The Guru Known as Bilas

[ShockTalk]

Your right, I was wrong. Arizona really did belong in the dance.

WHAT A BEAT-DOWN!

I can see why they were chosen over lowly mid-majors.

[Rosewood]

Re: The Guru Known as Bilas

Your right, I was wrong. Arizona really did belong in the dance.

WHAT A BEAT-DOWN!

I can see why they were chosen over lowly mid-majors.

How many mid majors even sniffed the sweet 16?

[MadDog]

How many mid-majors got to open with Utah and Cleveland St? I'd like the Shocks chances with that draw...

[ShockTalk]

Re: The Guru Known as Bilas

Your right, I was wrong. Arizona really did belong in the dance.

WHAT A BEAT-DOWN!

I can see why they were chosen over lowly mid-majors.

How many mid majors even sniffed the sweet 16?

Technically, 3 come from mid-major conferences. Your reputation does not make you a major, only that you are the elite of the mid-majors and the majors have "accepted" you.

Why not pick a San Diego St or St. Mary's instead of Arizona? None are going to the finals anyway. Why?? MONEY!! More money for the BCS conferences and a way to keep the up-starts in their place.

[SubGod22]

Arizona was a weak pick with a weak draw to the Sweet 16. SDSU and/or SMU would have had a great chance to get there given the same teams. And I agree that WSU may have been able to pull it off as well as a few other Valley teams.

[ISASO]

The NIT, CBI and CIT are the new mid-major National Championship Tournaments. A mid-major will have to go 29-2 to get an at-large to the Dance from here on out.

[BOBB]

It was only a few years ago the Valley had four teams in. Two of which went to the Sweet Sixteen. They deserved to be there that year. The top teams in the Valley destroyed the bottom teams. No 10-way tie for 5th that year. No Valley teams would strike fear in the heart of a decent major team right now.

Don't get me wrong, all things being equal the committee will take a decent major over a decent mid-major. It's up to the Valley teams to beat those majors when they get their chances in tournaments and then handle their business in conference.

[Speed]

It is time to shed the mid-major attitude. WSU has the potential to accomplish what Gonzaga, Xavier or Memphis has.
As conferences go, we are not that far removed from '06. MVC teams are young. It might be a good time to return to those conference mandates.
If the MVC wants to be mired in a mid-major company then WSU can just go dominate it. Memphis has won something like 76 straight CUSA games or something crazy like that.
Our rabid fan base is great. If there is a thread of 1 Shocker T-shirt on
TV, just think what 5000 would do. Oh wait I remember all the stores would sell out of anything Shocker, we would be on the cover of SI and there would be lines to get into sports bars!

[pogo]

I agree with speed. We need to dominate the valley like memphis does the c-usa. What were they a 2 seed? They got all kinds of hype about the best defensive team in the US and were mentioned in every pre tourney talk show. This is the avenue we need to pursue.

[_kai_]

I agree with speed. We need to dominate the valley like memphis does the c-usa. What were they a 2 seed? They got all kinds of hype about the best defensive team in the US and were mentioned in every pre tourney talk show. This is the avenue we need to pursue.

Maybe cause they were in the NCG last year.... just saying.


Also starting a thread saying a mid major should have been in the tourney, over a team that went to the sweet 16.... kind of ridiculous if you ask me. No matter how easy their road there was, it's kind of ludicrous.

[rjl]

No kidding.

Who gives an eff if Arizona took the spot of a "mid-major" or not?

We wouldn't of got in regardless, so why should we care?

I'm not sure if some of you are card-carrying members of the Chip On Shoulder Mid Major club or what, but the only team I care about is Doubleyew Ess Yew.

If a team schedules and plays well in the non conference, plays well in their conference, and does well in their tournament, they get in. End of story. All this kumbaya little guy nonsense has to end.

[ShockTalk]

rjl - I agree. "If a team schedules and plays well in the non conference, plays well in their conference, and does well in their tournament, they get in. End of story."

Maryland - 14 non con 10 home 4 neutral (2-2) 0 road, marquee win Mich St (neutral), lost to Zags by 22 & G Wash by 23 (neutral), beat Vermont @ home by 1 OT, lost to Morgan St @ home; 7-9 in conf, 7th, did well but lost in con tourney finals, lost 5 of last 9.

Arizona - 13 non con 11 home 2 road (lost both), marquee wins KU & Zags @ home, lost to UAB @ home; 9-9 in conf, tied 5th, lost in 1st Rd conf tourney, lost 5 of last 6.

Minnesota - 12 non con 10 home 1 road 1 neutral, marquee win Louisville (neutral), beat Colorado St by 1 on road, next best wins Virginia / NDST; 9-9 in conf, tied 7th, lost in 1st Rd (after play-in rd) in conf tourney, lost 6 of last 9.

A standard is being set here. If you don't care that St. Mary's, SDSt, or Creighton (reluctantly) doesn't get in to the dance over the above resume's, then you'll have no gripe when the same thing happens when Doubleyew Ess Yew is in those shoes.

The Valley needs to go back to the tougher schedules of a few years ago. However, even then, a very good RPI may not do you any good (Missouri St) if you're not one of the big boys.

Again, this is not about any of these teams really having a shot to win it all. It's about deserving teams from other than BSC conferences getting their share of the $$ pie instead of the rich getting richer. The scheduing situation is bad enough. The above teams had 39 non con games - 31 @ home, 5 neutral (3-2), and only 3 road (1-2). By the way, 3 of those 4 neutral / road losses were to mid-majors.

:wsu_posters:

[rjl]

rjl - I agree. "If a team schedules and plays well in the non conference, plays well in their conference, and does well in their tournament, they get in. End of story."

Maryland - 14 non con 10 home 4 neutral (2-2) 0 road, marquee win Mich St (neutral), lost to Zags by 22 & G Wash by 23 (neutral), beat Vermont @ home by 1 OT, lost to Morgan St @ home; 7-9 in conf, 7th, did well but lost in con tourney finals, lost 5 of last 9.

Arizona - 13 non con 11 home 2 road (lost both), marquee wins KU & Zags @ home, lost to UAB @ home; 9-9 in conf, tied 5th, lost in 1st Rd conf tourney, lost 5 of last 6.

Minnesota - 12 non con 10 home 1 road 1 neutral, marquee win Louisville (neutral), beat Colorado St by 1 on road, next best wins Virginia / NDST; 9-9 in conf, tied 7th, lost in 1st Rd (after play-in rd) in conf tourney, lost 6 of last 9.

A standard is being set here. If you don't care that St. Mary's, SDSt, or Creighton (reluctantly) doesn't get in to the dance over the above resume's, then you'll have no gripe when the same thing happens when Doubleyew Ess Yew is in those shoes.

The Valley needs to go back to the tougher schedules of a few years ago. However, even then, a very good RPI may not do you any good (Missouri St) if you're not one of the big boys.

Again, this is not about any of these teams really having a shot to win it all. It's about deserving teams from other than BSC conferences getting their share of the $$ pie instead of the rich getting richer. The scheduing situation is bad enough. The above teams had 39 non con games - 31 @ home, 5 neutral (3-2), and only 3 road (1-2). By the way, 3 of those 4 neutral / road losses were to mid-majors.

:wsu_posters:

If WSU's game against the 9th place Pac-10 team doesn't show you how solid that conference was this year, I'm not sure what will.

I don't give a flying **** that Creighton didn't get in the dance. And I KNOW their situation isn't like ours because they don't schedule non-conference the same way we do. We schedule the big boys, they schedule teams on their level or less.

So, ONCE AGAIN, I completely fail to see why people like you give two shits why "mid-majors" don't get in the dance. Somehow, some way, teams like Gonzaga and Memphis have managed to break the supposed BCS barrier. It's not rocket science. It's not brain surgery. It's not even rocket surgery. Whoever is doing the scheduling for WSU gets that; whoever does the scheduling for Creighton doesn't. Had we beat teams on the same level that Arizona beat, and lost to teams on the same level that they lost to, we'd be in the dance too. Plain and simple. Nine and nine in the Pac-10 this year = top one or two teams in the Valley. Not every year, mind you, but this year.

You can fly the mid-major flag all you want. Fact is, it doesn't do WSU any good. Every team is selected on its own merits. I know it helps some people to theorize that there's some massive conspiracy going on--that elements beyond our control are collectively and unfairly gathering against us--but it's much more transparent than that. It's much more obvious. Make a name for yourself in the regular season, you get to dance.

[shockmonster]

rjl-You're wrong that if WSU wins with good wins, they automatically will get in. When SWMSU didn't get in (2006), they had a RPI of 24. The reason that they didn't get in was because the Valley had 4 other teams in.

[DUShock]

There is an obvious BCS bias. Money talks & non-BCS walks while college basketball transforms into NCAA I A and NCAA I AA guess where our beloved Shocks fall in this transformation? Gateway anyone?