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Post by motorcitysam on Oct 26, 2019 13:56:08 GMT -5
A-10 official preseason poll.
1. VCU 2. Davidson 3. Dayton 4. Rhode Island 5. St. Bonaventure 6. Richmond 7. Saint Louis 8. Duquesne 9. George Mason 10. La Salle 11. UMass 12. GW 13. St. Joseph's 14. Fordham
Duquesne is going to miss Eric Williams, Jr., and probably won't see their "no NCAA tournament" streak end. They haven't gone dancing since 1977, if you can believe it.
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 30, 2019 17:31:46 GMT -5
Richmond spanks Boston College by 20, 64-44. Richmond also has wins over Vanderbilt and Wisconsin. A-10 teams are racking up some quality wins.
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Post by Rogobob77 on Dec 9, 2019 22:36:59 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Dec 12, 2019 17:44:22 GMT -5
Another example from the "gotta go for more" school of hard knocks. UMass ended up with Matt McCall. I don't know anything about McCall, really, except a few raw numbers. As his first head coaching job he had taken over a loaded Chattanooga team (15-3 in the Southern conference the year before, only 1 meaningful graduation) in 2015. He got them to 29 wins and an NCAA appearance his first year, but then dropped by 10 wins in his second year, then got the Mass job. Recruitment-wise, after two years at the helm he left almost nothing for his successor when he took the Mass job. UMass lost 20 games last year (his first at the helm) and is 7-11 overall and 0-5 in a really down A10 this year. Most of his best players are still guys recruited by his predecessor, Derrick Kellogg. He does have only 1 senior making major contributions, so maybe he's gonna turn this around--it's only his 2nd year, after all. But you gotta wonder. UMass struggled in Kellogg's last two years (14-18, 15-18) but had an excellent incoming recruiting class. In the 4 years prior to that Kellogg's teams had averaged 22 wins, made the Minutemen's first NCAA appearance since 1998, and been nationally ranked for the first time since 1999. Kellogg landed at Long Island, and got them to the NCAA tournament last year. Yeah, there is always that group that pushes for a program to "dare to be great" by firing a coach who has had success in order to catch that lightening in the bottle. That group usually is pretty quiet when things backfire, like in Minnesota and Boston College. Not sure what will happen in the future at UMass, but I never would have fired Kellogg. Seems like he could recruit and coach, and I am glad to hear he has had some success at Long Island. Catching up on the UMass situation, which is one I have followed closely. After going 13-20 and 11-21 in the first two years of the McCall era, the Minutemen started out fast this year, going 5-0 against soft competition. There was cautious optimism from the fanbase, but then the schedule got tougher. UMass fell by 12 to Virginia (no shame in that), then lost by 15 to St. John's. Rutgers (!) smoked them by 25, then they dropped a home game to South Carolina by 4. Then it got really ugly. Harvard beat UMass like a rented mule, 89-55, and the Minutemen followed up that loss with an OT loss to Yale. That's a record of 5-6. UMass probably gets back on the winning track on December 20 against Maine, then close the non-conference season on the road against what looks like a decent Akron team. Suffice to say, it looks like it could be another long season for UMass, below the standards set by McCall's predecessor.
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Post by Rogobob77 on Dec 29, 2019 15:15:53 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Jan 12, 2020 10:03:21 GMT -5
Looking at the betting lines for yesterday's games, one jumped out at me: UMass was a twenty point underdog against Dayton. Seemed like a lot. And the Flyers actually beat the spread, 88-60.
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Post by motorcitysam on Jan 21, 2020 17:35:14 GMT -5
Duquesne hasn't made the NCAA tournament since the 70s. Is this the year they go back? They are currently 15-2, 5-0. They played a soft schedule, with no marquee wins and losses to UAB and Marshall, so an at large bid is unlikely.
LaSalle, UMass, Fordham, and St. Joseph's are bringing up the rear in the A-10. The whole league is chasing Dayton.
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Post by Commissioner on Jan 21, 2020 18:02:31 GMT -5
Duquesne hasn't made the NCAA tournament since the 70s. Is this the year they go back? They are currently 15-2, 5-0. They played a soft schedule, with no marquee wins and losses to UAB and Marshall, so an at large bid is unlikely. LaSalle, UMass, Fordham, and St. Joseph's are bringing up the rear in the A-10. The whole league is chasing Dayton. I think Duquesne can get an at-large bid but they probably have to beat Dayton at least once, and obviously can't lose a lot. If they went unbeaten except for losing 2 to Dayton, and then lost in the A10 Final, they'd be 29-5, without a win over a ranked team. That might sneak in (they'd have Quad 1 wins with road wins at Richmond, St. Louis, Rhode Island, and VCU) but would be very close--and no other losses is no margin for error, right? If they beat Dayton they could possibly lose as many as 6 games; and maybe 7 if they beat Dayton twice. I'm assuming those losses would be to the likes of the 4 teams just named, not a real embarrassing fiasco against Fordham or UMass. So far their league schedule has been as soft as their non-conference schedule, with games against Davidson, GW, Fordham, and St. Joe's. It wouldn't shock me if they collapse as they start going against better teams on the road.
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Post by Commissioner on Jan 21, 2020 18:03:27 GMT -5
Duquesne hasn't made the NCAA tournament since the 70s. To be precise, since 1977, a Duquesne squad that beat our Sweet 16 Titans.
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Post by motorcitysam on Jan 21, 2020 21:07:33 GMT -5
Duquesne hasn't made the NCAA tournament since the 70s. To be precise, since 1977, a Duquesne squad that beat our Sweet 16 Titans. Featuring Norm Nixon, who became one of my favorite NBA players with the Lakers.
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Post by motorcitysam on Jan 22, 2020 21:39:40 GMT -5
Duquesne hasn't made the NCAA tournament since the 70s. Is this the year they go back? They are currently 15-2, 5-0. They played a soft schedule, with no marquee wins and losses to UAB and Marshall, so an at large bid is unlikely. LaSalle, UMass, Fordham, and St. Joseph's are bringing up the rear in the A-10. The whole league is chasing Dayton. You could say Duquesne failed their first real test. On the road at Rhode Island they led by 8 at the half, but got blitzed in the second half, losing 77-55. The Dukes and the Spiders are tied in the standings at 5-1. Dayton continues to look like a BEAST, beating a pretty good St. Bonnie's team 86-60.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 28, 2020 18:49:57 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 31, 2020 23:49:03 GMT -5
A-10 official preseason poll. 1. VCU 2. Davidson 3. Dayton 4. Rhode Island 5. St. Bonaventure 6. Richmond 7. Saint Louis 8. Duquesne 9. George Mason 10. La Salle 11. UMass 12. GW 13. St. Joseph's 14. Fordham Duquesne is going to miss Eric Williams, Jr., and probably won't see their "no NCAA tournament" streak end. They haven't gone dancing since 1977, if you can believe it. Final A10 Standings. Dayton ran the table, finishing 18-0 in conference play. Dayton Richmond Rhode Island St. Louis Duquesne St. Bonaventure Davidson VCU UMass LaSalle George Washington George Mason Fordham St. Joe's Really a shame for the league that the tournament was cancelled. Dayton seemed primed for a long tournament run, which would have been huge for the school and the conference. The only losses the Flyers suffered were two close losses on neutral courts to Power Five teams. One of the treats for me this season was seeing Dayton play live.
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Post by motorcitysam on Aug 29, 2020 13:47:17 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Sept 2, 2020 12:53:19 GMT -5
Malachai Smith, a point guard from the Bronx, committed to Dayton. Solid pick for the Flyers, who appear to be capitalizing on their high profile after going undefeated in conference play in 2019-20. Gotta love a New York point guard. n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2021/malachi-smith-234295
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