Conference of the Americas......one-bid

[DeltaV]

the thing that is amazing to think about....

AAC has had 12 games they've lost by 4 points or fewer.
BE has had 12 games they've won by 4 points or fewer.

if those 12 games go differently for either conference- things could be so different. but like what Bill Parcells says- you are what your record says you are.

I've always considered winning close games the sign of a good team. Blowouts aren't worth much; they may stroke the ego a bit, but they don't show/build the character a team needs to win in March the way a close game does.

[stever20]

the thing that is amazing to think about....

AAC has had 12 games they've lost by 4 points or fewer.
BE has had 12 games they've won by 4 points or fewer.

if those 12 games go differently for either conference- things could be so different. but like what Bill Parcells says- you are what your record says you are.

I've always considered winning close games the sign of a good team. Blowouts aren't worth much; they may stroke the ego a bit, but they don't show/build the character a team needs to win in March the way a close game does.

yeah no doubt. Also for teams that have lost a lot, it takes a lot to learn how to win those close games.

I don't think folks realize how much of a jump that the teams had from the old CUSA to even where the AAC is. The CUSA last 3 years for ECU, Tulane, and Tulsa- conference ranks were 10,11,15. With literally no exposure at all.

[AACguy]

I've never come here spouting wild predictions or claimed the AAC was something it isn't. Right now we are struggling and I think we are a two bid league that would clearly be 3 if SMU wasn't ineligible. Cincinnati is just a couple of seconds from beating both Butler and Iowa St. So it's not the end of the world and hopefully we get a couple teams into the tournament and make some noise there.

Good luck to all of your teams and Merry Christmas.

[Hoya Hoya Hoya]

I've never come here spouting wild predictions or claimed the AAC was something it isn't. Right now we are struggling and I think we are a two bid league that would clearly be 3 if SMU wasn't ineligible. Cincinnati is just a couple of seconds from beating both Butler and Iowa St. So it's not the end of the world and hopefully we get a couple teams into the tournament and make some noise there.

Good luck to all of your teams and Merry Christmas.

I'm curious which team in the American you are a fan of?

[Edrick]

UC could still make it, but its going to require pretty much perfection in the conference slate if they do not win at VCU. Neither of those things are at all likely. Cincinnati will not have a NCAA resume at season's end, they had opportunities at home against Butler and Iowa State but those are behind them now. It's resume is essentially a 5-point win over George Washington, who'll lose 6 or 7 conference games and were just blown out by DePaul of all teams.

[Hoya Hoya Hoya]

UC could still make it, but its going to require pretty much perfection in the conference slate if they do not win at VCU. Neither of those things are at all likely. Cincinnati will not have a NCAA resume at season's end, they had opportunities at home against Butler and Iowa State but those are behind them now.

uhhhhhh http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400820614

[stever20]

UC could still make it, but its going to require pretty much perfection in the conference slate if they do not win at VCU. Neither of those things are at all likely. Cincinnati will not have a NCAA resume at season's end, they had opportunities at home against Butler and Iowa State but those are behind them now.

They beat VCU last weekend..

If they win 12-13 games, and avoid the bad losses, they're in.

UConn may be the bigger challenge quite frankly.

[billyjack]

The 11 team American has 45 total losses.
30 American losses have been by under 10 points. <--- wow.
10 American losses have been by 3 or fewer points.
8 American losses have been by more than 15 points.
18 American losses have been vs teams in weak conferences (one-bid conferences).

The 10 team Big East has 29 total losses.
12 Big East losses have been by under 10 points.
7 Big East losses have been by 3 or fewer points (or OT).
10 Big East losses have been by more than 15 points.
9 Big East losses have been vs team in weak conferences (one-bid conferences).

The AAC has dropped a ton of single digit games.
2/3 of their losses are under 10 points.
The problem is really the weak teams that they've lost to... Alabama A&M, Southern, Boston U Terriers, Grand Canyon, James Madison, Delaware, Troy, Oral Roberts... that's the real killer for them... this doesn't count Little Rock, NJIT, Detroit Mercy, UAB and Mercer, who are at least solid.

The Big East weak team losses are really just Radford, Asheville and Incarnate Word... this doesn't count the solid teams of Little Rock, NJIT, Loyola Chicago, Belmont, Monmouth and Long Beach.

[Edrick]

UC could still make it, but its going to require pretty much perfection in the conference slate if they do not win at VCU. Neither of those things are at all likely. Cincinnati will not have a NCAA resume at season's end, they had opportunities at home against Butler and Iowa State but those are behind them now.

uhhhhhh http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400820614

Well, I apologize. I went all dyslexic with that game and the Temple game. That game does provide them with some cushion.

[stever20]

The 11 team American has 45 total losses.
30 American losses have been by under 10 points. <--- wow.
10 American losses have been by 3 or fewer points.
8 American losses have been by more than 15 points.
18 American losses have been vs teams in weak conferences (one-bid conferences).

The 10 team Big East has 29 total losses.
12 Big East losses have been by under 10 points.
7 Big East losses have been by 3 or fewer points (or OT).
10 Big East losses have been by more than 15 points.
9 Big East losses have been vs team in weak conferences (one-bid conferences).

The AAC has dropped a ton of single digit games.
2/3 of their losses are under 10 points.
The problem is really the weak teams that they've lost to... Alabama A&M, Southern, Boston U Terriers, Grand Canyon, James Madison, Delaware, Troy, Oral Roberts... that's the real killer for them... this doesn't count Little Rock, NJIT, Detroit Mercy, UAB and Mercer, who are at least solid.

The Big East weak team losses are really just Radford, Asheville and Incarnate Word... this doesn't count the solid teams of Little Rock, NJIT, Loyola Chicago, Belmont, Monmouth and Long Beach.

that's remarkable the 30/45 under 10 points.

It's funny, how the AAC has been this year is kind of how I expected the Big East to be- with all the youth- an adjustment period. That's the thing that is so amazing about this year- it really feels like the conference is a year away.