Expect the Hogs to lose tomorrow?!?

[urkillnmesmalls]

I'm not putting much stock in this game.  I think Mike will probably try to get as much playing time for the young guys as he can to keep developing them, and rest the starters.  I know everyone wants to see us win, get the 3 seed and double bye, but history shows that the selection committee doesn't put much stock at all into how you do in the SECT, other than the obvious bid for winning it.

I think winning this one would help seeding more than winning a game in the SECT, because the committee has admitted before that they have everything virtually on paper before the tournaments are decided.  I still don't think Mike will play our starters the typical number of minutes though.       

[NorthDallas40]

I TOTALLY WANT US TO WIN OUT FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR AND NEXT YEAR TOO... I'm just refusing to fall into the trap of believing we will somehow play solid basketball in all phases, because whenever I do, I get smacked back into reality.

[MB Hog]

I'm not putting much stock in this game.  I think Mike will probably try to get as much playing time for the young guys as he can to keep developing them, and rest the starters.  I know everyone wants to see us win, get the 3 seed and double bye, but history shows that the selection committee doesn't put much stock at all into how you do in the SECT, other than the obvious bid for winning it.

I think winning this one would help seeding more than winning a game in the SECT, because the committee has admitted before that they have everything virtually on paper before the tournaments are decided.  I still don't think Mike will play our starters the typical number of minutes though.       

I'd be surprised if he starts resting the seniors now.  1) If you win, you don't play again until Friday, so plenty of rest to be had between games.  2) 11-7 in the SEC is likely to improve our seed in the NCAA tourney compared to 10-8... just one game difference, but a big difference in this case, especially when several other SEC teams are likely to be piled up at 10-8.  3) This isn't the NBA where you might already know your seed based on your record and winning or losing your last game isn't going to change that.  Winning this game at Mizzou is very important for seeding both in the SECT and the NCAAT.  It will be business as usual on the court tomorrow.

[hogfanny]

Porter is going to play apparently.  That's going to have the crowd in a frenzy and give a big emotional lift to their team regardless of how much he adds on the court, which could be substantial.  We have zero tape with him in the lineup. All the emotional factors favor Mizzou.  They need the game more.  They are at home. It's Senior Day.  Our guys are decompressing from an emotional Senior Day against a ranked team.  A win in this one would say much more about our team than a loss. A loss is the more probable outcome.

The Hogs could raise Lazerus from the tomb. Any sport, any team. If opponent has a player on the dl, said player will heal, but many times  do not turn out to impact outcome.

[Hogs49ers]

Porter is going to play apparently.  That's going to have the crowd in a frenzy and give a big emotional lift to their team regardless of how much he adds on the court, which could be substantial.  We have zero tape with him in the lineup. All the emotional factors favor Mizzou.  They need the game more.  They are at home. It's Senior Day.  Our guys are decompressing from an emotional Senior Day against a ranked team.  A win in this one would say much more about our team than a loss. A loss is the more probable outcome.

I think it would benefit us greatly if he played!  First off, he has got to be extremely rusty and just has never played at this level before, even the top lottery picks of UK take awhile to get it figured out in this league.  Also, their team just does not have much practice with him on the court so it could cause some chemistry problems and a bunch of the other guys may get tentative and defer to MPJ if he is in the game which all tends to lean towards benefiting us! WPS!

[99toLife]

No telling whether that would help them or hurt them.  If he comes out rusty, he could end up wasting some opportunities for them that someone else who has been in the flow of the offense would be giving up.  If he comes out hot, the rest of the team might be tempted to turn into spectators to see what he can do... which would also affect the flow of the offense they've been honing.  Also, no way he has great stamina built up yet, so his impact, positive or negative, should come in spurts.  And someone or several players would be losing playing time to him, which can affect the role they've been playing and the mindset they bring to the game. 

That said, I think the key to whether we win or lose is if we can play 40 minutes of team ball and stay away from the 1-on-1 mentality that rears its ugly head in our bad games.

best post I've seen on the subject... Good Job  +1

[golfinpig]

Could we win? Absolutely! Will we win? Probably not.

[bvillepig]

Will be a close game and come down to free throws probably. Hopefully the bounces go our way.

[txkhog]

Will be a tough grind it out game. Wouldn't surprise me either way.

[99toLife]

Will be a tough grind it out game. Wouldn't surprise me either way.

That's pretty much the way I'm looking at this game. I think it may be a GREAT GAME for basketball fans to watch.  Painful for both sides to watch but a Kick Ass game up until the end.

Two teams enter One team leaves sort of thing. 

[Inhogswetrust]

I TOTALLY WANT US TO WIN OUT FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR AND NEXT YEAR TOO... I'm just refusing to fall into the trap of believing we will somehow play solid basketball in all phases, because whenever I do, I get smacked back into reality.

The reality is no one knows how well they will play or not but there is NO reason to be negative.

[jimmur74]

Go jump off a bridge

I do. The recent wins have been nice, but our loses seem to  really show what this team is. Just when you think they've figured it out or turned the corner, they never do.

[porkrindjimmy]

Two words...

Daniel Gafford.

That is all.

PRJ

[HognotinMemphis]

Two words...

Daniel Gafford.

That is all.

PRJ

Gay.

[TheOtherColombia]

Two words...

Daniel Gafford.

That is all.

PRJ

Two words...

Non factor

That is all.