UConn's Calhoun Thinks PC Is Tournament Worthy

Some interesting quotes that were taken after the UConn victory over PC, via ProJo Sports:

“That team, in my opinion, can be in the NCAA Tournament,” said Calhoun. “I looked at their schedule, and they have some work to do, but we’ll see what happens.”

PC definitely has some work to do and the Friars agree that they need to move on from this game and try to get to where UConn is at:

“It’s a tough loss for us, but it shows us we’re not there yet,” said Sharaud Curry. “We want to be where UConn is, and they played really well today. It’s a lesson we can learn. We have to bring it every night, especially on the road, where it’s really hard to win in the Big East.”

"It just counts as one game and you have to have a short memory whether you win a big game or whether you lose a game,” said Davis. “The next game can be just as tough or tougher.”

Interesting to see that Calhoun thinks the Friars are a possible NCAA team. They do have some good pieces with Marshon Brooks, Sharaud Curry, and Weyinmi Efejuku on the perimeter and Randall Hanke, Jonathan Kale, and Geoff McDermott down low and when they are firing on all cylinders I think the PC offense is tough to stop.

However, Calhoun is right about them having work to do. If they want to make the tournament, then they are going to have to beat the teams they are supposed to beat, like their two games against Rutgers and another against South Florida. Plus, they are going to have to knock off a couple of teams at home out of Villanova, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh, or they will have to win one of their road games at West Virginia, Villanova, or Louisville.

My guess is that they might be able to beat Notre Dame and Villanova at home and possibly Villanova or West Virginia on the road. I think they need to win 3 of those games, plus the three "easy" games against Rutgers and South Florida. That would give them a 12-6 record in the Big East and a 20-10 record overall, which would all but guarantee them a trip to NCAA Tournament.

The good news for the Friars is that there is no way for them to get to 20 wins without beating at least 3 quality teams. The bad news is that 6 of their last 9 games are against teams that are rated higher than them overall. So PC is going to have to step their game up and start knocking some teams off or else they are going to fall short of securing an NCAA Tournament bid in the regular season and will have to play their way in by winning some games in the Big East Tournament.

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