2016-17 Bracketology

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I want nothing to do with Middle Tennessee at any point during the tourney.

[ShockerPrez]

Gimme KState in the play in round if, you must!

[ShockingButTrue]

I will say that we lost a lot of games last year. Tulsa, Alabama, Seton Hall, USC, Iowa. Which, I guess makes me feel a little better about our prospects this year.

My point is we were in the same spot, ranked, one year ago today. With a victory to point to over a P5, highly ranked team, Utah. We lost on Saturday. We became a play-in because of that.

Just don't lose on Saturday or our chances will be greatly diminished, probably less than last year. A loss on Sunday is not quite as bad, unless it's to Loyola or SloMo!

[shock-it-to-me]

The thing is, if the committee wants to "punish" WSU for strength of schedule and lack of big wins, and drop our seed several spots from where it should be, that not only hurts Wichita State, that hurts the higher seed who then has to play a team seeded well below where they should've been

[HockeyShock]

Seton Hall. Don't remind me. The refs called 31 fouls on the Shocks. The Shocks lost by 4.

I would not go back to New Jersey.

Point of information: Seton Hall was our first victim during the 2006 S16 run.

I'm still pissed that George Mason knocked off UNC and denied us our chance to get back at RoyBoy for the Maurice Evans investigation.

[ShockerPrez]

My point is we were in the same spot, ranked, one year ago today. With a victory to point to over a P5, highly ranked team, Utah. We lost on Saturday. We became a play-in because of that.

Just don't lose on Saturday or our chances will be greatly diminished, probably less than last year. A loss on Sunday is not quite as bad, unless it's to Loyola or SloMo!

Agree.

[WheatShock]

He's got a point.

https://twitter.com/FOX19Jeremy/status/837037872721063939

Kind of like matching up WSU & KU in Omaha.

[1972Shocker]

He's got a point.

https://twitter.com/FOX19Jeremy/status/837037872721063939

Kind of like matching up WSU & KU in Omaha.

Telling it like it is. Hard to dispute Coach Cronin's points.

[rrshock]

He's absolutely right

[Eric]

Telling it like it is. Hard to dispute Coach Cronin's points.

Now understand I want out of the MVC as much as the next Shocker fan, but isn't he a member of the AAC? And he is lamenting the same things we are? Hmmm....

[AndShock]

Now understand I want out of the MVC as much as the next Shocker fan, but isn't he a member of the AAC? And he is lamenting the same things we are? Hmmm....

He's complaining about seed lines, we are complaining about play-in games and making the tournament.

[WheatShock]

Now understand I want out of the MVC as much as the next Shocker fan, but isn't he a member of the AAC? And he is lamenting the same things we are? Hmmm....

He is saying the committee will tweak seeding and matchups to sell tickets and get higher ratings. In other words "its all about the money" and Cronin is spot on in his observation.

Like I said, WSU-KU in Omaha didn't happen by accident.

[1972Shocker]

He's complaining about seed lines, we are complaining about play-in games and making the tournament.

Fundamentally, I dislike the concept of Post-Season Conference Tournament to determine the automatic bid from the Conference. Especially in a year like this year for the Valley. There is no logical reason why Wichita State and Illinois State need to prove themselves all over again after dominating this conference and separating themselves by a huge 8 games from the next best team. This tournament holds very little upside for Wichita State and Illinois State. Only downside.

There is really one and only one reason for these post-season conference tournaments and that is financial. It certainly has nothing to do with fairness or trying to determine the most worthy conference representative(s) in the NCAA Tournament. These things are even more money-driven than any seeding influences money may have once you get to the NCAA Tournament.

[WSUwatcher]

I don't doubt Cronin a bit.

I'm not a big March Madness follower, but I've seen enough times when I looked in on TV and there weren't a lot of fans in the stands, which is not surprising considering that some of these are weekday games between teams of no local interest whatsoever. That's the downside of playing all "neutral" site games, and as a result some of them turn out to be not quite so neutral even if the seeding has to be jacked around a bit. Like "#8" Kentucky vs. #1 WSU in an area much closer to Lexington than Wichita, for example. That one probably would have drawn at least some interest almost anywhere because of the national storylines, but putting it in easy driving distance for the Big Blue made sure about the ticket sales.

Edit: I also agree completely with 1972 about the financial motivation for the conference tournaments -- that's about all it is for those bogus events (that and some weird ACC / Southern Conference nostalgia), and they seriously dilute the value of the regular season, thus corrupting the NCAA tourney in the process. Maybe that's the madness part of March Madness.

[Heinro]

Fundamentally, I dislike the concept of Post-Season Conference Tournament to determine the automatic bid from the Conference. Especially in a year like this year for the Valley. There is not logical reason why Wichita State and Illinois State need to prove themselves all over again after dominating this confernce and separating themselves by a huge 8 games from the next best team. This tournament holds very little upside for Wichita State and Illinois State. Only downside.

There is really one and only one reason for these post-season conference tournaments and that is financial. It certainly has nothing to do with fairness or trying to determine the most worthy conference representative(s) in the NCAA Tournament. These things are even more money-driven than any seeding influences money may have once you get to the NCAA Tournament.

Absolutely. The Ivy was the last holdout left. This year they have a 4 team tournament to decide their bid. Otherwise Princeton would be very close to punching their ticket.

There is little doubt for league representation purposes, WSU and ISUr should be having a 1 game play-off to decide who gets to represent our conference.

Conference tournaments have watered down the quality of the bottom in the tournament in my opinion. Every year I root for the Monmouths, UNC-Wilmingtons to get the job done, and every year, at least a few fall short. I keep hoping to see the carnage if all the 1 bid leagues send their absolute best.