MBB Final Louisiana 60, Texas State 51

[ZoomZoom]

Never ain’t happening. We’re and all are being required to upgrade. That alone will upgrade everyone’s power rating.

Upgrading with other mid majors won’t change jack. I agree rather play other mid majors than the Xaviers of the world, but the SBC will still be a one bid league.

[Cajunsmike]

Upgrading with other mid majors won’t change jack. I agree rather play other mid majors than the Xaviers of the world, but the SBC will still be a one bid league.

In actuality, the new requirements to have a minimum no. of D1 home games will hurt our NET rating and also may hurt financially. NET has replaced the RPI in basketball. NET still considers strength of schedule in the calculations. That is because we will move from paying 10 grand to Xavier of New Orleans to paying 60 grand to Southern for CajunDome visits. The game Xavier counts as far as NCAA statistics go but is ignored in the NET calculations while the game against Southern will be considered and likely is a negative to the NET. Despite all that, I strongly support the new requirements. A game against a SWAC team still does more to prepare you for conference play than a game against NAIA competition does. They still put D1 athletes on the court and are on scholarship. Playing 3 non D1 games is also not fair to your season ticket holders and encourages no walk up sales unless there is a local player on the opponent.

[ZoomZoom]

In actuality, the new requirements to have a minimum no. of D1 home games will hurt our NET rating and also may hurt financially. NET has replaced the RPI in basketball. NET still considers strength of schedule in the calculations. That is because we will move from paying 10 grand to Xavier of New Orleans to paying 60 grand to Southern for CajunDome visits. The game Xavier counts as far as NCAA statistics go but is ignored in the NET calculations while the game against Southern will be considered and likely is a negative to the NET. Despite all that, I strongly support the new requirements. A game against a SWAC team still does more to prepare you for conference play than a game against NAIA competition does. They still put D1 athletes on the court and are on scholarship. Playing 3 non D1 games is also not fair to your season ticket holders and encourages no walk up sales unless there is a local player on the opponent.

Thanks Mike, appreciate the posts. Know this isn’t the first time you’ve explained this.

210 211 Grambling SWAC 9-7 4-6 1-1 4-0 0-3 2-1 0-1 7-2
219 216 Southern U. SWAC 7-10 3-9 1-1 3-0 0-3 0-3 0-1 7-3
246 245 Alcorn SWAC 8-10 4-8 1-1 3-1 0-3 1-4 1-1 6-2
274 273 Prairie View SWAC 5-13 2-10 0-1 3-2 0-4 1-0 0-3 4-6
306 305 Ark.-Pine Bluff SWAC 5-11 2-11 0-0 3-0 0-5 0-1 0-3 5-2
314 314 Texas Southern SWAC 4-14 1-9 1-1 2-4 0-4 1-2 0-2 3-6
318 320 Jackson St. SWAC 5-14 2-12 0-2 3-0 0-3 0-5 1-1 4-5
330 330 Alabama St. SWAC 5-13 1-13 1-0 3-0 0-3 0-3 0-3 5-4
348 348 Alabama A&M SWAC 3-13 0-6 0-1 3-6 0-2 0-1 0-3 3-7
352 353 Bethune-Cookman SWAC 4-13 1-10 1-1 2-2 0-3 0-0 0-3 4-7
357 357 Mississippi Val. SWAC 2-19 0-15 0-2 2-2 0-4 0-4 0-3 2-8
358 358 Florida A&M SWAC

[ULvictory]

For some. I would venture to say even most. Not for me. For me the biggest disappointment in the Marlin era was not the 2017-2018 squad missing the tournament. It was the fact that none of the momentum in that season was maintained, and the program returned to mediocrity and worse in the 4 years following. The 2017-2018 success was used as an excuse for failures in later years with Marlin making comments about “playing with a target on our back after winning 27 games” instead of as a building block for elevating the program.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!

If we build on the 2018 season without using it as a crutch to underachieve the following years, none of us are having this conversation. What the past 4 years has turned into is bunch of justifications for mediocrity as well as constantly promoting complacency.

Constantly promoting complacency is why we have averaged 6th place in the Sun Belt over the last 4 years with the highest paid coach at the helm up until this season.

Constantly promoting complacency is why the fan base is divided in the direction of our team.

Constantly promoting complacency is why our fans are proceeding with caution in spite of being tied for 1st place in conference as if an expectation of a end of season meltdown is somehow inevitable.

Constantly promoting complacency is why if we win the conference this season, there's a large number of fans worried that the following years will be followed with the same old, same old of middle-of-the-pack quality of basketball.

I love the fact that this team is playing the way they are right now. The biggest concern that I have is whether or not it can be maintained moving forward once the 2022-2023 season comes to a close. That part I don't know because it hasn't in the past.

[CajunEXPRESS]

THIS!!!!!!!!!!

If we build on the 2018 season without using it as a crutch to underachieve the following years, none of us are having this conversation. What the past 4 years has turned into is bunch of justifications for mediocrity as well as constantly promoting complacency.

Constantly promoting complacency is why we have averaged 6th place in the Sun Belt over the last 4 years with the highest paid coach at the helm up until this season.

Constantly promoting complacency is why the fan base is divided in the direction of our team.

Constantly promoting complacency is why our fans are proceeding with caution in spite of being tied for 1st place in conference as if an expectation of a end of season meltdown is somehow inevitable.

Constantly promoting complacency is why if we win the conference this season, there's a large number of fans worried that the following years will be followed with the same old, same old of middle-of-the-pack quality of basketball.

I love the fact that this team is playing the way they are right now. The biggest concern that I have is whether or not it can be maintained moving forward once the 2022-2023 season comes to a close. That part I don't know because it hasn't in the past.

We’re losing our star player so probably a rebuilding. Expect mediocrity.

[ZoomZoom]

Scheduling sucks. But if UL can’t get more creative than flipping 6 or 7 SWAC games or starts H/H with SWAC teams I’m out. That was the line in the sand with Fletcher and still is for me today. Scheduling a league, who today, has half their teams with a lower net ranking than the SBC’s worst team is stupid. It’s bad enough we have McLeast and UNO, bottom 10% teams on the schedule. So why add teams that drag your program further down? The MAC deal is ESPN just keeping us in our place, two one bid leagues battling it out gains nothing.

[zephyr]

Sure we want to win all the time. The bottom line is only one team from the belt will go to the dance regardless if they win most or all of the time.

We all know that. You don't have to keep repeating it. The bottom line is that you keep saying its all about those few days in March. As if all other games are not important to gauge the successfulness of a given season and that is and should not be the way the program thinks.

[zephyr]

Tell me when we have had a player who was averaging 19 PPG this late in the season. I will wait. He has made every other big in our league look silly.

Averaging 19 PPG does not make him a "generational" talent.

[ZoomZoom]

Averaging 19 PPG does not make him a "generational" talent.

Get above 20 PPG, psychologically it may.

Toney and Bo stuck around awhile professionally.

EP had moments in the pros, but he, nor anyone else that’s come thru matches the “generational talent” of those two guys. Which is another reason why we have no fresh banners in the dome, nor should we.

Long was dominate, but against who and did the team flourish?

Toney and Bo were “money” 90% of the time. Haven’t see that in decades.

[cajuns80]

NBA bound . . .

He is a G league talent at best. Probably will be playing overseas.

[HoustonCajun]

THIS!!!!!!!!!!

If we build on the 2018 season without using it as a crutch to underachieve the following years, none of us are having this conversation. What the past 4 years has turned into is bunch of justifications for mediocrity as well as constantly promoting complacency.

Constantly promoting complacency is why we have averaged 6th place in the Sun Belt over the last 4 years with the highest paid coach at the helm up until this season.

Constantly promoting complacency is why the fan base is divided in the direction of our team.

Constantly promoting complacency is why our fans are proceeding with caution in spite of being tied for 1st place in conference as if an expectation of a end of season meltdown is somehow inevitable.

Constantly promoting complacency is why if we win the conference this season, there's a large number of fans worried that the following years will be followed with the same old, same old of middle-of-the-pack quality of basketball.

I love the fact that this team is playing the way they are right now. The biggest concern that I have is whether or not it can be maintained moving forward once the 2022-2023 season comes to a close. That part I don't know because it hasn't in the past.

When this team plays as they did the previous 3 games vs. ULM, USA and Ark state, their game was a thing of beauty. Great ball movement, backdoor cuts, beautiful assists, and great outside shooting. That is what we haven't had in the past and why we haven't won. Then, against Texas State, we resorted to our old game, isolation basketball, dribbling endlessly with bad passes and turnovers, little ball movement, forced shots. We overcame that to win, but Marlin never stops play and says enough, quit the one on one game and get back to playing team basketball. We finally have some great shooters instead of a bunch of athletes who can dunk the ball. This is a fun team to watch when they are ON. Not so fun when they are OFF because of what he allows them to resort to. That is Marlin's Achille's heel and he never seems to realize when it has taken over a game, stop play and make the correction. He just let's them play a game that looks like street ball. We win some games despite this because of a weak schedule, but good teams beat us. Play our game and we win the conference and a bid to the NCAA tournament. Resort to old play and we won't make it out of the conference tournament.

[zephyr]

Get above 20 PPG, psychologically it may.

Toney and Bo stuck around awhile professionally.

EP had moments in the pros, but he, nor anyone else that’s come thru matches the “generational talent” of those two guys. Which is another reason why we have no fresh banners in the dome, nor should we.

Long was dominate, but against who and did the team flourish?

Toney and Bo were “money” 90% of the time. Haven’t see that in decades.

We are not talking about professional ability. When you say someone is a once in a generation talent, that is talking about a level of a guy like Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, lol. No doubt JB will play professionally although I see it being more in Europe or something like that.

[zephyr]

When this team plays as they did the previous 3 games vs. ULM, USA and Ark state, their game was a thing of beauty. Great ball movement, backdoor cuts, beautiful assists, and great outside shooting. That is what we haven't had in the past and why we haven't won. Then, against Texas State, we resorted to our old game, isolation basketball, dribbling endlessly with bad passes and turnovers, little ball movement, forced shots. We overcame that to win, but Marlin never stops play and says enough, quit the one on one game and get back to playing team basketball. We finally have some great shooters instead of a bunch of athletes who can dunk the ball. This is a fun team to watch when they are ON. Not so fun when they are OFF because of what he allows them to resort to. That is Marlin's Achille's heel and he never seems to realize when it has taken over a game, stop play and make the correction. He just let's them play a game that looks like street ball. We win some games despite this because of a weak schedule, but good teams beat us. Play our game and we win the conference and a bid to the NCAA tournament. Resort to old play and we won't make it out of the conference tournament.

TX State had a lot to do with that. They are a pretty good defensive team and they really pressured us and were trying to not let us get into those sets. It was painful to watch at times for sure and it was a physical game. The refs allowed a lot of physical play on defense.

[cajuns80]

TX State had a lot to do with that. They are a pretty good defensive team and they really pressured us and were trying to not let us get into those sets. It was painful to watch at times for sure and it was a physical game. The refs allowed a lot of physical play on defense.

Texas State did not have their all conference PG. Very concerned with how we played in that game.

[zephyr]

Texas State did not have their all conference PG. Very concerned with how we played in that game.

It was a bad game. No doubt but the Cajuns are the team that turned it up and made the run around the 5 minute mark in the second half when they needed to. We also shot FT's like ____ and didn't shoot well from outside but found a way to pull a road win out. Good teams find different ways to win.