Be more specific! Are you thinking this glass is now 60% full or are we all the up to .87?Another good conference win. Glass continues to be more than half full.
The past three wins have been against an 0-5 team and in two home games. Good results, but the next stretch gets tougher. The drama and the stakes increase.The next four games are even more crucial since three will be on the road and the lone home game will be against a fine UIC team. Valpo is currently tied for 2nd...or 9th, and the next quartet of games will determine which spot is closer to the truth. We will know much better where the team stands by end of the Jan. 22 game against Drake. This should be interesting!
Well summarized. Three wins in a row in the Valley is no easy feat and should definitely be celebrated. But last night was a game that needed to be won regardless of whether we are 2nd or 9th in the league. We were 1.5 point favorites on the spread, KenPom had us favored by 2, and we win by 3. Predictives pretty much nailed it, and at the end of the day we actually drop a spot in the NET rankings. There is a very real chance we convert this 3-2 start into a top half finish, and Powell's press conference phrase of "raising the ceiling" is an apt description, but still we are only in year two of a total rebuild and most of the predictives have us finishing pretty much right at .500 for the season or just above. I'm optimistic, but very cautiously so.
We're simply starting to see more evidence of the program that Roger Powell wants to build here. The current roster probably isn't the ceiling in terms of the level of raw talent he'd like to assemble, but we're seeing the big upgrade in ability, desired intangibles, and commitment to improvement.
Every game in the Valley seems to be a boxing match, but so far they're bringing it for every one. I find this incredibly encouraging...and now it's becoming fun.
Yeah it's pretty clear that the team identity and cohesion is coming together with improved talent. We are also looking potentially at another MVC FOY in Wright which means another year of Roger finding underrecruited raw talent which s a skill you need both at the mid major level and if you don't want to live and die by the portal.
I am trying not to get too high from the past couple of weeks. It is important, as was pointed out previously, that our wins have come at home or against winless valley teams. However, the team that played CSU would not be 3-2 in valley, so it’s clear there’s been significant improvement.
But it’s very possible we go 1-3 or 0-4 in our next 4. Belmont and Murray on the road will be TOUGH. UIC has played well. Drake on the road is obviously tough. We are going to hit some adversity at some point, whether it’s losing back to back games or an injury. The question will be how do we respond. If we drop the next 2 on the road, will we be able to protect home court against UIC? If we can go 2-2 over the next 4 it’ll be confirmation that our start to conference play wasn’t a fluke IMO. These next 4 games will say more than our last 3.
I like how this team is coming together. I really like how they get to the FT line, and then make their FTs. Now we just need to increase our 2 and 3 point shooting.
I am trying not to get too high from the past couple of weeks. It is important, as was pointed out previously, that our wins have come at home or against winless valley teams. However, the team that played CSU would not be 3-2 in valley, so it’s clear there’s been significant improvement.
But it’s very possible we go 1-3 or 0-4 in our next 4. Belmont and Murray on the road will be TOUGH. UIC has played well. Drake on the road is obviously tough. We are going to hit some adversity at some point, whether it’s losing back to back games or an injury. The question will be how do we respond. If we drop the next 2 on the road, will we be able to protect home court against UIC? If we can go 2-2 over the next 4 it’ll be confirmation that our start to conference play wasn’t a fluke IMO. These next 4 games will say more than our last 3.
I think this speaks to the "higher ceiling" Powell keeps mentioning. The non-con was about okay, do we look improved, the first 4 conference games was "can we be competitive/improve on last year" these next four are " how competitive are we really/can we be consistent" and hopefully the next four will tell us even more.
The team is clearly improved over last year's squad. There are more options on offense so, on a given night, the game doesn't hinge completely on whether player xxx is having a good game or not.
Defensively there is still the missing guy in the middle who apparently isn't showing up this year. Cooper has looked more aggressive defensively the last few games.
Next couple of weeks will tell a big part of the story.
