ESPN Article: UNLV biggest over achiever in MWC

[LocoRebel]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...gest-overachievers-underachievers-top-leagues

Mountain West

Overachieving: UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels had the look of a program that would finish at the bottom of the Mountain West standings after they were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. In his first year on the job, however, coach T.J. Otzelberger has compiled a 7-3 record (6-3 in the Mountain West) since Dec. 18. Bryce Hamilton has scored 90 points over the past three games and has made 38% of his shots from beyond the arc in league play. Once the Mountain West tournament arrives, UNLV could be a serious contender.

Underachieving: New Mexico. Paul Weir's program has been plagued by off-court drama. Carlton Bragg Jr., a transfer from Kansas, was kicked off the team this month after a DWI, which followed a report of a sexual misconduct accusation that had led to a suspension. JaQuan Lyle missed the team's loss at Nevada on Saturday with a knee injury. JJ Caldwell is also suspended for an undisclosed violation. Vance Jackson is nursing a knee injury. The Lobos, who are 5-4 in Mountain West play, can't do anything about the injuries. But they've unraveled with off-court trouble and having lost four of their past seven games.

 

[MonsterJam]

LOL- Just read it.

But the real gem of the article is the Underachieving Washington Huskies:

Underachieving: Washington. When Mike Hopkins signed Isaiah Stewart (18.2 PPG, 8.9 RPG) and Jaden McDaniels (12.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG), it appeared he would have the talent to win a Pac-12 championship and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. The Huskies were picked to finish third behind Oregon and Colorado in the preseason poll. At 2-6 in the Pac-12, however, Washington could miss the NCAA tournament. The Huskies are just 2-7 since a Dec. 23 victory over Hawai'i. The problem? Based on offensive efficiency, only Cal is worse in the Pac-12. Still, they're playing with a top-three defense, so at least they're balanced. The talent is there. The execution is not.

Sound familiar?

 

[Vegas007]

When was the last time this team overachieved? Under Kruger? One thing that has annoyed me for years is the team underachieves over and over.

That was one of the nice things about the 6-1 start. I’m not used to seeing that. But this team needs to win a game soon because I am used to seeing fast starts followed up by disappointing losses.

 

[j. spilotro]

When was the last time this team overachieved? Under Kruger? One thing that has annoyed me for years is the team underachieves over and over.

That was one of the nice things about the 6-1 start. I’m not used to seeing that. But this team needs to win a game soon because I am used to seeing fast starts followed up by disappointing losses.

Kruger had one year where the team overachieved and we played a quasi Cinderella making the sweet 16. Bayno had a team that went on a Cinderella conference tourney run in 1998, but I wouldn’t call that overachievement really. I don’t think they overachieved in 2000 when they won the MWC either. And Tark didn’t have many teams that overachieved. Maybe the Hunt/Az year, 1988-89. No overachievement with Spoon or Rice, none with Menzies.

But part of “overachievement” could also mean low expectations. It’s very hard to overachieve if expectations are high and it’s especially difficult to overachieve when the high expectations aren’t based in reality, which our fanbase, myself included, is really good at.

 

[LuvMeSomeRebs]

When I first read that I thought, overachieving, really? If the Rebels are overachieving, the expectations must be lower than they've ever been. Lower than what I expected. I figured if they could finish 5th last year in the MWC by 4 games with Marv at the helm, they certainly could repeat that this year with a better coach.

 

[j. spilotro]

When I first read that I thought, overachieving, really? If the Rebels are overachieving, the expectations must be lower than they've ever been. Lower than what I expected. I figured if they could finish 5th last year in the MWC by 4 games with Marv at the helm, they certainly could repeat that this year with a better coach.

I don’t think there’s any question that the bar for what is acceptable has absolutely dropped. Things we celebrate now used to be afterthoughts - a good OT win at Fresno (they’re garbage), a win over a short handed and underperforming USU, losses to poor programs are ok now if they are on the road, because, any road win is a good win and if you lose it, that’s ok, it was on the road. Beat a 300 team by 30 and looked great? Don’t consider the level of opponent, just look at the box score and crown the glorious achievements.

I’ve never seen it like this before, not during any low point and certainly not as for as long as this has gone on. But it has become our new “normal” so we will have many opportunities to “overachieve”.

I suspect both U San Fran and DePaul went through a similar transition.

That said, I do think Otz will elevate them somewhat. Remember, eyeballs drive a lot of things and we don’t have them. Before the decent crowd last game (again, we are calling it decent but when you compare it to what it should be or has been in the not so distant past, it was small), the attendance has been more scarce than I’ve ever seen it through 15 games or whatever it’s been. And now, I think the Knights and Raiders (will) eat into things, we move one more spot down in the pecking order. I don’t think that changes unless UNLV REALLY performs at a high level.

 

[dcut03]

I think the overachieved label was heavily dependent on the OOC performance. There were probably very little for this team in terms of expectations, given a new coaching staff and some significant losses from last year. With the rough start with the turnaround in the first portion of conference play, with losing Elijah (and Jonah) for some decent time. I think that's where that comes from.

If we did better in OOC, we probably wouldn't even have that label.

 

[Rebel77fl2]

We have beaten the bottom five teams in conference and Utah State. We played well in a lost to SDSU and pretty bad in games against Boise and UNR. I think that was about what I expected, I guess there are no bad losses to the bottom teams, but that is just how low the bar has been set. I think we are in the right direction and lots of good things are happening. Looking at the next 8 games based on how we have played in conference I could us easily going anywhere from 6-2 to 1-7. I might still be upbeat for the future at even 3-5 depending on how the team plays.

 

[ijspencer]

Since this article was written they have lost four or five in a row. Stick a fork in em.

 

[j. spilotro]

Since this article was written they have lost four or five in a row. Stick a fork in em.

And that’s exactly what you expect from national writers. They don’t pay attention to the details. They see record and it’s WOW. Nevermind that the six wins and the one loss game against teams that ... suck.

 

[saulpaul21]

I know us fans while tark was at unlv only watch unlv cuz we hope they could come back to something like that again. But this start vs Fresno is one for the ages. Opening play of game hardy gets wide open 15 foot shot and actually shoots an airball. They start 1 for 10 with 3 or 4 hairballs so far. Truly, junior high games have more excitement.

 

[RunningRebs]

This was BEFORE the recent run. I wonder what this article would look like now.