Down the stretch they come.....

[BPR2010]

Santa Clara and GTech came through unguaranteed games in a tournament. Southern Miss was a home and home (previous year Southern Miss was a borderline tournament team). Brown is an annual game no? That doesn't change from year to year. Every team schedules a Delaware State type team (usually a few). Definitely some room for improvement, but when you look at it that way it really wasn't in their control/previous deals were in place.

I'd say having Kansas, PC, and Nebraska is a start in building a nice OOC schedule. Nebraska was supposed to be better than what they are, keep in mind.

[Blue Man]

I know that Hurley understandably thought this team was a year away, but this still wasn't a great schedule. Nebraska was a good get, despite what happened. And PC and Kansas obviously. And I understand UMass-Lowell. But after that here's the OOC schedule with where they were predicted in their leagues:
Santa Clara: 9th of 10
GA Tech: 13th of 15
So Miss: 7 of 14
Delaware St. 7 of 13
Detroit: 4 of 9
Brown: 5 of 8.

Too few chances for top 50 and top 100 wins. Kill me if you want, but i don't think the staff did a very good job on scheduling.

I think they did the best with what they could.

As a question mark team, you will never get good games.

We were picked to be dangerous, but not good enough to look good on your schedule. Our last decade and a half has been a model of inconsistency - flashes of brilliance that could beat you, coupled with piss-down-your-leg stretch runs that made you scratch your head and would drag down your computer numbers.

Being predicted in the top 6 of what was going to be a down year for the A10 wasn't going to get a lot of good teams (or really any teams) to come calling.

No good team wants to schedule someone who could potentially be a 100 or 150+ loss, especially at home. Like Dan said, we're a year earlier than everyone, including the team, thought.

Next year when we are preseason picked to be top 2 in the A10, backed up with a very strong 2015 season (hopefully punctuated with a very impressive finish), we will be looked at as a team who is good, and capable of being able to #finish.

When you're an expected consensus NCAA team at the beginning of the season, everyone will want to play you. A chance for a top 50 win is great, but the security in knowing you can drop a game to a top 50 team is what gets good teams to schedule you.

Expect a vastly improved schedule next year.

[Iggy1979]

I know it's Monday morning quarterbacking, but play teams like Iona and Old Dominion (top 50 RPIs) instead of Delaware St and Southern Miss. This schedule could've easily been upgraded without going too crazy.
I trust Hurley to put together the right balance next year.

[twisted3829]

santa clara and ga tech were part of a tournament, he had no control over those and Brown is a rival you have to play

[RhowdyRam02]

It's unfair to hold Georgia Tech and Santa Clara against them, they were the tournament games essentially assigned to them. The price of playing Kansas. Brown is obviously the in state rivalry and Detroit was the back end of a home and home.

[rambone 78]

Wasn't So. Miss the same deal?

[adam914]

This schedule could've easily been upgraded without going too crazy.

Dan has said himself that scheduling is among the hardest parts of the job. Sure it's easy when you can just pick schools out of thin air and say "we should play them!" but it's a lot harder when you are actually trying to make a Division I schedule and not just picking one as a fan on a message board.

[rambone 78]

I think Dan also admitted he wasn't proactive enough when it came to this season's scheduling.

Even he didn't think it would be as hard as it turned out.

He'll be more prepared this time.

[ATPTourFan]

This A10 breakdown is excellent:

[TruePoint]

I know it's Monday morning quarterbacking, but play teams like Iona and Old Dominion (top 50 RPIs) instead of Delaware St and Southern Miss. This schedule could've easily been upgraded without going too crazy.
I trust Hurley to put together the right balance next year.

You don't even really need a top 50 RPI team. This is why I hate the RPI so much. For example, if we had played at Rider instead of at Southern Miss, that would have made about a 12 spot difference to our RPI. Rider is currently no. 137, and that wouldn't have been an appreciably more difficult game, IMO. The other problem is you can't always predict whether a Rider or a Southern Miss will be a better team.

[Rhody74]

This A10 breakdown is excellent:

Nice summary, but I'm not sure what he means by "leading" and "Trailing". For example, he's got URI "leading" nobody, but LaSalle "trailing" URI. What does that mean?

[Iggy1979]

This A10 breakdown is excellent:

Nice summary, but I'm not sure what he means by "leading" and "Trailing". For example, he's got URI "leading" nobody, but LaSalle "trailing" URI. What does that mean?

Has Dayton with 6 games left.

[Iggy1979]

I know it's Monday morning quarterbacking, but play teams like Iona and Old Dominion (top 50 RPIs) instead of Delaware St and Southern Miss. This schedule could've easily been upgraded without going too crazy.
I trust Hurley to put together the right balance next year.

You don't even really need a top 50 RPI team. This is why I hate the RPI so much. For example, if we had played at Rider instead of at Southern Miss, that would have made about a 12 spot difference to our RPI. Rider is currently no. 137, and that wouldn't have been an appreciably more difficult game, IMO. The other problem is you can't always predict whether a Rider or a Southern Miss will be a better team.

I agree with your first point: about the top 50 RPI. But it wouldn't have taken much work to figure out that Southern Miss was, at best, going to be a middle of the pack Conference USA team. Replace them with Western Kentucky (123 RPI) and you still have a very good chance of winning and a win would've improved URI's RPI instead of hurting.
Not trying to hammer Hurley but I think he was overly conservative in putting the schedule together.

[RhowdyRam02]

The Southern Mississippi game was the back end of a home and home. To assume Western Kentucky would have been a better get for us this season before last year seems aggressive.

[Da_Process_Survivor]

they were also stuck in No Man's Land scheduling this year:

Tournament level teams wouldnt want to schedule them because we were no guarantee.

We were good enough on paper that the win wasnt guaranteed, but lack the track record to ensure we wouldnt be an RPI killer.

[Seawrightspostgame]

URI wins out(beats dayton). VCU beats Davidson. Dayton beats VCU. URI raises a banner.

2 losse by a total of 2 points in February. Cant be discouraged now. Have to realize how close it is.

[brady1]

Wow glass half full on THE RHODY BOARD!

GO RHODY!

[Iggy1979]

URI wins out(beats dayton). VCU beats Davidson. Dayton beats VCU. URI raises a banner.

2 losse by a total of 2 points in February. Cant be discouraged now. Have to realize how close it is.

Win at Dayton and URI is in the drivers seat. Dayton and VCU have two games left against the top 4.

[Rhody83]

Win at Dayton and URI is in the drivers seat. Dayton and VCU have two games left against the top 4.

Davidson only has one game against the top 4 at home vs VCU.
If you are talking about Co-Champs, winning 3 games does it for Rhody.
If you are talking about the #1 seed or sole Champs, Rhody needs both VCU and Davidson to lose. The realistic way for that to happen would be Dayton beating VCU and VCU beating Davidson. Both of those wins would have to happen on the road.

So in the three games remaining amongst the top 4 we are hoping the road team wins all three. Not likely.

[twisted3829]

davidson has to play vcu, vcu has to play dayton and davidson, dayton has to play uri and davidson, uri has to play dayton

if vcu beat davidson, dayton beat vcu, uri beat dayton and dayton beats vcu, URI would be the 1 seed but let's just focus on beating La Salle first

[Rhody83]

I agree. If anything the last two weeks have shown us it is the unexpected will happen.

One game at a time. I would like to see Rhody get to 22-7.
Whatever else happens, happens.

[ramfan85]

davidson has to play vcu, vcu has to play dayton and davidson, dayton has to play uri and davidson, uri has to play dayton

if vcu beat davidson, dayton beat vcu, uri beat dayton and dayton beats vcu, URI would be the 1 seed but let's just focus on beating La Salle first

If we can't beat a high school team tomorrow, we're in trouble.

[ATPTourFan]

Chris DiSano on CampusInsiders.com talking about how the A10 Tournament may shape up and which teams he'd like to avoid if he were coaching.

[Maineiac66]

Not sure if this is the right thread. I'm planning to come down Saturday for my first Kingston game in 49 years! I'm bringing my adult daughter and plan to show her the campus and have an early lunch somewhere down the line. Can I stop off at the box office when I get there or should I get tickets on line? I've really enjoyed watching the games on TV up here and would like to support the team in person.

[Running Ram]

You could do either, if you purchase them online they will hold them for you at the 'will call' window, I think that window opens a couple of hour before gametime. Also, the St Joe's game thread would be the one to use, it doesn't exist yet so I think you're good

[Billyboy78]

Not sure if this is the right thread. I'm planning to come down Saturday for my first Kingston game in 49 years! I'm bringing my adult daughter and plan to show her the campus and have an early lunch somewhere down the line. Can I stop off at the box office when I get there or should I get tickets on line? I've really enjoyed watching the games on TV up here and would like to support the team in person.

We old timers loved the old Keaney Gym, but wait 'til you see the Ryan Center!

[RhowdyRam02]

Your best bet would be to buy online, that way you can pick exactly what seats you want. Then use the print at home option so you don't have to wait in two lines at game time.

[Maineiac66]

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I'll do the online option. Should be a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll run into some classmates along the away.

[TruePoint]

Resetting the breakdown of contending teams:

After this weekend's action, all A10 teams have played 16 conference games and have two to play. There are three teams tied for first at 12-4: URI, Davidson and Dayton. VCU, after their loss at home to Dayton this weekend, is a game back of the pace at 11-5. UMass and Richmond are still alive for a bye at 10-6. No other teams can finish among the top four.

Here are the remaining schedules for the contenders:

Virginia Commonwealth (11-5)

@Davidson
George Mason

If VCU wins out, they could still finish in first. They could pull even with Davidson with a victory against them on the road, and they own the tie-breaker there. Either URI or Dayton will lose tomorrow. VCU owns the tie-breaker against us, but Dayton has it against VCU. If Dayton beats Rhody tomorrow, VCU cannot finish first even if Dayton loses their final game at La Salle. If Rhody beats Dayton, VCU would need help in the form of a St. Joe's win in Kingston on Saturday. More interesting, and perhaps more likely, VCU could find itself finishing outside the top four should they lose at Davidson on Thursday and Richmond wins out. In that case, both teams would finish 12-6 and Richmond holds the tie-breaker, having beaten VCU twice. Note that VCU is 4-5 since senior guard Briante Weber went down on January 31 against Richmond.

Dayton (12-4)

Rhode Island
@La Salle

Davidson owns the tie-breaker over Dayton, so if Dayton beats us and wins at La Salle on Saturday and Davidson beats VCU on Thursday, they would needs the Wildcats to lose at Duquesne Saturday to win the conference. Alternatively, if VCU wins at Davidson on Thursday and Dayton wins out, they would win the conference outright. Rhody can assure that Dayton does not win the conference by beating them tomorrow night.

Davidson (12-4)

VCU
@Duquesne

Davidson is looking at a great chance to win the league in their first year, after many predicted they would finish near the bottom. I am among those guilty of underestimating Davidson. They are not close to being the most talented team in the conference, but they are extremely well coached and play with a precision that is unlike what anyone else does in the A10. If the Wildcats can defend their home court against VCU on Thursday, they are one game against 5-11 Duquesne from winning the conference. Davidson owns tie-breakers against both Dayton and URI, so our game doesn't matter to them if they win their final two. More than any other team, they control their own destiny with respect to winning the conference. Everyone else needs help.

Rhode Island (12-4)

@Dayton
St. Joseph's

While it was always a long shot, any talk of an at-large for Rhody died in the final minute of the Davidson game. Still, our most likely way into the NCAA tournament field has always been to win the A10 tourney in Brooklyn. In order to do that, URI realistically needs to finish in the top-4 during the regular season and get a first round bye. Being two games ahead of fifth place with two games remaining all but ensures that a first round bye will be achieved, which many here said was the top goal coming into the season. One win by URI or one loss by UMass will lock that up. However, that isn't the end of the story for URI. For all of the success this program has had in the late 80s and throughout the 90s, we have never won a regular season A10 title. In fact, our place at the top of the standings today, March 2, is the latest we have ever had even a share of first place. Winning the regular season conference alone will not pay dividends in the form of a bid, but it is still very much something to play for.

So what needs to happen for Rhody to win the A10? Well, we do not have the tie-breaker against Davidson, so to truly finish as the top team - the #1 seed in Brooklyn - we need Davidson and Dayton to each lose in addition to winning our remaining games. As discussed above, Davidson plays VCU at home on Thursday. If they are to lose, it is more likely to be that game than at Dusquesne on Saturday. As far as Dayton, fortunately we play them head to head and get the chance to hand them a loss personally. Unfortunately, that game is at their gym, where they are 15-0 this season. Still, Dayton is not unbeatable.

I want to win the damn conference. It is right there in front of us now. In March. Time to finish. Root like hell we finally break through against a good team tomorrow night, then root like hell for VCU on Thursday.

Massachusetts (10-6)

Richmond
@GW

A little more than two weeks ago, UMass was tied for first place. It has basically all fallen apart for them since then. Three game losing streaks in late February will do that to you, as we can all attest. Going on the road for back-to-back games against URI and VCU was an understandably tough task, but a loss at home to St. Joes in a game they desperately needed is not a good sign. They did rebound to beat a suddenly feisty Fordham team, but barring a miracle they will not be getting a bye in the A10 tournament. Their game against Richmond will eliminate one of them. The UMass's only road to a top-4 finish is to win out and pray for either Dayton, URI or VCU to lose their remaining games.

Richmond (10-6)

@UMass
SLU

Richmond cannot catch us, since we own the tie-breaker against them. For that reason, I will be rooting for them on Wednesday. They also cannot catch Dayton, having lost at UD Arena in January. However, they can catch VCU if they win out and VCU drops at least one game, by virtue of owning two head-to-head victories against the Southern Rams. They also could catch Davidson - those two split their season series so the tie-breaker (like ours with UMass) will have to be determined after all games have been played.

Note that these six all play each other in their games this week, so we should really have a crystal clear picture of what needs to happen for every scenario coming into Saturday's games, when all six of these teams will likely be favored.

[Iggy1979]

If you were going set odds you'd have to like Davidson and Dayton's chances.

[ramfan85]

Looks like all four of the top 4 teams could easily lose 1 game. Dayton looks good.

[TruePoint]

Looks like all four of the top 4 teams could easily lose 1 game. Dayton looks good.

Agree, but likely only two of them (and at least two of them) will. That is what makes it so interesting to me. A good deal of this will work itself out, but there is a lot left to happen considering there are only two more games for each team.

[rambone 78]

Great job TP.

My prediction [some will not like this]

We lose Tuesday, win Sat. Get the bye. [Hopefully the 3 seed] A win Friday in NY, then the semis??????

We are capable of winning the conference tourney. Will we?

We are close. The games will be close. Can we do it 3 days in a row?

Not likely. Our shooting woes, either from 3 or the FT line, will bite us either in the semis or final.

The end result? A 2 or 3 NIT seed.

That's my prediction. Is it great? No. Realistic for us this season? Yes.

[ramfan85]

It sure is getting interesting. I'm not used to this in Feb. and March.

[RAM67]

What's really interesting is the way the last 2 games are scheduled for the top four. We could go 1-1 in our last two games, and still be tied for first. We could win our last two and win outright, or we could win both and be tied for first. If we lose the last two, we will still probably be in the top four not sure about the tie breaker with Umass if that happens.