BubbleWatch and Top 25 Polls

[Andrew]

People are writing about 8-0 like it's likely to happen, and 7-1 is what will happen because we should be favored in those games. If we go 5-3 down the stretch, which is much more likely a scenario than those other 2...we'll be 13-5 in the A10, have a first round bye in the A10 tourney, and poised ourselves to make a legit run the conference/some type of post season play - in what is for all intensive purposes year 2 of one of the hardest rebuilding projects in college basketball.

If this team finishes 21-8, with how they've played this year, there should be a fucking praise party on this board for the job that Dan/staff/team have done for the turn around for this program, and then we get to see meaningful games we can win, that could possibly end up in the NCAA, but will more likely have us in the NIT.

This is perfect. A first round bye is an achievable and perfectly respectable goal. There's a difference between "thinking big" and being realistic. 5-3 isn't ideal, but it's not the end of the world when we've gone 8-2 in the first half of conference play.

[Blue Man]

I love the enthusiasm, but it's making this board look uneducated.

Ramsey, to say things like: "Im sorry but I just don't see the stark difference between the a10 and some of these higher-up conferences." makes it seem like you stopped watching basketball in March of last year. The A10 was legit. We had a ton of talented senior classes that graduated. The A10 had a woeful OOC this year, especially against the power conference teams. Last year top to bottom the A10 had power conference wins, this year it was only a handful of teams that were able to pick off those conference bottom feeders.

Among the ranked wins (which I believe there are only 2 still standing), UNI and Wichita State play in garbage conferences and don't really help the conference eye test. You need an eye test and computer numbers to get in.

Wagner was not 2nd team out of the tournament. The NEC is and will always be a 1 bid league. Wagner didn't get an NIT invite. Not because they got screwed, but because they didn't do enough to deserve it in the eyes of either committee - because they don't play or beat enough legitimately good teams.

You may not care about the number of top 100 wins we have, but the selection committee does. That's literally most of what they look at. "who did you play, and who did you beat." Our SOS is and will finish outside of the top 100. So cross that first part off. The "who did you beat" part, while not written entirely as of now, is not going to raise any eyebrows.

The best thing we have going is a win streak, which if it continues could be enough to sway some committee votes - but it keeps coming back to the eye test.

Because I've seen (and been a central part of) many of these board meltdowns, this is me trying to stop the madness before it starts.

People are writing about 8-0 like it's likely to happen, and 7-1 is what will happen because we should be favored in those games. If we go 5-3 down the stretch, which is much more likely a scenario than those other 2...we'll be 13-5 in the A10, have a first round bye in the A10 tourney, and poised ourselves to make a legit run the conference/some type of post season play - in what is for all intensive purposes year 2 of one of the hardest rebuilding projects in college basketball.

If this team finishes 21-8, with how they've played this year, there should be a fucking praise party on this board for the job that Dan/staff/team have done for the turn around for this program, and then we get to see meaningful games we can win, that could possibly end up in the NCAA, but will more likely have us in the NIT.

The problem with setting these absurd expectations of a 7-1 record down the stretch is that if we fail to meet them, the board turns into a shit hole for months. Just be realistic and act like you've watched college basketball outside of URI before, and understand that just because we all want it to happen and follow this team, that we aren't the center of the college basketball universe...yet.

So I will preach again:

enjoy this ride - we're watching good, tough, fun basketball again. Take stock at how far we climbed in a very short few seasons, keep gimbal lock on the horizon, and above all else: GO RHODY!

bumping this...and yes twisted that thought makes me feel even better about where we are.

[ramster]

The A-10's RPI is 7th. It's not the highest ever.
Not by a long shot.
Last year there were SIX schools with 24-27 wins, and four schools who at one time or another
were in the top 25. Loads of big OOC wins.
Six NCAA bids.
So. you're trying to tell us that this year's pig pile is higher rated than last year?
Seriously?

What year was the A10 ever ranked higher than 7th among all Conferences? The highest I have ever seen is 7th.
Last year the A10 was ranked 7th in RPI at season end.
This year the A10 is ranked 7th once again

Those are the facts, seriously. I'm not making them up.

[ramster]

I stand corrected. Last year the A10 finished the season as the 6th highest rated conference.
A10 Conference Rankings past 6 years:
Currently 2015 - 7th
2014 - 6th
2013 - 7th
2012 - 7th
2011 - 9th
2010 - 7th

This year the A10 is currently ranked 7th as the Southeastern Conference has pulled ahead.
Still not bad to be ranked #7, about the same throughout this decade, even with losses to other conferences

Here are the Conference RPI Rankings to date:
Rank Conference Avg. RPI Avg. SOS SOS Rank Teams
1 Big 12 0.5956 0.5791 1 10
2 Big East 0.5847 0.5779 2 10
3 Atlantic Coast 0.5760 0.5690 3 15
4 Big Ten 0.5734 0.5633 5 14
5 Southeastern 0.5668 0.5645 4 14
6 Pacific-12 0.5664 0.5577 6 12
7 Atlantic 10 0.5378 0.5384 7 14
8 American Athletic 0.5309 0.5348 8 11
9 West Coast 0.5241 0.5244 9 10
10 Missouri Valley 0.5177 0.5186 10 10


Here are the Conference Rankings for 2013 to 2014
Rank Conference Avg. RPI Avg. SOS SOS Rank Teams
1 Big 12 0.5811 0.5781 1 10
2 Big Ten 0.5741 0.5707 2 12
3 Pacific-12 0.5686 0.5653 3 12
4 Big East 0.5634 0.5600 4 10
5 Atlantic Coast 0.5589 0.5592 5 15
6 Atlantic 10 0.5556 0.5490 7 13
7 Southeastern 0.5513 0.5540 6 14
8 American Athletic 0.5454 0.5420 8 10
9 West Coast 0.5346 0.5321 9 10
10 Mountain West 0.5266 0.5285 10 11

Here are the Conference Rankings for 2012 to 2013
Rank Conference Avg. RPI Avg. SOS SOS Rank Teams
1 Mountain West 0.5803 0.5701 2 9
2 Big Ten 0.5772 0.5734 1 12
3 Big East 0.5744 0.5668 3 15
4 Atlantic Coast 0.5613 0.5570 5 12
5 Big 12 0.5581 0.5575 4 10
6 Pacific-12 0.5550 0.5546 6 12
7 Atlantic 10 0.5481 0.5471 7 16
8 Southeastern 0.5420 0.5414 8 14
9 Missouri Valley 0.5336 0.5330 9 10
10 West Coast 0.5288 0.5268 10 9

Here are the Conference Rankings for 2011 to 2012
Rank Conference Avg. RPI Avg. SOS SOS Rank Teams
1 Big Ten 0.5765 0.5723 1 12
2 Big East 0.5674 0.5646 2 16
3 Big 12 0.5648 0.5605 4 10
4 Southeastern 0.5648 0.5625 3 12
5 Mountain West 0.5635 0.5487 6 8
6 Atlantic Coast 0.5552 0.5578 5 12
7 Atlantic 10 0.5382 0.5354 7 14
8 Missouri Valley 0.5316 0.5325 8 10
9 Conference USA 0.5292 0.5311 9 12
10 Pacific-12 0.5208 0.5253 10 12




Here are the Conference Rankings for 2010 to 2011
Rank Conference Avg. RPI Avg. SOS SOS Rank Teams
1 Big East 0.5796 0.5769 1 16
2 Big Ten 0.5748 0.5725 2 11
3 Big 12 0.5725 0.5628 3 12
4 Mountain West 0.5601 0.5573 4 9
5 Atlantic Coast 0.5554 0.5505 6 12
6 Southeastern 0.5530 0.5533 5 12
7 Pacific-10 0.5443 0.5474 7 10
8 Conference USA 0.5366 0.5304 8 12
9 Atlantic 10 0.5256 0.5285 9 14
10 Colonial Athletic 0.5240 0.5218 10 12

Here are the Conference Rankings for 2009 to 2010
Rank Conference Avg. RPI Avg. SOS SOS Rank Teams
1 Big 12 0.5860 0.5770 2 12
2 Big East 0.5802 0.5786 1 16
3 Atlantic Coast 0.5751 0.5599 4 12
4 Southeastern 0.5601 0.5604 3 12
5 Big Ten 0.5507 0.5509 5 11
6 Mountain West 0.5421 0.5398 8 9
7 Atlantic 10 0.5417 0.5412 7 14
8 Pacific-10 0.5384 0.5446 6 10
9 Missouri Valley 0.5367 0.5281 9 10
10 Western Athletic 0.5233 0.5198 10 9

[GansettSummer]

Not exactly a bracketology list but a new ESPN Insider article by Jay Bilas and John Gasaway of top 68 teams has us #66 and 6 total A10 teams (which I think is wishful thinking)

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college ... basketball

21-Dayton
34-Davidson
35-VCU
51-GW
61-Richmond
66- Rhode Island Rams

The Rams have won five straight, and if you're in a close game against these guys you should be worried because four of those five victories have come by single digits. How do these nail-biters keep happening? Dan Hurley has a so-so offense and one of the nation's most outstanding defenses. In A-10 play, URI has held opponents to just 0.89 points per possession, a figure even lower than what Kentucky and Virginia have been able to record in their respective leagues. And while the Rams may not be quite so preeminent on offense, E.C. Matthews is a tireless worker who's converting 52 percent of his 2-point tries in conference play. Things are looking up in Kingston. -- John Gasaway

[SmartyBarrett]

Having Davidson ahead of VCU is certifiably insane.

[Seawrightspostgame]

http://www.a10talk.com/rams-1-2-in-late ... gger-poll/


2. Rhode Island (2*) (high 1, low 5) – “Impossible to ignore this crew. The numbers suggest that they aren’t just the best defense in the A10, but that they’re one of the best in the country. Their offensive efficiency numbers give cause for concern, but I see a group of studs that are going to get buckets one way or another. Hassan Martin should be everyone’s favorite player in the A10 – I’m the president of the fan club and am accepting applications.” – Jeff Horne

I share this guy's sentiment.

[rodfromcranston]

How can ESPN rank Richmond and GW ahead of us,
and what's everyone's love affair with Davidson?
Ahead of VCU? Come on!
I'm thinking we go 6-2 for the rest of the way.
That would give us 22 wins. Then a couple of wins
at Brooklyn, leaves us at 24-9 (if we lose a game in Brooklyn)
Good enough? Probably not.
I think it's win Brooklyn of go NIT.
In either case, people are noticing us, and it's been a hell of a year.

[gorhody89]

Rod we only have 5 losses so 6-2 and loss on NY would make us 24-8

[jmck]

Not exactly a bracketology list but a new ESPN Insider article by Jay Bilas and John Gasaway of top 68 teams has us #66 and 6 total A10 teams (which I think is wishful thinking)

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college ... basketball

21-Dayton
34-Davidson
35-VCU
51-GW
61-Richmond
66- Rhode Island Rams

The Rams have won five straight, and if you're in a close game against these guys you should be worried because four of those five victories have come by single digits. How do these nail-biters keep happening? Dan Hurley has a so-so offense and one of the nation's most outstanding defenses. In A-10 play, URI has held opponents to just 0.89 points per possession, a figure even lower than what Kentucky and Virginia have been able to record in their respective leagues. And while the Rams may not be quite so preeminent on offense, E.C. Matthews is a tireless worker who's converting 52 percent of his 2-point tries in conference play. Things are looking up in Kingston. -- John Gasaway

Bilas showing his homerism with Davidson that high (He lives in Charlotte). If we take care of Davidson at home then that should stop people from putting them ahead of us assuming we go 5-2 in our remaining regarding season games

[rjsuperfly66]

and what's everyone's love affair with Davidson?

Davidson is your classic "metrically better than their resume." KenPom ranks them 43rd. Their best wins are Dayton and Richmond. Their best OOC win was Charlotte who ranks 142 in KenPom. They also have two bad losses to St. Joe's and St. Bonaventure. They seemed like a sleeper team after a strong offensive performance against Virginia and have had a decent conference campaign, but I think they are in the same place as URI with needing to finish strong (6-2 or better) and perform well in Brooklyn to have any chance. Given their consistency issues, hard to see them as a better bet than URI, IMHO.

[Blue Man]

I'm thinking we go 6-2 for the rest of the way.
That would give us 22 wins. Then a couple of wins
at Brooklyn, leaves us at 24-9 (if we lose a game in Brooklyn)
Good enough? Probably not.
I think it's win Brooklyn of go NIT.
In either case, people are noticing us, and it's been a hell of a year.

Exactly! Preach! Preach!

Also this is what the selection sheet looks like as of right now. Hence why some of us have more grounded expectations with regards to an at-large:

http://www.bbstate.com/teams/URI/sheet

[Rhodymob05]

Is official, I HATE DAVIDSON, WHO DID THEY BEAT???

[adam914]

Thats interesting, thanks for sharing that link Blue Man. Hadn't seen that before.

[PeterRamTime]

That Bilas index is complete nonsense! No one on the planet would put Richmond ahead of us if they watched any games that either of us have played. ESPECIALLY THE ONE WHERE WE OWNED THEM IN THEIR SPIDER WEB.
We'll just keep winning. Screw them rankings.

[twisted3829]

the thing that hurt the most is the OOC schedule absolutely fell apart and the teams that were good we lost to, best 2 wins are Nebraska at 101 and Santa Clara at 188, everyone else is 236+. Teams that were suppose to be decent, Southern Miss, Delaware St, Detroit are actually awful

[PeterRamTime]

Yeah and it was looking like the majority of the teams we played were going to fair well in conference play. It seems like all of them have hit a wall.
Especially Detroit, they've been really disappointing.
Also Southern Miss suspended two of their better players on an already bad team.
Nebraska couldn't possibly more disappointing to us and their fans. I can see how they can be good, but their offense is Petteway and Shields jack up three's.

[eli#10]

4 teams in the Dance will never happen and 3 is probably a pipe dream. Lunardi will be at tonight's game as he is (at least he used to be) the color guy on the St Joe's radio station. Tonight is the night to KICK ASS as he will witness how good we are! Let's hope for at least a 2nd place finish in the league and play in the finals of the tournament.

[RhowdyRam02]

I love the enthusiasm, but it's making this board look uneducated.

Ramsey, to say things like: "Im sorry but I just don't see the stark difference between the a10 and some of these higher-up conferences." makes it seem like you stopped watching basketball in March of last year. The A10 was legit. We had a ton of talented senior classes that graduated. The A10 had a woeful OOC this year, especially against the power conference teams. Last year top to bottom the A10 had power conference wins, this year it was only a handful of teams that were able to pick off those conference bottom feeders.

Among the ranked wins (which I believe there are only 2 still standing), UNI and Wichita State play in garbage conferences and don't really help the conference eye test. You need an eye test and computer numbers to get in.

Wagner was not 2nd team out of the tournament. The NEC is and will always be a 1 bid league. Wagner didn't get an NIT invite. Not because they got screwed, but because they didn't do enough to deserve it in the eyes of either committee - because they don't play or beat enough legitimately good teams.

You may not care about the number of top 100 wins we have, but the selection committee does. That's literally most of what they look at. "who did you play, and who did you beat." Our SOS is and will finish outside of the top 100. So cross that first part off. The "who did you beat" part, while not written entirely as of now, is not going to raise any eyebrows.

The best thing we have going is a win streak, which if it continues could be enough to sway some committee votes - but it keeps coming back to the eye test.

Because I've seen (and been a central part of) many of these board meltdowns, this is me trying to stop the madness before it starts.

People are writing about 8-0 like it's likely to happen, and 7-1 is what will happen because we should be favored in those games. If we go 5-3 down the stretch, which is much more likely a scenario than those other 2...we'll be 13-5 in the A10, have a first round bye in the A10 tourney, and poised ourselves to make a legit run the conference/some type of post season play - in what is for all intensive purposes year 2 of one of the hardest rebuilding projects in college basketball.

If this team finishes 21-8, with how they've played this year, there should be a fucking praise party on this board for the job that Dan/staff/team have done for the turn around for this program, and then we get to see meaningful games we can win, that could possibly end up in the NCAA, but will more likely have us in the NIT.

The problem with setting these absurd expectations of a 7-1 record down the stretch is that if we fail to meet them, the board turns into a shit hole for months. Just be realistic and act like you've watched college basketball outside of URI before, and understand that just because we all want it to happen and follow this team, that we aren't the center of the college basketball universe...yet.

So I will preach again:

enjoy this ride - we're watching good, tough, fun basketball again. Take stock at how far we climbed in a very short few seasons, keep gimbal lock on the horizon, and above all else: GO RHODY!

Good God. Last year at this time I think I disagreed with almost everyone of your posts and this year I can't agree with them more than I do. Another great post.

[RhowdyRam02]

Two things about the Bilas Index. First it's not outlandish that 6 A10 teams are in the top 68, that's actually pretty close to how the RPI has us. That obviously doesn't mean 6 teams will make the tournament once you consider one bid leagues needing a spot. Second, I don't disagree that Davidson looks high, but I don't think they're worse than VCU right now and through the end of this season. We don't know how VCU will really look without Weber, but the early returns aren't that good.

[ATPTourFan]

Having Davidson ahead of VCU is certifiably insane.

Quotable

[PeterRamTime]

I can't see how three teams getting in is a pipe dream. 4 can absolutely happen. VCU is a lock, Dayton is in solid shape right now and are undefeated at home, and four of their last seven games are at home. Barring a collapse they'll get in and I don't think Archie's going to let that happen. RPI at 36 right now. GW has that win over Wichita State. Their next three games are @ Duquesne, H VCU, H Davidson. They are also undefeated at home. They have a nice chance to win all three of those games, which would be a huge boost. It's just as possible that all three of those teams can get at-large bids as opposed to not.
Right now we are playing the best basketball in the A-10 and all kinds of crazy things can happen in Brooklyn.
Just a whole bunch of landmines and few opportunities to get marquee wins this year.
I'm really excited to see how it all plays out! All across College Basketball!
Lets get that regular season championship!

[rodfromcranston]

Dayton? They were lucky to win last night,
after SLU crapped all over themselves at the end
of the game.
VCU? It'll be interesting to see how many of the remaining games, they win.
GW, probably in. Not overly impressive.
If we win tonight, I will tell you that The University of Rhode Island
is the best team in the A-10.
Why? Because if I have them losing one game, tonight is it.
St. Joe's themselves doesn't scare me. The refs do.

[ace]

Blue Man- Wagner didn't get screwed, but they were hurt by 1 bid conference season champions not winning their tournaments. They were consistently ranked in mid-major top 25 and an almost lock for the NIT until conference tournament time. But everything else you said, yes.

[RhowdyRam02]

I know a lot of you might have thought this thread was dead after Saint Joe's. Not so fast my friend! In Joe Lunardi's Thursday bracket and yesterday's Twitter seed list he still had us as the sixth team out. He had NCState at tenth out, but they moved to first out with their win yesterday. The other teams ahead of us either lost yesterday (Oregon, Old Dominion, Seton Hall) or play today(Purdue, Miami Fla). Hopefully Nebraska can upset Purdue and Preston can get the upset of Miami.

[ATPTourFan]

Will be interesting to see the effect of a potential win vs UMass.

[TruePoint]

I know a lot of you might have thought this thread was dead after Saint Joe's. Not so fast my friend! In Joe Lunardi's Thursday bracket and yesterday's Twitter seed list he still had us as the sixth team out. He had NCState at tenth out, but they moved to first out with their win yesterday. The other teams ahead of us either lost yesterday (Oregon, Old Dominion, Seton Hall) or play today(Purdue, Miami Fla). Hopefully Nebraska can upset Purdue and Preston can get the upset of Miami.

I think the reaction after the St. Joe's game was more about the degree of difficulty going forward. In order to end the season in position for an at-large, we need to finish with a certain record. Winning at St. Joe's was almost a prerequisite to get there. It is still mathematically possible, but the chances of it happening are diminished significantly. There are also less at-large spots really available than what Lunardi and those guys predict at this point, since there will inevitably be non-at-large teams to steal bids in conference tournaments (hopefully including us). Still plenty to play for and plenty for fans to be excited about, obviously.

[theblueram]

Some recognition in ESPN Bracketology today:


5. Which non-Power 5, but not quite true mid-major, programs could unexpectedly win their leagues and reap the rewards in March?

Rhode Island
Even Dan Hurley figured his team was a year away from making an impact. The Rams, after all, rely heavily on two freshmen and two sophomores, ranking them 270th in experience, according to Ken Pomeroy.

Instead Rhode Island, with its win against Saint Louis on Saturday, shares the top spot in the Atlantic 10 with VCU and Dayton, the first time URI has been atop the league standings this late in the season in the history of its program.

"Honestly, we expected to struggle in a league that tends to devour freshmen and sophomores,'' Hurley said. "We've got the right guys, obviously. They're about winning, not rookie of the week awards or anything individual.''

Though one individual does stand out. That's sophomore E.C. Matthews. He has been dealing with a painful case of plantar fasciitis, an injury that could easily have sent him to the bench. But instead he is averaging 32.5 minutes per game, not to mention 16.3 points.

Add his offense to a team that ranks 16th in scoring defense, and you've got the makings of a team, picked sixth in the preseason, that could easily sneak in to win the league.

[BPR2010]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... -questions

Not sure where to put this, but we got a mention in Dana O'Neil's Four Corners blog. Just wish Hassan got more credit with national outlets than E.C. does. Guy has been the lifeblood of the team this season, without him we are nowhere near the standing we're at right now.

[ramster]

I think when people think we have to go 7-0 or 6-1 to be considered they don't fully consider that the other teams are not going to go 7-0 or 6-1 either.
Much depends on where a team finished in the A10 Final Standings and then after the all important A10 Tournament.
Finish 2nd in the A10 and win one or two games in the A10 Tournament and your are in pretty good shape

[ATPTourFan]

Instead Rhode Island, with its win against Saint Louis on Saturday, shares the top spot in the Atlantic 10 with VCU and Dayton, the first time URI has been atop the league standings this late in the season in the history of its program.

Uhh... and UMass?? Fact checking is hard, I know, "Worldwide Leader". Surprised to see that from Dana, I really enjoy her work and we all make mistakes I guess. Still, ESPN has the resources to have a fact check done.

[theblueram]

She already penciled in a W on wednesday

[ace]

Instead Rhode Island, with its win against Saint Louis on Saturday, shares the top spot in the Atlantic 10 with VCU and Dayton, the first time URI has been atop the league standings this late in the season in the history of its program.

Uhh... and UMass?? Fact checking is hard, I know, "Worldwide Leader". Surprised to see that from Dana, I really enjoy her work and we all make mistakes I guess. Still, ESPN has the resources to have a fact check done.

It's hard to tell when that was updated, but if I had to guess, the information point came from Saturday before the UMass game was over. If I'm remembering correctly, they had a later start time than the other three.

[ATPTourFan]

Surprise!! No more Top 25 points in AP poll for Rhode Island...

VCU remains in at #25 (that's some respect for them and the league).
Dayton is effectively #33.

http://www.collegepolltracker.com/basketball/

[ramster]

Games Saturday were:
Dayton-St Bonaventure 12:30pm
URI-SLU 2pm
VCU-GW 2pm
UMASS-Duquesne 4pm

[ATPTourFan]

Not to confuse anyone either, but here was the Rhode Island write up in ESPN Bubblewatch as of FRIDAY, before we beat SLU:

Rhode Island [16-6 (8-3), RPI: 71, SOS: 178] One of the better features of Rhode Island's fringe resume -- which got on the page this week after (but not because) Rhody fans horribly abused our Twitter mentions -- was its lack of bad losses. A 65-64 drop Wednesday at Saint Joe's scuffs that polish somewhat. Other issues abound: No top-50 wins, a 3-5 mark against the top 100, a sub-200 nonconference schedule and so on. Worse, the best available wins on the rest of the schedule are UMass (Feb. 18) and at Dayton (March 3). It's hard to make up ground with that kind of schedule, and the Rams have plenty of ground to make up.

[Rhody74]

That still holds true even after the SLU win. (If we'd lost, it would have been a very bad loss.)

[section(105)]

FWIW......in today's NY Daily News, the "Guru's Bracket". Has three A-10 teams in; VCU, Dayton and UMass playing Pitt in one of the play-in games....winer of that an 11 seed, Dayton an 8th, and VCU a 4th seed.....FWIW......?......not much..... Let's just win the next one and the above will change.....

[SGreenwell]

I think when people think we have to go 7-0 or 6-1 to be considered they don't fully consider that the other teams are not going to go 7-0 or 6-1 either.
Much depends on where a team finished in the A10 Final Standings and then after the all important A10 Tournament.
Finish 2nd in the A10 and win one or two games in the A10 Tournament and your are in pretty good shape

Actually, I'm kind of assuming that some teams - across the nation - will finish the season going 7-0 or 6-1. And if URI isn't one of them, then they're in trouble, at least if they want an at-large NCAA bid. A 6-1 or better streak to end the year is kind of impossible to ignore, whereas if you do a little bit worse than that, you open yourself up to the vagueries of the Selection Sunday process.

[Ramulous]

Win or tie the regular season championship and make it to the finals in Brooklyn....or else....

[Rhody15]

Miami is in the First Four Out group on ESPN, and just beat BC in double OT after BC missed a wide open finger roll to win it in the first OT.

[Seawrightspostgame]

Everyone in every sport are prone to jumping on the hot team's bandwagon at the end of the season.

With the youth of our team, don't we have the most to gain as the season gets late?

Haven't there been strides by our team? Hassan's offense? Jarvis/Jared? Biggie?

I say Gil steps up along with the rest of what we have been getting from everybody else and we will be a likely hot finisher.

[KMar970]

TP edit: this was the Dana O'Niell article, which has already been posted numerous times here today, including further up this page.

[TruePoint]

Rhode Island: The Rams landed their first top 50 win of the season and just their third top 100 win as they knocked off UMass at home. Rhody is still in the picture, but they probably need to win out to have a realistic shot.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports. ... incinnati/

[gorhody89]

For what it's worth we are back on the next 4 out list of Lunardi's bracket

[rhodyras]

Lunardi has us back in "next 4 out" one spot ahead of UMass (Feb 19 update)
Davidson a few spots ahead, but still out too.
still much work to do...

[Captainron@]

Lunardi also had Providence securely in last year, based on their record and late season finish, but according to the committee, if they hadn't won the BE Tourny, they were out because of RPI and strength of schedule.

[Seawrightspostgame]

No sleep till Brooklyn!

[Ramulous]

Goal......Win at least a share of the A-10 regular season title....and make it to the championship game of the tournament in Brooklyn.....or else...

[ATPTourFan]

ESPN Updated BubbleWatch today:

Rhode Island [18-6 (10-3), RPI: 66, SOS: 172] Wednesday's win over UMass gave the Rams their first top-50 win of the season, but not all top-50 wins are created equally, and a top-50 win over a team barely hanging on to the bottom end of the bubble isn't exactly a road win at the Siegel Center. Still, Rhode Island remains in play, with a big home game against Davidson on deck after Saturday's trip to George Mason.