More Love from Jay Bilas

[shox1989]

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/bilas_jay/id/7475488/unlv-rebels-headline-14-fearsome-teams-march-ncb?addata=2009_insdr_mod_ncb_xxx_xxx

Jay Bilas lists 14 teams outside of the BCS and the A-10 that could be lethal come March.

He includes Cu and WSU on the list. He also includes UNLV.

He says one thing he likes about the Shockers is that they tend to play better on the road than at home and that ncaa games are not played at home. He says WSU is a tough team with experienced, quality players. He flatly says the Shockers are a NCAA Tournament team.

[DwShock]

That's good. The shockers need to continue doing what they are doing. It won't hurt to get better along the way.

[martymoose]

I wonder if he said we were a tournament team December of 2006.

[GOSHOX1]

I wonder if he said we were a tournament team December of 2006.

I don't think he did, I seem to remember he said he watched the Siu game here that year and thought it was a horrible game with no offense! Miller went for 30 in that game of no offense.

[SubGod22]

I don't think he did, I seem to remember he said he watched the Siu game here that year and thought I was a horrible game with no offense! Miller went for 30 in that game of no offense.

December of '06, Miller was gone. That's the year we looked like world beaters early (number 8 ranking) and then collapsed in and after Vegas.

[GOSHOX1]

Yeah, I was thinking 06' tourney, that is when he said that.

[ShockTalk]

Wow! I bet the MWC is fuming about Bilas having the Atl-10 with the BCS teams and not them.

[shox1989]

Wow! I bet the MWC is fuming about Bilas having the Atl-10 with the BCS teams and not them.

I thought the same thing. I guess it is that east coast bias again.

[wufan]

I thought the same thing. I guess it is that east coast bias again.

It really is a media problem when you start including some conferences with the BCS but leaving others out. If you are going to break it down, it needs to be BCS and Non-BCS. Anything after that is completely artificial and made up.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Why some don't get the basic idea of what is happening here is beyond me.

ESPN signs television agreements with certain conferences. Those conferences success and support of their fans is what pushes viewership higher, increasing the amount they can charge for advertising.

You look at the conferences aligned with ESPN with TV contracts, and you will find the conferences ESPN pushes as premier conferences.

I haven't done the homework, but I bet if someone would, you would find the A-10 has a contract with ESPN. I would wager that the MWC does not.

[Capitol Shock II]

Heard That!

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

I wonder why Missouri State, Illinois State, and Southern Illinois all also have partnerships with CBS College Sports, and we and the rest of the teams plus the conference as a whole do not.

I am happy with our agreement with Cox, and look forward to seeing it upgraded to HD. I hope it works out that we can do something where they are also available on-line. I imagine this could be a win-win for Cox and WSU - advertisers like more exposure. More exposure cost money.

[trwarsaw]

Why some don't get the basic idea of what is happening here is beyond me.

ESPN signs television agreements with certain conferences. Those conferences success and support of their fans is what pushes viewership higher, increasing the amount they can charge for advertising.

You look at the conferences aligned with ESPN with TV contracts, and you will find the conferences ESPN pushes as premier conferences.

I haven't done the homework, but I bet if someone would, you would find the A-10 has a contract with ESPN. I would wager that the MWC does not.

A-10 does http://www.atlantic10.com/sports/m-b...040611aaa.html
and MWC does not http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ndy/id/7326141
specifically where it says, "MWC teams can appear on an ESPN network only in a tournament that ESPN televises or in a nonconference road game against a school in a league that has a deal with ESPN."

[wufan]

Good stuff! I'm sure our sorta-ESPN deal is why we are getting sorta-more coverage.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Thank you @trwarsaw:.

Funny how predictable the actions of the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network have become.

Imagine if Dickie V had fallen in love with X, and became a WSU lover vs. a Duke lover. We could be the PREMIER basketball conference in America.