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BASKETBALL March Bball

dukewayne

All American
Jul 11, 2008
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With the arrival of March and Tournaments, a few thoughts on C-USA

For the conference as a whole, ODU is really the only C-USA team that appears to have a decent shot at a seed in the NCAA Tourney that is above 15. Obviously most of the non-power conferences get a raw deal anyway, but C-USA has really been given the shaft the last few years.

If ODU doesn't make the Tourney, it's sad to say that a 14 seed would be optimistic for the C-USA rep. Given the lousy situation and C-USA's recent efforts to help with teams' seeding repping the conference, it is another season when I'm thinking the auto-bid for the conf tourney champ is a bad idea.

I would like to see C-USA display flexibility each season. For instance, if there is a clear outright Regular Season Champion, that team should get the NCAA auto-bid. This season ODU has sole possession of 1st place and the outright regular season championship. No other teams tied them for 1st, it really wasn't even that close. MT did similar last season. Seasons like this and last season should give the auto-bid to the reg season champ. This year, ODU likely has the best shot at getting even a slightly decent seed in the NCAA tourney. The outright reg season champ would just sit out the conf tourney giving the other teams a shot to play for the NIT or other such consolation tournament.

In the seasons that the Regular Season Championship is shared by 2 or more teams, then the conf tourney champ would be for the auto-bid. I would also like to see C-USA give those top teams even one more bye in the conf tourney to give those top regular season champs some really good odds. It rewards the teams for excellent play all season, and it boosts the chances that the tourney winner to get a better NCAA seed due to a good overall regular season record. Let's face it, if 19-15 overall record type team gets the C-USA auto-bid, a 15 or even a 16 seed is probable.

Obviously, I'm not holding my breath for any of the changes. While I'm dreaming, I'd also like to see C-USA go to home courts to the higher seed for the conf tourney. If a neutral site, semis and final at the most.

It's sad that such attempts are necessary for such conferences, but it is the reality for non-power conferences. Sure, Conf Tournaments make sense for the power conferences who get anywhere from 3-6 teams in anyways. Those conferences' top teams aren't going to be sent packing to the NIT for failing to win their well attended big arena nationally broadcast conf tournaments.
 
I like it the way it is...you win your in. If CUSA teams want to improve there lot they need to win OOC, its just that simple. I sure the committee will always have bias against non P5 teams but at least we still have a path...even MT has a path still this year, this is what makes it all the best system in college athletics.
 
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I agree with Mike. If CUSA would just improve it's bottom half of the league (us not withstanding this year) I think we'd be better off. I told someone the other day, we have as much of a chance of getting in the NCAA tournament if we don't win the conference tournament as we did last year and that is the travesty. But it's not on the conference to change it's format more than they already have. I'd put the responsibility on the schools to just get better.
 
The conference we left two steps back has a better chance of getting multiple teams in this year than C-USA. It's a damn pity that all we have done to advance MT's athletic program and as far as BkB is concerned we are where we were 20 years ago: Win the tournament or go to the NIT.
I don't know how much can be blamed on the conference leadership, the lack of funds, the ESPNing of sports, or whatever but as far as BkB is concerned C-USA is just another %$&-major conference lost in the footprint of a couple of Power Conferences. I was so hoping that the move to D-1 in FB would help BkB and more recently the move to C-USA would be impactful. Heck, even the MAC is expected to get two teams in this year and I saw a site which projected 13 conferences have a better chance of winning a first round game than C-USA. I guess winning a game each of the last four years has done little to impress recruits or anyone else. Sad, so sad!
 
What gets me even if we had a better team than last year and lost in the conference tournament again, would any member of the selection committee have even been able to find MT or any cusa member on Thursday or any other night of the season on TV (real tv or basic cable even). Would they have even seen a CUSA team to discuss their merits in knowledgeable way? I don't think there's any non power conference that is in much better shape that we would have any shot of membership in. It's win the auto bid or bust pretty much here on out. I don't see it getting any better.
 
The NCAA Basketball tournaments are about as fair of a method in declaring a champion even if small conferences only get in by automatic bids earned in conference tournaments. Contrast to football, and it’s no contest on the issue of fairness. In FBS only 15-18 teams have a legitimate chance to make each year and one just about has to be in the preseason Top 25 to make the CFP (or the old BC$). The downside is one can be #24 in nation, lose consecutive games and miss NCAA tournament while a 11-14 loss P5 conference team with an 8-8/7-9 conference record makes it safely in the field. Philosophically, is the 7th or 8th place team in ACC, B1G, or $EC always more bid worthy than the 2nd place OVC or C-USA team with a 25-6 record with sixth loss coming in the conference tournament? Murray State won 25 in a row and was ranked, and lost to Belmont 87-88 and missed the NCAAs is a great example. We joined that list last year with our USM loss.

For the OVC, Sun Belt, and C-USA there is practically no at large bid anymore. It will be interesting to watch this weekend and next week the OVC and Southern Conferences to see if they garner at large. Wofford and Belmont are bubble teams more likely to make into NCAAs. MT still is the only at large to make it in the OVC from 32 years ago.
 
For years like this season, my focus was more on just trying to get the best seed for the auto bid team.

Sadly, it seems to have become widely accepted that the NCAA tournament will rarely grant at-large bids to non-power conf teams. It seems to have gotten worse in the last few years. In the past, at least there occasionally a season here and there that awarded a decent amount of at-large bids to non power type conferences. It's a shame because the underdogs from non-power conferences is one of the main things that made people fall in love with March Madness. Sadly, the NCAA tourney is going the way of big college football.
 
Of course I'd like to see C-USA improve overall and try to garner more attention for an at large bid in most seasons. Despite MT having the rough down rebuilding year, C-USA overall actually improved as a conference this year. MT was one of the few dragging down the conference this year. In defense of MT, at least this year is the exception and not the rule.

In non-conf play, C-USA did fairly well overall compared to the last few years. It may not have seemed that way with MT being down and so many teams in the conference having decent competitive year that knotted up most of the conference in the middle behind only ODU.

In both the NET and RPI, C-USA is ranked 13 here at the end of the season. If I'm not mistaken, that is substantial improvement compared to the last few years. C-USA was struggling anywhere between 15-20 as a conference. In my opinion, C-USA could still do better than 13, but 13 is still progress toward getting to a better overall conference ranking.

Of interest--

In the NET
8 MAC
10 A-10
12 Mountain West
13 C-USA
14 MVC
17 SunBelt
21 A-Sun
24 OVC

In the RPI
9 MAC
12 A-10
13 C-USA
14 MVC
17 SunBelt
20 OVC
21 A-Sun
 
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