OFF TOPIC, but....
We'll have a different coach on the other bench when we play in Stillwater next year.
https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1768301004225671392?s=20
but also has only 6 Big 10 teams in I think.
Considering how poorly that conference has performed in the tourney the last 2 years, I'd say 6 is being generous.
Couldn't agree with you more. If memory serves me correctly, I believe The BIG Whatever has not won a National Championship in Men's basketball since the year 2000. They most certainly seem to be overrated, and almost always underachieve, especially PU. Perhaps this is the year?
Wasnt that 26 win Herrin team the one that beat the Big 8 champs in Chicago? Committe took Ohio State, a team that was 0-fer on the road.
That victory happened the next season, 1990-91, when SIU defeated Oklahoma State at a tournament in Rosemont hosted by DePaul. I was visiting my mother and father in the Chicago area at the time and traveled through snow to go to the game (crowd was about 80% SIU fans).
I too attended that contest vs OSU. I must say that the SIU fans were extremely loud and proud, and out numbered the other three fan bases by quite a large margin. The Old Style Classic was the name of the tournament. Mr. Jim Hart signed my program. 🙂
Today's been a really bad day for Indiana State's at-large chances, as NC State steals a bid, Oregon steals a bid, New Mexico stays on the good side of the bubble by locking an auto-bid, and FAU loses to quite possibly open up a second bid out of the American Athletic.
Right now the Sycamores are the only midmajor in major bubble trouble, depending on how much FAU falls after today's loss. Every other bubble team comes from one of the Power 6 conferences, and there are LOADS of them - Virginia, Texas A&M, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John's, Colorado, Oklahoma, even Mississippi State and Michigan State.
I don't see how Oklahoma's even in the discussion, as they finished 9th in the Big 12 and lost in their only Big 12 tourney game to TCU. The Sooners lost 12 out of 16 Q1 games(!) and has a non-con SOS of 262, yet as of tonight, they're still predicted to squeak into the field?
5 toughest decisions facing the NCAA men's tournament selection committee
4. Is 28-win Indiana State in or out?
The longest week of Indiana State coach Josh Schertz’s basketball life began last Sunday when the Sycamores lost to Drake in a riveting Missouri Valley Conference title game.
Since then, Indiana State has helplessly watched as other bubble teams have bolstered their resumes with late charges during conference tournament play.
At 28-6, Indiana State boasts the bubble’s gaudiest record and across-the-board solid rankings in the NCAA’s team-sheet metrics. The Sycamores are 30th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, 41st in strength of record and 45th at KenPom, all numbers that suggests this team belongs in the at-large conversation.
Indiana State’s .500 record against the top two quadrants is respectable for a bubble team. The Sycamores’ 15-5 record away from home is outstanding. It’s a strong resume, except for the fact that Indiana State has scarcely beaten any NCAA tournament-caliber teams.
The Sycamores are 1-4 in Quadrant 1 games this season. They lost two of the three games they played against Missouri Valley Conference runner-up Drake. In their only two games this season against power-conference opponents, they lost by 22 at Alabama and by 12 at Michigan State.
What should the committee do with Indiana State? The fairest option would be a trip to Dayton for a First Four matchup against a power-conference bubble team. That would give the Sycamores a chance to prove they belong.
What will the committee do with Indiana State? The Sycamores could be one of the last teams omitted from the field, a victim of a conference tournament bid thief or another bubble team’s last-gasp surge.
Let's go ahead and compare those 11 bubble teams I mentioned in the previous post with their NET ratings as of this morning, along with their up-to-the-minute RPI for fun (yeah, I really wish the NCAA would give us realtime NET numbers, but that'll never happen):
Colorado - 24 NET, 27 RPI
Michigan State - 25 NET, 58 RPI
Indiana State - 30 NET, 28 RPI
Mississippi State - 32 NET, 41 RPI
FAU - 33 NET, 21 RPI
St. John's - 34 NET, 71 RPI
Texas A&M - 42 NET, 63 RPI
Oklahoma - 46 NET, 73 RPI
Virginia - 55 NET, 49 RPI
Providence - 57 NET, 76 RPI
Seton Hall - 66 NET, 79 RPI
Six of these 11 teams will likely make the cut, so these will be the names to watch tomorrow.
And I haven't even mentioned teams like TCU (43 NET), Northwestern (54 NET), Colorado State (37 NET), Nebraska (31 NET), Washington State (45 NET), Nevada (35 NET), Clemson (36 NET), Utah State (39 NET), and South Carolina (52 NET)... all of these teams are presumed to be locks to make the field, and they're all looking up at Indiana State in the NET rankings.
In other words... we could see anywhere from 12-14 teams with a worse NET ranking than Indiana State get at-large bids while they get left out. If the NCAA's really serious about the NET, they'll find a spot for the Sycamores... but we know how this story ends, like it nearly always does for Valley bubble teams.
The NET is probably worse than the RPI. Northwestern is a very good team - beat Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, and finished 3rd in the Big 10. Their NET in the 50s is BS. Can't imagine them as a bubble team.
After today's upsets, no way the Sycs get in, which is bullshit. We know there will be a lot of tournament teams they would beat like a drum.
After today's upsets, no way the Sycs get in, which is bullshit. We know there will be a lot of tournament teams they would beat like a drum.
after today I am not sure who the hell gets in 🤣
Northwestern does have enough big wins to be safe... but it's that horrendous non-con schedule (329th overall) with just one win of note there, that's got them on that 9-10 seed line. Granted, it's a solid home win over Dayton, but they only played two teams that ended up with winning records in non-con action (they lost the other one on a neutral court to bubble team Mississippi State), and they also lost at home to 9-18 Chicago State (ouch!).The NET is probably worse than the RPI. Northwestern is a very good team - beat Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, and finished 3rd in the Big 10. Their NET in the 50s is BS. Can't imagine them as a bubble team.
It's pretty much the two huge overtime wins at home over Purdue and Illinois that have them in the field. Change both of those nailbiters to losses, and they'd have a 10-10 conference mark and would squarely be in the NIT instead. That's how close they were.
Man, I can’t imagine how Indiana St feels would feel if they got left out. Their best season in decades which included the regular season championship and being nationally ranked at one point. Combine that with dealing with concerns over Schertz being a hot name on the coaching boards.
I will be driving through Terrible Haute about the time of the show today. Do I dare stop in at a sports bar and watch the reactions?
It just goes to show you that there is a major bias towards the Power6 conferences. That might be a good reason that Shertz says, to hell with this. Bolts to a bigger school where he doesn’t have to worry about this stuff anymore.
Iowa State cannot be happy about possibly playing Drake in round two. Scared to schedule them in the regular season. Reminds me of Illinois choking and losing to Virginia Tech when we had a chance to play them in the tourney.
