Valley OCC predictions Pt.2: DU and UE

[valleyclimber]

Just 4 days left till Valley b-ball teams shoot hoops....YES!! :original:

Predicting OCC (Out of Conference Competition) records for DU and UE on this thread. Just want to throw out some projections and see what other fans think.

DRAKE

At Top of the World Classic-Alaska

N17 SE Missouri St. W

N18 Either Centenary or Utah St.
It should be a W against Centenary, but if the Bulldogs go against Utah St. it could be tough. A NCCA Tourney time last year, the Aggies lost their leading scorer, but they are one of the most consistently good programs in college b-ball. With that said, I think getting big-gun Klayton Korver back is just what the doctor (Dr. Davis that is) ordered....pardon the pun. Think DU can pick up the W here in what should be an early season dandy.

N19 other side of the bracket includes Rhode Island, Alaska, Troy St. and Weber St. See a Bulldog victory of any of these teams, so that would mean DU wins the Classic and starts out 3-0.

N25 Waldorf at home W

D3 at Iowa St. W The Cyclowns are always tough at Hilton, but they have a ton of new faces and the Bulldogs have a good experienced team ready to show the state of Iowa that DU b-ball is back on the map.

Drake Challenge-Des Moines

D8 Troy St. W A possible rematch for Drake?

D9 either Georgia Southern or N. Illinois W The Bulldogs win their second tourney of the season....probably over NIU's Huskies.

D12 Cal-Irvine at home W DU over a mid-pack Big West team

D16 Iowa at home W This is Drake's best chance to beat the Hawkeyes in a while. Iowa lost some big guns, and this is the Bulldogs second chance to show the state that DU is for real this year.

Sun Bowl Tourney- El Paso, TX

D22 Toledo W The Rockets have a good shot to be the MAC's best team this year, so a DU victory would be a quality win.

D23 either Jackson St. or UTEP It's a W over Jackson St., but I think UTEP will give Drake a real test and come out on top...so it's a L. Would not be surprised though to see DU get the trifecta (winning their 3rd tourney). A toss-up game.

And then later it will be the BB game for the Bulldogs. Think Drake might be getting a higher profile BB opponent. If Drake pulls that game out, then they'll be looking at an 11-1 OCC record....WOW!


EVANSVILLE

N13 at Liscomb W This would be a great way to start the year off for the Aces because Liscomb (an NIT participant last season) has the bulk of their team returning and the Bison will be a very tough out.

America's Youth Tourney-Evansville

N17 Miami FL W The Aces get their shot at hosting an ACC opponent. The Hurricanes made some noise last season in the NIT, but have since lost both their guards. UE does the Valley proud with a good victory.

N18 Cleveland St. W

N19 Buffalo W

N27 SE Missouri St. W The Redhawks get their second shot at an MVC school, but go 0-2 for the Valley.

D3 at Missouri L UE travels to Columbia and gives the Tigers a whale of a game, but come up just short. Not sure at all about giving the Aces a loss on this one. Even with new coach Mike Anderson (formerly at UAB), Missouri will still be in the lower level of the Big 12, but they will be improved.

D5 Valparaiso at home W

D16 Lipscomb at home W UE gets their second victory over this Atlantic Sun contender. Kind of unusual playing a non-con team twice in one season, but think MSU did this last season playing Arkansas St. twice.

D18 at Austin Peay W Midling OVC team, the Governors could make for a trap game....Aces need to watch out.

D22 at Butler L Instate rival Bulldogs are always dangerous at home and should finish near the top in the decent Horizon conference.

Lastly the Aces will have their BB game. Say UE does sport a 9-2 OCC record and is competitive in the Valley, that should be enough to get them one of the better BB opponents. After playing MVC teams, it will be good for the Aces to step for an OCC game....predict a W. That would put Evansville at a 10-2 non-con record. Once again...WOW!


Alright Valley fans, what are your OCC predictions for the DU Bulldogs:bulldogs: and the UE Aces:aces: ?

GO VALLEY! :valley:

Will post my OCC predictions for the ISUs (Red :redbirds: and Blue:sycamores: ) tomorrow. :original:

[Hein72]

I thought your BU, CU predictions were pretty good. Saddly for these I think you had a little too much of that powerful Valley Kool-Aid. I would love to see this happen, but some of those wins are doubtful. I would love to see these 2 beat those BCS schools.

[smsandmsuson]

I thought your BU, CU predictions were pretty good. Saddly for these I think you had a little too much of that powerful Valley Kool-Aid. I would love to see this happen, but some of those wins are doubtful. I would love to see these 2 beat those BCS schools.

No kidding...would love to see it happen...if it did and EU and DU go 9-2 and 11-1 respectivley, we wont only be sending 4 teams, there may be a fifth in there as well...

[WuDrWu]

What the hell....all Valley Final four while we're at it.


Sorry, I hope they both are that good but the facts are they aren't.

[valleyclimber]

I don't know if I'm drinking that much Valley Kool-ade because if you do a little research on each of the "big name" schools on both the DU and UE OCC scheds, then you'll see they are highly beatable.

Just last year the DU Bulldogs proved their non-con moxy by giving ranked Boston College all they wanted and that was without their star Klayton Korver. And they were competitive with both Iowa St. and Iowa. The Hawkeyes and Cyclowns have lost serious star players since last year. IMHO Dr. Tom will be wanting to put Bulldogs b-ball back on top in Iowa, and this year is his last (and BEST) chance to do just that.

As for the Aces taking out Miami FL, this will only be the second game of the season and the Canes only return 2 starters from last season, it's on UE's court, and Evansville will look at this as a "statement" game. Plus we all know that the Aces came on strong toward the end of last season (playing ALL the MVC tooth-and-nails tough), and UE has 5 experienced starters who are ready to start winning.

And in facing Missouri, the Aces will go against a team where the cupboard is pretty much bare. Given the Tigers returning talent, they should finish near the bottom of the Big12...right down there with Nebraska and Colorado. So this game is no doubt within reach of the Aces.

I did give both DU and UE a W for their BB games (who knows on that?), but if you really look at the rest of their non-con games and do a little research on their opponents, then you might be more inclined to agree with me in my OCC predictions for these two teams. Who knows...maybe I'm off on my non-con projections for the Bulldogs and the Aces, but I have a good feeling that I might be pretty darn close on both of these. :original:

The Valley of Death baby....rockin' soon....YES!! :valley: :banana:

[E-Ville]

I'm a giant Aces fan. But no way we go 9-2 or beat Miami. I say 8-3 at best, I'd predict a 7-4

[DUBulldog]

I'd love to see DU go 11-1, but 8-4 is more likely.

[Mecha_Bulldog]

I love your optimism for the Bulldogs, but it's not gonna happen. Drake doesn't have any overpowering opponents on its OOC except for maybe UTEP, but it also has a lot of evenly matched teams. Drake could go 11-1, but they'd have to beat almost every team that's close to their level, which isn't likely. I'm thinking Drake will lose a game in the Top of the World tournament, a game in the Sun Bowl tournament, and two more between Iowa, Iowa State, the Drake tournament, and the bracketbuster for an 8-4 record.

[Hein72]

I do think Evansville and Drake could pull those games off but to have them pulling all of them off is setting yourself up for disappointment. Currently you have done 4 teams and I think they have a combined record of something like 40-6 (86%). Last year the best confrence won 80% of its nonconfrence games. Since you still havent had WSU, SIU, or MSU (figuring about 9-2 nonconfrence) go that means if Northern Iowa, Illinois St. and Indiana St. win only 10 games combined then the Valley will already have a better OCC then last year. No matter how much I would love for all the Valley teams to do this well, I just dont see it happening.

[Nyghtewynd]

Drake goes 11-1 OOC? Holy cow. AND they beat UI AND ISU? I know they're down, but c'mon...I'd be thrilled if it happened, but I just don't see it.