Great article to read about Jalen Coleman-Lands. Inspiring person, and my new favorite player on the team!
I was browsing through RealTime RPI and a couple of things popped up. (Disclosure: I don't know if Realtime RPI is the best source, but I do believe it is a good source. Certainly, KenPom is a nice barometer as it gives a more accurate picture on team efficiency on offense and defense, and we're ranked #71, 10th in the BIG) I also realize that the current rankings in realtime RPI do not tell the whole story and will fluctuate from the final rankings, but they're beginning to become more accurate than previously in the season.
We're currently (44) in Realtime RPI. Our only remaining opponents outside of realtime RPI currently are Iowa (125) and Rutgers (126). Thus, our strong strength of schedule (16) isn't going to drop much, if at all.
If WVU (22) and FSU (5) can remain in the top 25, those two losses will not hurt our chances to make the tourney in relation to other bubble teams (the most likely and optimistic forecast for our team - the bubble).
Our home loss to Winthrop (99) is a blemish, but not a glaring one, and every bubble team will have blemishes. That's why they're on the bubble.
Our neutral win vs. VCU (33), home win vs. NC St. (26) and neutral win vs. BYU (98) helps mitigate the Winthrop loss.
Clearly, there are many more losses remaining on our schedule. Currently, our team is not expected to win more games then they lose versus the tough remaining schedule. However, there are several reasons for optimism moving forward.
Malcolm Hill is good and he has stepped up his game, played more aggressively, and taken the ball to the rim with a purpose.
JCL was hurt in the preseason, which probably set him back a bit. He has stepped up his defense and his shot and shot selection is improving. He's also put the ball on the floor more than he did last season, and driving occasionally.
Morgan has asserted himself and playing more physically. He'll never be on the All-Defense team, but he is a pretty good offensive post player.
Groce has shown himself to play the rookies eventually. He did the same thing with Malcolm and Kendrick their Freshman years and the team improved. It looks like Groce is going to go with TJL and Kipper a little bit more moving forward and that will help the team immensely on both ends of the floor. Tate was not a threat on the offensive end. TJL is. We'll play 5 on 5 (fair) basketball when he plays over Tate. Kipper brings improved defense over anyone he plays in front of. Anytime he plays our defense will improve. Both of these developments will help our KenPom ratings.
Now, we still have to win 10 more games to make the Dance. Will we? I don't know. But, I'm optimistic that we will. Believe it or not, we are improving. We have not played our best basketball yet.