So we have three losses.

[Capitol Shock II]

To a ranked Alabama...at the time anyway.
To a ranked Creighton
and to another 10 win team that just beat #3 Duke. Oh yeah, we lost in overtime.

I don't think any of those losses are bad at all. Throw in a complete dismantling of UNLV and I like our resume so far. We just need another 8 game winning streak.

[kcshocker11]

I agree, but we must avoid loses to the Valley bottom teams and in this league that at times has been a tough task.

[Shoxfan11]

Never be content. With the potential that this team has.... there's no reason we should be talking about how a loss at home to Creighton really isn't that bad.

[Aargh]

CU has a home loss to MSU. MSU has a home loss to IlSU!!! So far, WSU's only home loss is to a ranked (at that time) team.

[ShockerFever]

The only teams without a home loss in conference after only 3 games in:

Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State... and you guessed it.. Southern Illinois.

[shocker3]

The only teams without a home loss in conference after only 3 games in:

Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State... and you guessed it.. Southern Illinois.

Time for SIU to pick up their first home conference loss.

[Wu du Nord]

To a ranked Alabama...at the time anyway.
To a ranked Creighton
and to another 10 win team that just beat #3 Duke. Oh yeah, we lost in overtime.

I don't think any of those losses are bad at all. Throw in a complete dismantling of UNLV and I like our resume so far. We just need another 8 game winning streak.

I believe this is a justifiable frame through which to look. Thanks.

The best team in the country will not make it through the season undefeated. Good Nights and Bad Nights are the name of the game. Losses can be valuable resources for a coach and a team.

Not that anyone claimed otherwise, but playing many quality opponents is a good thing. It also means your coat might get some mud on it.

If you've ever set foot on the Temple campus, you'd immediately recognize the amount of pure moxie it takes to go to school there each day. A friend of mine rowed crew for Temple, and was mugged one day while out training. I'm comfortable in big cities, but the area around Temple makes me super nervous. North Philly is a scary place. A good Temple team is good for college basketball, in my opinion.

None of those losses should be considered as particularly bad, but the heat increases a bit.

Lastly, it's always tempting to 'rate' teams as equal to their high-water mark. During that UNLV game, EVERYTHING was falling. Smile when it happens, but don't expect a guy to hit almost 90% of his 3's on a regular basis. Some nights your better than you are, other nights you're worse than you are. Not much more than that, really.

[DUShock]

Take care of business and split with CU and ideally a sweep of MSU as well as a deep run in the Valley and the Shocks should be dancing. I really think a split to MSU and a deep run will not be terribly bad if the Shocks make it to the finals in the St Lou. This team is entirely capable of winning theValley tourney, we'll see.

Go Shocks!

[WuDrWu]

All I know is we have 3 losses......we will suffer a 4th at some point.

I am enjoying the season.

[shox1989]

The warren nolan rpis of our 3 losses are: CU #19, Alabama #17 and Temple #16. All three of our losses are to teams in the rpi top 25! And we have a win over #10 UNLV.

We are actually in great shape for an at large bid right now. We just don't need to jeopardize it by losing to a team like UE or Ill. St.

[wufan]

We haven't played many (possibly any) teams in the 25-50 RPI range, though Ill St and Evansville are of that caliber IMO. We'll see where we are when we play Ind St and UNI on the road next week. The first half of February is fairly brutal as well with a schedule of @ MoSt, UNI and Ind St at home, @ CU and then Mo St at home followed by the BB game. If we can win 4 of those 6 games we'll be in good shape.

[KC Shox]

We are in the same position as last year. Our hopes on an NCAA birth depends if we eliminate any bad losses. If there any chance the Shox fall asleep to an MVC bottom dweller this season?

[RoyalShock]

We are in the same position as last year. Our hopes on an NCAA birth depends if we eliminate any bad losses. If there any chance the Shox fall asleep to an MVC bottom dweller this season?

Really? We had a convincing non-conference win over a top-25 RPI and top-15 ranked team? Where was I?

[JaminShock]

Really? We had a convincing non-conference win over a top-25 RPI and top-15 ranked team? Where was I?

I agree- I think the UNLV win buys us one mistake, but only one.

[SHOXAAC]

I agree- I think the UNLV win buys us one mistake, but only one.

I guess you have to define the mistake. With our track record of making the NCAA's the past few years (oh ****, we haven't because of a little mistake here and there), we CAN'T afford a mistake to SIU, Bradley, Drake, or Evansville. I might even add Illinois St.