Leaderboard

...a few mid-season observations, as ORU limps into Summit League play at 4-10: 1. The team has actually improved from the beginning of the season, particularly since the FGCU game, but that's not saying much, as the record indicates (only two D-1 wins, vs. teams that will likely have losing records themselves this year). Basically, ORU has progressed from "really bad" to "kinda mediocre". The questions remains: how high is their ceiling this season? All things considered, are they now simply playing as well as they are capable, or is there still some genuine potential for further improvement with this bunch? 2. As I've stated for years, the difference between winning and losing down the stretch in close games is Point. Guard. Play. And since ORU hasn't had decent point guard play in years, nor do they have a "go to" scorer in crunch time this season, it's hard to like their chances in any game where they don't have a double-digit lead at the final media timeout, especially on the road. 3. That being said, I now actually think ORU has a decent chance to win their conference home games against the lower half of the league. But otherwise, I don't like their chances in ANY road game, or when the Dakota schools and IPFW visit (UND being the exception). Throw in an outlier or two along the way, and you're looking at a 5-11 conference record and a 7th or 8th place finish, qualifying for the conference tournament but drawing SDSU or USD for a quick first-round exit. That would put the final record at 9-22. Which, if you're keeping score at home. is terrible. 4. If Chris Miller hasn't figured out by now how to stay out of foul trouble, he never will. See: "Roundtree, Steven (2010-2013)". It's an absolute shame; the guy has some skills. 5. Will there EVER be a big enough game that Paul Mills will wear a tie? Maybe if ORU played Baylor? 6. I would bet a modest amount of money that SDSU goes undefeated in league play. It's not their best squad of the Mike Daum era, but there's a wider gap this year between both he and SDSU vs. the other top players & teams in the conference. Best chances of them tripping up are at USD or IPFW. But that's pretty much it.

As much as I dread this game, I hope the series continues. Its always better when both programs are doing well of course. I was impressed with your freshman big guy, he looks like a steal. Hopefully you guys get it going in conference and I just might catch a game with the freebies I got for my sweater donation