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Oh come on guys.......... No one has ever heard of ulm/nlu. They are a nobody in wbb. The only people that care about them live in N. Louisiana. When I say "nobody" I am referencing their reputation. They beat us, hence we lost to a nobody. Now, nlu did make it to the final four one year. They were somebody that year, but that was a flash in the pan. When a team like that plays a team that has 14 FF's, 3 NC's, and been to the tournament all but one year, it is called a name vs. a nobody.
Thanks for the warm welcome, champion110!
I am well aware of La Tech's amazing history in women's hoops. I've followed ODU basketball since the days of Nancy Lieberman in the 1970's. ODU vs La Tech was one of the best rivalries in the sport back in the day. I was sad the series ended in the early 1990's.
ODU hosted the 2004 NCAA regional with La Tech, Duke, BC, and Minnesota. La Tech had the second most fans at the game behind Minny. I got to chat with several La Tech fans between games and was impressed with their class and knowledge of the game.
La Tech last played in the NCAA title game in 1998 (lost to Tenn). ODU last played in the title game in 1997 (lost to Tenn). La Tech has missed only 1 NCAA tourney. ODU has missed only 2 (tied with Georgia for 3rd behind Tenn and La Tech). It's funny how ODU and La Tech are so connected in history.
I was really surprised Tenn ended the series with La Tech. Gonzajo71 is correct, ODU hasn't defeated Tenn since 1997. In fact, ODU 9-32 all time against Tenn and 1-27 since 1983. Some of the games have been very competitive. Some haven't. After this year's blowout, a Tenn fan asked Pat why she still plays ODU. She said ODU and La Tech (yep, she said La Tech too) started women's hoops and she wouldn't be the coach at Tenn without those 2 programs. Pat said she has a great relationship with ODU coach Wendy Larry and ODU's athletic director Jim Jarrett (he's been the ODU AD since 1969 and is a BIG women's hoops supporter). She said as long as Wendy and Jim are at ODU, she'll keep playing ODU.
So I wonder how much having a new coach affected the La Tech/Tenn series? I'm sure Pat doesn't have the same relationship with Coach Long that she did with Leon.
ODU joined the CAA in 1991-92 and the CAA was terrible. We used to call it the "Crappy Athletic Association" or the "Cupcake Athletic Association." The CAA didn't get to be a top 10 conference until 2002 or so. Playing 20 games against the weak CAA teams killed ODU's RPI in the 1990's. To compensate, ODU played brutal non-conference schedules. ODU would play 7 or 8 of their 10 non-conference games against top 25 teams (all from BCS conferences). Win or lose, it helped ODU counter the CAA weaklings. ODU's RPI got a boost, ODU got more TV time (TV loves the BCS schools), recruits liked the challenge of playing the top teams, and the games better prepared ODU for the postseason.
You can't really control your conference affliation. If your conference stinks, it stinks. But you can balance that out with a crazy brutal non-conference slate. Just my opinion (I'm certainly no expert), but I think that's La Tech's ticket back to the top 25.
I agree with everything you stated, ODU.
It is difficult to tell who the top 25 will be when the schedules are made out. Having Miss. State, Tennessee, Alabama, Western Kentucky, even Stephen F. Austin, and a few more were good bets. I would like to see us get Duke, North Carolina, ODU, etc... back on our schedules, as well. We aren't to the point that we could compete with them yet - that has been clear the last couple of games. Hopefully, we will get back soon.
As for the Tenn. game, Pat stated that it was Tech that didn't want the 2 for 1 deal anymore. Not sure that is true, but I hope it isn't.
I was thinking the same thing when Tenn ended the series with us. Leon was instrumental in getting the current 2/1 with a personal call to PHS, but she has no relationship w/Long, so didn't have a problem with ending the series. I would love for Tech to schedule OOC as ODU has, but not sure if they've tried, and no one wants to come to Ruston, or admin/coaches haven't tried, but I think that would be great. Even if we go O for....in OOC, at least we would be tested by time conference rolls around, and like you said, would raise team and conference RPI/SOS.Originally Posted by odumonarch
Champion110, you're right about the difficulty in predicting good teams when building a schedule a year in advance. But some teams seem to always be strong. You can look at the RPI history of teams and make a pretty good educated guess.
Alabama has stunk for a few years now. I don't know what's up with that program. They used to be good (remember Dominque Canty?). A win over Bama won't get you good RPI points (although you'll get credit when Bama plays SEC teams). Miss St is pretty good. Of course Tenn is Tenn. You have to watch out when playing other midmajors. Western Kentucky has a very solid program, but their RPI will take a hit when they play in the Sun Belt. La Tech and ODU will already play plenty of midmajors in the WAC and CAA. Can't play too many more in non-conference, even if they're pretty good.
ODU's lucky to be right where the Big East, ACC, and SEC kinda meet (southern VA). So those schools are willing to take a quick trip to Norfolk. But you gotta do what you gotta do. 2 for 1's, guarantee games (ODU's going to Texas for some guarantee tourney next year), those island holiday tournaments (ODU went to the Virgin Islands this year to play UConn, Stanford, and Purdue). Whatever it takes to build up the schedule.
The Pat thing I heard second hand. Pat always has a Q&A with her fans after every home game. The ODU radio announcer was packing up his equipment when he heard a Tenn fan ask why Pat still plays ODU after she dropped La Tech. She gave ODU and La Tech lots of respect and said she still plays ODU because of her relationship with ODU's AD and coach. I thought it was interesting that she didn't mention her relationship with the La Tech AD and/or coach, but again, this was all heard second hand.
Up to #13 now
Congratulations
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Honda Shadow history
Last edited by LT; 05-05-2011 at 01:11 AM.
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