Toughest two losses of the year...

[Doge McDermott]

On the other had, if Creighton hits a couple free throws we are talking about 6 big east bids instead of 5. That's why I think these two losses sting the most. Not tearing Creighton down there

As a Creighton fan, I agree with him. I read the title of the thread and immediately knew which games he was talking about. Those two games were not only winnable, but should have absolutely been won against bad teams. ASU may surprise more others, but Creighton pissed away an 8 pt halftime lead and didn't hit free throws down the stretch. We should never, not even on the road, lose to the team that replaced us in the MVC.

That's not to say that the other teams in the BE don't have bad losses, but those two games that Creighton dropped might be the most costly in March. It's one thing to lose close games in conference, but we may have cost the rest of you guys bids when we lose those OOC games. That said, I'm rooting for all of you to win out until Dec. 30.

[R Jay]

I concur with Doge and jaybydna in that I didn't find anything offensive. We lost two games we absolutely should have won. They will hurt our RPI and in-turn the Big East's RPI. If we're on the bubble in March, they're possibly both bad losses (though I think Arizona State will be bubble quality come March).

[marquette]

Marquette fans insulted by this? Are we putting marquette in the competitive conversation? If so, great. I just must have missed the memo. I have been placing them with the Pirates,a slight notch ahead of the johnnies and depaul. My bad if we were looking towards the tourney for them.

I think you and boxer are probably differing over the definition of "competitive." My guess is that you are using it more like "contender" or at least "likely NCAA team" while he is using it more like "could give anyone a game on any given night." I don't think either of you is necessarily wrong and wasn't offended by your post. That said, I am liking our improvement and think we could be in the tourney bid conversation if we finish our OOC with no more losses.

[NovaBall]

Good point. Exactly it. I don't view Marquette as a realistic tournament team, so their losses don't really bother me. I'm not saying they are DePaul or St. John's , but they are more like Seton Hall where I think it is a stretch to think they will make it.

And of course if I could have any loss back, I would want the Oklahoma one back, but that wasn't a close game so whatever. Same with Butler v. Miami. And while I think the Georgetown losses would have been nice to have back, or the PC one v MSU, those teams are going to dance with decent seeds so it doesn't matter.

Those missed free throws by Creighton are likely going to cost the league a tournament bid. Those are the two toughest losses in my opinion.

[hoyahooligan]

Obviously from a biased perspective If I could have two games back it would be Maryland and Duke. If we had those two wins we'd be a top 10 team despite the radford loss.

[MUBoxer]

Good point. Exactly it. I don't view Marquette as a realistic tournament team, so their losses don't really bother me. I'm not saying they are DePaul or St. John's , but they are more like Seton Hall where I think it is a stretch to think they will make it.

And of course if I could have any loss back, I would want the Oklahoma one back, but that wasn't a close game so whatever. Same with Butler v. Miami. And while I think the Georgetown losses would have been nice to have back, or the PC one v MSU, those teams are going to dance with decent seeds so it doesn't matter.

Those missed free throws by Creighton are likely going to cost the league a tournament bid. Those are the two toughest losses in my opinion.

And that's where I'm confused. Marquette beats ASU you're still convinced they're not a realistic tournament team. Creighton loses to ASU you say 'man that's a tournament team that just messed up in the end' if Creighton lost to ASU they either are on MU's level which means competing for that last spot or they're both not realistic tournament teams. Like there's some logical disconnect in this thought process.

[marquette]

There's room for reasonable minds to differ on our eye test interpretations of MU and CU. Mutual opponents aren't always a determining factor, matchups play a huge role. I think MU is improving and capable of playing well enough to earn a tourney bid. Conversely, I think CU is a year away. I don't see either challenging for a top 3 spot in the conference, but I do see both as capable of giving any of the top 3 all they can handle on a given night. We've both had head-scratching losses and really solid wins. The nice thing is that we will get a definitive answer by the end of the season. If NovaBall winds up being right then so be it, I can't be mad at him for believing his eye test. If we surprise a few teams and steal an extra bid for the conference, then so much the better.

[NovaBall]

I didn't realize that marquette was back in the conversation as a tourney hopeful. If that's the case, go warriors!

I personally don't care which team, whether it is marquette, Creighton, or seton hall who gets the 6th bid. I think Creighton's chances are week, due to a couple missed free throws the past couple of weeks, which is what the thread is about. but I think had the made those free throws, they would be in contention for a bid. At this time I don't really see seton hall or marquette dancing, but I would like to be wrong.

[DemonLS]

Marquette,

Welcome to "NovaBall"!

Someone did not get along with others on the playground as a kid.