The top six mid-major contenders this season

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/10/31/midmajor-contenders-gonzaga-byu-saint-marys-wichita-state



1. Gonzaga (First in WCC, NCAA tournament No. 3 seed)

2. St. Mary’s (Second in WCC, No. 6 seed)

3. Wichita State (First in MVC, No. 7 seed)

4. San Diego State (First in MWC, No. 9 seed)

5. BYU (Third in WCC, First Four)

6. Princeton (First in Ivy League, First Four)



3 teams from the WCC in this list. Sure hope we can make the tournament.

byufan4ever wrote:
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/10/31/midmajor-contenders-gonzaga-byu-saint-marys-wichita-state



1. Gonzaga (First in WCC, NCAA tournament No. 3 seed)

2. St. Mary’s (Second in WCC, No. 6 seed)

3. Wichita State (First in MVC, No. 7 seed)

4. San Diego State (First in MWC, No. 9 seed)

5. BYU (Third in WCC, First Four)

6. Princeton (First in Ivy League, First Four)



3 teams from the WCC in this list. Sure hope we can make the tournament.

By the way, it's not possible for Princeton to finish first in the Ivy League and end up in a "first four" game. The team that finishes first in the Ivy gets an autobid because that conference doesn't have a tournament. And the "first four" games the writer of the article is thinking about are reserved for at large teams. They also won't be a 16 seed, so they won't be in one of those "first four" games either. And if they were, they wouldn't be mentioned in this article because they wouldn't be one of the best mid majors in that case.

if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

hawkwing wrote:
if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

Could go both ways. BYU finished third in the WAC in 1981 when Ainge was a senior and they went on to the elite 8. In 1981 Utah won the WAC and got a 3 seed and made it to the sweet 16. Wyoming finished second and got a 5 seed and made it to the round of 32. BYU finished third, got a 6 seed and made it to the elite 8. We have to get past only thinking of conference standings. That said, I think we at least finish ahead of St. Mary's this year. We were better than them last year when all was said and done. The difference is we replaced some of our team with better players and they didn't.

So does "First Four" mean that stupid new extra round game or does it mean "first four out?"

hawkwing wrote:
if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

I stand by my earlier expectations:



NIT early exit = Major disappointment, Rose on the HOT seat

NIT semi-finals = disappointing season

Making the NCAA tournament = Expectation

Win conference title and/or conference tourney = Exceeding expectations

Sweet 16 = Fantastic season



I'm ok with 3rd in the WCC on the condition that we get into the NCAA tournament. Failing to make the tournament (2 years in a row!) will be a disappointing season even if we finish 2nd in conference play.

byufan4ever wrote:
So does "First Four" mean that stupid new extra round game or does it mean "first four out?"

The first four is that extra round. They have the 4 lowest seeded teams in the tournament play each other (16 seeds) and then the last 4 at large teams to make the field play in the other 2 games, and those are usually 12 or 11 seeds.

byufan4ever wrote:

if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

I stand by my earlier expectations:



NIT early exit = Major disappointment, Rose on the HOT seat

NIT semi-finals = disappointing season

Making the NCAA tournament = Expectation

Win conference title and/or conference tourney = Exceeding expectations

Sweet 16 = Fantastic season



I'm ok with 3rd in the WCC on the condition that we get into the NCAA tournament. Failing to make the tournament (2 years in a row!) will be a disappointing season even if we finish 2nd in conference play.

I agree the expectation for this team with these players is to make the tournament. Rose teams almost always do make the tournament however.

byufan4ever wrote:

if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

I stand by my earlier expectations:



NIT early exit = Major disappointment, Rose on the HOT seat

NIT semi-finals = disappointing season

Making the NCAA tournament = Expectation

Win conference title and/or conference tourney = Exceeding expectations

Sweet 16 = Fantastic season



I'm ok with 3rd in the WCC on the condition that we get into the NCAA tournament. Failing to make the tournament (2 years in a row!) will be a disappointing season even if we finish 2nd in conference play.

I do agree with this but Rose needs to win the WCC outright in the next 3 years if he wants to stay on at BYU.

I think Rose will have the team ready to go for the the Princeton game and people will be surprised as things rapidly pick up steam heading into December.

hawkwing wrote:
if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

Anything less then 3rd will be a disappointment, anything higher will be a pleasant surprise.

BlueK wrote:
I think Rose will have the team ready to go for the the Princeton game and people will be surprised as things rapidly pick up steam heading into December.

Not going to get my hopes up, would love for you to be right. I think this team is going to have cohesion problems until they find out who the leaders are and get a rotation set up. I'd say next year your quote will be right on.

BroncoBot wrote:

if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

Anything less then 3rd will be a disappointment, anything higher will be a pleasant surprise.

Anything less than third and Rose is on the hot seat if not on the way out...

3rd would be a disappointment to me.



2nd is acceptable.

byufan4ever wrote:

hawkwing wrote:
if BYU is 3rd in the WCC this year is that on-par with where we are or a disappointing season?

Anything less then 3rd will be a disappointment, anything higher will be a pleasant surprise.

Anything less than third and Rose is on the hot seat if not on the way out...

Less than third for this team is extremely unlikely. I even don't think St. Mary's is better.

hawkwing wrote:
3rd would be a disappointment to me.



2nd is acceptable.

SMC and Zags (likely) are both much better teams than BYU.

BlueK wrote:
I even don't think St. Mary's is better.

Talent wise you're likely correct. I just don't see BYU's raw, non-cohesive talent translating into enough wins to beat SMC in WCC this year. AND Rose teams have had a bad habit of dropping games in WCC against terrible opponents. Not a great thing for a team who haven't played a lot together and without clear leaders.

BroncoBot wrote:

3rd would be a disappointment to me.



2nd is acceptable.

SMC and Zags (likely) are both much better teams than BYU.

How many top 100 players does each team have?

hawkwing wrote:

hawkwing wrote:
3rd would be a disappointment to me.



2nd is acceptable.

SMC and Zags (likely) are both much better teams than BYU.

How many top 100 players does each team have?

I never said we don't have the horses. I don't care how many times we beat them on paper.



I just question the team.



Until BYU beats them this year and avoids the upsets that always trip the cougars up, SMC and zags deserve the top 2 spots. If that puts Rose on the hotseat, so be it. I don't think it should though.

BYU lacks the chemistry. We have the horses, it's just a matter of how well they run together and how well we play defense.



Given the strength of Gonzaga and SMC this season, a 3rd place finish would be disappointing but not a failure in my book, assuming, of course, that means we still go to the NCAA tourney.



If this crew gels quickly enough, we'll challenge for 1st place. Oh...and we have to play defense.



P.S. Rose is a long ways away from being on the hot seat.