Let me start this off by saying most of my frustration isn’t really directed towards the team. Even the best programs have bad games. And no, this isn’t a “sky is falling” overreaction thread to the first game because I just as easily could’ve posted it in the offseason.
But let’s be clear, that was a bad performance. I looked in the game thread, and a lot of people talking about how Tennessee Tech actually played really well or how a win is a win, One guy even said we would’ve lost that game last year. I’m sorry but what?
Tennessee Tech is considered to be the 325th best team in Division 1 at the moment, per Torvik. They haven’t finished in the Top 250 since 2016. They are an awful program. The worst team we lost to last year was Arkansas (#106). Even in Crean’s last year when we went 6-26 our worst loss was to #152.
I guess this brings me to my main point, which is that it’s ok to expect more from this program. Sometimes it really feels like we’ve been brainwashed as fans to believe that fielding a good team is too much to ask for. Of the 80 Power 6 conference teams, 77 have made the tournament more recently than us. There are teams that haven’t put a fraction of the money and effort we put into basketball that are more successful than us.
We have way too much talent in this program to pretend we are just little ole UGA who’s just happy to get the win. That’s another area I feel like we’ve been brainwashed in. Some (not all) people still insist we don’t have the talent to compete. It is certifiably false. We’ve brought in back to back top 10 classes and have 7 former Top 100 players on the roster. Our talent is in the upper half of the SEC.
Every year people make excuses for losses and struggle wins until it’s too late and you realize we’ve failed to make the tournament yet again.
This brings me to another point. A win is not a win. NET Rankings, which is the main factor used to decide who makes the tournament, is highly based on efficiencies. I have no doubt that at the end of the year, a close win over Tennessee Tech will negatively impact us. How you win and how much you win by matters. Period.
I’m taking this moment to once again reiterate that I’m by no means saying that this team sucks, or that we should fire CMW or anything like that. Once again, even the best teams will have performances like these, especially in the first game.
However, I think it’s ok to be honest about tonight. This was a bad performance, and it will reflect as such in any ranking or metric used at the end of the season. It’s not the end of the world, but we should expect much better.
I know it’s hard to not see this thread as an overreaction, but I’ve felt this way for a while. Reading some of the comments tonight just inspired me to post.
But let’s be clear, that was a bad performance. I looked in the game thread, and a lot of people talking about how Tennessee Tech actually played really well or how a win is a win, One guy even said we would’ve lost that game last year. I’m sorry but what?
Tennessee Tech is considered to be the 325th best team in Division 1 at the moment, per Torvik. They haven’t finished in the Top 250 since 2016. They are an awful program. The worst team we lost to last year was Arkansas (#106). Even in Crean’s last year when we went 6-26 our worst loss was to #152.
I guess this brings me to my main point, which is that it’s ok to expect more from this program. Sometimes it really feels like we’ve been brainwashed as fans to believe that fielding a good team is too much to ask for. Of the 80 Power 6 conference teams, 77 have made the tournament more recently than us. There are teams that haven’t put a fraction of the money and effort we put into basketball that are more successful than us.
We have way too much talent in this program to pretend we are just little ole UGA who’s just happy to get the win. That’s another area I feel like we’ve been brainwashed in. Some (not all) people still insist we don’t have the talent to compete. It is certifiably false. We’ve brought in back to back top 10 classes and have 7 former Top 100 players on the roster. Our talent is in the upper half of the SEC.
Every year people make excuses for losses and struggle wins until it’s too late and you realize we’ve failed to make the tournament yet again.
This brings me to another point. A win is not a win. NET Rankings, which is the main factor used to decide who makes the tournament, is highly based on efficiencies. I have no doubt that at the end of the year, a close win over Tennessee Tech will negatively impact us. How you win and how much you win by matters. Period.
I’m taking this moment to once again reiterate that I’m by no means saying that this team sucks, or that we should fire CMW or anything like that. Once again, even the best teams will have performances like these, especially in the first game.
However, I think it’s ok to be honest about tonight. This was a bad performance, and it will reflect as such in any ranking or metric used at the end of the season. It’s not the end of the world, but we should expect much better.
I know it’s hard to not see this thread as an overreaction, but I’ve felt this way for a while. Reading some of the comments tonight just inspired me to post.
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