2018 Atlantic 10 Tournament

[Refuse2Lose83]

Going into the final weekend, the way tiebreakers shake out we would be playing Dayton Wednesday at 8:30! Would love to beat the Flyers 3x in one season! Current seeds to the best of my knowledge and ability to correctly understand the tiebreaker rules ( http://www.atlantic10.com/ViewArticle.d ... =209901106 ):

1. URI 2. St. Bonnie 3. Davidson 4. GMU (what a job by Dave Paulsen) 5. Saint Louis 6. St. Joe's 7. Richmond 8. VCU 9. Duquesne 10. GW 11. Dayton 12. La Salle 13. Fordham 14. UMass

Of the pool of teams we could play: Duquesne, GW, Dayton, La Salle...Dayton is definitely our best match-up. Dayton plays at GW Saturday, unless we beat Duquesne (which is entirely possible), we likely will play the loser of that game.

Match-ups at the moment:

Wednesday Play-in:

#13 Fordham v. #12 La Salle 6pm
#14 UMass v. #11 Dayton 8:30pm

Thursday Prelims:

#9 Duquesne v. #8 VCU Noon
Fordham/La Salle v. #5 St. Louis 2:30pm
#10 GW v. #7 Richmond 6pm
UMass/Dayton v. #6 St. Joe's 8:30pm

Friday Quarterfinals:

Duquesne/VCU v. #1 URI Noon
Fordham/ La Salle/St. Louis v #4 George Mason 2:30pm
GW/Richmond v. #2 St. Bonnie 6pm
UMass/Dayton/St. Joe's v. #3 Davidson 8:30pm


Quite frankly that's as good of a draw as we could get. We match-up well with Dayton and St. Joe's....as good as we can match-up with teams with what we have left. After we get through them, we game Davidson a run for their money at their place, now we'd get them on a neutral floor! In the semi's we'd see St. Bonnie, who blew us out, but we owe them one! Finals against URI....Tough to beat a team 3 times in one season (unless it's Dayton!).....get your dancing shoes ready folks!!!!

In all seriousness, I can definitely see this team getting to Thursday, and it's not crazy to think they could get to Friday if the road is Dayton and St. Joe's. Of course, these seeds will change some. URI is the only one locked into a seed, Davidson and St. Bonnie will fill the 2 and 3 in some form...after that 4 through 12 is separated by 2 games so 4 through 8 is fluid as is 7 through 12.

[uz2b-len]

We lucked into our home win against Dayton. They are really going to come out angry against us if that's the way the draw turns out. However, I see a good chance that we don't finish in last as we may very well win against Duquesne and Fordham will probably lose hosting VCU. Other positions in the standings may change, too.

[69MG]

OK, the maroon-colored glasses are starting to slide on to my face. I'll piggyback on my post on the Richmond game where I said the team looked mentally worn out. I think MM (and the players) will look at the tournament as a new season and be energized at the chance to do some damage. Obviously we are still limited in bodies and I don't expect us to win 3 or 4 games in as many days. But if LP is back on his game I think we have a shot to win maybe 2 games and that would be a very successful end to the season in my eyes. Any more than that would be pure gravy.

[MJatUM]

But if LP is back on his game I think we have a shot to win maybe 2 games and that would be a very successful end to the season in my eyes. Any more than that would be pure gravy.

Honestly, one win would be nice and 2+ is extra gravy with gravy on the side to me.

[inthescoop]

Oh how sweet it would be to beat Dayton 3 times in 1 season.

[McKinney]

I'm not talking about math. Not everything is about statistics. Just because Davidson and St. Louis are part of the conference doesn't change that Philly is really home. Historical context matters.

You're right, Brian, Philly has been the A10's home for the longest. It was the closest metro to the center of minimum distance from 1982-2004.

Here's a map that shows the history of how the conference footprint (center of minimum distance) has changed since the mid '70s.

https://www.tripline.net/trip/A10_Cente ... 5A06856B1E

[go_gou]

I think we got a pretty good draw here. Have to beat La Salle, George Mason, St. Joseph's and URI/VCU/Dayton to make it to the championship game. I believe all those games are winnable. With a "fresh start" mindset a couple more bodies we are poised for a little run.

[69MG]

Anyone know what's up with Isiah Deas? He's been out since 2/24 for "personal reasons". He's a 6'6 wing who has given us problems in the 2 games this year. He played 71 out of 85 minutes and went 19/9 and 12/9 in the 2 games.

[uz2b-len]

I think we got a pretty good draw here. Have to beat La Salle, George Mason, St. Joseph's and URI/VCU/Dayton to make it to the championship game. I believe all those games are winnable. With a "fresh start" mindset a couple more bodies we are poised for a little run.

I agree that all those games are winnable given that we played all those teams competitively during the season. But win them by playing 3 nights in a row? Very very unlikely.

[MikeEsq]

It doesn't help that tomorrow's game is an afternoon and not a night game. But I also like the matchups. Let's keep it rolling!

[minutefanjsf]

If we make it to the semis on Saturday....it’ll be on CJ’s back. I’m predicting 10 points, 16 Assists and 7 rebounds today. So long as his knee isn’t too banged up and he plays.

[5150]

I have a strategy question -- Pipkens goes to the line with 4 seconds left with a one point lead. He missed the first free throw. At that point, wouldn't it be better to try to miss the free throw to kill a second or two before the other team can regroup and head up the court? By making it, he allowed La Salle to run a set play that got them a decent shot at winning. Any thoughts?

[m626t]

Making the second, forces the opposition to make a 3 for the win...of course it could take more time to make a 2 than a three, so there's that.

[MJatUM]

It is also very hard for players to intentionally miss free throws AND hit the rim. There is at least a moderate chance that he commits a violation and La Salle ends up taking the ball out of bounds any way - down 1. In addition you are now adding in the chance for UMass to commit a foul on the rebound / scrum for the loose ball - sending La Salle to the line down 1 with 2 shots. When you are winning by 3 or less, the answer is always to just make the shot. If you're up 4+ I guess you could intentionally miss it to avoid the opponent having a cleaner opportunity at a baseball pass down the floor.

[inthescoop]

I have a strategy question -- Pipkens goes to the line with 4 seconds left with a one point lead. He missed the first free throw. At that point, wouldn't it be better to try to miss the free throw to kill a second or two before the other team can regroup and head up the court? By making it, he allowed La Salle to run a set play that got them a decent shot at winning. Any thoughts?

No way, being down by 1, off a rebound, defense has no time to set up. 4 seconds is plenty of time to dribble it down the court and make a running shot/lay up. Would rather have that safety net where we are down by 2, and our defense gets a chance to turn around and be more ready on the defensive end.

If Pipkins made both free throws, would we foul, and not allow a 3 point attempt in the first place? That's the big question among coaches now a days.