought their basketball team back on campus (which was never on campus) with a new arena that seats ~10,000 and hired a big name coach. They are finally recruiting strong players (over 6' feet tall...believe me, this is both hilarious and true) and Majerus has his own team right now, not one he inherited. The SLU administration has started putting money behind the basketball team in the last 4 years because they're finally realizing what it means...money, student recruitment, better name, etc. I think both programs are great programs and will start making some noise in the future.

After men's basketball and men's soccer (one of the best in the country), the women's volleyball and soccer teams are catching fire. But there is only so much SLU can do without a football team. There have been rumors and hopes, but I doubt it would happen...it's too expensive to stand up a team, but I would buy season tickets if they did. It definitely won't happen under the Biondi era...but maybe a new vision in the future could provide a team. I dunno.

No matter what SLU or Missouri State does, they are still in the shadow of Mizzou, Illinois, and Kansas. I'd like to see SLU in the MVC for the geographical rivals, but the teams in the A10 have schools similar to SLU. I dunno...it's a wash to me, but I like the history of the schools in the A10.

[TimeForGuinness]

Great comeback by SLU.

Great win, but we face Dayton again in Dayton...we gotta get better from behind the 3, and at the line. Cassity should not be starting.