I am not sure if I agree. The 1974 opening win against Houston Baptist was pretty impressive.

Well said.

A few years ago we beat #10 Gonzaga. But that wasn't the opening game. It was on Thanksgiving. But very impressive win nonetheless.

What year was it we beat OSU for the pre season NIT championship?

Fran got fired while we were winning that game, iirc

AggieBaller98 said:

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We barely won that Gonzaga game. The most impressive thing about this game is how we flipped the script on WV and used their own game against them. That is huge!

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That zags team was awesome though. They both feel good to me.

Brush Country said:

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What year was it we beat OSU for the pre season NIT championship?

Fran got fired while we were winning that game, iirc

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You don't know what year Fran got fired?

Pumpkinhead said:

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First of all, how many times have we even opened the season against such a tough opponent?

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We opened at #11 OU once. And a couple of times vs #12 teams.

All I know is we have some DUDES.

I'm a big critic of Kennedy but he deserves props for this game.. we've got some great players. It's always about jimmies and joes.

txag72 said:

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x's and o's or jimmys and joes? That question should never be asked again.

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DEFENSE

Sorry, I'm sure you've lived your life in a lot more total misery than I have.

Chuck Gay said:

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Without Robert and JJ, there was a lot of x's and o's Involved. Don't be afraid to give Coach Kennedy credit when it is deserved.

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Excellent defensive adjustment, but the key was Hogg's dramatically improved play and strength and stamina. Great D, rebounding, passing, shooting.

Seriously. Dude has added 15-20 lbs of muscle.

Quote:

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In November 1989, Tony Barone led his squad up to Anchorage, AL and beat UConn and Jim Calhoun, 92-81,. UConn went 31-6 and finished #4 in the country.

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Tony Barone wasn't the coach in 1989. It was Shelby Metcalf (at least for part of the year). He was fired later that season.

mallen said:

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Quote:

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In November 1989, Tony Barone led his squad up to Anchorage, AL and beat UConn and Jim Calhoun, 92-81,. UConn went 31-6 and finished #4 in the country.

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Tony Barone wasn't the coach in 1989. It was Shelby Metcalf (at least for part of the year). He was fired later that season.

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You're right. I read Shelby and typed Barone.

Kennedy critic here.

I am pleasantly surprised. One of the most surprising opening wins I have seen.

Hope this doesn't become the basketball equivalent of us beating top 10 South Carolina in Columbia. Start off with a hot win and struggle in the end.

I'm impressed. Our guard play was outstanding against a tough team that loves to pressure the ball. We would have lost by 20 last year. I'm very pleased. Don't forget about Flag. Played with a lot of poise.

If he hadn't emptied the bench, we would have won by 40.

wacarnolds said:

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Pumpkinhead said:

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Beat like a drum a Top-10 pre-season ranked team in the season opening game. I assume this is most impressive Game #1 ever? First of all, how many times have we even opened the season against such a tough opponent?

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In November 1989, Tony Barone Shelby Metcalf led his squad up to Anchorage, AL and beat UConn and Jim Calhoun, 92-81,. UConn went 31-6 and finished #4 in the country.

They were unranked at the time of the game, and in the moment this feels #1. But that is probably #1 in reality.

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Sometimes teams take down high ranked squads and of course it's great... But also feels like an upset. I'm guessing that win felt that way given that team only went 16-14.

No, this win is more impressive because you can see the talent is here to be in contention for a top 3 seed at the dance. It looks like we finally have guard play to supplement arguably the best front line in the country. This year should be fun.

I just watched the replay of this game and am blown away by the basketball IQ I saw on the floor. I know the Jimmys's and Joe's make a difference in our ability to compete. However, I saw stuff on offense that I haven't seen during BK's tenure by anyone on a regular basis.

Diagonal passing to attack and beat the press and to create open shots within the offense. Gilder's pass to Hogg for the three pointer, near the end of tgame, where he led Hogg into the open spot with anticipation. Also, Hogg making bounce passes in to the low post to Davis on time. These are things we have not seen From a BK coached team in the past.

Speaking of Davis, every year his body is transformed from the end of the previous year. Hogg also looks completely different this year, including his confidence in his, that just never seemed to be there last year. Kudos to the strength and condoning team.

We are obviously more athletic than we have been in a long time. With the new fundamental principles they played with after they got the jitters out, this could be a really fun year. I am excited to see how far this team can go this year.