UtahPirate
Active member
Some interesting posts recently -- looking forward to getting a few games at home and happy that the early Sky season gives us home games that might help us build that consistency that we seem to lack. While we might bemoan the fact that our preseason status has slipped, I thought I'd offer some Wildcat balm by taking a look at the other in-state schools.
Jimmer, Jimmer, where have you gone? At 8-7 BYU's season seems to be smoldering from an unexpected implosion and their inability to shoot 3's. After a RPI tough preseason schedule the Cougars find themselves 0-2 in the WCC and a long way from an NCAA tournament bid. You can write the Zags and most likely St. Marys in. Will the WCC get 3 spots -- the Y will have to turn some magic to get past Pepperdine whose preseason is solid and even LMU or Pacific. And with 1 whole road win so far, things are not looking good in Provo.
Who are you guys???? At 11-1 the Utes' record sure looks good. But their preseason schedule was called one of the 10 worst D1 preseason schedules by ESPN. The rubber hits the road this Saturday with the arrival of the Ducks in SLC. The PAC12 is loaded and may get 6 or even 7 tourney spots. Can the Utes get one? Their one good preseason win, against the Y, looks less impressive with each Cougar loss. Not sure what is actually there. I have a hard time seeing the Utes climb above their #8 preseason spot in the PAC. Just too many good teams and too many questions about how good the Utes can be on the road. And if they do play well and find themselves on the fringe, will the Committee reward them for their horrid preseason scheduling?
Up in smoke! USU season went bomb when Shaw decided to boot the gong with an under-aged girl -- and with plenty of Blue Sage leftover for some serious charges. (And a quick aside, one of my loves of Rahe is the good quality kids he seems to get at Weber.) At 10-2 it's another glossy Aggie preseason record made up from cowering in Cache County during the preseason -- they did make one trip out of the state so far...wow, that should really have them ready to play in a conference that is known for it's tough road trips. The Mountain West is not as good as last year, and with the PAC looking so good, does it fall to a 3 spot conference? You know the Committee, can't let in too many western teams! San Diego State looks to be the class but Boise is impressive and you always have to worry about New Mexico, UNLV and even CSU. Can the Ags win on the road in a tough conference? Will refs, who are used to crowds at Wyoming and The Pit, wilt at the Spectrum? Or will playing home games in the MWC become harder? And can they actually win consistently without Shaw? Committee is never very respectful of Aggie scheduling, the MWC helps, but fans in Logan have to be scared.
Just wanted to post a reminder that despite some nice preseason records, none of the in-state programs start into their conference with any better chances of dancing than we do. One spot for 11 teams is tough, but even if we start with more parity in the Sky, I think we have as much tourney opportunity as any of the neighbors. And there are real good odds that the state of Utah could get skunked this year -- but how I would love to be the lone Big Dance team...
Jimmer, Jimmer, where have you gone? At 8-7 BYU's season seems to be smoldering from an unexpected implosion and their inability to shoot 3's. After a RPI tough preseason schedule the Cougars find themselves 0-2 in the WCC and a long way from an NCAA tournament bid. You can write the Zags and most likely St. Marys in. Will the WCC get 3 spots -- the Y will have to turn some magic to get past Pepperdine whose preseason is solid and even LMU or Pacific. And with 1 whole road win so far, things are not looking good in Provo.
Who are you guys???? At 11-1 the Utes' record sure looks good. But their preseason schedule was called one of the 10 worst D1 preseason schedules by ESPN. The rubber hits the road this Saturday with the arrival of the Ducks in SLC. The PAC12 is loaded and may get 6 or even 7 tourney spots. Can the Utes get one? Their one good preseason win, against the Y, looks less impressive with each Cougar loss. Not sure what is actually there. I have a hard time seeing the Utes climb above their #8 preseason spot in the PAC. Just too many good teams and too many questions about how good the Utes can be on the road. And if they do play well and find themselves on the fringe, will the Committee reward them for their horrid preseason scheduling?
Up in smoke! USU season went bomb when Shaw decided to boot the gong with an under-aged girl -- and with plenty of Blue Sage leftover for some serious charges. (And a quick aside, one of my loves of Rahe is the good quality kids he seems to get at Weber.) At 10-2 it's another glossy Aggie preseason record made up from cowering in Cache County during the preseason -- they did make one trip out of the state so far...wow, that should really have them ready to play in a conference that is known for it's tough road trips. The Mountain West is not as good as last year, and with the PAC looking so good, does it fall to a 3 spot conference? You know the Committee, can't let in too many western teams! San Diego State looks to be the class but Boise is impressive and you always have to worry about New Mexico, UNLV and even CSU. Can the Ags win on the road in a tough conference? Will refs, who are used to crowds at Wyoming and The Pit, wilt at the Spectrum? Or will playing home games in the MWC become harder? And can they actually win consistently without Shaw? Committee is never very respectful of Aggie scheduling, the MWC helps, but fans in Logan have to be scared.
Just wanted to post a reminder that despite some nice preseason records, none of the in-state programs start into their conference with any better chances of dancing than we do. One spot for 11 teams is tough, but even if we start with more parity in the Sky, I think we have as much tourney opportunity as any of the neighbors. And there are real good odds that the state of Utah could get skunked this year -- but how I would love to be the lone Big Dance team...
hno:
