z8-Minutemen

Ok, ok, I know. Hear me out. And let me make this clear, this is for valuable discussion, not trolling. I want to hear your opinions, good or bad, but no personal attacks please.

As disappointing as this year has been for UMass, this has been one of my favorite years of college basketball in over a decade, and that's because of the Northeastern Huskies.

The CAA is certainly in a down year. VCU is gone (obviously), George Mason is decent, Drexel and Delaware are underachieving, and ODU might be one of the worst teams in college basketball at 2-16. The lone bright spot besides the Huskies is Towson, who already has their win total of the previous two years combined and is clearly on the upswing. The debate over A-10 vs CAA can finally be put to rest.

But the Northeastern Huskies are really surging. They are 8-0 in conference, and the way they are playing, I'm not sure they will lose another game. Winning the conference is a foregone conclusion at this point, but would they be good enough to win the A-10?

Yes they lost to UMass, La Salle*, and Charlotte. But they did not have their senior leader Jonathan Lee. Lee (one of four double digit scorers on NU) accounts for 12.8 PPG. NU lost those games by margins of 8, 6, and 2, respectively. His presence would have made the difference and won those games for the Huskies. Guess what? That's three of the top 5 in the A-10.

That brings us to the top 2. You have VCU, a team that NU just has the number. Whether the game is in Richmond or Boston, you know it will always be a fight. NU could have 2 conference wins, and it would still be a great game. In previous years, I would pick VCU, due to an advantage in athleticism. But this year NU is just as athletic, and has even more depth than VCU. Usually the coaching advantage of Bill Coen over Shaka wouldn't be enough to overcome the talent, but in this year it would put NU over the top. NU also runs a better halfcourt offense than anyone in the A-10, besides Butler. That is VCU's achilles heel. Play good halfcourt offense, and you'll be able to stay in any game with them. Richmond figured that out the other night.

Butler would be the toughy. NU has slightly more talent, but Butler is slightly better coached. Both run elite half-court offenses and can work in transition. Both teams play lockdown defense and don't make any mental mistakes. Really anything could happen in that game, and those would theoretically be the two best teams.

All this really means nothing unless proven on the court, but it's an interesting thought. I hope when Charlotte and Temple leave that the A-10 extends an invite to Northeastern. It provides the Boston market, and they would really be one the better teams, a program on the rise. Sophomore Quincy Ford could be an easy 1st teamer his junior and senior year, as he has NBA potential. It's pipe dream though, so I'll settle for the CAA (especially with the nice addition of College of Charleston). But you never know what could happen if given the possibilities.

Let me hear your opinions.

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Dallas Cowboys- 5 super bowls and counting...

UMass Minutemen- 8 tournament appearances, 1 final four. Alumni: Julius 'Dr. J' Erving, Marcus Camby

Northeastern Huskies- 7 tournament appearances. Alumni: Reggie Lewis, Jose Juan 'JJ' Barea

UMass87

My opinion is that you need to smoke less dope.

vaNtR

I say this in earnest, you're a total clown.

ktabz16

umass, a team that could seriously miss the a10 tourney beat northeastern in northeastern's building so please gtfo.

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z8-Minutemen

without Jon Lee. This is a whole different team right now. Play disciplined, smart basketball. Great defense and ball movement. Right now they would wipe the floor with UMass. I watch both teams, trust me, it wouldn't be pretty.

__________________
Dallas Cowboys- 5 super bowls and counting...

UMass Minutemen- 8 tournament appearances, 1 final four. Alumni: Julius 'Dr. J' Erving, Marcus Camby

Northeastern Huskies- 7 tournament appearances. Alumni: Reggie Lewis, Jose Juan 'JJ' Barea

Rashti19

Two things. First, why did you put an asterisk next to their loss to La Salle? The Explorers played poorly all night (looked like they had no energy) and beat them at the buzzer. If you mean to question that win, you have no basis for that. Second, no, they couldn't compete in this league.

ktabz16

besides the fact that you're a proven moron, you're also full of it. northeastern is 0-fer vs the a10 with or without bill lee.

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z8-Minutemen

The asterisk isn't because of what you mentioned. They Huskies got fouled at the buzzer, no call. That's why. Not gonna make excuses though, that's a game the Huskies should have won (even without Jon Lee).

And they could compete in this league if given the chance. That's why we play the games.

__________________
Dallas Cowboys- 5 super bowls and counting...

UMass Minutemen- 8 tournament appearances, 1 final four. Alumni: Julius 'Dr. J' Erving, Marcus Camby

Northeastern Huskies- 7 tournament appearances. Alumni: Reggie Lewis, Jose Juan 'JJ' Barea

bprichard

Hahahaha. Northeastern "provides the Boston market." Yeah, much like how Fordham provides the NYC market. Obviously Northeastern has a far bigger alumni base than Fordham, but they are not much of a draw (their paltry attendance numbers attest to this) in what is predominantly a pro sports town. (Any UMass people want to speculate on who draws more interest in Boston, UMass or Northeastern? I really have no idea.)

And let's not mince words, this is the worst the CAA has been in recent memory. Northeastern has gone on a nice little run, but there is no team in the conference that is better than mediocre. Northeastern would be delighted with an over .500 record in the A10 this year.

ktabz16

remember when drexel practically ran the table on the caa last year? remember who ended their season? don't be that guy z-8.

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we don't suck

Title_BU

Northeastern is 138th in the Pomeroy Ratings. Not only are 3/4 of the teams in the league superior, so are juggernauts like Western Illinois.

For Butler and VCU, you are literally looking at 15 to 20 point lines.

UMass national champs was a more reasonable position

UMass87

bprichard - NU gets more press in Boston. Boston is a pro sports town. Nobody is delivering the Boston market for college basketball in the way anyone thinks of delivering the market. That said, NU is probably one of the better options for the A10 when Temple, X, BU, and SLU leave next year.

El Shaqtus

I'd take my chances with the Billikens beating Northeastern.

And SLU wasn't even mentioned. But we still have the MEAC.

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RIP Coach Rick Majerus 12/1/12. You were the one that said it was OK to think big at SLU. You were right.

KVBL Lexington Kings

mgalici

No chance. I don't think A10 champions lose to Maine at home.

rosceaux

87, You are off by a comma:

"My opinion is that you need to smoke less, dope.

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