Albany Message Board

[DenverSooner]

Just as a means of comparison: NDSU was 62nd in KenPom last year. Albany is 132nd this year. Not saying we can't lose, but this isn't the same sort of matchup.

And OU should have been ranked lower last year compared to this year. It is substantially different.

 

[geeoh]

And OU should have been ranked lower last year compared to this year. It is substantially different.

Yep. We're 9th this year compared to 33rd last year.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Where do they play?

You guys are the biggest bunch of brown nosers. An opposing fan visits and you act like Albany is the equivalent to a Big XII school.

Congrats you win homer of the year.

 

[SilliSooner]

I've read a couple things about OU pressing and/or a pressure defense. Can someone provide some info on this? Do they full court press? Trap at mid-court?

Edit: This article posted on these forums is a really good one and the way they describe our team is spot on. http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsext...cle_91328827-338e-5574-b5b5-1aa58abfcf33.html

Talked about rebounding earlier. From the article:

The Rowleys combine with 6-foot-11, 275-pound center Richard Peters to make Albany a top-40 team nationally in rebound margin.

Richard Peters? Is that the same Canadian guy we recruited?

 

[Zimwillett]

I don't think Denver's comments are out of line. The truth is the America East was the #29 RPI conference out of 33. As a conference, they went 36-76 in the non conference. 54 of those losses were to the RPI 100+. As a conference, they only tallied a single win vs. the RPI top 100 (Albany over Yale). Yet in spite all of that, the only reasons we're talking about Albany right now are some missed free throws by Stony Brook and a miracle three for the ages.

Not trying to disrespect Albany, but if you break down the raw numbers, their profile is much more in line with the #15 seeds than the 14s. If Hooley's 3 doesn't go in, Stony Brook is playing as a #16 seed somewhere. In reality, North Dakota State had a slightly better profile than Albany. I think there's a chance that the committee switched the two to avoid the rematch with OU in consecutive years.

Of course, none of that means that Albany can't upset OU. They absolutely can. At the same time, there's nothing wrong with objectively breaking down the Albany schedule and roster and noticing that their competition level and talent are probably not anywhere on par with what OU is used to facing.

 

[garyeb2]

There is a reason you play the game, because, anything can happen.

Yes that is true. The race doesn't always go to the swiftest, but, that is the way to bet.

The nervous Nellie's aren't going to scare me with Albany.

 

[POBR25]

I think many of us are still gunshy from last year. NDSU fans seemed pretty confident... and then they won.

Writing was on the wall last year though. NDSU was an insanely efficient offensive squad, and we couldn't defend to save our lives. This matchup is quite a bit different.

 

[campbest]

OU should smash this team.

 

[DenverSooner]

Appreciate the comment about being a great fan. I try for my school.

How do you guys do with attendance? How big is your gym?

OU has struggled with attendance at times in the past. It really isn't just an OU thing as attendance is down at most schools. It was better this year but we could still improve that part of our program. I wish we could be like KU or ISU. They probably do the best in the Big XII. (That is based solely on my perception rather than actual data)

 

[AlbanyGreatDanesFan]

How do you guys do with attendance? How big is your gym?

OU has struggled with attendance at times in the past. It really isn't just an OU thing as attendance is down at most schools. It was better this year but we could still improve that part of our program. I wish we could be like KU or ISU. They probably do the best in the Big XII. (That is based solely on my perception rather than actual data)

SEFCU Arena holds about 4600 and we lead the conference in attendance at around 3k per game. Two big problems for Albany in the area. 1) Siena has been THE team of the town for a long long time and have a lot of local fans that never followed Albany because the program is so young in D1. That is changing with every tourney appearance though. 2) The student turnout is TERRIBLE. I really don't get it. When I was there we were D3 and I went to games. Now they are D1 and good and can't get more than 600-900 students to the game.

 

[AlbanyGreatDanesFan]

I don't think Denver's comments are out of line. The truth is the America East was the #29 RPI conference out of 33. As a conference, they went 36-76 in the non conference. 54 of those losses were to the RPI 100+. As a conference, they only tallied a single win vs. the RPI top 100 (Albany over Yale). Yet in spite all of that, the only reasons we're talking about Albany right now are some missed free throws by Stony Brook and a miracle three for the ages.

Not trying to disrespect Albany, but if you break down the raw numbers, their profile is much more in line with the #15 seeds than the 14s. If Hooley's 3 doesn't go in, Stony Brook is playing as a #16 seed somewhere. In reality, North Dakota State had a slightly better profile than Albany. I think there's a chance that the committee switched the two to avoid the rematch with OU in consecutive years.

Of course, none of that means that Albany can't upset OU. They absolutely can. At the same time, there's nothing wrong with objectively breaking down the Albany schedule and roster and noticing that their competition level and talent are probably not anywhere on par with what OU is used to facing.

Spot on. One mistake. Stony Brook beat Washington this year. I think their RPI was under 100? Not sure though so maybe not a mistake. The bottom 4 teams in our conference absolutely killed the conference RPI this year. Bottom 3 combined for 13 wins. yuck.

Forgot one thing. I think the 14 seed was a bit of a reward for the third straight appearance and playing the top seeds tough every year. Although most braketology sites had them as a 14 for most of the season. they dominated the conference. Lost games in out of conference early in the season integrating 9 new players onto the team.

 

[Zimwillett]

Spot on. One mistake. Stony Brook beat Washington this year. I think their RPI was under 100? Not sure though so maybe not a mistake. The bottom 4 teams in our conference absolutely killed the conference RPI this year. Bottom 3 combined for 13 wins. yuck.

Not that it matters, but UW wound up with an RPI of 125. Unfortunately, I know that because they beat OU. UW was undefeated and #16 in the country when OU played them. They really fell apart after suspending their starting center. If we're applying some version of the transitive property, I suppose Stony Brook's win vs. UW is something OU fans could get concerned about.

At any rate, I'll emphasize again I'm not trying to disrespect Albany. As another poster said, if it's going to happen, I'd prefer OU get upset by Albany over any other team in this field.

 

[Zimwillett]

Forgot one thing. I think the 14 seed was a bit of a reward for the third straight appearance and playing the top seeds tough every year. Although most braketology sites had them as a 14 for most of the season. they dominated the conference. Lost games in out of conference early in the season integrating 9 new players onto the team.

That's definitely possible. I thought the same thing, but NDSU definitely has tournament experience too (OU fans know this all too well). It's hard to know for sure, and I'm really just speculating. The difference between Albany and NDSU's profiles is almost nil. I think most years the fact that NDSU played in a much better conference would have been the tiebreaker.

Anyway, Albany's NCAA experience is definitely an intangible worth noting. They certainly won't be in awe of OU after playing the #1 overall seed tough last year.

 

[AlbanyGreatDanesFan]

Not that it matters, but UW wound up with an RPI of 125. Unfortunately, I know that because they beat OU. UW was undefeated and #16 in the country when OU played them. They really fell apart after suspending their starting center. If we're applying some version of the transitive property, I suppose Stony Brook's win vs. UW is something OU fans could get concerned about.

At any rate, I'll emphasize again I'm not trying to disrespect Albany. As another poster said, if it's going to happen, I'd prefer OU get upset by Albany over any other team in this field.

I see no disrespect in any of this. As I said, it's reality. We are who we are.

Appreciate that last line. I've followed Peter Hooley from day one when he committed to Albany and his mother's illness over the past 4 years. One good thing about following a small time program is you can get to know the players personally and they are very accessible. I've met and talked with Peter many times during the 4 years he has been with the program (medical redshirt first year). Heck, he even gave me a big hug on the court after the championship game on Saturday during the celebration. HAHA! Would love nothing more than for him to be able to add another chapter to the book he is writing but if not, Saturday's shot would be a great final chapter.

 

[AlbanyGreatDanesFan]

Albany's charter flight was delayed several hours so they lost their practice slot at Nationwide Arena. They will practice this evening at a local high school gym. Sucks. Can't practice on the floor they will play the game on before Friday.

 

[MichaelM]

Just as a means of comparison: NDSU was 62nd in KenPom last year. Albany is 132nd this year. Not saying we can't lose, but this isn't the same sort of matchup.

I don't disagree. All the numbers say this one should be a blowout, but anything can happen in a one-game series.

 

[AlbanyGreatDanesFan]

If you are watching the Dayton/Boise St. game, the best player for Boise, Derrick Marks, committed to Albany his junior year of college and then changed his mind after having a really good junior year and AAU season. Very good player, wish we had him.

 

[chuckb]

Every kid at Washington is all conference in the American East.

You don't have to say SIlly things just because an Albany fan is present. The kids in the Anerican Easy do not. Merit scholarships in the power five as well as the mid majors. That is why they are playing in the American East. With that said they are substantially better athletes than I was.

What's silly about what I said? Quoting kenpom numbers?

Look, arguments like "no one on Albany's team could play for Washington " are so subjective they're meaningless. Maybe it's true; maybe it's not. I don't know. Who cares? More importantly, I couldn't care less that an Albany fan is here. I say what I believe and if people don't agree, so be it.

Albany certainly isn't an especially good team and we've probably played 20 games against teams better than them, but we've also lost, or nearly lost, to teams who are comparable to them.

Here's what I expect...They're going to slow the game down and try to muck it up. They'll concede offensive boards to prevent us from running, thus slowing the game down. This game is their national championship so they're going to bring all they've got. The fans at the arena, because they love tournament upsets, will all be Albany fans. That could influence the referees. If it's close, we might get a little tight. If they slow it down enough, we won't be able to get transition points, thus helping to keep it close.

We could blow them out. If we can establish Thomas inside and hit a couple of threes early, they'll be forced to play a little more quickly and we could really open it up. But I'm preparing for a battle. It will be a huge upset if they win, but it could happen. I don't expect us to play our best game Friday. In fact, I expect that we'll play considerably better Sunday when we beat Providence, Boise St., or Dayton. It would be nice if we could play our best every time out, but that's not reasonable. I do expect Albany's best, however. Hopefully I'm wrong on that one.

 

[AlbanyGreatDanesFan]

What's silly about what I said? Quoting kenpom numbers?

Look, arguments like "no one on Albany's team could play for Washington " are so subjective they're meaningless. Maybe it's true; maybe it's not. I don't know. Who cares? More importantly, I couldn't care less that an Albany fan is here. I say what I believe and if people don't agree, so be it.

Albany certainly isn't an especially good team and we've probably played 20 games against teams better than them, but we've also lost, or nearly lost, to teams who are comparable to them.

Here's what I expect...They're going to slow the game down and try to muck it up. They'll concede offensive boards to prevent us from running, thus slowing the game down. This game is their national championship so they're going to bring all they've got. The fans at the arena, because they love tournament upsets, will all be Albany fans. That could influence the referees. If it's close, we might get a little tight. If they slow it down enough, we won't be able to get transition points, thus helping to keep it close.

We could blow them out. If we can establish Thomas inside and hit a couple of threes early, they'll be forced to play a little more quickly and we could really open it up. But I'm preparing for a battle. It will be a huge upset if they win, but it could happen. I don't expect us to play our best game Friday. In fact, I expect that we'll play considerably better Sunday when we beat Providence, Boise St., or Dayton. It would be nice if we could play our best every time out, but that's not reasonable. I do expect Albany's best, however. Hopefully I'm wrong on that one.

Damn, and I thought you guys were happy to have me!

I really though Albany would try to slow things down and I'm sure they will on defense but their coach said today they will try to take shots early ini the shot clock if they have open ones because they may not get many. He also said he won't be mad if they took 25 3s because they will probably need to.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Watching the games today should just further the point (like it should even be needed especially for an OU fan) that all those numbers being spouted and who was offered where Is crap. Teams make the tourney for a reason and if you play subpar you can lose regardless of seeding - there is so much parity that none of these games are givens.