Only 3 mid majors got at large bids this year. Utah State, St Mary's and Boise State. For comparison the MVC got 3 at large bids all by itself in 2006.Does anyone know how many mid majors got at large bids this year compared to previous years? I tried just finding a list of at large bids this year and haven't even been able to find that.
Nevada also got an at-large, so four bids for the Mountain West, which is clearly the midmajor league to envy at the moment, especially with San Diego State's run to the title game.
And to think, not too many years ago, the MVC was thought to be a peer league to the Mountain West.
I remember the MVC / MWC challenge.
- I would like to see siu play in best tournament they can get, maybe play a couple decent teams on neutral site, better odds on beating a good team early. Then play 1-2 power 5 teams away, make some money, and maybe beat one like the Oklahoma state game. The ultimate goal is to win the mvc for NIT bid at least, the at large bid is tough, but not impossible, but first the team has to be good enough, and that has not been the case for a long time, so it doesn't matter what teams siu plays if they lose
Any rumblings on an MTE for next season? I feel like I've seen many (most?) Valley teams' MTE plans out there for a while now.
In general, I'm curious how they fill the remaining slots on the schedule for next year. It's a bit of a tricky dynamic because on one hand you have an unproven team that likely will be picked bottom half in the Valley, but on the other hand, there should be some urgency to fight for a postseason appearance, as the clock is certainly ticking, at least to a certain extent, headed into Mullins' fifth season.
And it would also be a shame to not take advantage of the makings of a very strong schedule with Oklahoma State and SLU coming to town.
From Mullins’ interview with Reis, Saint Louis will be coming to Carbondale on Saturday, December 2nd.
They’re still working on dates for Southern Indiana and Oklahoma State. One will likely be in December and the other either November 29th or 30th.
They’re likely going on the road to face 1 Power 5 team, possibly 2
https://twitter.com/roccomiller8/status/1671857600789643264?s=46&t=7s0hTttieSER8wqRSA0LoA
Fresno and NMSU are probably both going to be bad...James Madison finished 4th in the Sun Belt so maybe get a decent game there. We have pretty strong non-con with SLU, OSU, and at least one P5 road game (possibly two according to Mullins) so I'm okay with a weaker MTE if we are able to get those games. Hopefully NMSU and Fresno are not as bad next year as I think they will be.
NMSU is coming off one of, if not THE, wildest off-court seasons in college basketball history. I think they are going to really struggle this year. With the other games they have on their schedule, this might be a good way to build some momentum by getting some wins.
Since we were unlucky last year and didn't get a road game vs Belmont, that is the one game I'm VERY anxious to hear about. My wife and I will almost assuredly travel from NW Indiana to Nashville and attend the game, eat some Hattie B's chicken, drink some good beer and listen to some live music. I hope that a large contingent goes so we can bring SIU to the south !!!
I was near the top of the mid court upper bowl bleachers with my 11 year old son that night! There were several times during that night that I worried about the integrity of those bleachers with all the stomping and jumping going on up there!!
My son still talks about it!
It was a blast!
I bought season tickets the next year and have every year since!
I was in the third row behind the opponents bench, we sat next to Eric Gordon's parents and it is one of my best memories growing up absolutely.
Long time follower first time poster here. we had season tickets from DB's freshman year to the end of Lowery's run. we watched probably half the home games every year though before that while Webber and Painter were there . Then I attended SIU as a student as well, I was an education major and eventually joined a cohort so I could work as an aide and still get my degree. So technically my degree is from Eastern, but I'm a dawg for life.
Cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season but as someone who watched Bryan Mullins play game in and game out I'll never lose belief that's a he's an absolute winner and that he'll figure things out. He was the heart and soul of those years and it broke my heart for his career to end the way it did with the injuries. I agreed with all of the lineup questions on here last year and struggled with the offensive philosophy myself quite a bit but I'm hopeful that he will adapt and overcome. I think he would have to be incredibly stubborn and close minded to not make adjustments this year and I just don't have it in my heart to thank that's the case. I think as long as we coach to our strengths and utilize those that we can be a good team and finish toward the top of the valley and I think every year the goal needs to be to shoot for the at large even if it's a long shot and let the chips fall where they may. I'm 30 and never realized how spoiled I was growing up with the constant success. Happy to be here and I'm excited to be a part of Saluki Insider Nation. I've been creeping since it was SalukiTalk lol.
Wrong Indiana game 🤣 we lost that one
