How We Want The Season To Finish

[Censored by Laurie]

Despite inconsistant play all season, we still have a very legitimate chance at securing the number 2 overall position for the SBC tournament...but we do need some help. At this point, we need to win out...we have a home game against Arkansas State and finish with two tough games on the road at ULL and New Orleans...and looking at the remaining schedules of this tightly packed West division, I think 11-7 in conference is going to be the neccessary record.

UD - Denver is essentially done. They finally lost at home last night, dropping them to 7-8. They have a home game against UNO and finish with two games on the road...where they haven't won in their last 27 tries. The Pioneers have been playing with 6 guys for the past month and fatigue has got to be catching up...I think they finish 7-11.

UNO - Denver is still a tough place to go, and UNO has to make that trip Saturday...if they can pull out a win there, they get to travel to Mobile next Thursday to play USA...so at best a 1-1 road trip...then they finish at home with UNT...and the Mean Green are well overdue. Finish 8-10

UALR & ULL - These two teams get together Saturday in Lafayette...and we NEED ULL to win this game. On the surface, that may not make much sense with ULL at 9-6 and UALR at 8-7...but if UALR wins, they finish at home with Denver and then on the road at UL-Monroe...the team we just absolutely demoralized...if UALR wins out and finishes 11-7 they would hold the tie-break on us...I'd feel much better not having to count on UD or ULM to play spoiler. A ULL win moves them to 10-6...they follow that with home games with UNT and Denver...once we beat ULL and they beat Denver and we beat UNO...both of us would finish 11-7 in conference, but we would hold the tie break having beaten them twice...this is our best scenerio...so Go...oops...Geaux Cajuns.

Oh...and if we don't secure the 2 seed...we're looking at the 5 or 6 seed. USA should be the 1, West champ the 2, WKU the 3...and they get the byes...MTSU has two games left (@FAU, vs. Troy) so at worst they'll finish 11-7 and they have the tie break on UNT, ULL and UALR. If UALR wins out they'll get the 2...and our game with ULL would determine the 5 or 6 spot (I believe if ULL wins they'll hold the next tie break, division record, but don't hold me to that). If ULL wins out they get the 2...we'd finish with the same record as UALR and get the 6.

Should be a very exciting last week and a half to the SBC season.

[filmerj]

Despite inconsistant play all season, we still have a very legitimate chance at securing the number 2 overall position for the SBC tournament...but we do need some help. At this point, we need to win out...we have a home game against Arkansas State and finish with two tough games on the road at ULL and New Orleans...and looking at the remaining schedules of this tightly packed West division, I think 11-7 in conference is going to be the neccessary record.

UD - Denver is essentially done. They finally lost at home last night, dropping them to 7-8. They have a home game against UNO and finish with two games on the road...where they haven't won in their last 27 tries. The Pioneers have been playing with 6 guys for the past month and fatigue has got to be catching up...I think they finish 7-11.

UNO - Denver is still a tough place to go, and UNO has to make that trip Saturday...if they can pull out a win there, they get to travel to Mobile next Thursday to play USA...so at best a 1-1 road trip...then they finish at home with UNT...and the Mean Green are well overdue. Finish 8-10

UALR & ULL - These two teams get together Saturday in Lafayette...and we NEED ULL to win this game. On the surface, that may not make much sense with ULL at 9-6 and UALR at 8-7...but if UALR wins, they finish at home with Denver and then on the road at UL-Monroe...the team we just absolutely demoralized...if UALR wins out and finishes 11-7 they would hold the tie-break on us...I'd feel much better not having to count on UD or ULM to play spoiler. A ULL win moves them to 10-6...they follow that with home games with UNT and Denver...once we beat ULL and they beat Denver and we beat UNO...both of us would finish 11-7 in conference, but we would hold the tie break having beaten them twice...this is our best scenerio...so Go...oops...Geaux Cajuns.

Oh...and if we don't secure the 2 seed...we're looking at the 5 or 6 seed. USA should be the 1, West champ the 2, WKU the 3...and they get the byes...MTSU has two games left (@FAU, vs. Troy) so at worst they'll finish 11-7 and they have the tie break on UNT, ULL and UALR. If UALR wins out they'll get the 2...and our game with ULL would determine the 5 or 6 spot (I believe if ULL wins they'll hold the next tie break, division record, but don't hold me to that). If ULL wins out they get the 2...we'd finish with the same record as UALR and get the 6.

Should be a very exciting last week and a half to the SBC season.

Dude... Kudos, That gave me tired head, but thanks for the break down.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

How I hope it ends---

1. Win some Sun Belt tournament games.

2. Win the Sunbelt tournament.

3. Make the NCAA tournament if not, the NIT

4. Lose no tounament games... ie. National champion or NIT champion..

Some of those are unlikely but we need to try.

***and last... get a lot of fans to the games....especially students... they are our future alums and need to be involved and proud of NT.

Edited February 22, 2008 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[FirefightnRick]

Nice break down CBL.

Thank you,

Rick

[CMJ]

At least now we're basically assured of at least hosting a 1st round game. A week or so ago we were the 9 seed. Can't wait for Saturday.

[Green Lantern]

Good recap as usual CBL. Hopefully we end up with the scenario that you laid out where NT wins out with ULL winning over UALR. I'd really like to avoid even having to play a host round game.

Edited February 22, 2008 by Green Lantern

[ADLER]

At least now we're basically assured of at least hosting a 1st round game. A week or so ago we were the 9 seed. Can't wait for Saturday.

If we do host that first round game, I would love to see North Texas honor the 1988 Champions team on their 20th anniversary of the feat.

[greenminer]

Is this how the west was won?

3 games and the different can vary from 2 all the way down to 6. insane.

[UNTflyer]

I guess I am still confused about how the teams are seeded... We can get #2 if we win the West, despite WK-YU having the better conference record?

[CMJ]

I guess I am still confused about how the teams are seeded... We can get #2 if we win the West, despite WK-YU having the better conference record?

Yes.

[THOR]

I guess I am still confused about how the teams are seeded... We can get #2 if we win the West, despite WK-YU having the better conference record?

yep, conference winners get the 1/2 seeds no matter what...then the third seend goes to the team with the best record. so the 3 seed will probably have a better record than us, if we win the west.

[UNTflyer]

But a #2 seed means we don't get a home game the first round. I kind of wished the tournament played out on the higher seed's home court through the championship game. Certainly it would improve tournament attendance

[CMJ]

But a #2 seed means we don't get a home game the first round. I kind of wished the tournament played out on the higher seed's home court through the championship game. Certainly it would improve tournament attendance

But you get an all important bye to rest...

The logisitcs of having every game played at a different site would be pretty problematic.

[UNTflyer]

The logisitcs of having every game played at a different site would be pretty problematic.

Yes. Some of the other conferences use a hybrid type of tournament.

Big South: Higher seeds host first round; semifinals at Winthrop Coliseum, Rock Hill, S.C.; final at highest remaining seed.

Attendance at last year's championship game: 6,250

I'd like to see something like that.

[CMJ]

Yeah, one of the leagues in New England has a format similar to that as well, but their conference tourney lasts over a week or something. If the Hot Springs experiment doesn't work I could see the Belt trying something similar, but you know...I do think Hot Springs might succeed.

[CMJ]

If we do host that first round game, I would love to see North Texas honor the 1988 Champions team on their 20th anniversary of the feat.

I'm surprised we haven't already to be honest....

[GreenBat]

An Athletic Administration has to have VISION to do these things. NT's current one doesn't. That in one of the reasons NT will be still playing in Fouts Field, with no baseball or men's soccer team in 2012. It's not the big things that make you BIG TIME. It's the little things.

[foutsrouts]

An Athletic Administration has to have VISION to do these things. NT's current one doesn't. That in one of the reasons NT will be still playing in Fouts Field, with no baseball or men's soccer team in 2012. It's not the big things that make you BIG TIME. It's the little things.

I agree. Baseball in particular is so mandatory here that it is almost sickening that we have no program. There would be an immediate influx of talent from this talent rich area that could easily see us field a regionally competitive program here within 3-5 years. RV has GOT to find a way to juggle things to get us a baseball program ASAP!!