BullyPulpit

53 minutes ago, flsportsfan83 said:

that case is a hail mary. The SCOTUS wont hear that.

It is absurd that we just gleefully give the Seminole tribe a monopoly on pretty much all real gambling in Florida. We would all benefit if there was competition. 

1 minute ago, Rocky Style said:

They wear purple.  If that helps.

They have pretty solid local fan support. They averaged 36,000 fans despite going 2-10 this season. Those numbers dipped as the season went on, but they were still getting 30,000 at the end. 

27 minutes ago, panchosanchez99 said:

I agree with the feces. If FAU wins tonight and then loses to us over the weekend, there is a great chance that we will crack the AP rankings next week. Even if we only come in at 27th, winning out would more than likely put us in the top 20. Then winning all conference tournament games except the final would mean excluding a top 25 team from the NCAA tournament. Has that ever happened?

25-3 Utah State in 2003-2004 and, more ominously, a 23-9 SMU in 2013-2014. They were excluded because of their 114th ranked SOS. We are on pace for a SOS of 158th in the nation. It still remains highly unlikely that a 25-6 USF ends up making the Big Dance. The saving grace with regard to comparing us to that SMU team is that they lost their last 3 games of the season, two to ranked teams and then to Houston in the first-round of the AAC tournament. I don't believe the NET was yet a thing, but their RPI was #46 in the nation. That was a season where the American boasted tournament teams with RPI #5 - UCONN, #16 - Louisville, #22 - Cincy, and #25 - Memphis. This year's AAC, while competitive, is nowhere near that level. 

The more I look at the numbers, the more I am growing more comfortable with the fact that USF's only path to the Big Dance is to win the AAC tournament. The teams on the Bubble are currently too strong this year. 

With USF continuing to win and holding the tiebreaker over Memphis and UNT, it is pretty much a 5 team race for the top 4 seeds. Unfortunately, UAB holds the tiebreaker over USF. Beating FAU would essentially give us a nice cushion against them as well, as we would be 2 games up in the loss column and hold the tiebreaker over them. With that being said, the SMU game is the most important one remaining on the schedule for the Bulls as it relates to securing a top 4 seed. Win that one and we should pretty much be assured of a double-bye. 

8 hours ago, BDYZR said:

https://buff.ly/3SyDv5z

Act quickly, only 6 tickets left. 

4 minutes ago, Triple B said:

 

That’s definitely more in line with what I was thinking. SOS, I think, still plays a key role and USCe has to have a lot higher one, but when you’re talking human voters who knows. The Comeback Kids narrative may have more of an effect on them. 

USCe's non-conference SOS was substantially worse than ours #297 v. #184. Their current overall SOS is #129 v. our #162. We would have had a 2 week head start on them in the polls. We wouldn't have jumped as high or as fast, but we definitely would be top 20, possibly as high as #15 at 21-1. 

16 minutes ago, Bulls On Parade said:

SC has multiple top 25 wins though so I think if we were 21-1 with our scheduoe we be right around 20 to 25 now.

 

You are probably correct that I overestimated where a 21-1 USF would be ranked. However, Memphis was ranked #10 at the time we played them. IMO, we would have been ranked after beating them. Going 7-0 since then and being 21-1, I have to imagine that we would have climbed to somewhere around #15. Indiana State is 19-3 with no ranked wins and they currently sit at 23/24. 

50 minutes ago, USF_Bullsharks said:

Imagine if we were within 5 at half. We'd win by 15! 

Hopefully we won't have to imagine it and the team puts together a complete effort over these next two home games. No reason for Tulsa to keep it within 15 point. We are that much better than them. 

1 hour ago, flsportsfan83 said:

This would 100% be my assessment as well. He comes off as the smartest guy in the room. 

I mean, someone has to be, right? 

16 hours ago, cophbulls said:

omg....i love the Bulls and I will take all the positive press we can get but no way a team who has a Net ranking of 103 and an RPI of 74 with a SOS of 161st be essentially the 41st ranked team in the country. These voters don't really pay attention, all they see is a record. I shouldn't complain but I do it when other teams are "ranked" higher than they should be so i guess turnabout is fair play. It would be hilarious(and awesome) if we get in the dance.  

Since December 5th USF is 15-1 and FAU is 12-4. Granted, FAU has better a win in there (Arizona), but also has a really bad loss to FGCU. It is not easy to go win in today's college basketball night-in and night-out. USF's resume over the last 2.5 months is better than at least one team that is currently ranked in the top 25. The American may not be elite, but it is a tough conference in that most teams are at least serviceable and competitive. If USF takes care of business and ends up knocking off FAU, I don't see any reason to gripe with their receiving recognition for going 17-1 over their last 18 games. After all, the top 25 is ceremonial in nature and there is nothing wrong with celebrating the accomplishments of a team that has defied the odds this season and put up some pretty solid wins in the process. 

15 hours ago, Triple B said:

Actually, when you think about it, the voter rankings sometimes make more sense at times because they're a more current reflection of a team. We've got 5 losses, 4 within the first 6 games of a new coach with a rebuilt team. I'm assuming that, along with our overall SOS, plays a significant part of what's killing our NET. What are the odds that we lose those 4 games if we played them right now? Where would/should we be voter ranked if we were sitting at 21-1?

A 21-1 USF team is likely ranked somewhere between #8 and 13 in the country. I say this based upon 21-3 South Carolina being ranked at #11. 

54 minutes ago, bcgruber said:

I'm still holding out a glimmer of hope on an at-large bid so I think we want FAU and SMU to win for some potential Quad 1 and 2 victories.  Think for a realistic shot we can only lose to charlotte the rest of the way to have a shot at any at large bid.

Looking at the profiles of the teams currently projected on the tournament bubble, I don't think we can afford any more losses prior to the conference tournament. 

Well, I will eat my crow. We received 7 points in the AP poll and 5 points in the Coaches poll.

2023-24 Men's College Basketball Rankings - ESPN

WWW.ESPN.COM

---

Find the 2023-24 NCAAM rankings on ESPN, including the Coaches and AP poll for the top 25 NCAAM teams.

49 minutes ago, Triple B said:

We do have a shot at an at-large bid ...... it's just a long one.

The fact that teams like Gonzaga, Wake Forest, Colorado, and Nevada are currently on the outside looking in does not bode well for our chances. Even at 26-6 we wouldn't be a sure thing to make the tournament as an at-large but of course there is a chance. 

7 minutes ago, Triple B said:

We do have a shot at an at-large bid ...... it's just a long one.

The results from this weekend did not help our cause in that regard. A lot of bubble teams strengthened their case for an at-large. A lot of basketball still to play, but our odds are probably around 1%. 

12 minutes ago, Triple B said:

Stayed at 103, although do have the Quad 1 win back with Memphis getting back there.

 

It's a shame they no longer use the RPI, because we would actually have a shot at an at-large with our RPI profile, especially with the remaining games against FAU and SMU. 

The games yesterday were all close to breaking our way but yet not one of them did. FAU, Charlotte, Memphis, SMU, and UAB all emerged victorious, with only Memphis running away with the W. 

I am going to safely assume that an at-large is off the table for USF at this point. Therefore, all of these preferred outcomes are based upon improving USF's odds to finish in the top 4 of the conference. Looking at the week ahead, these are the games with the team that we should be cheering for in bold:

Thurs. Feb 15th

Temple @ FAU

SMU @ Tulane

UTSA @ Charlotte

Memphis @ UNT

Sun. Feb. 18th

Wichita State @ Charlotte

UNT @ UAB

Memphis @ SMU

40 minutes ago, Bull Matrix said:

Ok! Today is the day that we should see USF RVs in the top 25 polls. The anticipation….

Again, unless we get a token vote at #25 from a coach in the conference, I have a feeling you are going to be disappointed. 

1 hour ago, Friscobull said:

Ok, this isn’t Charlie post Q, we have a team, weak in the paint but can shoot, enjoy the ride.

They are strong driving to the basket. We don't have a traditional post game, but the high screen with the option to kick for a 3 is more deadly in modern basketball. 

I do want to know what in the world Stroud and his sub 50% FT shooting was doing on the court in an obvious fouling situation? We survived it, but come on. 

1 hour ago, SilverBull said:

In his post-game interview he expressed same basic sentiment.  I like the comebacks but it seems to be playing with fire, and not necessarily in a good way.

That said, I think Youngblood may be the most consistent comeback leader I have ever seen at USF.

He and Miguel set the tone for sure. Love the leadership and grit.

8 minutes ago, Friscobull said:

It really is amazing, you never really feel out of it, that Memphis game was our Syracuse in FB.  Youngblood is such a good scorer, team is fun to watch, I have watched more hoops this year than the prior 3 years combined as well. 

It was actually the Rice game right before that. Down something like 12 points with 11 minutes left. Then the very next game they pull off the unbelievable 20 point comeback against Memphis. 

It's crunch time. Let's see the boys close this out. 

9 hours ago, Triple B said:

Bull Matrix is trolling us all at this point, right? Between the conference stuff and the 3 AAC teams in the tournament he had to be. 

1 hour ago, Dave_Glaser said:

Make it 3-0. Shut out Michigan today, 1-0. Three games, haven’t allowed a run yet. Hmmm . . . 

That's pretty impressive. Not racking up the strikeouts, but the defense has been very impressive.