Wichita State at VCU - ESPNU 6pm

[DoubleJayAlum]

Nice win. Lucky that goaltending/basket interference on the final play wasn't called. Nice revenge for last years tourney loss. VCU has to be the worst FT shooting team I've ever seen!

Shockers played some tough D, but that was an ugly game. Remind me to ignore any flowery posts by Aargh touting the shooting ability of the Shockers. Yipes - 35% from the floor and 15% from three....

Regardless, a win is a win. It has to feel good to knock off the team that has caused such heartbreak the last two seasons. Way to go Shocks.

[DoubleJayAlum]

That was goal tending but he missed the freethrow anyway.

You do realize that if they call goaltending, VCU gets the points, right?

[shocktheheart]

Where is Casey and his prediction that we would finish closer to 9th than 4th? Not saying we will content for the MVC title, but I would hope a road win against a top 50 team would prove they are a top tier team in the Valley.

[MVCfans]

I'm surprised/frustrated the line is so high. I would have liked to touch this game a bit, but with the line up to 8, I think I'm going to hold tight. I am looking forward to watching it and seeing all the new WSU JUCO guys though.

The o/u is 133. I think defense rules the day and this one stays under the number.

Two nights in a row - I'm feeling lucky.

[Shockerfan13]

That was goal tending but he missed the freethrow anyway.

You do realize that if they call goaltending, VCU gets the points, right?

Yeah ignore that post. LOL for some reason I was thinking we were up 3, but obviously that is not the case. I guess I was too elated with the win. My bad.

As far as those questioning the offense, I am in a wait and see mode. I am pretty positive this won't be the typical offensive output the shockers give. I think there were alot more positives in this game than negatives. Shooting won't be a huge issue I feel. There will be times, with a team of newcomers, that shots don't fall. Especially on the road. When that happens you defend your ass off. That is pretty much what they did. I'm happy.

[Shockerfan13]

Where is Casey and his prediction that we would finish closer to 9th than 4th? Not saying we will content for the MVC title, but I would hope a road win against a top 50 team would prove they are a top tier team in the Valley.

I am confident VCU will be a good team. But honestly it's too early in the season to know exactly how good they will end up being. I just hope they tear it up the rest of the way.

Prime example is North Texas. They lose to a Div II team after the pasting by Creighton. Now maybe they pull it together and perform as expected. I hope they do honestly. It's just too early to know.

[Aargh]

I have to laugh at the predictions that I would come out here and gloat. I'm a long-term Shocker fan. I was mildly surprised by the W, but there's no reason to gloat.

I've been Shocker fan longer than most MVC teams have been in D1 ball, and success from WSU does not surprise me or give me some great need to brag to others about it.

It was a good win, but I've seen a lot of those. A lot of them more impressive and more surprising than this one.

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

Where is Casey and his prediction that we would finish closer to 9th than 4th? Not saying we will content for the MVC title, but I would hope a road win against a top 50 team would prove they are a top tier team in the Valley.

I am right here and I'm not going to run from that prediction either.

I was unaware that this game would be counting in the MVC standings. If it truly does then I will have to rethink things with a 19 game schedule but as far as I know it does not and therefore has no bearing on a predicted Valley finish.

That being said WSU looked better than I expected from reading the boxscore. I don't get ESPNU and had no interest in going to a sports bar by myself just to watch the WSU game. A really nice win as much as it pains me to say it. I'm sure it'll be good times tomorrow in Wichita as WSU fans can rib their KU neighbors about their win while Kansas lost. Well done.

[shocktheheart]

Where is Casey and his prediction that we would finish closer to 9th than 4th? Not saying we will content for the MVC title, but I would hope a road win against a top 50 team would prove they are a top tier team in the Valley.

I am right here and I'm not going to run from that prediction either.

I was unaware that this game would be counting in the MVC standings. If it truly does then I will have to rethink things with a 19 game schedule but as far as I know it does not and therefore has no bearing on a predicted Valley finish.

That being said WSU looked better than I expected from reading the boxscore. I don't get ESPNU and had no interest in going to a sports bar by myself just to watch the WSU game. A really nice win as much as it pains me to say it. I'm sure it'll be good times tomorrow in Wichita as WSU fans can rib their KU neighbors about their win while Kansas lost. Well done.

So are you saying MSU will finish with a better Valley record than WSU?

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

Yessir (ma'am?) I am. Could be wrong but I think we are going to be pretty salty by the end of January. I am going against the grain a bit with the prediction, but I think it is entirely possible.

Also I think we have a tendency to watch games this time of year and just flash forward to March, thinking that everything is equal. Teams will get better. VCU will certainly get better. We have to remember that what we see now is just the prelude. And it is a heck of a prelude for WSU, don't misunderstand me.