Jump to content

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

mugtang

Poll: How far will Nevada and Utah State go in the NCAAs?

NCAA Tournament  

85 members have voted

  1. 1. How far does Nevada go?

    • First Round
    • Second Round
    • Sweet 16
    • Elite 8
    • Final 4
    • Championship Game
      0
    • NCAA Tournament Champion
  2. 2. How far does Utah State go?

    • First Round
    • Second Round
    • Sweet 16
    • Elite 8
    • Final 4
      0
    • Championship Game
      0
    • NCAA Tournament Champion
      0

This poll is closed to new votes

  • Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.
  • Poll closed on 03/21/2019 at 10:51 PM

Recommended Posts

29 minutes ago, AggieFanz said:

Aggies win a close one against Washington and lose to UNC.  Nevada bows out against Florida with or without Caroline. 

welcome to the forum!  I was just  down  at the tourney.

Sam Merrill has fabulous hair.  You really have to see it in person.

cerified_Subarus.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AndroidAggie said:

i may get stoned for this, and i preface it by saying i think stew morrill was a very very good coach and we were lucky to have him, but here goes...

after the texas a&m game in 2010 i recall stew saying something like a&m was a team the likes of which they hadn't seen all year and it was a big and almost bridge-too-far kind of adjustment for our players and that's why we lost.  i think it was then that i went from accepting the fact that we didn't play anywhere challenging in OOC play to being categorically against playing cupcakes in OOC.  the common defense to the scheduling philosophy was that 'no one will play us' and i just hated hearing that and didn't believe it anymore.  we could have and should have done anything we could to find at least one of the 50 some odd teams to challenge us.  lo and behold, we did.  very next year we did a 1 and done at georgetown (lost by 17, never challenged them during the entire game) and stew said in the postgame something to the effect of "what good did it do us?"  i thought it was supposed to prepare us for what was a relatively easy road to the NCAA tournament...  but it just felt like he didn't think it was a good idea from the get go and immediately questioned the validity after the game.  on a related but somewhat separate note, during the 2010 WAC tourney when we lost to NMSU, there was a question during the post-game q&a with reporters about how stew felt if we were to miss out on the NCAA tournament because we didn't win our conference tournament. stew said something to the effect of "the WAC is supposed to be a two bid conference, so there's no point in being here in the WAC if we don't go.  might as well return to the big west."  that's just not the mindset of someone who wants to fight and test yourself and win at the highest level possible.  then again, it's may also be what keeps someone around for 17 some odd seasons at the same school...

obviously stew morrill has forgotten more about basketball than i ever will understand, and the man is a usu legend.  we were, again, lucky to have him.  i also am a pretty cowardly blowhard for saying this now, 5 years after stew is gone, rather than voicing these kinds of unpopular opinions at the time.  meh...  it's a sports board.  i believe he set expectations for how we'd perform in the dance that prepared us to fail rather than prepare us to succeed.

For me, it was the snub in 2004 where I turned against Stew’s position on scheduling. Stew’s refusal to play the scheduling game was idiotic and it hurt our team and our program time and time again in terms of our seed placement in the tourney.

I’ll say this about the selection committee: as much grief as they take and as much we think they cater to the P5’s, they have always remained constant in terms of placing emphasis on who you play and who you beat on your resume. If that wasn’t the case, then teams like NCSt this season or Nebraska last season would’ve been shoe-ins to make the dance, but they didn’t. What was great was that NCSt wasn’t even in the committee last 4 out, largely because their OOC SOS ranked dead last out of 353 teams. Meanwhile, USU’s OOC SOS ranked 26 heading into Selection Sunday and they were given an 8-seed, which tells me that even if we would’ve lost in the MWT, we would’ve dropped perhaps a seed placement, maybe two at the most, but we still would’ve been in and it wouldn’t have been the last 4.

rsz_romney-stadium.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, AndroidAggie said:

i may get stoned for this, and i preface it by saying i think stew morrill was a very very good coach and we were lucky to have him, but here goes...

after the texas a&m game in 2010 i recall stew saying something like a&m was a team the likes of which they hadn't seen all year and it was a big and almost bridge-too-far kind of adjustment for our players and that's why we lost.  i think it was then that i went from accepting the fact that we didn't play anywhere challenging in OOC play to being categorically against playing cupcakes in OOC.  the common defense to the scheduling philosophy was that 'no one will play us' and i just hated hearing that and didn't believe it anymore.  we could have and should have done anything we could to find at least one of the 50 some odd teams to challenge us.  lo and behold, we did.  very next year we did a 1 and done at georgetown (lost by 17, never challenged them during the entire game) and stew said in the postgame something to the effect of "what good did it do us?"  i thought it was supposed to prepare us for what was a relatively easy road to the NCAA tournament...  but it just felt like he didn't think it was a good idea from the get go and immediately questioned the validity after the game.  on a related but somewhat separate note, during the 2010 WAC tourney when we lost to NMSU, there was a question during the post-game q&a with reporters about how stew felt if we were to miss out on the NCAA tournament because we didn't win our conference tournament. stew said something to the effect of "the WAC is supposed to be a two bid conference, so there's no point in being here in the WAC if we don't go.  might as well return to the big west."  that's just not the mindset of someone who wants to fight and test yourself and win at the highest level possible.  then again, it's may also be what keeps someone around for 17 some odd seasons at the same school...

obviously stew morrill has forgotten more about basketball than i ever will understand, and the man is a usu legend.  we were, again, lucky to have him.  i also am a pretty cowardly blowhard for saying this now, 5 years after stew is gone, rather than voicing these kinds of unpopular opinions at the time.  meh...  it's a sports board.  i believe he set expectations for how we'd perform in the dance that prepared us to fail rather than prepare us to succeed.

this year, we have the following differences:

- different OOC slate.  we played saint mary's, arizona state, and houston.  we also played traditionally decent but not that awesome this year uc-irvine and northern iowa.  i think this is a much more ooc suitable schedule for preparing us to play a tournament caliber team.

- mwc today > wac of yesteryear.  obviously stew is not at all to blame for this, but the benefit persists all the same.  this year we played nevada twice, then sdsu, unm, and fresno 3 times each.  of course the mwc had a down year but nevada has crazy good talent and has been ranked all year.  the other traditionally good teams in the mwc; even though they're under performing, the individual basketball IQ, talent, and natural ability are heads and shoulders above what we ever faced in the WAC.  excepting perhaps NMSU and (of course) nevada.  fresno was with us in the wac, too, but they have been much better over the last 5 years, so i think the comparison of WAC fresno that played USU and MWC fresno that has played USU favors MWC fresno.  boise seems to me to slightly better, but is mostly a wash.

- craig smith's attitude and approach is palpably different.  there's not much more to elaborate on here.

- the year we played kansas state, we ended the regular season ranked 19 and kansas state was ranked 21.  we got a 12 seed, they got a 5 seed.  i think the disparity showed when we actually played.  we only lost by 5, but kansas state led the entire game.

washington may very well beat us this year.  but i doubt it.

I can't disagree with anything here. Stew was a fantastic coach, but had warts in recruiting and OOC scheduling. Like any other revered figure throughout history, he had some glaring flaws. That doesn't take away from the fact that he was a fantastic coach and is a great all around guy. 

As for the post NMSU comments while in the wac,He said something similar as that when USU lost to Nevada in OT in 2007 "If the WAC is a one bid league, why are we even in it?" He seemed to have a bit of a victims mentality when it came to playing tough competition, as you illustrated so well in your talking about Georgetown and TAM. I also heard from a pretty good source when we were rumored in a better conference via "the project" Stew was delighted when it fell through so he didn't have to play those tougher teams. 

Now if Stew were still here, I'd fully agree with the posters that say will lose based on the "USU has never been good in the tourney." The differences between this years team and teams of old make that argument invalid based on the differences you fluently (and with perfect grammar and syntax) laid out. 

If we do lose to Washington, it won't be because we are not prepared or because we haven't played teams similar to them, and that's a very encouraging thought. 

There are only two things I can't stand in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Lester_in_reno said:

welcome to the forum!  I was just  down  at the tourney.

Sam Merrill has fabulous hair.  You really have to see it in person.

Sam Merrill has perfect hair. You are correct. 

There are only two things I can't stand in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, madmartigan said:

I can't disagree with anything here. Stew was a fantastic coach, but had warts in recruiting and OOC scheduling. Like any other revered figure throughout history, he had some glaring flaws. That doesn't take away from the fact that he was a fantastic coach and is a great all around guy. 

As for the post NMSU comments while in the wac,He said something similar as that when USU lost to Nevada in OT in 2007 "If the WAC is a one bid league, why are we even in it?" He seemed to have a bit of a victims mentality when it came to playing tough competition, as you illustrated so well in your talking about Georgetown and TAM. I also heard from a pretty good source when we were rumored in a better conference via "the project" Stew was delighted when it fell through so he didn't have to play those tougher teams. 

Now if Stew were still here, I'd fully agree with the posters that say will lose based on the "USU has never been good in the tourney." The differences between this years team and teams of old make that argument invalid based on the differences you fluently (and with perfect grammar and syntax) laid out. 

If we do lose to Washington, it won't be because we are not prepared or because we haven't played teams similar to them, and that's a very encouraging thought. 

i think it was after nevada in 2007 -- i distinctly remember him saying it, but i just thought it was after the nmsu game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, AndroidAggie said:

i think it was after nevada in 2007 -- i distinctly remember him saying it, but i just thought it was after the nmsu game.

It was after Nevada in ‘06. He probably said the same thing after we lost to NMSU in ‘10, as well.

rsz_romney-stadium.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, aggzilla said:

It was after Nevada in ‘06. He probably said the same thing after we lost to NMSU in ‘10, as well.

You are correct, 06 and not 07. It only took three of us to get to the right year. 

There are only two things I can't stand in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 I refuse to get after Stew for not wanting to play one and done games. He had some warts, but he also had teams that were very very good, he recruited some great talent to the school. He stayed on when he could have gone for more money. We were much better with him as a coach than almost anyone else that has coached at USU. Spectrum magic was at it's best when he coached at USU.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

USU will have a tough game vs Washington but should pull it out if we can hit the 3's, if we don't, we will lose.  USU will struggle vs UNC and all the talent they can start and bring off the bench, hope I am wrong, it would be epic to beat UNC.  

Nevada is very athletic and their team has normally played well against solid competition and I see them showing up for this game and winning.  Then winning against Michigan too in a shocker, if Nevada can beat Florida soundly, that will give them a ton of confidence. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, ole blu dude said:

 I refuse to get after Stew for not wanting to play one and done games. He had some warts, but he also had teams that were very very good, he recruited some great talent to the school. He stayed on when he could have gone for more money. We were much better with him as a coach than almost anyone else that has coached at USU. Spectrum magic was at it's best when he coached at USU.

Legendary HC and great human being. Very grateful for what he did for USU. No argument there, but he did really struggle in tourney games due to these mentioned warts. 

There are only two things I can't stand in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, madmartigan said:

Legendary HC and great human being. Very grateful for what he did for USU. No argument there, but he did really struggle in tourney games due to these mentioned warts. 

 Some of the struggles were do to the fact of conference's we were part of the had no where the respect that the MWC does. Even with that how many coach's in school history have won a game in the big dance ? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, ole blu dude said:

 Some of the struggles were do to the fact of conference's we were part of the had no where the respect that the MWC does. Even with that how many coach's in school history have won a game in the big dance ? 

Agreed. Not playing in a respected conference hurt us with seeding and ultimately preparation. Combine that with weak OOC's and we set ourselves up for failure. 

There are only two things I can't stand in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ole blu dude said:

 Some of the struggles were do to the fact of conference's we were part of the had no where the respect that the MWC does. Even with that how many coach's in school history have won a game in the big dance ? 

Right here, this was Stew’s opinion. Stew threw this out as his excuse as to why we got snubbed in 2004 stating something along the lines of the BW was a “one-bid conference” no matter what and would never get an at-large, and that we would always be penciled in as a 12-seed or lower. One year later, Pacific shot down that ridiculous stance by not only earning an at-large bid, but they were given an 8-seed. If conference affiliation for mid majors was an element of criteria for receiving at-large bids and higher seed placement in the tourney, then Belmont would’ve been out and Wofford wouldn’t have received anything higher than an 11 or 12.

1-10 record in the NCAA’s... there might only be a handful of other coaches with a worse record that have coached a minimum of 10 games in the dance. And I refuse to believe that our low seed placement and struggles winning in the tourney under Stew were because of the lack of respect, or national perception, of our conference.

rsz_romney-stadium.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, aggzilla said:

Right here, this was Stew’s opinion. Stew threw this out as his excuse as to why we got snubbed in 2004 stating something along the lines of the BW was a “one-bid conference” no matter what and would never get an at-large, and that we would always be penciled in as a 12-seed or lower. One year later, Pacific shot down that ridiculous stance by not only earning an at-large bid, but they were given an 8-seed. If conference affiliation for mid majors was an element of criteria for receiving at-large bids and higher seed placement in the tourney, then Belmont would’ve been out and Wofford wouldn’t have received anything higher than an 11 or 12.

1-10 record in the NCAA’s... there might only be a handful of other coaches with a worse record that have coached a minimum of 10 games in the dance. And I refuse to believe that our low seed placement and struggles winning in the tourney under Stew were because of the lack of respect, or national perception, of our conference.

I believe that only two coach's in USU school history have won a game in the big dance Stew is one. I believe that even the MWC has more respect and better perception than the WAC or the BWC. Many times he had the best team in the state.

 USU was very luck to have Stew coach in Logan, and end up with the record he had. Looking at the body of work he would be most likely the best coach in school history. I hope that Smith does as well or better than what Stew did over a long period of time we shall see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, aggzilla said:

Right here, this was Stew’s opinion. Stew threw this out as his excuse as to why we got snubbed in 2004 stating something along the lines of the BW was a “one-bid conference” no matter what and would never get an at-large, and that we would always be penciled in as a 12-seed or lower. One year later, Pacific shot down that ridiculous stance by not only earning an at-large bid, but they were given an 8-seed. If conference affiliation for mid majors was an element of criteria for receiving at-large bids and higher seed placement in the tourney, then Belmont would’ve been out and Wofford wouldn’t have received anything higher than an 11 or 12.

1-10 record in the NCAA’s... there might only be a handful of other coaches with a worse record that have coached a minimum of 10 games in the dance. And I refuse to believe that our low seed placement and struggles winning in the tourney under Stew were because of the lack of respect, or national perception, of our conference.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/279/season/2005

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Basketball_Tournament

pacific played @fresno, @nevada, @kansas that year.  lost all 3.  but they showed a willingness to go on the road.  the year prior, they won 1 game in the ncaa tournament and played @duke.  they also played nevada and fresno at home, but the year prior to that, the 2003-2003 season, they played @fresno and @nevada and @oregon (who was ranked 10 at the time)

so in the span of 3 years, they played three each 1 and done's and two each 2 for 1's.

naturally correlation does not equal causation, but that just means that correlation alone isn't sufficient to conclusively declare causative influence.  imo, there's a strong link between their scheduling philosophy, their willingness to take on challenges, and two ncaa tournament wins (one where they were an 8 seed)

stew was awesome and deserves his legendary status as a USU bball coach.  but he had a real head scratcher of an approach to scheduling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...