moneybox wrote:

We got a shitty matchup against a very good Boise State team in the first round of the CBC tournament. Hell a third of the teams did not even have a winning record and that's the matchup we get. I guess it's nice to say you were in a post-season tournament, but that'a about all.

Unless you think GW is going to win the whole tournament, which I think is highly unlikely, I'm glad they matched us up against the best team. GW doesn't play enough quality OOC opponents, in my opinion. Last thing I would want is for GW to travel all  the way to Vegas only to lose to some lower ranked team with a losing record. This way we know for sure that GW will play a good team.

Oh the Madness of it all.  Every year somebody gets snubbed and some unknown player or team has something magical happen even if only for one game.  Instead of the wild wild world of the NCAA money machine, GW gets a trip to MGM to play a team that was probably the last team out of the big dance.  Amazed at the # of A10 teams in NIT and personally felt that being an NIT champion within last 10 years should've counted for something for us. Oh well, it didn't.
What I find fascinating is the coaching perspective vs. the player perspective in real time.  A few days ago this team was stung by Mason and the season was over.  The seniors dealt with having played their last college game and the future loomed large.  The remaining players had, and still have big life decisions to make.  Coach Caputo now has 2 weeks to analyze and brainstorm for Boise while some very big conversations with his star players unfold.  Boy would I like to be a fly on the wall!!
Besides my head exploding with brackets for all the postseason play in both men and womens hoops, I find the drama about to unfold with this team to be monumental (pun intended.)
Finally, I must admit that the CBC sounds very similar to the TBT.  I rooted for Pops and Mo in that extremely unorthodox tourney where the players could win $$ and also fight cancer.  It, like CBC was the least hypocritical of all the postseason play.  I can't wait to see GW vs Boise.  Who's in shape with a good game plan and who's not. Who show's up literally and figuratively?

GWRising wrote:

I really don't understand this fanbase at times (as reflected here). People are complaining about the OOC and how it wouldn't prepare us for the Conference schedule. Then we win the most A-10 regular season games in a long time and we actually get to play in the post-season for the first time in years, and now it's a first round loss does us no favors.

I don't give a shit about how or why we came to play in the Crown. I don't care about who we are playing. I do care that we get a game on March 31st that benefits this program in a variety of ways. First, we will be on FS1 right in the middle of transfer portal season. We will be playing basketball after more than 90% of the college basketball programs are done playing. Second, should we pull an upset, well that just increases that exposure benefit. Third, the players who return will get a taste of post season play which could help us should we get another opportunity next season. The more A-10 tournament games and post-season games you can get the better as far as understanding one and done type games and the intensity surrounding them.

C'mon. This is win-win with really no downside given the season we had. I just don't get the angst and negativity.   

100% agree. Too many people on here dont know how to handle being happy

Rising, I agree with your sentiment entirely but with one small correction: CC actually won more A10 regular season games during his first season at GW (10-8) than he did this season (9-9).  It only seems like the most because he went from 4 wins last year to 9 this year.

Really good interview with Caputo on GW Basketball Insiders podcast. Primarily about the Crown Tournament. 

"Along with Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, GW Basketball Insiders can now be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. "

Well said, Rising.   The program showed definite progress, finishing in the middle of the pack in a conference after dead last the prior season; we won a conference game and we were invited to a conferene tournament with teams almost exclusively from mauor conferences.      The exposure and game experience are well worth it.  Happy to see that the game is on a Tuesday.

A10 not doing well in NIT. St. Bona blown out at home and St. Lou getting beat also. 

Tennessee Colonial wrote:

A10 not doing well in NIT. St. Bona blown out at home and St. Lou getting beat also. 

Bona only had 6 scholarship players last night.  Two of their players were involved in a DUI last week: SBU Basketball Player Faces DWI Charge After Accident | Greater Olean, NY News TAPinto | TAPinto

Tennessee Colonial wrote:

A10 not doing well in NIT. St. Bona blown out at home and St. Lou getting beat also. 

Let's reserve judgement until after tonight, when Mason (regular season co-champs), Dayton (3rd place team, 2nd highest NET and KenPom ranks), Loyola (4th place team), and St. Joseph's (5th place team) all play.

Dayton and Mason are both killing it right now!