Tennessee vs. WSU at Intrust Bank Arena 1pm 12/14 ESPN2

[Black]

That is a ridiculous statistic! Only loses are too Ranked Creighton in the Stl and the national champs.

That is crazy. Wow.

[iSASO]

I guess we saw different games. My 16 yr old son and I both thought the Shox looked very beatable. We both rode the Shox final 4 ride last year but thought they looked REAL good 4 players deep and there wasn't much else this year. Tenn isn't very good (not poor by any means) and played the Shox equal.

Not saying they won't win the league but expected a little more depth to be there.

Man I hope you and your son are coaching whichever Valley team you are a fan of. You shouldn't watch any tape or prep for them at all because WSU is sooo beatable. Will you venture a score prediction for your team versus WSU, right here and right now?

[mvcfan]

Shocker fans really need to cool down the arrogance.

Anywho, incredible game. Cotton single handedly took that game over and won it at the end. His block on an easy layup with the and-one on the other side completely changed the momentum.

First 10-0 start in WSU history. Amazing.

Cotton was incredible, if he can continue to be a threat offensively Wichita will be extremely tough to guard. Just a question, does Early need to be sit down so he can reevaluate where he is on the team. He seems selfish the times I've watched him this year, low BBIQ.

The last shot that Early took was straight out of the dumb department. What in the hell was he thinking, besides point padding.

I agree with all of this. But I will add that with a player like Early, I think that he will begin to find his shot this year. I will also add that Early is doing enough other things that he is still a very nice player (not POY good but still very good).With Early, you have to take some bad with good. While I hope he makes better shot choices as the year goes on (I believe that Marshall is working with him on it w/o taking away his spirit), one thing that has made him good is that he believes that he'll make every shot. He's a scorer and he's expanded his repertoire this year. He drives the ball more (and dunks it), he is posting up better than last year, he is rebounding a little better, and his defense is a little better. When his shot comes totally back, he will be a big factor to be reckoned with.

[rlh04d]

That is a ridiculous statistic! Only loses are too Ranked Creighton in the Stl and the national champs.

That is crazy. Wow.

And the teams those 25 wins came against:

VCU - 26
Iowa - 59
AF - 83
Pitt - 44
Gonzaga - 7
La Salle - 30
Ohio State - 8
BYU - (22)
Saint Louis - (30)
Oral Roberts - (91)
Tennessee - (51)

Three losses last season were to Tennessee (66), Creighton (23), and Louisville (2). (This year's RPI's from RPI Forecast.) 28 games career games and Baker has a 11-3 record against top 100 RPI teams, 7-2 against top 50.

[Wushockduke]

Cotton is a stud.

Glad the Shocks won, but that dunk from Tennessee, I think it was McRae?, that should have been worth 4 points! Wow!

Hats off to him for that dunk! Hats off to the crowd for taunting him to the point that he screamed a profanity afterward and got T'd up.

Yeah that was the best part. Not too many teams will get a dunk like that against the Shocks this year. I also think the Shocks are good second half is partly due to other teams being stoked to play a Final Four team from last seadson, and during the second half the Shocks start wearing them down

[Cdizzle]

That is a ridiculous statistic! Only loses are too Ranked Creighton in the Stl and the national champs.

That is crazy. Wow.

And the teams those 25 wins came against:

VCU - 26
Iowa - 59
AF - 83
Pitt - 44
Gonzaga - 7
La Salle - 30
Ohio State - 8
BYU - (22)
Saint Louis - (30)
Oral Roberts - (91)
Tennessee - (51)

Three losses last season were to Tennessee (66), Creighton (23), and Louisville (2). (This year's RPI's from RPI Forecast.) 28 games career games and Baker has a 11-3 record against top 100 RPI teams, 7-2 against top 50.

Also of note, only 2 of those games took place in Wichita, and only one in Koch arena. None of the losses occurred in Wichita.

[bleach]

Not saying they won't win the league but expected a little more depth to be there.

10-0 isn't impressive to you? 4-0 record against top 100 RPI teams? WSU has 4 of the Valley's 9 top 100 RPI wins, and two of the three top 50 wins (and that's not even counting Tennessee, who are forecast as #51). There are certainly weaknesses, but let's be real ... this is one of the best starts in Valley history.

I do think our depth is a bit off right now. I think Darius Carter is starting to come on, though, which is pretty typical for a JUCO newcomer adjusting to D1 ball. Coleby's been a bit of a disappointment for me, as has Wessel, and Wiggins is off-and-on. Lufile is much better than I expected, though.

Never said I wasn't impressed.
Said I thought the first 4 were REAL good.
Said I expected more depth.
I don't think this team at this point is as good as last year, that's all.

[Wufan]

I guess we saw different games. My 16 yr old son and I both thought the Shox looked very beatable. We both rode the Shox final 4 ride last year but thought they looked REAL good 4 players deep and there wasn't much else this year. Tenn isn't very good (not poor by any means) and played the Shox equal.

Not saying they won't win the league but expected a little more depth to be there.

Never said I wasn't impressed.
Said I thought the first 4 were REAL good.
Said I expected more depth.
I don't think this team at this point is as good as last year, that's all.

Fair enough on the second quote, however, what game did you see that was different than the consensus in this thread?

Since you are only using this game as a barometer, which four are the four that are "real" good?

[Cdizzle]

Not saying they won't win the league but expected a little more depth to be there.

10-0 isn't impressive to you? 4-0 record against top 100 RPI teams? WSU has 4 of the Valley's 9 top 100 RPI wins, and two of the three top 50 wins (and that's not even counting Tennessee, who are forecast as #51). There are certainly weaknesses, but let's be real ... this is one of the best starts in Valley history.

I do think our depth is a bit off right now. I think Darius Carter is starting to come on, though, which is pretty typical for a JUCO newcomer adjusting to D1 ball. Coleby's been a bit of a disappointment for me, as has Wessel, and Wiggins is off-and-on. Lufile is much better than I expected, though.

Never said I wasn't impressed.
Said I thought the first 4 were REAL good.
Said I expected more depth.
I don't think this team at this point is as good as last year, that's all.

Which WSU team from last year are you comparing them to? The inexperienced team that started 9-0? The injury-laden team that went 17-8? Or the more experienced, healthy team that went 4-1 against some of the best teams in the country?

[bleach]

You and your 16 year old son don't know squat about basketball.

You better hope we do since we also thought there was a real chance WSU would be undefeated going to the Lou.

If you weren't trying to make more out of my post than I said, you wouldn't post that.
If Tennessee rolls through the SEC WSU will look a lot less beatable.