Conference +/-

[Senioritis]

Because I'm sooooo EXCITED about Utah's drive for dominance during the MWC hoops season, I decided to track how the Mighty Utes stack up so far in the +/- standings. Turns out, not so good.

These standings give plus one for a road win, and minus one for a home loss. The idea is to sort of factor in the schedule, as the conference champ will win them all at home and win about half on the road. Usually.

Also, if Seattle was in this conference and a team somehow lost to Seattle at home, that would be minus infinity. But like that would ever happen.

Anyway, here are the current +/- standings for the teams that matter, and also for Utah since they always matter:

SDSU +1
UNM +1
UNLV +1
CHEATERS IN PROVO +1
COOLEST TEAM EVER 0

BYU has had, without question, the easiest start to the conference schedule of all of the contenders. UNLV has had the toughest. Without the home loss to Utah, UNLV would be in el asiento del conductor, having already played at the shPit and the BleacherDome!. Suck it, Rebels.

If BYU wins these next two, they win the conference going away, even factoring in the merciless tire iron beatdown they will receive from the good guys during their next BleacherDome! game. Suck it, Cougars.

The Mighty Utes will continue to play the games at the date and time at which they are scheduled. That's the strategy, and I personally think it's really going to pay off.

[SeattleUte]

Because I'm sooooo EXCITED about Utah's drive for dominance during the MWC hoops season, I decided to track how the Mighty Utes stack up so far in the +/- standings. Turns out, not so good.

These standings give plus one for a road win, and minus one for a home loss. The idea is to sort of factor in the schedule, as the conference champ will win them all at home and win about half on the road. Usually.

Also, if Seattle was in this conference and a team somehow lost to Seattle at home, that would be minus infinity. But like that would ever happen.
Anyway, here are the current +/- standings for the teams that matter, and also for Utah since they always matter:

SDSU +1
UNM +1
UNLV +1
CHEATERS IN PROVO +1
COOLEST TEAM EVER 0

BYU has had, without question, the easiest start to the conference schedule of all of the contenders. UNLV has had the toughest. Without the home loss to Utah, UNLV would be in el asiento del conductor, having already played at the shPit and the BleacherDome!. Suck it, Rebels.

If BYU wins these next two, they win the conference going away, even factoring in the merciless tire iron beatdown they will receive from the good guys during their next BleacherDome! game. Suck it, Cougars.

The Mighty Utes will continue to play the games at the date and time at which they are scheduled. That's the strategy, and I personally think it's really going to pay off.

[SeattleUte]

BYU, here comes the wall. This seems always to happen. BYU players are mature beyond their years, they're good sons (after all, mom is happy, they're at BYU), they live clean, they're earnest, they work hard, their fundamentals are so sound. They jell early, and with a little schedling luck, they do eye popping things--at the outsent. But they lack brawn, and abundant athleticisim, quickness and toughness, and they're distracted by wives and kids, firesides and hometeaching assignments. BYU will start losing here soon.

[All-American]

BYU, here comes the wall. This seems always to happen. BYU players are mature beyond their years, they're good sons (after all, mom is happy, they're at BYU), they live clean, they're earnest, they work hard, their fundamentals are so sound. They jell early, and with a little schedling luck, they do eye popping things--at the outsent. But they lack brawn, and abundant athleticisim, quickness and toughness, and they're distracted by wives and kids, firesides and hometeaching assignments. BYU will start losing here soon.

Some of us are not yet fully aware of the talent gap between you and Senioritis. I would try not to juxtapose yourselves and highlight the difference, were I you.

[Commando]

But they lack brawn, and abundant athleticisim, quickness and toughness... BYU will start losing here soon.

ha ha ha! With the MWC's top scorer at the point w/ a build like Deron Williams and guys like Charles Abouo and Brandon Davies coming off the bench, and with the team at 19-1 averaging 83.8 points per game, I can see where you're coming from.

[SeattleUte]

Some of us are not yet fully aware of the talent gap between you and Senioritis. I would try not to juxtapose yourselves and highlight the difference, were I you.

Don't kill the messenger. Sorry! I'm just being honest.

[Clark Addison]

BYU, here comes the wall. This seems always to happen. BYU players are mature beyond their years, they're good sons (after all, mom is happy, they're at BYU), they live clean, they're earnest, they work hard, their fundamentals are so sound. They jell early, and with a little schedling luck, they do eye popping things--at the outsent. But they lack brawn, and abundant athleticisim, quickness and toughness, and they're distracted by wives and kids, firesides and hometeaching assignments. BYU will start losing here soon.

Here are BYU's 1st half and 2nd half conference records during the Dave Rose era:

Year---------------1st Half--------------2nd Half
05-06------------------6-2-------------------7-1
06-07------------------6-2-------------------7-1
07-08------------------7-1-------------------7-1
08-09------------------5-3-------------------7-1
Total----------------24-8 (.750)------------28-4 (.875)

I hope that, for once, we can avoid hitting that wall.

[WashingtonCoug]

Don't kill the messenger. Sorry! I'm just being honest.

Off with his head!

[Pheidippides]

The Mighty Utes will continue to play the games at the date and time at which they are scheduled. That's the strategy, and I personally think it's really going to pay off.

I will never, ever get tired of this particular bit of humor. It is perhaps my favorite coachspeak gaffe of all time.

[beefytee]

I think something more accurate would be a weighted total.

Where you get +9 for a road win against the 1st place team and a +1 for a road win against the worst road team.

And -9 to -1 for home losses:

With the current standings, I get the following:

BYU +9 -1
NM UNLV SDSU +7 -3
CSU TCU UU +4 -6
WY +2 -8
AF +1 -9


That produces standings as followed:

UNLV +7 +4 -6 = +5
SDSU +4
Utah +7 -3 = +4
CSU +2
BYU +1
NM -3 +2 +1 = 0
TCU 0
AF -1 -3 = -4
WY -6 -3 = -9


Of course you could keep iterating this, but I will stop here.

Had UNLV beat the Utes, they would be head and shoulders ahead of the rest.

[jay santos]

BYU, here comes the wall. This seems always to happen. BYU players are mature beyond their years, they're good sons (after all, mom is happy, they're at BYU), they live clean, they're earnest, they work hard, their fundamentals are so sound. They jell early, and with a little schedling luck, they do eye popping things--at the outsent. But they lack brawn, and abundant athleticisim, quickness and toughness, and they're distracted by wives and kids, firesides and hometeaching assignments. BYU will start losing here soon.

You keep saying we lack brawn. Have you seen Miles and Hartsock's bodies compared to your big guys?

SU actually a point that's valid, though I think he probably lucked into it. I think there is a trend in college basketball where if you take a team that's on average fundamentally sound, disciplined, smart, experienced, efficient, etc vs a team that is on average athletic, undisciplined, inexperienced...that gap narrows through the season as an athletic, inefficient team naturally gets more efficient over the course of a season. I do think BYU's going to have to pick it up a notch to compete with UNLV on their home floor and make a deep tourney run.

[jay santos]

You keep saying we lack brawn. Have you seen Miles and Hartsock's bodies compared to your big guys?

SU actually a point that's valid, though I think he probably lucked into it. I think there is a trend in college basketball where if you take a team that's on average fundamentally sound, disciplined, smart, experienced, efficient, etc vs a team that is on average athletic, undisciplined, inexperienced...that gap narrows through the season as an athletic, inefficient team naturally gets more efficient over the course of a season. I do think BYU's going to have to pick it up a notch to compete with UNLV on their home floor and make a deep tourney run.

Should have read the whole thread. Clark Addison just blew that theory out of the water.

[Blueintheface]

Here are BYU's 1st half and 2nd half conference records during the Dave Rose era:

Year---------------1st Half--------------2nd Half
05-06------------------6-2-------------------7-1
06-07------------------6-2-------------------7-1
07-08------------------7-1-------------------7-1
08-09------------------5-3-------------------7-1
Total----------------24-8 (.750)------------28-4 (.875)

I hope that, for once, we can avoid hitting that wall.

Man, SU. It must suck to be absolutely wrong nearly all of the time. BTW, will you let my home teaching supervisor know that I made my visits last night. Thanks in advance.

[Goatnapper'96]

Should have read the whole thread. Clark Addison just blew that theory out of the water.

I struggle to let conference results, with the huge implications of home court advantage, settle the issue.

[Clark Addison]

I struggle to let conference results, with the huge implications of home court advantage, settle the issue.

That's fair, but that was as much work as I wanted to do.