Jump to content

Summit Tournament


ORUalum

Recommended Posts

ORU hangs on.....they did everything possible to give that game away --- 22 turnovers, abysmal FT shooting, and absolutely horrendous clock management the last 3 or 4 minutes.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ORU vs. host SDSU this afternoon.....won't likely be pretty if we play like we did yesterday......Jacks by 25+.......😮

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just need to “jack” up threes (pun intended) and hope they go in.  Not a great strategy, but it’s probably the only way we can keep this close - and have a chance at the upset. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UPSET?????......😏🤪🤣......:sdsu: by 30.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LET's GO BLUE!!!....THEEAGLEMAN is on board!!!...:tb-blue:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ORU down 47-29 at half.....we are shooting 32% and the Jacks 56%.....outrebounded 25-12.....going about as expected......:sdsu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

86-55.....bingo.....just as predicted....too much Jackrabbit today......:sdsu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ugh, it's like a broken record year after year, a loss to one of these teams in the semifinals, and this game wasn't even close from start to finish, and so,  where does this leave ORU women's basketball?  Even though the record looks decent overall at 18-13 it can't take away from the fact that it's another exit from the conference tournament without winning it all, and another season of not winning a regular-season conference title.  Sad for the seniors (and the entire team, of course) to once again finish out of the running for regular season or conference tournament glory.  Who knows, maybe there will be an invitation to the Women's Basketball Invitational after the NCAA and WNIT bids are announced, although it's not likely, so the team will get to experience postseason play at some level.

Will things ever change?  Will this program ever make it to the top of the conference again?  I would think that in year seven of this head coach and with goals in place with the coaching staff that the program would be better overall and would be competing better at the top of the conference.  I don't understand how coaches can recruit to Brookings and Vermillion and not to Tulsa, and even though ORU is still considered a faith-based University, coaches have been able to recruit successfully to ORU in the past.

It's easy to be frustrated after losses like this, and it's only natural to be, but I'm concerned that more progress hasn't been made to establish this program as one of the best, if not the best, in the Summit, and to have the program be in the conversation when it comes to mid-majors, so again, it points to the coaching staff and to what might be going on with athletics overall, although I don't know if anything is going on within the program or within the athletic department that we as fans should be concerned or worried about.  I don't see the drive coming down from the top to win, since the results aren't there, and they haven't been for a few years now across the board in almost every sport, except for baseball, and even baseball hasn't been successful when it comes to the NCAAs.  It's just been mentioned recently, by myself and others, that the athletic program is mediocre at best, if not below average when it comes to results on the court and on the field.  It's sad and discouraging and frustrating to see, and to go through as a fan and as an alum who cares.

Just my two cents.

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent post, BlueGold. At least the women got a W in the post season, which is great. But you look back on the overall record of our current coach staff and it points to the same problem the whole athletic department is having. The faith-based university thing is no excuse for coaches. Our teams just haven’t been able to compete at a high level in the summit for many years now. And we keep pointing to baseball as our shining light, but when was the last time they won a meaningful game in the Tourney, let alone made any sort of noise. Sad sad time to be a fan of oru athletics. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fortunately I did not get to see the beatdown SDSU administered to us in the Summit Semis this afternoon.  Nothing like getting hammered by 31 points.  Sadly this is the expected norm for our WBB program.  I did watch yesterday's game with WIU and we did a good job of making a 12-17 team (WIU) look really great.  As I watched the game I thought back to other games I saw the ladies play this year (always on TV) where I was less than impressed with how we performed.  In short, we usually beat the bad teams we play and get waxed by the good teams on our schedule.  This is not a new thing for our program either.  Year after year we are mediocre at best.  Not terrible but not great either.

Coach Cussen's record as HC now stands at 109-106 in seven years.  Yes, her first team won the Southland Conference and lost to Tennessee in the 1st round of the Big Dance, but their overall record that year (2012-13) was 18-13 and she inherited a team that the previous year had gone 20-11 with several very talented players returning including Seniors Kevi Luper and Jaci Bigham.  The following year (2013-14) and with those two gone she promptly led us to a 9-20 season.  In 2014-15 we went 18-16 and won a couple of games in the WBI.  Since then and for the last 4 years we have lost in either the 1st round or the semis of the Summit League Tourney to either SDSU or USD.  In short, we are not a bad team just a mediocre team that can never finish more than the 4th best team in the Summit League and no post season bids whatsoever.  Maybe you are satisfied with that but I am not.  

We have made the WNIT in 1983, 2010, 2011 and 2012.  We have made the Big Dance in 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008 and Cussen's team her first year in 2013.  And finally, we did make the WBI under Coach Cussen in 2015.  So, our program does have a track record of post season play prior to Coach Cussen.  I do not feel she can get us back there.  It has been 7 years and she has not come close to winning 20 games in any season she has been the HC.  How long does this go on?

Finally as for the Baseball team I am fearful we will lose both the Wichita State and Missouri State games and find ourselves with a losing record going into Summit League play.  The only thing that will save us in that sport is that we play in an awful league for baseball against what amounts to a bunch of stiffs and then go to the NCAA Tourney and make a quick exit.  When we play truly talented teams we are getting crushed.  

It is time for a change in the ENTIRE Athletic Department.  I too want to see improvement in MBB but I also want better in ALL sports! 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All good comments and discussion, and even if we don't know what's going on in the athletic department or even in regards to the support for athletics amongst the University administration, the proof is in the pudding as they say, and I mean with results, i.e. season records and how the different sports stack up against the competition, and in particular against the Summit League.  Good gosh, things aren't good.  So who's to blame?  How about the people at the top first of all, the AD and the athletic administration, and the coaches.  Perhaps it's time for a change at the very top, with the AD.  Get some new blood and new ideas in there and maybe a change of personality, and then maybe make some hard decisions about coaches.  Is an AD's job not to some large measure tied to performance, and coaches too?  If so, then the proof is in the pudding as they say.  And making hard decisions wouldn't be based on just one or even two seasons that might be down but in the pattern or patterns of results in terms of wins and losses and successes within the conference (which have been almost nonexistent the last few years almost across the board).  Again, seven seasons in with the current head coach for WBB and the program isn't a consistent winner year in and year out, and no conference regular season or tournament titles.  And unfortunately I don't have a good feeling that things are going to get better.  It never feels like they are going to win consistently enough.  From game to game I haven't had a feeling that we would win this game or that game, I would just hope that we would, which is a terrible feeling to have as a fan and supporter.  I know that they're all good people, but what were they hired for?  If we're going to field sports teams to mainly grow good citizens and good Christian people then that's admirable of course, but we might as well be NAIA if other priorities are going to be considered more important than winning.  ORU has had many examples of winning teams and programs that turn out good citizens and people of faith, so it can certainly happen.

I find it interesting that another D-1 women's basketball program is facing a lot of criticism regarding the true, or even altruistic mission of the program.  I have seen posts on a fan forum for OU WBB where many of the posters are questioning whether the current head coach values developing good people and having a culture within the program that focuses more on building character and good role models and productive members of society than values winning.  OU was 8-22 this season, and it's the first losing season since her second season there over 20 years ago, and they're questioning her competency and desire and calling for her head.  I'd say they're spoiled with success, and of course they are, but the point is that they are looking for reasons to vent their frustrations over losing, as we are, and they're looking at the program in almost every way to find answers as to why.  It's almost a unanimous belief among the posters there that a head coach's primary responsibility is to win games, and I agree. 

And it even came out that they believe that the coaching staff has a scorecard when it comes to recruiting to evaluate athletic and personal characteristics and abilities and traits and personal character.  Imagine that?  Seems that we've heard that something like that was used at another school named ORU.

I'll quote both of you in closing:  "Sad sad time to be a fan of oru athletics." (EagleManiac) and "It is time for a change in the ENTIRE Athletic Department.  I too want to see improvement in MBB but I also want better in ALL sports!" (ORU82)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think some off you are a little too critical. Especially those that don't even come out to support the teams. How many non family fans or staff did we have at the tournament. I was there and counted less than 15. If we aren't going to support the teams better than this why should we expect better? I think that Misty and the WBB team are fun to watch and are competitive. If they would have shot lights out 3s against SDSU they could have been in the game. As things currently stand the Summit has two WBB teams with top 40 RPIs. It is very difficult to recruit talent to that level. I say hats off to SDSU and USD to elevate this conference to that level.

 

image.png.73cb11d15ff2027cdd6330b4d9631079.png

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

#1 Fan, I was not at the tournament but I do support ORU Athletics financially and have for some time.  I do put my money where my mouth is.  After 7 years of this regime, I do expect better.  I actually expect better from ALL of our programs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I listened to coach Cussen's post game press conference after they lost to SDSU and I liked one of her responses.  They asked her what it takes to beat SDSU and she said that she thinks that Maci and Madi are seniors this year, right?  USD will probably be even better next year but SDSU might take a step back.  Maci broke Kevi's Summit League scoring record.  She was a MVP for the conference, conference tournament and many other things.  I know that ORU couldn't get over the SDSU hump when they were in the Summit with Kevi before ORU left for the Southland but you don't get players and teams like that very often.  I don't think that SDSU will be bad next year but they probably won't be a top #27 team.  

I do think that ORU has more basketball to play.  This should be the first year that the Summit League gets two teams in the NCAA tournament.  Denver and ORU will hopefully get into the WNIT and WBI.  Of course, this is just a guess on my behalf.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting, the Summit has two teams in the Big Dance, SDSU and USD.  The WNIT takes 17-13 Denver over our 18-13 team.  Any talk around Tulsa about a potential WBI for the Lady Eagles, and would we take it if offered?  Just curious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, ORU82 said:

Interesting, the Summit has two teams in the Big Dance, SDSU and USD.  The WNIT takes 17-13 Denver over our 18-13 team.  Any talk around Tulsa about a potential WBI for the Lady Eagles, and would we take it if offered?  Just curious.

This is from the WNIT website:

  1. A team that is offered an automatic berth by the WNIT shall be the team that is a.) the highest-finishing team in its conference's regular-season standings, and b.) is then not selected for the NCAA Tournament. It does not matter what the team's overall record is. For the automatic qualifying berth, the WNIT believes that a team's conference record is a more fair comparison among teams within their own conference, and that the conference record should pre-empt overall records among teams from the same conference. The automatic qualifying team is rewarded with the AQ spot for its in-conference play.
  2. Should a conference's automatic qualifier team decline the WNIT invitation, then the conference forfeits its AQ spot and that berth goes into the at-large pool.
  3. In the event of a tie among teams under consideration for the WNIT automatic berth, the WNIT will abide by conference bylaws that have been set up specifically to address a tie-breaking situation in that specific conference.

I bolded the portions that would apply to why Denver was chosen over ORU.  So based off Denver ended up as the 3 seed for the conference tournament also meant that they were positioned to be the automatic qualifier if USD was selected to the NCAA Tournament (which happened).  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...