With Moses coming back, let's check expectation levels...

[azhog10]

I agree with JB. When you lose to horrible teams, especially at home, and then coach speak them into being tough teams gets really old. I'm tired of the excuses that we play in a tough conference when we don't. Anyway, if we don't finish in the top 3 in the conference, we may not make it to the Big Dance. If we don't make it, we need a change.

Who said we play in a tough conference? I've stated that it's not as bad as some make it out to be. But it's not SEC Football or Baseball tough. Agree with your last two sentences.

[TRUHOG718]

Y6yyyyyyy6yyyy6yyyyyyyhyyyyyyyyyyy)). parole:j

[rzrbackramsfan]

The 2014-2015 team was a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, finished 27-9 and lost at least 3-4 games that they should have won.  That, above anything else, is the biggest failure of Anderson's tenure.  Last year's team had no business losing at home to an 8-man Auburn team or to Mississippi State by 32 points on the road.  During Anderson's time at Arkansas, it feels like every win over a team like No. 5 Texas A&M is balanced out by an uncompetitive home loss to South Carolina.

If Anderson could just stop losing to teams Arkansas is supposed to beat, then all of a sudden this program is in great shape.  Last year's team should have finished with 18-19 wins instead of 16 and then a "rebuilding" year doesn't feel like such a failure.

THAT is what I expect to improve next season.  Stop losing so damn many winnable games.  Cut those out and next year's team should win 25 games.  I don't think you can make expectations about the NCAAT, but if you get 25 wins, then you have a chance for a good matchup and a win or two.

Welcome to basketball.  What you described is a phenomena to about 99.9999% of the teams.

[root_hawg]

Sweet sixteen or time for a change but it won't matter, even if he doesn't make the tourney he will still be the head coach

[daprospecta]

Sweet sixteen or time for a change but it won't matter, even if he doesn't make the tourney he will still be the head coach

It's funny actually.  We have knocked Mike Anderson for not having the recruits to compete but that changes next year.  I think he finally has the team to run his team the way he draws it up.  Next year will simply be about coaching.  If Mike(as much as it pains me to say it because I was 9 when we won the title)  cannot lead this team to the tourney, I think it's best for both parties to separate. 

[JayBell]

Welcome to basketball.  What you described is a phenomena to about 99.9999% of the teams.

No it does not, especially not to the extent as it does with Anderson's teams.  Everybody loses a game or two they could have won.  Anderson's Arkansas teams lose 3-5 every season, but it's more than that.  It's not just games that they should have won.  They manage to lose games that shouldn't have even been close.  The Auburn loss last year was not an outlier.

[rzrbackramsfan]

No it does not, especially not to the extent as it does with Anderson's teams.  Everybody loses a game or two they could have won.  Anderson's Arkansas teams lose 3-5 every season, but it's more than that.  It's not just games that they should have won.  They manage to lose games that shouldn't have even been close.  The Auburn loss last year was not an outlier.

So Arkansas should have been 19-13 to 21-11 last year.  We all knew that was pretty unrealistic before the year even started. 

I feel ya, it's frustrating to beat good teams and lose to worst teams but it's really not that specific to Arkansas, Kentucky lost to auburn last year, Baylor lost to Yale, Michigan St lost to middle Tennessee.  If the better teams always win in conference then hypothetically Missouri shouldn't have won a game, yet, they won 3 games.  Just the way the game goes.  You just have to judge them over a larger sample size and not let the individual ebbs and flows eat at you.

[jgphillips3]

I'm in the NCAA or bust camp.

[Justifiable Hogicide]

Sweet sixteen or time for a change but it won't matter, even if he doesn't make the tourney he will still be the head coach

Yes, his record simply does not matter, he is "Mike Anderson" and he is in no danger of ever losing his job at Arkansas.
So let's hope the Juco gambit works out.

[HoopS]

Yes, his record simply does not matter, he is "Mike Anderson" and he is in no danger of ever losing his job at Arkansas.
So let's hope the Juco gambit works out.

so do you think he should have been fired by now?

[Justifiable Hogicide]

so do you think he should have been fired by now?

Never gave it much thought since that die was cast the minute Mike Anderson was hired.

[poloprince]

I expect a 2nd place finish behind Kentucky.

[GuvHog]

So Arkansas should have been 19-13 to 21-11 last year.  We all knew that was pretty unrealistic before the year even started. 

That's not true. Many on here were predicting a 19 to 21 win season before last season started. It was only when the losses started to come that the big time back peddling began.

[jry04]

That's not true. Many on here were predicting a 19 to 21 win season before last season started. It was only when the losses started to come that the big time back peddling began.

Many? Very few expected 19 to 21.

http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=602275.msg9968114#msg9968114

1 person predicted more than 19, with most predicting 17 or less. I count 4 with 17 or less, and 1 over 19 in this thread.


http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=600907.msg9932626#msg9932626

1 person in this thread predicted over 19, with the majority predicting 17 or less if Beard was out.  Again, just 1 person out of around 10 predicted 20 in this thread. Nearly everyone felt 19 was our absolute best with Beard. When everyone knew Beard was missing nearly half the season, the expectations dropped to around .500. You shouldn't make stuff up.

[rzrbackramsfan]

Ownage, jry04.  +1. 

[JayBell]

Many? Very few expected 19 to 21.

http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=602275.msg9968114#msg9968114

1 person predicted more than 19, with most predicting 17 or less. I count 4 with 17 or less, and 1 over 19 in this thread.


http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=600907.msg9932626#msg9932626

1 person in this thread predicted over 19, with the majority predicting 17 or less if Beard was out.  Again, just 1 person out of around 10 predicted 20 in this thread. Nearly everyone felt 19 was our absolute best with Beard. When everyone knew Beard was missing nearly half the season, the expectations dropped to around .500. You shouldn't make stuff up.

So because people were wrong, that means Arkansas shouldn't have not lost to Auburn.....?

Let's say the wins over Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt were balanced out by losses to Auburn, Akron and Mercer.  Okay.

There's still a litany of other winnable games Arkansas lost: Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Dayton, LSU, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.  Btw, Arkansas was 3-8 in games decided by 5 points or less last year...

No, not every program experiences that.  And certainly not every single season like Anderson has at Arkansas.

[jry04]

So because people were wrong, that means Arkansas shouldn't have not lost to Auburn.....?

Let's say the wins over Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt were balanced out by losses to Auburn, Akron and Mercer.  Okay.

There's still a litany of other winnable games Arkansas lost: Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Dayton, LSU, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.  Btw, Arkansas was 3-8 in games decided by 5 points or less last year...

No, not every program experiences that.  And certainly not every single season like Anderson has at Arkansas.

Not sure if you quoted the wrong person, or misunderstood my post, but nothing you posted is relevant to my post that you quoted.

[wheelspigharvey]

So because people were wrong, that means Arkansas shouldn't have not lost to Auburn.....?

Let's say the wins over Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt were balanced out by losses to Auburn, Akron and Mercer.  Okay.

There's still a litany of other winnable games Arkansas lost: Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Dayton, LSU, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.  Btw, Arkansas was 3-8 in games decided by 5 points or less last year...

No, not every program experiences that.  And certainly not every single season like Anderson has at Arkansas.

We go 3-8 in games decided by 5 points or less every single season under Anderson? Not saying it can't be true but I'd like to see that stat.

[JayBell]

We go 3-8 in games decided by 5 points or less every single season under Anderson? Not saying it can't be true but I'd like to see that stat.

The 3-8 stat was a side note.  Arkansas loses more games they should win every season than good programs.  Portis and Qualls actually helped Arkansas do very well in close games the previous season.  B.J. Young helped them rack up a 6-3 record in those games in his last year.

[rzrbackramsfan]

The 3-8 stat was a side note.  Arkansas loses more games they should win every season than good programs.  Portis and Qualls actually helped Arkansas do very well in close games the previous season.  B.J. Young helped them rack up a 6-3 record in those games in his last year.

Yea because being bad in close games is different than losing to teams you should beat. 

With our team last year, it wasn't shocking at all to lose to auburn at home.   Show me one team that wasn't undefeated that didn't lose to a lesser team.  And if we kept on losing to those "lesser" teams, maybe they weren't lesser to start with.  We were what our Redford ended up being last year, a middle of the pack sec team, not terrible for a complete rebuilding year.

[ShadowHawg]

The 3-8 stat was a side note.  Arkansas loses more games they should win every season than good programs. 

Quantify this claim please. Describe some good programs for instance. Then show us how many game they were favored in that they won/lost in comparison.

In reading some of your earlier posts, I think your idea of games that we should have won may not be what others are thinking. Seems you are counting games that they were not favored in but played tough anyway in your "should have won" category.

You also act as if they don't win games that they aren't favored in, as if there is no balance and it is a complete one way street.

[PonderinHog]

So because people were wrong, that means Arkansas shouldn't have not lost to Auburn.....?

Let's say the wins over Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt were balanced out by losses to Auburn, Akron and Mercer.  Okay.

There's still a litany of other winnable games Arkansas lost: Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Dayton, LSU, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.  Btw, Arkansas was 3-8 in games decided by 5 points or less last year...

No, not every program experiences that.  And certainly not every single season like Anderson has at Arkansas.

You missed Stanford.  Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh!