Biggest game in JL's tenure...

[Garland 22]

Any road game in the Valley is tough to consider a must-win. This would be a real nice to have if you are looking to finish top 3, but plenty of roadies left to make up for this one if we drop it.

We only have 1 conference home loss so there is still hope that we get 8 wins at home. 2 road wins, Evansville and Drake gets us to our usual 10 wins. So I guess it is tough to call it a must win.

In all honesty the game we won on Saturday is probably more important in the grand scheme of things than the game tomorrow night.

All that said, would go a long way to solidifying JL as the best man for the job if they win one in dogville.

[it's boogie time]

A win at SIU would be big since five of the next seven are at home and one of those road games is at 0-7 Evansville. It presents a chance for Bradley to put a streak together and get people fired up about the program again.

There really haven't been that many "big" conference games in JL's tenure. The win at Northern Iowa in '06 was a big one since it helped BU get an at large bid.

[BradleyBrave]

Not the biggest. Important, but not the biggest.

[Bravesfan]

I asked this question in another thread but I think it deserves its own because I'd like to here what aothers think.....


I offer this is one of JL's biggest games in his time here.



With his seat getting warm a win against SIU and a subsequent winning streak could cool it down a tad.


A game like this could salvage the season and take us past the usual "mediocre" finish we have become so accustomed to.

Thoughts.....

Well again, are we going to start calling every game Les's biggest game? I think that's overkill by a big margin! And again, let's not start insinuating that Les's seat is getting "hot" or even "warm" when over half the season still is to be played and nothing has ever been announced by the administration or the media. Besides, the middle of the season would be the wrong time to assess a coach. The end of the season is the time to assess the stabilty of coaches and if we finish strong, I would find it hard to believe that Les's seat would even be warm.

I also don't believe that a loss at SIU would damage our chances at a strong finish in that we would probably not be expected to win there anyway as it is one of the toughest places in the Valley to play. Having said that though, SIU is beatable, so let's wait and see how this game turns out first.

[BradleyBrave]

I also don't believe that a loss at SIU would damage our chances at a strong finish in that we would probably not be expected to win there anyway as it is one of the toughest places in the Valley to play. Having said that though, SIU is beatable, so let's wait and see how this game turns out first.

How can you say that? We would lose all tiebreakers with them.

[tornado]

the two ncaa games were bigger......

two?? I thought we played three NCAA games that year, and the third one was most certainly the biggest...

[Buesch N Chips]

two?? I thought we played three NCAA games that year, and the third one was most certainly the biggest...

Yeah! Fire Les! How could he lose to Memphis?! You've got to win big games on the road!

[LittleBrave]

A loss would not be devastating as we're not even halfway through the conf. shedule.
BUT, here's what a win COULD mean...

1) We continue to gain confidence - remember how confident they became in the Sweet 16 year? Winning in Carbondale lets the team know they CAN win the remaining road games.

2) A 4-4 record, while not great, puts us in position to make a run at the 3rd spot. This would surely silence some of the Les critics who say we have no chance to finish in the top half (I was thinking that too just a week ago!)

3) I think that an 11-7 Valley record is respectable and within reach with a win. Looking ahead, it would likely give us a quality BB opponent. If we win the BB game, along with a 1st round MVC tourney win, who knows? maybe NIT?? That's what most fans expected at the very least at the start of the season.

While last game was a MUST win, I believe this is a PIVOTAL win.

[SFP]

A loss would not be devastating as we're not even halfway through the conf. shedule.
BUT, here's what a win COULD mean...

2) A 4-4 record, while not great, puts us in position to make a run at the 3rd spot. This would surely silence some of the Les critics who say we have no chance to finish in the top half (I was thinking that too just a week ago!)

Why not a run at the 2nd spot? If WSU loses at home to UNI their league record becomes very average quickly.

[houstontxbrave]

Why not a run at the 2nd spot? If WSU loses at home to UNI their league record becomes very average quickly.

Remember we still have WSU and UNI at home. This thing is far from over, even for 2nd, first likely is not obtainable, but everything else is up for grabs.

SIU is huge because of the fact what we play next

H - eville
H - CU
@ - ISUred
H - Drake
@ - Eville
H - ISUred

Still a lot of basketball to play but a win at SIU will go a long ways for this season and this team.

[basketball nut]

How can a coaches seat be getting warmer and be playing the biggest game of his tenure when we're only 1/3 of the way through conference season? People need to relax we win one game and we're going to the tourney. We lose one game and JL needs to be fired. Things are never as good as they seem or as bad as they seem.

Couldn't agree more-where did all of the fire JL threads go after the win. The most fickle fans live around this area. Win a game and we are a top 20 team and lose a game and we want to fire the coach. This game doesn't make the season but could go a long way in making it a lot more fun.

[MacabreMob]

Why not a run at the 2nd spot? If WSU loses at home to UNI their league record becomes very average quickly.

I put this in another thread:

But just for conversation - we are NOT completely out of it. We won't win the MVC and we likely won't get 2nd. But it's wide open after that. Jerry Palm's Projected RPI with Projected Conference record has this:

(Proj RPI - Team - Proj Conf Record)

18 UNI 18-0
61 Wich St 13-5
86 Mo St 10-8
104 Bradley 10-8
91 Indy St 9-9
129 ISU 9-9
149 Creighton 9-9
181 SIU 6-12
205 Drake 6-12
268 E'Ville 0-18

[LittleBrave]

I put this in another thread:

(Proj RPI - Team - Proj Conf Record)

18 UNI 18-0
61 Wich St 13-5
86 Mo St 10-8
104 Bradley 10-8
91 Indy St 9-9
129 ISU 9-9
149 Creighton 9-9
181 SIU 6-12
205 Drake 6-12
268 E'Ville 0-18

I would bet that Evansville goes winless over UNI going undefeated. I doubt SIU will finish that poorly.

[Samd2]

There is no way this game could be considered the most important !!! Are you serious ?? The NCAA games are all higher, any time you even play Illinois is higher and any conference tournament game should be higher.

very important game no doubt !!! more than that, no way !!!

[dogsrus]

There is no way this game could be considered the most important !!! Are you serious ?? The NCAA games are all higher, any time you even play Illinois is higher and any conference tournament game should be higher.

very important game no doubt !!! more than that, no way !!!

Who said anything about "most importaint"....? AGAIN.....I only ASKED IF it was ONE of the most importaint games not the SINGLE most importaint.

And if people don't think so, thats fine.

I am simply looking at the overall picture right now......support is falling, JL is on the mildly hot seat and fans are grumbling and restless.

A win against SIU COULD go along way in settling some people down, continue to build confidence with the team and help propel us out of the usual mid pack finish 2:30 game Grassman loves so much.

To me, Jims future is on the line this season and a big win at a place we struggle could really go a long way......