2012 Bracket Busters Projections

[another shocker]

Couple non-affiliated fans I talked two mentioned 2 things: a) Valley got screwed. b) What happens if Creighton loses this game, fails to win a few more MVC games, loses to Wichita State, and finds itself out 1st round of the tourney. Is it's resume still strong enough at that point? They think no.

They are using the Valley for a stepping stone sort of thing.

Elgin is done. Let the coaches and teams from the MVC speak for the MVC.

[shoxlax]

IMO, we beat Drake, we face MSU hands down. That would move St. Marys to play Creighton.

Nope, the SMU-MSU game was the one the ESPN turd stools have wanted for days, if not weeks. Only thing that would have changed that is if those teams started dropping games.

[shoxlax]

Couple non-affiliated fans I talked two mentioned 2 things: a) Valley got screwed. b) What happens if Creighton loses this game, fails to win a few more MVC games, loses to Wichita State, and finds itself out 1st round of the tourney. Is it's resume still strong enough at that point? They think no.

That's a lot of bad stuff happening to Creighton and I think they are too good for that scenario. Us, on the other hand....

[1972Shocker]

The other thing about the bracketbuster, as has been mentioned many times, is it's generally as good or better than most of our non-con schedule. Get out of this game, and it will be replaced with a 200-350 RPI killer I promise.

Yep, and we get the privilege of paying for those RPI killer patsy games. Careful what you wish for guys.

[ShockTalk]

The other thing about the bracketbuster, as has been mentioned many times, is it's generally as good or better than most of our non-con schedule. Get out of this game, and it will be replaced with a 200-350 RPI killer I promise.

Only if Marshall and ES wanted it that way. Since the BB requires a return game, that is to say that we cannot get a H / H with Davidson, Utah St., VCU, or Cleveland St. I don't believe that.

Us going to Davidson in the BB is like Marshall scheduling a H/H with them and saying "And sure we'll come to your place first". With maybe the exception of St Mary's, do you really believe WSU could not schedule H/Hs with most of the top teams in the BB? Yes, we're suppose to get a good match-up the 1st game, but the second games have generally been nothing to write home about. Add to that, if Marshall and company set up the H/H match, they would do it where there are others advantages for WSU as well.

Edit: This year the BB got us a low 60s RPI road game and a 140+ RPI home game. I think HCGM can schedule H/Hs that good.

[GoShockers89]

It's a pretty well-established fact that we've turned our noses up at a home and home against ORU ever since the Fridge Holman meltdown.

I'd happily replace the BB with that game every year.

[shox1989]

A loss to Murray State would probably help us more than a win over Davidson.

Definitely. Murray State is RANKED IN THE TOP 10. Losing to a top 10 team in their place does not hurt you. Beating a top 10 team at their place, on the other hand, is a big feather in our cap. It also would likely be their only regular season loss of the season.

Beating Davidson does NOTHING for us. Losing to Davidson probably means hello NIT.

HUGE DIFFERENCE. There is NOTHING better about playing Davidson instead of Murry St.
NOTHING!

[WuShock Reaper]

So how did the RPI Rankings do in forecasting the ESPN Bracketbuster matchups?

IT SUCKED REALLY BAD!!!


Only three games (3 out of 72 or 4.2 percent) were projected correctly using this variable. They were:

Nevada - WAC (RPI #59) at Iona - Metro Atlantic (RPI #55)
College of Charleston - Southern (RPI #129) at Kent State - Mid-American (RPI #105)
Wofford - Southern (RPI #160) at Charleston Southern - Big South (RPI #137)

With the loss at Drake, the "Butterfly Effect" was in full play.

[shox1989]

So how did the RPI Rankings do in forecasting the ESPN Bracketbuster matchups?

IT SUCKED REALLY BAD!!!


Only three games (3 out of 72 or 4.2 percent) were projected correctly using this variable. They were:

Nevada - WAC (RPI #59) at Iona - Metro Atlantic (RPI #55)
College of Charleston - Southern (RPI #129) at Kent State - Mid-American (RPI #105)
Wofford - Southern (RPI #160) at Charleston Southern - Big South (RPI #137)

With the loss at Drake, the "Butterfly Effect" was in full play.

According to the Bluejay boards, the SMC-Murry St. match up has been wanted by espn for 3 weeks. Elgin was on Omaha radio today and said that. He said the Drake loss had nothing to do with it and that he did lobby during the last 3 weeks for WSU-Murry St.

Elgin apparently said that as long as SMC and Murry kept winning (for the past 3 weeks) that would be their marquee game.

Our only hope would have been for SMC to stumble during the last 3 weeks and they didn't.

[Aargh]

With Elgin's sell-out, he has no power to influence the games by threatening to pull the best conference in BB out of the event. The marquee conference in BB can't get the marquee games.

It would be pretty easy to make the argument that CU/SMU would get a TV audience - AND - WSU/MSU would get a TV audience. That's two games with good viewership instead of one. CU/LBSU and WSU/Davidson? CU will get some views, but WSU, after being a top-35 type team all season will get WSU fans watching. Elgin sold the Valley's soul to ESPN and ESPN had every reason to prop up other conferences. ESPN had no marketing advantage from giving any consideration to the Valley. I don't think Elgin understands how a cutthroat media really operates and what's required to negotiate in that environment.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

The average college basketball fan (i.e. the people that only like KU, Duke, Kentucky etc) could care less about an SMC/MSU match-up. Hell I was just reading a 20 page thread about college basketball sucks this year. One of the many quotables in that thread was that there were no great scorers this year except for the kid from Creighton but they could care less because wtf is Creighton.

Now granted yes that person is a grade a moran, this person happens to represent a LARGE portion of the TV viewing audience. I dont know what the rest of the schedule looks like that day but I am pretty sure they wont be watching. So again outside of the respective schools fans will anyone really care?

I still think this is a crock of **** and if couldnt get a team like Murray state then send us to Tulsa. Hell at least Ben Smith could have gotten another game closer to his family.

[shocker3]

Nope, the SMU-MSU game was the one the ESPN turd stools have wanted for days, if not weeks. Only thing that would have changed that is if those teams started dropping games.

You are right, I just listened to a podcast of Elgin on Bluejay Banter and he said that espn wanted St. Mary's and Murray St. for weeks. He said that he lobbied for Creighton-St. Marys and WSU-Murray St but as long as Murray St and St. Mary's kept winning that was the match up they wanted.

He specifically said that the loss to Drake had nothing to do with it.

He also admitted that he signed a 4 year contract with espn forcing all 10 teams to play in the bracket busters without a vote of the schools. He added that if there were to be a vote that it would be close. I couldn't believe it! How can a commissioner sign a document legally binding all ten teams to play in an event that half or more of them oppose.

Maybe that could be grounds to fire him.

http://bluejaybanter.podomatic.com/

[SubGod22]

We should just pay some fine or whatever and not participate. Elgin made it obvious that the schools had exactly zero say in any of it.

I hope he loses his job

[WuShock Reaper]

I am still a little dazed and confused from yesterday so someone please direct me in the right direction.

Was this the ESPN Bracketbuster Selection Committee,

http://keenetrial.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dart-throwing-monkey.jpg

or was I hoping this was the ESPN Bracketbuster Selection Committee?

[calfan]

Just a note of caution. I am just as upset as most of you,
but I don't advocate getting into a war with ESPN.

Guess who controls the airwaves?

WSU and the MVC need ESPN more than they need us.