Originally Posted by forego1
I cringe to think how we would fare now against the same teams. I expected we would cut through these lower level A-10 teams. The teams we played early improved a lot I would guess. Given the paltry teams we played, and how we struggled to win, I had to wonder. I mean, I would expect Virginia would tear George Mason and St Bonaventure new holes.
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Actually, Virginia is all about defense and half-court sets offensively. They were a good matchup for us. Sure, they’ve blown some teams out, but VCU only lost by eight in a tight game and we lost by seven in a game that was winnable up to the last 59 seconds. They did beat GW by 19. People seem to forget George Mason was a top four pick in our league; they just had a lousy non-conference record. Yes, we should have beaten them, but that’s a senior-laden team that’s vying for the top four finish projected by A-10 coaches and most prognosticators. St. Bonaventure was decimated by early injuries.
I have a hard time wondering why some folks are so down on this team. We’re not going to the NCAA tourney barring a miracle run in Brooklyn, but we’re a botched shot or turnover away from being undefeated in the league — a league in which the COACHES predicted Dayton would finish sixth, with others in the media projecting us even lower.
This season isn’t over, and anything can happen — good OR bad. But for my money, I’m looking at a program that HAS made real progress and is at a minimum meeting if not exceeding the pre-season expectations of most rational people on this board.
