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"Mid major" BS exposed

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  • "Mid major" BS exposed

    So apparently the cliche-mongers are right: it is impossible to win a national championship in D-1 basketball unless you're from a power conference. I guess playing in C-USA just doesn't prepare you to hit clutch free throws, although that may be news to UCLA.
    :roll:

    My gosh, who was that in the white uniforms the last couple of minutes? If it hadn't been for the blue trim, the size, and the extravagant "ink," you'd have thought it was this past year's Shockers from the way they clanked up FTs and ran off a string of miscues of which every single one was required to snatch defeat from the jaws of certain victory.

    Seriously, though -- can we now finally tell Digger and his idiot announcer buddies, or the next brain-dead writer -- or for that matter, the next "woe is me" stepping-stone coach -- who tells us that you can't win unless you're in a power conference, just to shove it and go away?

    Two years ago we watched George Mason beat WSU and three teams universally regarded as among the elite to reach the Final Four, where they were no more overmatched than were big boys UCLA and LSU. This year, the best team in the country all season long was the class of the mighty C-USA, and among the final eight were A-10 rep Xavier -- there for the second time in five years despite, among other things, the apparently not-so-fatal handicap of lacking a football program -- and Davidson from the "low major" Southern conference, which missed the Final Four by literally one possession against the eventual winner, and which earlier this season proved itself neither intimidated by nor overmatched against North Carolina.

    Had that last three ball prayer against Kansas been answered, think about it -- it really would not have been out of the question to see Memphis playing Davidson for the national championship, and what would have happened to Billy Packer then? Would he have died of a heart attack on the spot, or melted away like the Wicked Witch of the West?

    So enough of the tired BS, guys -- the simple fact is that in a 64 (well, 65)-team single elimination tournament, it is indeed possible for not only a "high major program in a mid major conference" but even a quality team that gets hot from out of a "low major" league to compete legitimately for the title. And it's obviously also possible, as Gonzaga and Xavier, not to mention Memphis, have shown, to become one of those allegedly overachieving programs outside the power conferences who can do so.

  • #2
    :clap:

    :good:

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    • #3
      Facts speak for themselves, no "mid-major" has won the National Championship since UNLV in '91. Personally, I don't consider UNLV or Memphis as mid-majors since they field D1 football programs, but strictly using the power conference concept, UNLV would be a non-BCS school to win it. Come back to me when a "mid-major" starts winning championships again.

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      • #4
        It was 1990.. but I dunno how they didn't win it again 91 with that team.
        Deuces Valley.
        ... No really, deuces.
        ________________
        "Enjoy the ride."

        - a smart man

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        • #5
          KC

          That's the spirit, KC.

          I knew your kinder, gentler incarnation couldn't last long. Once again, when the rest of the world sees the glass as half full, you find it 3/4 empty. Welcome back -- is that you getting slapped in your avatar? Between that and spending half of your life on the road, it explains a lot.

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          • #6
            Re: KC

            Originally posted by WSUwatcher
            That's the spirit, KC.

            I knew your kinder, gentler incarnation couldn't last long. Once again, when the rest of the world sees the glass as half full, you find it 3/4 empty. Welcome back -- is that you getting slapped in your avatar? Between that and spending half of your life on the road, it explains a lot.
            LOL, WTF dude? All I did was point out a fact (although I was off by a year). It could have been anyone else saying it's been 18 years since a mid-major won the championship, I don't see the harm in that.

            I just don't see why you are hatin' me for that? Records do speak for themselves, but since we are talking about why mid-major can or cannot compete for a National Championship, I'll give me two cents worth.

            Eliminating Memphis for this season, generally speaking, Mid-majors lack depth in talent level. This lack of star players prevents mids from reaching that elusive banner. Where KU, Duke, UNC etc, are stacked with 3 to 5 star players 7 deep, Mids may only have 3 to 5 star players stacked 3-4 deep. Mids can get close, but they just don't have that little extra on the team to get over the hump.

            Just a thought - high star players will always gravitate to the larger programs due to exposure to media attention, reputation, recognition and coaching. Mids lack the advantages high majors have, it's no fault of their own, it's just the way it is.

            So I'm not dissing Mids, I'm just simply stating Mids have huge hurdles to navigate in order to get that ring. Hell, KU is a Top 5 national program and in over 100 years of basketball have won the ring only three times. It is very, very difficult for teams to win national championships, so if KU has only been able to do it 3 times, what makes you think a mid-major could do it given the disadvantages they experience.

            Memphis this year proved to be the exception to the rule, but we all know Memphis is really not considered a mid-major in basketball, they are just in a mid-major conference.

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            • #7
              We will watch UAB over the next couple years and see if they can build on the momentum of landing Cousins and becoming powerful enough to at least make Memphis break a sweat in the C-USA.

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              • #8
                Love, not hate

                No hate, KC. We all love you, man -- you make the rest of us look good...

                I don't even disagree that it's easier for teams from power conferences to compete for a national championship; that much is obvious. But it's equally obvious that there are exceptions -- teams from "lesser" leagues that do break through, and the last few seasons cause me to believe that those exceptions are occurring more frequently.

                I'm simply saying that I'm tired of the mindless talking heads and writers who automatically assume that not being one of the big boys automatically dooms a program to mediocrity. It simply doesn't, and one of the things I like about Gregg Marshall is that I don't think he believes it does either. I expect him to work his tail off to use his considerable talents to turn WSU into one of those exceptions -- not to feel hopelessly limited like a certain other talented coach we all know who suffers from overexposure to Larry Brown and whose actions in response to that overexposure permitted the Marshall upgrade.

                Kumbaya.

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                • #9
                  Re: Love, not hate

                  Originally posted by WSUwatcher
                  No hate, KC. We all love you, man -- you make the rest of us look good...

                  I don't even disagree that it's easier for teams from power conferences to compete for a national championship; that much is obvious. But it's equally obvious that there are exceptions -- teams from "lesser" leagues that do break through, and the last few seasons cause me to believe that those exceptions are occurring more frequently.

                  I'm simply saying that I'm tired of the mindless talking heads and writers who automatically assume that not being one of the big boys automatically dooms a program to mediocrity. It simply doesn't, and one of the things I like about Gregg Marshall is that I don't think he believes it does either. I expect him to work his tail off to use his considerable talents to turn WSU into one of those exceptions -- not to feel hopelessly limited like a certain other talented coach we all know who suffers from overexposure to Larry Brown and whose actions in response to that overexposure permitted the Marshall upgrade.

                  Kumbaya.
                  The only way you can get the talking heads to shut up is to show up, like the Valley did in 2006 with 4 teams and 2 in the sweet 16. Unfortunately, the non-BCS schools are not sustaining that year in and year out.

                  Never the less, if you can believe, you can achieve!

                  :goshocks:
                  Kansas is Flat. The Earth is Not!!

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                  • #10
                    So how does the eye test figure in this?

                    Couple of breaks and Davidson could have national champs!
                    :D 8) 8) 8)
                    I have come here to chew bubblegum and kickass ... and I'm all out of bubblegum.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by KC Shox
                      Facts speak for themselves, no "mid-major" has won the National Championship since UNLV in '91. Personally, I don't consider UNLV or Memphis as mid-majors since they field D1 football programs, but strictly using the power conference concept, UNLV would be a non-BCS school to win it. Come back to me when a "mid-major" starts winning championships again.
                      id ask you this man,
                      is tulsa a mid major, they ahve a d1 football team?
                      "Coach Marshall,We will be at Creighton at least 15 hours in advance!"
                      CGM--->"Hell yea, and we'll beat their ass."

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