Game 26: GMU (20-5 / 11-1) vs St. Joe’s (15-9 / 6-5) on Saturday, February 15, at 12:30 PM.

[GMUgemini]

Expansion should be so easy - do away with first four, and have x amount of at larges have one game playoffs with the winner getting into the bracket. Maybe rank the last 6 in and the first 6 out, and have the last 6 in host.

This is almost exactly what she was describing, but moving the first four exclusively out of Dayton and having one game in each of the time zones so the teams who make it through can stay there and don’t have to fly out of Dayton immediately to somewhere across the country.

She also said they can’t expand too much because the media partners won’t let them anyway (hard stops because of other sports commitments).

 

[MasonSAE4]

I’m less concerned about the bottom of the conference than I am the top 6 shooting itself in the foot all the time.

Last season it was St. Joes coming in with a great non-con and ending with a mediocre 9-9.

This season it’s Dayton and to a lesser extent Mason and St. Bonaventure and of course St. Joes again, who has the best win in the A10 but is mediocre again.

We need a solid 6-8 teams (Dayton, vcu, St. Joes, Davidson, St. Bonaventure, Loyola-Chicago, anyone else, and of course Mason) who can perennially be top 100 with 3-4 being Q1 material (25-50 range).

Edit: this is basically the current Mountain West (4 top 50 teams, 6 in the top 100, 1 just outside—UNLV at 108–and it doesn’t matter that they have two sub-300 teams at the bottom of the conference).

I mean that’s an entirely different problem, but I agree. Someone has to finish bottom every year but when you’re finishing bottom nearly every year? We gotta have a talk. Yeah I realize they’ve had some ok years recently but I honestly think there was so much chaos in the post Covid years with transfer and whatnot that it allowed them to kind of sneak in for a bit. But they were at the bottom every year pre-pandemic and they seem to be settling into that roll again.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Before we move past this game’s discussion completely, can we give props to Billups for making that HUGE 3 to tie the game with just under 6 left. Stats say he is not a great shooter, but he came up big when we needed it most.

 

[gmubrian]

I’m less concerned about the bottom of the conference than I am the top 6 shooting itself in the foot all the time.

If we don't have a huge NET-killer in our conference, then we can't shoot ourselves in the foot. Right now, the top of the A10 has to be almost perfect in conference to not kill their at-large chances. There are too many time bombs lurking at the bottom of the league waiting to destroy the at-large chances of one of our top teams.

 

[psyclone]

If we don't have a huge NET-killer in our conference, then we can't shoot ourselves in the foot. Right now, the top of the A10 has to be almost perfect in conference to not kill their at-large chances. There are too many time bombs lurking at the bottom of the league waiting to destroy the at-large chances of one of our top teams.

Not to jinx us, but as of now the bottom 3 teams in the A10 (Fordham, Richmond, LaSalle) have yet to win a game against any in the top 6. Doesn't mean they aren't "lurking", but so far they've been unsuccessful.

 

[GSII]

You are right. They did. They were even good when they were in the Sunbelt back in the '70s. I think their coach was Sonny Smith.
Ah, Mason Day! I remember the night they had a wet tee shirt contest behind the then new Robinson I and I tried to get my girlfriend to enter. Tried, being the operative word.
But hey, I'm stepping out of character here!

I bet you were drunk as a skunk. You silly cat you.

 

[GMU79]

I bet you were drunk as a skunk. You silly cat you.

LOL!! Not a drop. Never have. Nor a smoke. But as a young 20 something, I did enjoy the show!

 

[Jack Strop]

Not to jinx us, but as of now the bottom 3 teams in the A10 (Fordham, Richmond, LaSalle) have yet to win a game against any in the top 6. Doesn't mean they aren't "lurking", but so far they've been unsuccessful.

Yeah, and those three plus Duquesne make up our last four games.

 

[GMU79]

Yeah, and those three plus Duquesne make up our last four games.

Making our game against vcu even
huger!
Just win.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

I bet you were drunk as a skunk. You silly cat you.

Nothing beat the ladies banana eating contest......