Quote from: hugenerd on February 25, 2009, 02:09:04 PMQuote from: ILive4This on February 25, 2009, 01:48:01 PM
I am changing the topic a bit, mainly because I have not posted in a while and something started to pop into my head. Although the overall record is simply not as good as last year for Brandeis, a win this weekend I believe gives them the same conference record as last season. I would argue that this year's team though less consistent than last year's is perhaps a better team when playing to its potential. The losses to Rochester at Home and Chicago on the road just should not have happened. 12-2 in conference is more or less what people expected for this year's squad and would have put them right in the thick of the conference battle with wash u. Now flip around the strange loss to lasell and the even more unforgivable loss to FSC and you have a 4 loss team.
I know you can not just take away losses, but it seems as of late the judges have figured it out. If they are some how lucky enough to squeek into the tournament, I feel they would make a run as deep or deeper than last year.
As you pointed out, they are not as consistent, and I think the hypothetical run you speak of would depend on which team showed up any given night. With that said, I think they are a better team than Amherst and should be ranked ahead of them in the region. Whether they can be last year's Wheaton and sneak into the tourney is yet to be seen. The losses to FSC and Lasell will definitely hurt though. Without those two I think they are ranked top 5 or 6 in NE and with their OWP numbers they would have a much firmer hold on a C right now.
I think a main reason for their inconsistency is due to the inconsistency of their go-to-guy, Steve DeLuca. In my observation, when DeLuca has played well against good teams, Brandeis usually wins. When he struggles, the team tends to also. In my opinion, Joe Coppens was a more consistent player last year which had a lot to do with them playing more consistently throughout the season.
I actually think it has more to do with playing style. Starting Kenny smalls puts a faster paced, shooting heavy offense on the floor. I do not know what team rule yemga broke, and he is a good ball player and an all around nice guy, but the team that made the trip to UR without him was a completely different team and since then they have been shooting the ball hot and putting up big points and big wins.
And to the other poster...a 30 point blowout at the palestra i think overshadows a small defeat in waltham.