WBB: American Southwest Conference

[ShouldaBeenAnIndian]

I heard all of this about Ozarks going to be a good team and going to win games, how they almost beat HPU, then see that they get beat by SRSU? Explain that!

[JACKET84]

I heard all of this about Ozarks going to be a good team and going to win games, how they almost beat HPU, then see that they get beat by SRSU? Explain that!

I wasn't at the Sul Ross/Ozark game.  All I can say is that HPU palyed one of their worse games in recent years against the Ozarks, then Ozarks had to travel another 350 miles to play Sul Ross.  The Ozarks may have been emotionally drained after having HPU beat and loosing at the buzzer.  I don't know.  HPU started hitting on all cylinders against Sul Ross.  50+ point margin, and it could have been more.  Freshmen got a lot of playing time.

[Ralph Turner]

McMurry 71, HSU 57.

[nash]

[quote HPU is still undefeated and ranked #8 in the nation I would think it's pretty obvious they are the best in the west and in the conference.[/quote]

Well, it looks like HPU is no longer undefeated.  They lost to LC 69-54 on Saturday and to MC 74-60 tonight.  They may be the best in the west but they are no longer the best in the conference.  It will be interesting to see what two losses from unranked teams do to their national ranking.  With HPU's last second win over Ozarks and these two losses, it seems the east is stronger than they've been.  I also find it interesting that the west side of this forum is quiet.  HPU has a good team, they never gave up.  LC and MC both have strong teams this year and what an interesting year seems to be in the making.

[dballa]

Hey Nash,

Try winning in the Spring and you can talk about who is the best in the conference.  

The East hasn't won a conference championship this decade.

Congrats on the wins in December but it means very little aside from a few regional ranking points.

[JACKET84]

HPU is in the middle of a very tough road trip.  Now they travel to CA to play Cal Luthern (who beat George Fox).  I wish they didn't come out with rankings until Jan.  You get a better feel for who is best after 10 games are played.

  Once MC and LC have to travel long distances, their record will probably come down some. 

    From looking at the stats, HPU's offense was really off.  That can always be contributed to good defenses.  I dont' know if that was the case or not, since I wasn't at the games. 

   HPU will be back and they'll be the #1 seed in the post season tournament.  The East will be hosting this year, which will make it tough.

[nash]

I just found it funny that I made a comment when TLU beat MC and was slapped down about how good HPU was.  Well I guess LC and MC proved that wrong. I know that the conference championship is the ultimate goal, but in years past the west has filled this forum with talk about their teams and this year with the losses there is not much talk.  As for as traveling, every road trip for MC, except LC, is long and that is part of the game. 

[JACKET84]

Congrats on the wins in December but it means very little aside from a few regional ranking points.

I believe the wins mean a lot.  The winner of the East will host the ASC tournament.

I also believe it's way too early to be saying who is "Best". 

[Ralph Turner]

MC and LC caught HPU and HSU/McM at home this year.

The 2 teams that are on my radar at Ozarks and TLU.

I wonder how strong Trinity really is.  They beat McMurry in OT, and McMurry is a bit down this season.

The East is definitely stronger this year.

[millie]

I knew last night what ya'lls reponse would be...they are coming off a long road trip..that 1 trip every 2 years is the same trip that MC and LC make several times each year (and don't use that as an excuse). Someone has to be the longest...that would be us and Alpine (our favorite place in TX)..we are part of the conference and until we split the conference you will have to make the trip every other year...(i don't really know why if a trip to Miss is so hard why you would subject your girls to a trip to CA)...I really expected , like 4 or 5 years ago to have a conversation about the currents in the dome being a factor...the only currents in the dome were the air cond...
On a positive note (it is Christmas by the way), I can see  HPU has a very good team...they are fast, quick, and i am sure they can score, they can get open for the shot, don't know what the shooting % was, not too good i would think, but i am sure they were just off...i am sure they will be back up in the polls.........
BUT by no means, should you be so pompous as to take lightly the east, yes they have not won a championship in many years...but some time some place, when least expected...this is starting out to be a strange year..there are teams in the east beating (or coming close) teams on the west that have never been taken serious...
Yes, you are right polls mean nothing   unless you want to use them for your argument.
Have a very Merry Christmas!

[JACKET84]

I don't believe I was making excuses.  Even 2 years ago when HPU won the national championship, HPU had a very hard time at MC.  They were lucky to win.  It's a long season and it's way too early to say who is best, but I will say that the East is much better this year.  You can look at any earlier post of mine, when I stated there is more parity in this Conference than I've ever seen, and a team has to play it's very best to win.

   Why would they go to CA to play some tough teams?  It will make them that much better in conference play.

[millie]

Maybe it is not the long road trip..maybe props need to be given to MC' team and coaching staff...too often people blame bad shooting (for instance) on the venue, or the long trip or any number of other things and sometimes it may be the good defense of the team being played...just a thought...
I am outta here...got to get ready for Christmas...have a good one...see you next year

[JACKET84]

This is my earlier quote.

From looking at the stats, HPU's offense was really off.  That can always be contributed to good defenses.  I dont' know if that was the case or not, since I wasn't at the games. 

[golden_dome]

A few thoughts after seeing the MC-Howard Payne game last night. First, that's a tough trip for HPU with two losses. But I think a lot of teams are going to struggle with that trip this year, and not just due to travel. HSU and McMurry both went 0-2 on the trip. LC and MC are both good this year.  LC has blown people out all year, and MC is a double OT loss from being 9-0.

For HPU, the LC loss was a tight game until the last few minutes, but last night the game was never close. MC led 44-27 with 14:31 to go, and the rest of the half was pretty much played with MC up 10-15 points. HPU cut it to 8 around the 10:00 mark, but MC pushed it back to 14 on the next three trips. HPU was down six points at the half and then shot 56% in the second half. Normally that's a win but MC shot 60% in the second half and just outplayed them. I didn't think HPU played poorly overall other than poor first half 3-point shooting, and actually played well and shot well in the second half.

MC's starting lineup is very, very good. All three guards can shoot from the perimeter and the two post players are both talented. They brought in a very talented 6-0 JUCO post player, and a talented 5-11 freshman wing player, to go with three players who have contributed for two years already. Anna Patterson is a three-year starter at guard who is having a great season, and I think forward Jalessa Taylor is 5th in the ASC in scoring. I think the key for them will be the continued improvement of the second unit as the season goes along. That is a big question mark, but they've improved substantially.

LC has looked great all year, UTD has everyone back from a great team last year, HPU is still a strong contender to win the league again, and though the West has struggled overall they have absolutely dominated the league for a long time now. It should be interesting the rest of the way.

[Ralph Turner]

I don't believe I was making excuses.  Even 2 years ago when HPU won the national championship, HPU had a very hard time at MC.  They were lucky to win.  It's a long season and it's way too early to say who is best, but I will say that the East is much better this year.  You can look at any earlier post of mine, when I stated there is more parity in this Conference than I've ever seen, and a team has to play it's very best to win.

  Why would they go to CA to play some tough teams?  It will make them that much better in conference play.

And it helps the conference's numbers when post season at-large bids are being considered.

Those two games are in-region games for HPU and they also help with OWP and OOWP in the conference.

We need in-region games!  Games against teams in the South Region.

What absolutely does not help the conference are these games.  Games against:

D-1 schools.
D-2 schools.
NAIA schools.

and to a lesser degree, D-III schools from outside Administrative region #4 for schools in Texas, and administrative region #3 for schools in LA, AR and MS.

Those games from the administrative regions and South Region that count are these:

CTX:  Concordia-IL  (William Smith is not in-region.)
ETBU:  Birmingham-Southern, Huntingdon, LaGrange and Oglethorpe
HSU:  Trinity Tx, St Olaf's (one TBD, either Central which is  or Pitt-Greensburg which isn't at Georgetown on Dec 29th.)
HPU:  Cal Lutheran and UC Santa Cruz
LeTU:  Austin College x2, University of Dallas
LaCollege:  Millsaps
UMHB:  Southwestern, Trinity Tx, UW-Stout (Bluffton is not in-region.)
McM:  St Olaf, Trinity TX, Concordia IL (William Smith is D-3 but not in-region.)
MC:  Rhodes, Rust x2, Hendrix, Millsaps
SU:  None  
SRSU:  None
TLU: Austin, UDallas.
UTD:  Austin College, Oxy, Chapman
UTT:  Hendrix
UOz: Hendrix, UDallas

ETBU's schedule gets the Most Improved award from a couple of years ago.