[NU Sports] NIT

[Beamsley, Jeff]

I've got high hopes, but serious concerns as well.

The concerns are that this is a road game and new territory (tournament)
for this team.  They haven't been playing well the past couple of games.
Hopefully it was the result of our opponents learning how to better
attack NU's 1-3-1 zone and not a letdown on NU's part.  In any case, it
is an opportunity to learn what it takes to win on a bigger stage.  IHMO
it's Shurma time to shine and show that he wants to be a team leader.

My hopes are based on the fact that the C-USA is a much weaker
conference than the BT, so we won't be at nearly the same athletic
deficit that we face every time we hit the floor in a conference game.  

The bottom line is that it is March and we're still playing.  That
always beats the alternatives.

Jeff


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From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com]
On Behalf Of Sportsbiz
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 7:39 AM
To: neonrye at aol.com
Cc: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] NIT

I'm not too familiar with Tulsa although they are a hot team, having won
at least 4 of the last 5 with the loss being to Memphis in the C-USA
finals.
They are the third best team in C-USA, according to the computers,
behind Memphis and UAB, although they beat UAB both times they played.
They lost to Memphis in the C-USA championship game.  Looking at
computer rankings, Tulsa's rpi is 53 and Sagarin rank is 61; this
compares to NU's rankings of
78 and 53 respectively.  I don't remember seeing such a wide disparity
in the respecive rankings before although I'm sure it has happened more
often than I have thought.  Way back in November, they lost to Illinois
48-44 on a neutral court.  They were beat handily by both Oklahoma and
Okie State.
Their current record is 24-10

Bottom line, I don't think this will be an easy game, They appear adept
at games played at a relatively slow pace with most of their games
played in the fifties and sixties.  That means they have a decent half
court offense and our deliberate pace will not trouble them as much as
it might some other teams we might face (Auburn?).  Our biggest weapon
here may be their unfamiliarity with NU's offense.  I dont think anyone
in C-USA runs a Princeton offense or any variation of it, but that's
from memory so if anyone knows for sure, please correct me.  If we play
aggressive defense and patient offense and most important take good care
of the ball, we should be able to pull out a close game.
Mark


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On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:44 PM, <neonrye at aol.com> wrote:

> Here's the complete bracket--looks like we don't get any home games 
> and will have to be "Road Warriors" to get to the Garden.? If we beat 
> Tulsa, we likely go to Auburn in 2nd Round.? Not a favorable draw, but

> at least we're in the hunt.
>
> http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nit/sports/m-nit/auto_pdf/Bracket.
> pdf
>
> Paul Levinson
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