WSU Versus UNI Predictions and Pregame Discussions

[Cdizzle]

The best coach in the MVC is Giaccoletti because he was the first coach I've seen who looked at his product and his program and thought "let's call a spade a spade... I'm out"

Turns out he wants to win. He doesnt belong here in the Moral Victory Conference.

No way. That guy was terrible. In fact, given the Valley's history, I'd say right now the front-runner for COY is the Drake Interim, Rutter, who won as many D1 games in 1 week(2) as his predecessor did the entire calendar year prior.

His gameplan was destined to fail from the beginning against WSU, but at least they had one, which is more than I could say under Gcough. Don't play defense. Don't try to rebound. Just get the ball and get up a shot as fast as you can. At least it would be more fun to play that way, and if you trick a crappy team into doing it too, you could pull it out (see Loyola, MVSU).

[stldog]

I don't know about schmucks, but UNI will have a terrible time besting 8-10 if they lose to WSU Sunday. I don't care how much they "turn it around".

At 0-4 with 4 games remaining against MSU, ISUr & WSU (3 of which are on the road and none of which they'll be favored to win), the Panthers would have to all but run the table against the rest of the league to beat 8-10.

As I said (or tried to anyway), I think it's equally likely that UNI is down this year as opposed to merely being in a slump.

As for the "schmucks" comment, I think the Valley is so dismal this year that 8-10 just might be good enough for 4th; more to the point, I don't have a lot of confidence in Lusk- or Muller-coached teams to hold up down the stretch, so "all but running the table" on the Valley is not at all out of the question.

Jacobsen is without a doubt the only truly good coach in the Valley besides Marshall (and there's a big gap between the two). He is the one guy in the MVC who is running a cash-strapped, state-funded mid-major program the way it should be run: by developing guys of lesser talent and keeping them for 4-5 years instead of constantly trying to plug gaps with questionable JUCO talent. Compare that to the way our (SIU's) purveyor of crap BBQ sauce (which is not even his own, btw) is running that program.

Sad how the Valley has fallen.

Anyway, I'll get out of your hair--I'll be watching with interest!

[Cdizzle]

Nothing wrong with using JuCo talent.

[WheatShock]

Nothing wrong with using JuCo talent.

Not at all, but you probably shouldn't try to build your program around JUCOs.

[stldog]

Nothing wrong with using JuCo talent.

Exactly.

[stldog]

I would wager the best coach in the league has finished 1st or 2nd with no fewer than 12 wins in the league the past 7 consecutive seasons, but then I didn't vote for Barry Hinson last year either.

I would also wager the best coach in the league, or the COY in any league, in any year, doesn't have a 57-page thread devoted to him on his team's own message board entitled "The New & Improved Fire (insert so-called COY's name here) Thread." :P :)

[Dave Stalwart]

I would also wager the best coach in the league, or the COY in any league, in any year, doesn't have a 57-page thread devoted to him on his team's own message board entitled "The New & Improved Fire (insert so-called COY's name here) Thread." :P :)

Let me introduce you to my favorite thread in case you haven't seen it. For helpful context, I'm pretty sure this was posted moments after a home loss to UNI last year.

http://shockernet.net/forum/showthread.php?21307-Fire-Marshal&highlight=fire+marshal

[stldog]

Haha!

Tongue-in-cheek threads don't count, but let me know when it gets to 57 pages and counting and supercedes a previous thread of roughly the same name. :)

[Shockers5150]

78
60

Connor 4-6 from 3.

[ShockerFever]

WSU has opened up at -7 and it's jumped to -10, lol

[pogo]

WSU has opened up at -7 and it's jumped to -10, lol

I'm thinking that may be undervalued a tad.

[WuDrWu]

WSU has opened up at -7 and it's jumped to -10, lol

Bettors have punished their bookies for most of the last 4 years playing the Shocks so that the lines are unreal now.

WSU has been favored in EVERY game this year.....many times by 20 or more points.

[Aargh]

This could be a trap game. UNI is better than their 0-3 record might indicate.

Shox have had a couple of "just show up" games. I'm not convinced that this young team fully understands being everybody's Super Bowl and how badly opponents want to get games from them. The Juniors should understand how much the Shox opponents want to win on their home courts. I'm not convinced that this group of Juniors has the MTXE type of toughness to dig a little deeper if they think they've got the game won before they step on the court.

The wins this year have been too easy - with the exception of InSU.

[ShockTalk]

This could be a trap game. UNI is better than their 0-3 record might indicate.

Shox have had a couple of "just show up" games. I'm not convinced that this young team fully understands being everybody's Super Bowl and how badly opponents want to get games from them. The Juniors should understand how much the Shox opponents want to win on their home courts. I'm not convinced that this group of Juniors has the MTXE type of toughness to dig a little deeper if they think they've got the game won before they step on the court.

The wins this year have been too easy - with the exception of InSU.

This may be a young team, but there should be too many players on this team with a very bad taste still in their mouths from last year's St Lou crapper with UNI for this to be a trap game. I will be very disappointed in the players, and the coaching staff, if they don't come out hunting for bear...or in this case, Panther.

[WuShock Reaper]

The major prognosticators are unanimous and have the Shockers winning on the ROAD again:

Nolan +12.0
Massey +8.0
RPI Forecst +12.5
Sagarin +11.7
Vegas +10.0

I'll go with the unanimous consensus and take WSU by 12:

Pussycats - 60
Shockers - 72