Myrtle Beach

[Shocktheheck]

Predictions on finish. I'm thinking 2-1 would be good, but do we have a chance to win? And does anyone know if we have agreed to next year's tourney site?

[1972Shocker]

Yes, we have a chance to win. Queue Lloyd Christmas meme.

I do not know if anyone knows if we have agreed to next year's tourney site.

[forevershockerfan]

Two to three wins here sounds attainable. My educated guess is the Shocks will win game 1 and game 3 for two wins. So far, my score predictions on point spreads have slightly underestimated these Shocks which is unusual for this eternal optimist FSF.

[WuShock16]

According to KenPom, the Furman-Liberty first-round game is the best possible pairing of the entire tournament. WSU better handle Coastal Carolina. Any of the possible Sunday matchups are at least doable to get a win. Friday evening’s game will be the test to see where this team is.

[SubGod22]

2-1 should be doable.

Though who knows how the legs will be for game 3, which would make 1-2 a real possibility as well.

[WuShock16]

Though who knows how the legs will be for game 3, which would make 1-2 a real possibility as well.

Game 1 will be key. If we can win that going away and sneak in some rest for a couple important guys, that would be huge. What also helps is the day-off on Saturday. I’ve often wondered how big of a deal fatigue is in a tournament setting. I mean, these guys theoretically practice every day, so from a physical standpoint, I don’t understand what makes a game so much more taxing.

[Shocktoberfest]

Game 1 will be key. If we can win that going away and sneak in some rest for a couple important guys, that would be huge. What also helps is the day-off on Saturday. I’ve often wondered how big of a deal fatigue is in a tournament setting. I mean, these guys theoretically practice every day, so from a physical standpoint, I don’t understand what makes a game so much more taxing.

Totally agree. Quincy is huge for us this year and keeping him healthy and juiced up will be a very difficult challenge over the long haul. A short tournament with 3 games in 4 days will be extra tough. A short bench and dudes with histories of injury problems and this could be a bumpy ride. But I'm excited to see how it all plays out.

[asiseeit]

If we can't beat CC in game one it will be a long LONG season. Should be able to hold minutes down to 22-23 for our top seven in doing so. I think 3-0 is roughly 40-45% probable.

[WstateU]

Totally agree. Quincy is huge for us this year and keeping him healthy and juiced up will be a very difficult challenge over the long haul. A short tournament with 3 games in 4 days will be extra tough. A short bench and dudes with histories of injury problems and this could be a bumpy ride. But I'm excited to see how it all plays out.

[WstateU]

Yes, we have a chance to win. Queue Lloyd Christmas meme.

I do not know if anyone knows if we have agreed to next year's tourney site.

[Kung Wu]

I'm going to assume we don't have the legs or depth it takes to win a tournament, until proven otherwise.

Losing to Coastal Carolina would be tantamount to getting Alcorn Stated. That's a W.

Then we get Liberty (or Furman -- but really Liberty). I expect an L there. We're too new and too shallow.

Then it depends on the matchup for the next game.

Realistically I expect to go 1-2 in this tourney.

[JVShocker]

WSU vs Coastal Carolina

Looking at CC, they have the same kind of look across the board that WSU has. No undersized guards, and they play 7 or 8 guys primarily. And some decent size along the front line. They are 1-0 with a 2 point win over Piedmont, so not a great sample "size" for what to expect. Led by senior guard Abraham, who by statsitics may be a great facilitator but has not shown a proclivity for scoring. (just wanted to use a fancy word.) And only about a 50% FT shooter. Ojiako is 6-10 and 250 pounds, so a presence inside. Almost had a double double in his first game, so he'll draw attention of Ballard and Pohto. Easley 6-7 is a capable player and will provide scoring and rebounding. Looking at the team stats (yeah, I know, one game sample), I would say they take care of the ball fairly well and are a good passing/playmaking team. I don't think they'll be shy with the 3balls, having taken 30 against Piedmont. And they will crash the boards, almost half of their rebounds were offensive rebounds. They only won 11 games last year, and the SOS was mid 200s (they lost 11 of their last 12), so hopefully Shocks don't overlook what they did in the earlier part of the season last year.

I'm going to hope HCPM has the guys' attention and the Shocks hit the boards well. WSU has shown an ability to play well (historically) on the road, even if it hasn't carried over to these Tournament games, so I'm hopeful the Shocks get the win. Might as well make a prediction since I almost nailed the last 2 games perfectly (I predicted 30 point win and Shocks scoring 90 against Friends). But if I predict the Shocks to do that against KU, you may want to go another direction. I think WSU will be favored by about 12 and I'm going to hope for a 75-60 win.

Added---> Not going to lie, Furman and Liberty are extremely capable college basketball teams. Furman has an incredible playmaker scorer in Pegues, who had 23 point 9 rebounds and 9 assists in a game this year. If I had to guess, Furman/Liberty will be an exciting game, but I would think Furman comes out on top. Would not want to play them knowing they upset Virginia in the Tourney last year.

[forevershockerfan]

Its crystal cleer that the Chanticleers roosters of Coastal Carolina Shan't beat our Shocks. Nothing can be finer than to win 2 or 3 in Carolina.

Chanticleers 70

Shockers. 77

[C0|dB|00ded]

Predictions on finish. I'm thinking 2-1 would be good, but do we have a chance to win?

We won our first and only AAC conference championship led by a coach with no head-coaching experience. So yeah,... anything can happen.

[WeWillShockU2]

We are going 3 and 0 to win the tournament. I don’t see any team in this tournament that we can’t whip.