Greendylan

Well yeah . . . now it's way worse. This has entered historically bad territory.

This feels a whole lot like the semifinal loss last season.

You might be right, but are you assuming that UAB wouldn't drop much in NET after losing? I wouldn't want our Q1 win over them to disappear.

I think it's likely. I can't guarantee it without knowing how other games will play out, but it makes a lot of sense, especially if we were to pick up one more solid road win. In this week's AP poll, Kent State, Southern Miss, and College of Charleston each received between 2-4 votes. Those 3 are all below NT in NET ranking, they all have similar records (2 of the 3 also have 5 losses), and they're all from conferences currently rated lower (according to RPI) than CUSA. It's not an exact science, but I feel like those examples above are a decent barometer of what NT should/shouldn't expect.

You are not wrong. UAB could conceivably lose a couple and slide down to 4, but I think it's way more likely that they will remain at 3 and MTSU at 4. It would be a very good thing for FAU to stumble and North Texas to win the regular season championship. Not likely to happen--but that would be the best case scenario for these final few games.

Well, sure, we may differ on what we consider to be "big" consequences of the NET ranking. To me, being a 12 seed instead of 15 is huge. And, I think getting up out of the 60s/70s to have a shot at the NIT is big. But yes, I see your point.

I don't quite understand this logic. If we were to win the CUSA tournament, then ratings/rankings would be critical in determining our seed in the NCAA tournament. And, we are by no means a lock for the NIT at this point. Ratings also matter in that regard.

I think there's a good chance that all the home teams except UTSA win tonight. And yes, I know it's still early, but positioning for the CUSA tournament is starting to take shape, and it's really important this season to finish in the top 3. Finishing 1st is always nice, but if we were to get the 2nd seed, I would feel like we had just as good a chance as anyone to win it all.

D2?

Ah, Bower! I've been trying to remember that name all afternoon. Quite the parallel...

I'm slightly surprised NT is favored.

Wow, didn't know that... If he can defend like his brother, we might be in trouble.

It doesn't feel like anything has changed since disastrously playing them last season.

It's the first day of the season, which is a time for optimism, so I'll lean toward positivity and say 7-6.

Thanks, that's good to know! Seems like a great new venue.

Wow, how did I not already know about this place? It looks spectacular, and we'll definitely try to make it out there tonight!

Interesting . . . Can we safely assume that they will stay open later than their usual closing time of 10:00?

I guess it's nice that Tarrant County is represented in some form, but it's still surprising that with the abundance of great venues in Fort Worth--nothing. There isn't even much else to compete with in the world of sports at that time.

Is this really your impression of him? I'm legitimately wondering where this opinion is coming from (not asking rhetorically to be snarky). I've only interacted with him briefly on a couple occasions at Coaches' Caravans, but he came across to me as warm and friendly.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/lsu-to-hire-matt-mcmahon-tigers-program-turns-to-murray-state-coach-after-firing-will-wade/

I think the season just ended with that last series.

Interesting. Overall, I'm going to interpret this as a slight advantage for a team like ours without a deep rotation. However, it could also encourage more fouling in the post by opposing teams trying to test the shaky FT shooting of Bell et al.

Folks, since we joined CUSA the number one seed has only won the tournament twice (in seven tries) prior to this year. One of those teams was a 31-win MTSU team that was an overwhelming favorite. Our offense, which was already not particularly good, didn't show up today against another good defensive team. These things happen, and we are now officially a bubble team. Realistically, we are probably headed for the NIT as one of the highest seeds. That's actually a really awesome opportunity!

Yeah . . . it doesn't matter how good the defense is. When you score 13 points in the first half, you aren't going to win.

I'm not trying to split hairs here. Style points certainly do have their benefit in a sport that has a committee determine a team's worthiness of the postseason and/or position. But, I do have to say that teams rise and fall in the NET all the time while idle--based upon how their opponents perform.