East Carolina (2/15/14)

eulessismore · February 16, 2014

Here's a photo of him from dinner in Vegas....

Nobody wears a green shirt better than Mac. The Army should start requiring that shirt for its dress uniforms.

CMJ · February 16, 2014

At least we matched last season's win total.

This post has been promoted to an article

BillySee58 · February 16, 2014

Legit Question:
If we win out do we have a chance to receive a bye in El Paso? The top 8 get 1 or 2 byes... Do we have a mathematical chance still to Mae it in the top 8 and get 1 bye?

Teams in 5th place through 9th place get a bye, top 4 teams get double byes. This excludes FIU, which is ineligible for the CUSA tournament.

FAU currently has the 9th seed (lowest seed with a bye) at 5-6, which we are two games behind at 3-8. We have them next Saturday. If we lose to them there's pretty much no way we get a bye, going into our last two games against Tulsa and UTEP. We are mathematically eliminated from getting a double bye though.

Andrew · February 16, 2014

Teams in 5th place through 9th place get a bye, top 4 teams get double byes. This excludes FIU, which is ineligible for the CUSA tournament.
FAU currently has the 9th seed (lowest seed with a bye) at 5-6, which we are two games behind at 3-8. We have them next Saturday. If we lose to them there's pretty much no way we get a bye, going into our last two games against Tulsa and UTEP. We are mathematically eliminated from getting a double bye though.

Yes I was just hoping there was still a chance we can get a bye. So many winnable games have passed. What a disappointment. Hopefully we come back home in two weeks on a 4 game win streak...

Andrew · February 16, 2014

Another positive. A solid 5400 in attendance. Let's pack it out the final two home games.

UNTFan23 · February 16, 2014

Another positive. A solid 5400 in attendance. Let's pack it out the final two home games.

You do know that half the attendance was grade schoolers? Best we could hope for is UTEP to bring a solid crowd and people to come out for the last home game. Best I see attendance for the final two games is 3500.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 16, 2014

Another positive. A solid 5400 in attendance. Let's pack it out the final two home games.

I'm in the minority here, but I appreciate your optimism buddy.

CMJ · February 16, 2014

Even with that promotion, 5400 is a good crowd.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 16, 2014

Even with that promotion, 5400 is a good crowd.

I'm in the camp that thinks we should still show up for our student athletes. I know I can do better with this and will try to make another home game soon.

CMJ · February 16, 2014

I'm in the camp that thinks we should still show up for our student athletes. I know I can do better with this and will try to make another home game soon.

Hey, I agree. It's just hard to show up living so far away.

Andrew · February 16, 2014

You do know that half the attendance was grade schoolers? Best we could hope for is UTEP to bring a solid crowd and people to come out for the last home game. Best I see attendance for the final two games is 3500.

That is not true. They gave out 1k tickets. 4400 is still a solid crowd.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Andrew

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 16, 2014

Hey, I agree. It's just hard to show up living so far away.

Same here! I will never criticize those who live a little further away and don't know what the product on the court will be. I just wish our student athletes had better guidance on the court than Mr.Benford which has taken me a while to admit.

Andrew · February 16, 2014

If we can go out and win these three road games we have a chance to get a bye. This will be a big 3 game road trip. Each game is very winnable. It does not salvage the season but it could help us in El Paso.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 16, 2014

I've recently made my way over to the A&M fan board since being admitted to A&M law school and they have the same debate on their page. The fact is, if you can't make the most of the talent you have, it's time to move on.

CMJ · February 16, 2014

That is not true. They gave out 1k tickets. 4400 is still a solid crowd.

Hank Dickenson tweeted it was over 2K.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 16, 2014

If we can go out and win these three road games we have a chance to get a bye. This will be a big 3 game road trip. Each game is very winnable. It does not salvage the season but it could help us in El Paso.

I won't put you down like many on the board, but I hope you will uphold a standard of the basketball team that many of us do. It's not a sign of negativity, but accountability.

Andrew · February 16, 2014

Hank Dickenson tweeted it was over 2K.

Hmm not what I heard but I guess it could be true. It did not seem like that many but maybe since they were with adults it seemed mixed. There was a solid crowd across from me where the benches are located. The students were to my right in one section or two. And then at the top. Either way let's just keep 3k attendance. The kids were loud though. It was a great atmosphere to watch a game. It was very very loud.

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 16, 2014

Hmm not what I heard but I guess it could be true. It did not seem like that many but maybe since they were with adults it seemed mixed. There was a solid crowd across from me where the benches are located. The students were to my right in one section or two. And then at the top. Either way let's just keep 3k attendance. The kids were loud though. It was a great atmosphere to watch a game. It was very very loud.

Like I said, fans like you are an asset to this team. However, we need fans like you to help keep the coaching staff accountable. You love this team and should expect a certain standard. Stay green my friend.

Andrew · February 16, 2014

I won't put you down like many on the board, but I hope you will uphold a standard of the basketball team that many of us do. It's not a sign of negativity, but accountability.

I honestly believe Benford can get it done. Sadly he has not shown this yet. He may be gone next year or the year after but I think if he gets a second chance as a head coach somewhere else he might surprise some of us. He is not as terrible as people make him out to be. He does have some odd subbing patterns but compared to last year he has grown a lot. He does nothing different on the bench during a game then any other coach. It has also been said that his practices are no different then JJs or any other college like George Mason. He can also recruit and is well liked across the nation. There is just someone not clicking. It may very well be his subbing patterns. That is on him. Everything else matches up with other coaches. He is knowledge as well. I guess it's motivation but I do not get what people want. Last year when he pulled them after one mistake they jumped on him. So they do not want him to motivate them to play better by sitting on the bench after a mistake, yet they want him to motivate his players. ODU coached ripped one of his players on the bench twice when we played them. Is he a bad coach? Should Benford do this more, because when he did last year they jumped all over him. When ODU or the MUTS coaches do it they are good coaches... When Benford does it he is clueless or hurting a players moral. It's confusing to me.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Andrew

ChristopherRyanWilkes · February 16, 2014

I honestly believe Benford can get it done. Sadly he has not shown this yet. He may be gone next year or the year after but I think if he gets a second chance as a head coach somewhere else he might surprise some of us. He is not as terrible as people make him out to be. He does have some odd subbing patterns but compared to last year he has grown a lot. He does nothing different on the bench during a game then any other coach. It has also been said that his practices are no different then JJs or any other college like George Mason. He can also recruit and is well liked across the nation. There is just someone not clicking. It may very well be his subbing patterns. That is on him. Everything else matches up with other coaches. He is knowledge as well. I guess it's motivation but I do not get what people want. Last year when he pulled them after one mistake they jumped on him. So they do not want him to motivate them to play better by sitting on the bench after a mistake, yet they want him to motivate his players. ODU coached ripped one of his players on the bench twice when we played them. Is he a bad coach? Should Benford do this more, because when he did last year they jumped all over him. When ODU or the MUTS coaches do it they are good coaches... When Benford does it he is clueless or hurting a players moral. It's confusing to me.

The opposite of love is indifference, so I hope the fans do not grow a sense of apathy about the team. I don't know exactly what the problem is because of my ignorance of basketball. However, something has to change. We had a NBA draft player last year and did not produce. That affects player who might commit to us. They are looking at Larry Browns team and seeing a winning product. That's the only thing that concerns me as a fan.

Andrew · February 16, 2014

The opposite of love is indifference, so I hope the fans do not grow a sense of apathy about the team. I don't know exactly what the problem is because of my ignorance of basketball. However, something has to change. We had a NBA draft player last year and did not produce. That affects player who might commit to us. They are looking at Larry Browns team and seeing a winning product. That's the only thing that concerns me as a fan.

This is true. At this point SMU will rise. When Larry brown leaves they will be hit with sanctions and drop of a bit. We can contend with them then. Although they do have a nice arena. I cannot say I know the problem either. Just on the court it does not come together. Players move but not as a team. Some units work really well but others just do not (like Alzee, CJ, and Jordan all on the floor). Idk why but it just does not work out for us. Offensively we need to put that ball in the basket! We are shooting more. Now we need to make those shots. We missed a few make able shots today. An not be scared to pull the trigger in a mans face. I rather pull a jumper over a defender then try to blow by him and get met at the rim by another.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Andrew

UNT90 · February 16, 2014

Hmm not what I heard but I guess it could be true. It did not seem like that many but maybe since they were with adults it seemed mixed. There was a solid crowd across from me where the benches are located. The students were to my right in one section or two. And then at the top. Either way let's just keep 3k attendance. The kids were loud though. It was a great atmosphere to watch a game. It was very very loud.

You seriously can't tell the difference between 2300 and 5500? Seriously????

Seriously?????????????????????????????

Andrew · February 16, 2014

You seriously can't tell the difference between 2300 and 5500? Seriously????
Seriously?????????????????????????????

He was talking about tickets given to schools. The attendance was 5400 per espn.com

No where was there a debate over the numbers 2300 and 5500. If there were 2k tickets given to schools then 3400 other fans showed up. That was the issue we were talking about not the total attendance.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Andrew

UNT90 · February 16, 2014

He was talking about tickets given to schools. The attendance was 5400 per espn.com
No where was there a debate over the numbers 2300 and 5500. If there were 2k tickets given to schools then 3400 other fans showed up. That was the issue we were talking about not the total attendance.

I'm talking about you and your apparent inability to determine if 5500 people or 2309 people were in the pit.

Which one was it?