I'm assuming we'll need to get to 20 wins to get in. 15 now. Kansas + 1/2 of A&M + Colorado+ Tech at home= 4wins to give us 19. That means we'll need to beat A&M both times or beat Okahoma or Baylor once to get into the tourney... Or do you disagree with my assesment and think we need more/less wins?
I would agree with you. CU, KU and Tech at home are MUST wins if we want to get in. In our home and home with OU and Aggy, our trip to Stillwater and Think Pink game we need to pick up at least 2 wins in the 6 if we don't want to be sitting on the bubble. If we don't get 2 or more wins in those 6 then it will all depend on where we finish in conference and how good we played in the losses (1 point losses on the road like Baylor shouldn't hurt us too bad).
You will beat all of those teams in Austin. KU is one of the worst teams I have seen. CU is very slow and Tech is very hot and cold.
Sorry if my post was confusing, CU and KU are actually road games. Tech is in Austin. We have to pick up those two road wins though.
Remember KU on the road last year though? Colorado concerns me on the road too because the were ranked earlier this year. With the way they played Baylor and wins against ASU and DePaul, this team will be dangerous if they make the tournament... It's getting there that will be the toughest challenge.
My thought, as before the first Baylor game, is that five wins will get the team in. That will be 20 wins overall and an 8-8 league record with some nice wins to help the RPI. The game against Baylor just got a bit easier because of the loss of Player.
Agree with BabHorn. Also, Big XII conference tourney wins ALSO count toward 20, so could also use at least an operning night victory in the tournament.
I think we have 8 games remaining. We'll probably win 4 or 5 of them but when we get to the tourny I think all of their hard work all season long will kick in and we'll make a good run in the Big 12 tourny. I say by Big 12 tourny time ole' Cinderella is going to find that glass slipper and we may just run the table in KC. Yes we're learning, growing and developing our game every day. Losing some along the way. IMHO Coach G is a methodical coach. She seems like a planner/organizer type coach. I'm sure she has a timeline somewhere, whether mental or on paper and she's checking off the accomplishments and goals met one at a time. I think she's oK taking the bumps and bruises along the way. However, in March I think Coach G and staff will have these girls humming and bring home the Big 12 tourny trophy. HOOK'EM HORNS!
BBV - I didn't say that no individual has improved. But we still don't look like a new team to me. We have the same record and we're definitely missing everything that TJ did well. Individual improvements seem to have just barely been enough to offset graduation.
I think winning at least half of the conference games is the most important factor in making the tournament this year. If the team doesn't do that, I don't think the Longhorns make the NCAA tournament unless they win the Big 12 tournament (or at least make the final game.) Texas has 8 games remaining games and 5 are on the road. IMO, the best chances for wins areBaylor, Texas A&M and Texas Tech at home, and away at Colorado and Kansas. But, I'd really like to see a win Saturday at Texas A&M to give the team some confidence and get the record going back in the right direction.
Conference wins will mean far more than overall wins in terms of making the tourney. Big12 placement will determine if we get in. 8th place or lower = no chance. 7th = slim chance. 6th or higher = likely.
I agree with Statalyzer. We are a lot like last year's team, but without TJ. Ashley has improved a lot, due her getting so many more minutes with TJ gone and I presume also to coaching. Kat Nash is a great addition. Everyone else is maybe a little better version of the same people they were last year (not surprising since people stay the same people.) Coach G's defensive schemes are a big change, but still in the general category of pressure defense (which Jody is one of the inventors of, as basketall historians point out). I don't see that many differences at all on offense, except that this year no player gets the double and triple teams that TJ got last year. Gail and Jody are big believers in the transition game, and that's what they will always be looking for. We get better as we play, but so does everyone else. I can't wait to see what our new recruits look like. Hopefully, they will all be gems that were a bit under the radar, since none of them were at high end of the recruiting lists. It's fun to see how players who were not high on recruiting lists sometimes become the best players in the country. And not as nerve wracking as when a super-highly ranked player is supposed to live up to incredible expectations.
As of this morning, Texas' RPI is 29, with a Strength of Schedule rating of 21 The Link Against RPI Top 50 teams, Texas is 6-7. It isn't over .500, but that is a lot of Top 50 teams played. Against RPI Top 10 teams, Texas is 1-3. Had Texas won that first Baylor game, the team would be 2-2 against the RPI Top 10 and 7-6 against the RPI Top 50.
