MBB Final: Louisiana 65, Samford 88

[cajunjayhawk]

We always talk about expectations vs. results on here. I posted this on Twitter a while back, interested to hear y'alls thoughts.

In a 14-team one-bid league (hopefully two this season if JMU can keep it up) like the Sun Belt, I feel our expectations should be the following:
-At minimum, consistent Conf. Tournament semifinals appearances.
-Championship game appearance AT LEAST once every 2-3 seasons.
-Win the championship at least once every 4 seasons.

I feel like those are realistic, high-level, expectations for a one-bid conference of our size - Be in the Top 4 of 14.
Since 2018, in the conf tournament, we've made the semis 4 times, the finals twice, and won the championship once. (Also add in a regular season championship in '18).

Imo, the way the talk goes on here, you'd feel we've finished bottom 4 the past 3 seasons, when in reality the past 3 seasons we've made the Semis 3x, Finals 2x, and made the Big Dance 1x.

[ManAboutTown]

We always talk about expectations vs. results on here. I posted this on Twitter a while back, interested to hear y'alls thoughts.

In a 14-team one-bid league (hopefully two this season if JMU can keep it up) like the Sun Belt, I feel our expectations should be the following:
-At minimum, consistent Conf. Tournament semifinals appearances.
-Championship game appearance AT LEAST once every 2-3 seasons.
-Win the championship at least once every 4 seasons.

I feel like those are realistic, high-level, expectations for a one-bid conference of our size - Be in the Top 4 of 14.
Since 2018, in the conf tournament, we've made the semis 4 times, the finals twice, and won the championship once. (Also add in a regular season championship in '18).

Imo, the way the talk goes on here, you'd feel we've finished bottom 4 the past 3 seasons, when in reality the past 3 seasons we've made the Semis 3x, Finals 2x, and made the Big Dance 1x.

But what does that have to do with getting your doors blown off by a middling SoCon team 7 games into your season?

[cajunjayhawk]

But what does that have to do with getting your doors blown off by a middling SoCon team 7 games into your season?

I was just shifting the discussion.
To your point - We played awful and got it handed to us.
Tbf, last season we beat Samford 75-58 and they finished 1st in their conf. I wouldn't say their program is middling.

[zeppelincajun]

We always talk about expectations vs. results on here. I posted this on Twitter a while back, interested to hear y'alls thoughts.

In a 14-team one-bid league (hopefully two this season if JMU can keep it up) like the Sun Belt, I feel our expectations should be the following:
-At minimum, consistent Conf. Tournament semifinals appearances.
-Championship game appearance AT LEAST once every 2-3 seasons.
-Win the championship at least once every 4 seasons.

I feel like those are realistic, high-level, expectations for a one-bid conference of our size - Be in the Top 4 of 14.
Since 2018, in the conf tournament, we've made the semis 4 times, the finals twice, and won the championship once. (Also add in a regular season championship in '18).

Imo, the way the talk goes on here, you'd feel we've finished bottom 4 the past 3 seasons, when in reality the past 3 seasons we've made the Semis 3x, Finals 2x, and made the Big Dance 1x.

I love how these expectations conveniently leave out the entire regular season. Being in a one bid league doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have expectations for regular season play. Your “expectations” leave room for seasons like year before last where we finish 8th and then make the championship game. That season was inexcusable.

[ManAboutTown]

I was just shifting the discussion.
To your point - We played awful and got it handed to us.
Tbf, last season we beat Samford 75-58 and they finished 1st in their conf. I wouldn't say their program is middling.

I mean... They won the SoCon.. Bottom third league in NCAA D1
But, last year is not this year. This year, we just re-upped a coach for 4 more years and we're not exactly off to a rousing start. Don't get me wrong, the LBS win raised some eyebrows, but if we're going to live and die by the 3, we'll be a 17-18 win team again with second round exit in the SBC tourney. Marlin's wheelhouse.

[cajuns80]

We always talk about expectations vs. results on here. I posted this on Twitter a while back, interested to hear y'alls thoughts.

In a 14-team one-bid league (hopefully two this season if JMU can keep it up) like the Sun Belt, I feel our expectations should be the following:
-At minimum, consistent Conf. Tournament semifinals appearances.
-Championship game appearance AT LEAST once every 2-3 seasons.
-Win the championship at least once every 4 seasons.

I feel like those are realistic, high-level, expectations for a one-bid conference of our size - Be in the Top 4 of 14.
Since 2018, in the conf tournament, we've made the semis 4 times, the finals twice, and won the championship once. (Also add in a regular season championship in '18).

Imo, the way the talk goes on here, you'd feel we've finished bottom 4 the past 3 seasons, when in reality the past 3 seasons we've made the Semis 3x, Finals 2x, and made the Big Dance 1x.

But, we spend more money than everyone else on basketball and we shouldn't expect to be competing for the championship every single season? We should be going to the the tournament at minumum every third year. We aren't even close.

[cajunjayhawk]

I love how these expectations conveniently leave out the entire regular season. Being in a one bid league doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have expectations for regular season play. Your “expectations” leave room for seasons like year before last where we finish 8th and then make the championship game. That season was inexcusable.

Fair critique. I genuinely welcome your thoughts and opinions. What should be added?
I've heard the argument re: regular season from many sides- making the NCAA tournament is all the matters/who cares about playing in the NIT/3 days in March...

[ZoomZoom]

Fair critique. I genuinely welcome your thoughts and opinions. What should be added?
I've heard the argument re: regular season from many sides- making the NCAA tournament is all the matters/who cares about playing in the NIT/3 days in March...

The NIT is now harder to get in than the NCAA.

[Esqueleto]

The NIT is now harder to get in than the NCAA.

Yeah, the NIT is over for the G5 and below.

[cajunjayhawk]

I mean... They won the SoCon.. Bottom third league in NCAA D1
But, last year is not this year. This year, we just re-upped a coach for 4 more years and we're not exactly off to a rousing start. Don't get me wrong, the LBS win raised some eyebrows, but if we're going to live and die by the 3, we'll be a 17-18 win team again with second round exit in the SBC tourney. Marlin's wheelhouse.

SoCon isn't a bottom 3rd league. Furman, UNC Greensboro, Wofford, Chattanooga, Samford, Mercer, ETSU. Those are solid mid-major programs.

NET Conference Rankings:
2023: SoCon (20) | Sun Belt (14)
2022: SoCon (12) | Sun Belt (17)
2021: SoCon (10) | Sun Belt (18)
3-year average: SoCon (14) | Sun Belt (16)

Great, you don't like second round exits in the SBC tourney, neither do I. Doesn't fit into my expectations of our program. What's the expectation you have for the program that we should hold ourselves to?

[ULvictory]

We always talk about expectations vs. results on here. I posted this on Twitter a while back, interested to hear y'alls thoughts.

In a 14-team one-bid league (hopefully two this season if JMU can keep it up) like the Sun Belt, I feel our expectations should be the following:
-At minimum, consistent Conf. Tournament semifinals appearances.
-Championship game appearance AT LEAST once every 2-3 seasons.
-Win the championship at least once every 4 seasons.

I feel like those are realistic, high-level, expectations for a one-bid conference of our size - Be in the Top 4 of 14.
Since 2018, in the conf tournament, we've made the semis 4 times, the finals twice, and won the championship once. (Also add in a regular season championship in '18).

Imo, the way the talk goes on here, you'd feel we've finished bottom 4 the past 3 seasons, when in reality the past 3 seasons we've made the Semis 3x, Finals 2x, and made the Big Dance 1x.

We should be competing in the top 4 but with more of a sliding scale depending on how we finish in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Now, that doesn't justify an 8th place finish in 2022 even though we made the final. I think for a regular season finish like that, it would only be forgiven with a NCAA Tournament appearance.

We also need to be more competitive in the regular season than we have in the past few years (finished in the top 4 twice since 2018 in a weaker conference before the 4 new schools joined) and start scheduling AND beating better non-conference competition. No one gets excited beating Louisiana Christian and Prairie View A&M. We tend to schedule those types of teams heavily, rack up the wins against those teams, finish somewhat in the middle of the conference standings, and always end up with around 16-18 while most of the coach loyalists celebrate that. Most fans haven't bought into that formula. It would be like our football team scheduling nothing but FCS non-conference opponents, going 4-0 against them, but going 4-4 in conference finishing with an 8-4 record while grandstanding that we went 8-4. It really doesn't get us anywhere.

Be more competitive in the regular season. Beat better competition other than NAIA and Southland teams. And try to make the SBC Final more than just 3 times in a 14 year span.

[cajuns80]

I mean... They won the SoCon.. Bottom third league in NCAA D1
But, last year is not this year. This year, we just re-upped a coach for 4 more years and we're not exactly off to a rousing start. Don't get me wrong, the LBS win raised some eyebrows, but if we're going to live and die by the 3, we'll be a 17-18 win team again with second round exit in the SBC tourney. Marlin's wheelhouse.

And to make matters worse, we do not have a senior on this team. We are stuck with this same roster construction next year. Marlin wasting scholarship for his boy's son with Vinny Sigona. And Gio Nanucci who is a major project. Shouldve used those scholarships on more big depth.