FargoBison Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Well, i have to say that the commentary here in the past 24 hrs. is top quality stuff...i appreciate all the input and comments i read all make sense....agree that this is no longer the 70's top 30 teams are NOT going to come into Mabee unless you have a team like Duke or Villanova who historically will play a game on the road in a tough building of a mid major because they are recruiting a kid from the area or have a kid on the roster from that area and promised him a game in his hometown....but perhaps we could get home and home games with a Davidson, Winthrop or Sam Houston St....all top mid majors...as for IUPUI and NDSU having the potential to be TOP 50 RPI schools....dream on, Ron....they are not at that level and never will be....What ORU did being in the top 50 or so this past year was an amazing job by Scott Sutton and his staff and also some very smart scheduling....here's hoping they keep up the good work!...but i do think the fans at Mabee need to see better schools coming in to play in Tulsa....the teams i mentioned above would come i think for a home and home...... NDSU can never attain a top 50 RPI? That is quite the prediction but a lot of people said NDSU could never beat a team like Wisconsin or Marquette either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Based on what ORU, NDSU, and IUPUI have returning, I think it's fair to say that either NDSU or IUPUI could have sub-75 RPI's, depending on their non-conference schedules and how they fare against those bigger schools. I would be disappointed if either has an RPI of over 125. As for ORU, I think a sub-100 RPI would be outstanding, considering they lost four starters, but a 150-ish RPI might be more realistic. The real surprise this next season could be Oakland: with their recruiting class and returning players, they may be every bit as good as anyone else in the league. Kampe always plays a tough non-conference schedule. If they can manage an upset win or two against a BCS-size conference opponent, and then stay in the mix for the conference title, then the Summit League may be able to achieve an RPI rank right in the middle of the pack among all conferences, which would be something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 Can't agree with you, Fargo boy but i do respect the wins you mentioned in the past 2 yrs....good stuff....agree that NDSU could be a top 100 RPI team but that's about it....however, your team could be used in the cast as the team in Hoosiers 2.... .....ORU and Oakland are the teams with any shot at Top 50 rankings though maybe not us this year...too many young players and I agree with the last post...IUPUI will be strong if Hill returns...and I expect a battle in Fargo this year in our December rematch....last year's game up there meant nothing to us and our top scorer did not play...Vealy was also out....other than that, Fargo was a really nice movie....enjoyed that one!....4 stars from TheEagleman!.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryL Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 I agree we should schedule hard opponents so our players are used to tough competition... and I think we have already started to do that. Our non-conference strength of schedule was ranked 14th in the country last year. Point well made, and I believe it will continue to pay off. I believe that the administrative changes made with the University are also going to positively affect the sports programs. With our good coaches, and support of alumni and students, each year will get stronger and stronger, crowds will grow, and eventually ANY team will be happy to play in the Maybee Center. Look out, I might start preachin'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 18, 2008 Author Share Posted May 18, 2008 Perhaps we should change the name of the building to Maybe Center... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryL Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Or the Will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 or just keep it as Mabee Center... The correct spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Based on what ORU, NDSU, and IUPUI have returning, I think it's fair to say that either NDSU or IUPUI could have sub-75 RPI's, depending on their non-conference schedules and how they fare against those bigger schools. I would be disappointed if either has an RPI of over 125. As for ORU, I think a sub-100 RPI would be outstanding, considering they lost four starters, but a 150-ish RPI might be more realistic. The real surprise this next season could be Oakland: with their recruiting class and returning players, they may be every bit as good as anyone else in the league. Kampe always plays a tough non-conference schedule. If they can manage an upset win or two against a BCS-size conference opponent, and then stay in the mix for the conference title, then the Summit League may be able to achieve an RPI rank right in the middle of the pack among all conferences, which would be something. OT, I like your evaluation of the other teams in our league in general but I think you're erring on the high side in terms of rpi. Maybe that's safe to do. With Hill and most of the team returning at IUPUI, they should easily be better than last season (finished with an rpi of 71). If our league is better in general, they should get a higher rpi just because they have a similar record there to last year. I think they can go sub-50. You may be right on NDSU. I may be expecting too much from them. Maybe it is too much to expect more than sub-75. But then again, I think a lot depends on their out of conference strength of schedule next year. I can hardly wait to see who they play. Their starting five from last year are seniors this year. Their top three players put up 20.7, 19.2 and 13.8 pt averages per game last year. They added a 6-9 juco player to give them more height inside (to go with another 6-10 man). In short, they look good! Okay, their victory against us at the end of the season was a little lopsided largely due to our injuries, but they lost to IUPUI by only two points in their building in the return match. They seemed to seriously gel at the end of last season. I like their coach and their fan support (their record at home was amazing). I think they'll give everyone a run for their money next year. And finally, OT, I think I may be getting caught up in this thing as a homie, but I think we are good for sub-100. Again, stronger league (unless Centenary really doesn't win anything next year), and a tremendous recruiting return that will hopefully pay off right away next year. Although we have lost most of our starters, we have guys that will step up next year that have been playing together for a while (at least in practice). Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm getting the impression that we have picked up some guys that really want it and will indeed contribute right away. More needs to be said on this, but for now, only one other unrelated point: We have one of the only shooting guards in Division 1 ball who has been practicing a whole season for the moving back of the three-point line. Sub-100 it is (realistically, I believe). Eagleman, I pinched myself to check if I was dreaming or not . I'm not! But okay, I think if everything comes together, we could do much better than sub-100 (but I said that already, didn't I). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I went back and looked up the websites of our top opponents: IUPUI, NDSU, and Oakland. The regular season in the Summit League should be quite a challenge! All of these teams have their key starters back! We will probably be happy to get a split with them during the regular season and the tournament is guaranteed to be a scrap! Hopefully, though, we will be peaking in a big way at that time. A lot depends on our early non-conference schedule. I'd have to agree with what posters on other threads have indicated: it might be better if we played an easier non-conference schedule than last year. For the quickness that we need against better teams, we will need Ford! It is a shame that we have to play NDSU without Ford to start out our conference schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FargoBison Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Can't agree with you, Fargo boy but i do respect the wins you mentioned in the past 2 yrs....good stuff....agree that NDSU could be a top 100 RPI team but that's about it....however, your team could be used in the cast as the team in Hoosiers 2.... .....ORU and Oakland are the teams with any shot at Top 50 rankings though maybe not us this year...too many young players and I agree with the last post...IUPUI will be strong if Hill returns...and I expect a battle in Fargo this year in our December rematch....last year's game up there meant nothing to us and our top scorer did not play...Vealy was also out....other than that, Fargo was a really nice movie....enjoyed that one!....4 stars from TheEagleman!.... I think a lot with NDSU depends on how the 6'9 JUCO our coach found turns out. We return everyone(plus a good SF RS Freshman) and if that player turns out I could see the team making a run at a under 75 RPI(sub 50 would be a stretch). Last year we really missed not having an athletic big man like we had the two years prior. This will also be the first season in 3 years were the team actually has an upperclassman that they can bring off the bench. It took over half of last season to get our young bench players ready but they started to take off and that should pay off this season. I think somebody said that Oakland returns everyone but they did lose Cassise and that guy absolutely destroyed us in Fargo last year, don't know if he gave you guys trouble but I'm glad he won't be around next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 OT, I like your evaluation of the other teams in our league in general but I think you're erring on the high side in terms of rpi. Maybe that's safe to do. With Hill and most of the team returning at IUPUI, they should easily be better than last season (finished with an rpi of 71). If our league is better in general, they should get a higher rpi just because they have a similar record there to last year. I think they can go sub-50. You may be right on NDSU. I may be expecting too much from them. Maybe it is too much to expect more than sub-75. But then again, I think a lot depends on their out of conference strength of schedule next year. I can hardly wait to see who they play. Their starting five from last year are seniors this year. Their top three players put up 20.7, 19.2 and 13.8 pt averages per game last year. They added a 6-9 juco player to give them more height inside (to go with another 6-10 man). In short, they look good! Okay, their victory against us at the end of the season was a little lopsided largely due to our injuries, but they lost to IUPUI by only two points in their building in the return match. They seemed to seriously gel at the end of last season. I like their coach and their fan support (their record at home was amazing). I think they'll give everyone a run for their money next year. And finally, OT, I think I may be getting caught up in this thing as a homie, but I think we are good for sub-100. Again, stronger league (unless Centenary really doesn't win anything next year), and a tremendous recruiting return that will hopefully pay off right away next year. Although we have lost most of our starters, we have guys that will step up next year that have been playing together for a while (at least in practice). Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm getting the impression that we have picked up some guys that really want it and will indeed contribute right away. More needs to be said on this, but for now, only one other unrelated point: We have one of the only shooting guards in Division 1 ball who has been practicing a whole season for the moving back of the three-point line. Sub-100 it is (realistically, I believe). Eagleman, I pinched myself to check if I was dreaming or not . I'm not! But okay, I think if everything comes together, we could do much better than sub-100 (but I said that already, didn't I). I didn't say these teams wouldn't be good, I said their RPI's might not be as good as some might think. Don't mistake RPI with Power Ratings: RPI has as much to do with strength of schedule - and how a team performs against that schedule - as anything else. It all depends on the non-conference schedules of the league contenders. And ORU, for example, right now has nothing on the slate but tough road games and weak home games - not real conducive to either a good W-L record or a strong RPI... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I went back and looked up the websites of our top opponents: IUPUI, NDSU, and Oakland. The regular season in the Summit League should be quite a challenge! All of these teams have their key starters back! We will probably be happy to get a split with them during the regular season and the tournament is guaranteed to be a scrap! Hopefully, though, we will be peaking in a big way at that time. A lot depends on our early non-conference schedule. I'd have to agree with what posters on other threads have indicated: it might be better if we played an easier non-conference schedule than last year. For the quickness that we need against better teams, we will need Ford! It is a shame that we have to play NDSU without Ford to start out our conference schedule. Who says we have to play NDSU without Ford? Depending on when the first semester officially "ends", he may be available as soon as the first week of December. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Who says we have to play NDSU without Ford? Depending on when the first semester officially "ends", he may be available as soon as the first week of December. I sincerely hope you're right, OT. If we can play with Ford, that game could start to give us some sense of how well we stack up against the Summit League contenders this year. I sure would like to make that road trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 NDSU will be tough because they are talented and have two playmakers. But more than that, the Bison will challenge for a league title because they will have a team deep in senior leadership. And they know how to play as a team..... and basketball is still a team game. Just ask LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceManSpiff Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Ford will be eligible December 4th. I doubt we will play any conference opponent before then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Ford will be eligible December 4th. I doubt we will play any conference opponent before then... According to TheSummitLeague.org, we play our first conference game at NDSU on December 4. Now THAT'S a coincidence! It will be interesting to see if Kevin is playing in that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 According to TheSummitLeague.org, we play our first conference game at NDSU on December 4. Now THAT'S a coincidence! It will be interesting to see if Kevin is playing in that game. Tmh, fearless posting leader on this board . . . do you mean to say that it is possible that after waiting all this time after transferring that either Scott or Kevin would rather put this start off for a few days, weeks, months?!!! My mind is in a whirl. What am I to think? Seriously though, if Kevin doesn't play on the 4th of December, I can only imagine that the only reason is that in practice and in games, the returning seniors and/or new, young freshmen have proven that they are irreplaceable. That is a future that I wish upon us. In this case, perhaps even Kevin would be okay coming off the bench because maybe it would mean that we have a team that cannot be beaten. More realistically, though, Ford plays and the younger guys see back-up minutes. Either way, the NDSU-ORU match-up in the frozen North should be an absolutely phenomenal game. I can feel the tension already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 IUPUI sub 50 RPI next year?...please.....cut me a break...if that happens....i owe you a dinner......and NDSU is one year out of D-2...i think we are over rating these clubs....Oakland could have the best RPI of the Summit next season....we will have to see how ORU jells with so many new players...hopefully, we improve as the season goes on.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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