Bracket Busters

[Capitol Shock]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

This ESPN event should be called "Dream busters" not Bracket busters. If we wind up with George Mason, who right now is not in the Bracket instead of VCU who is, I will be disappointed.

All this event does is eliminate a mid major from consideration. Hopefully it won't be us.

[shox1989]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

This ESPN event should be called "Dream busters" not Bracket busters. If we wind up with George Mason, who right now is not in the Bracket instead of VCU who is, I will be disappointed.

All this event does is eliminate a mid major from consideration. Hopefully it won't be us.

I agree with you. I have never liked this event, but we are stuck with it. So hopefully we will get a win this year and keep our hopes for an at large bid alive.

[ShockerFever]

We've gotten good games and good return games with this event. Perhaps you guys don't like it because we always seem to choke away our chances in it.

[shox1989]

We've gotten good games and good return games with this event. Perhaps you guys don't like it because we always seem to choke away our chances in it.

I don't consider Austin Peay and Miami(ohio) or whoever it was we played that year good teams. Those are almost the kind of teams you pay a guarantee to play at home.

While we have drawn a few decent teams it screws up our conference season. And it is an event of one bid conferences. The Valley was a multi-bid conference for every year except 2 from 1994 until 2007.

For the last 3 years we have been a one bid conference. I don't know if it is just a coincidence, but I don't think it helps our image with the committee when we have been associating ourselves with all of the one bid conferences.

The Valley seems to have the best or one of the best rpi teams left out each year. The perception with the committee, for whatever reason, is that our good rpi doesn't count as much as other teams.

If the A-10, MWC, and C-USA were participating in this event, I would say it was worthwhile to interupt the conference season. Those are the conferences we need to be associating ourselves with.

They are viewed as "quasi-major" conferences. The best of the non-BCS conferences. That is where the Valley needs to be.

The Valley actually finished better in the rpi last year (7th) than those "quasi-major" conferences, yet we got 1 bid and the MWC got 4 bids. Also they are viewed for whatever reason as being better than the Valley, when last year and for most of the last 5 years anyway they have not been better.

We don't need to be viewed as the same as the Ohio Valleys and Summit Leagues of the world.

[Cdizzle]

We've gotten good games and good return games with this event. Perhaps you guys don't like it because we always seem to choke away our chances in it.

Bingo. People complain about the bracket busters. Then the same people complain about not scheduling mid-majors for home-and-homes.

[ShoxFan45]

We've gotten good games and good return games with this event. Perhaps you guys don't like it because we always seem to choke away our chances in it.

Bingo. People complain about the bracket busters. Then the same people complain about not scheduling mid-majors for home-and-homes.

This x100

[BOBB]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

This ESPN event should be called "Dream busters" not Bracket busters. If we wind up with George Mason, who right now is not in the Bracket instead of VCU who is, I will be disappointed.

All this event does is eliminate a mid major from consideration. Hopefully it won't be us.

Often it does feel like the midmajor eliminator tournament. Part of that is that there are several schools vying for those 6-12 seeds. It is almost like a play-in game for schools not winning their tournaments. WSU takes care of business and it's a plus, we get beat on our home floor by a comparable squad and it won't look good. If we want this to mean less we need to schedule more of these games home and home instead of the cupcakes and then we have the opportunity to go 2-1 against like squads instead of needing to win a one game playoff.

[ShockerFever]

1989, you picked 2 games out of 7. What about the others? I know Miami was pretty good that year. Also consider you play the same level of teams that you are. When we're good, we get good trams. When we're not so good, we get the not so great teams accordingly. You can't have it both ways.

Also consider that these teams have been the better ones on our schedule. It's kinda funny how some are dogging this thing when they are the best games and series we're putting on our schedule. It also doesn't hurt getting ESPN exposure in the process.

My God, do some of you think we're Gonzaga or something?

[GMUAlum]

Ironically VCU received 8 votes in the latest coaches' poll; GMU with none.

VCU is currently 1st in the CAA w/just one conference loss. We're in second (tied) w/two, but have yet to play each other.

We've only matchup w/them this year and there's a very good chance the winner of that one wins the regular season title. I think we're the better team and will have the best player on the court in Cam Long, but it's in Richmond which is unfortunate because (1) Richmond is Richmond and (2) they play veeeeery well there.

[martymoose]

1989, you picked 2 games out of 7. What about the others? I know Miami was pretty good that year. Also consider you play the same level of teams that you are. When we're good, we get good trams. When we're not so good, we get the not so great teams accordingly. You can't have it both ways.

Also consider that these teams have been the better ones on our schedule. It's kinda funny how some are dogging this thing when they are the best games and series we're putting on our schedule. It also doesn't hurt getting ESPN exposure in the process.

My God, do some of you think we're Gonzaga or something?

Exactly, we can't demand to play good opponents when we suck! By default WSU isn't going to play the highest rated team in the Bracket Buster year in and year out. If we got to play the best teams every year, I can't imagine what the "good teams" would have been saying 3 or 4 years ago when matched up against a mediocre to poor WSU team....

[proshox]

Shox1989 - I think the valley's talent started to fall when the 5 & 8 rule went away. For all the things Mark Turgeon whined about, I think this one actually did have a huge impact. For those that do not recall, the rule basically prevented schools from signing more than 5 players in one year or 8 in two years(I could be off on the numbers). Without this rule more BCS schools have more scholarships to provide to transfers and freshman - it basically made it harder for MVC schools to get in the door for the top 150ish type guys.

[shox1989]

Shox1989 - I think the valley's talent started to fall when the 5 & 8 rule went away. For all the things Mark Turgeon whined about, I think this one actually did have a huge impact. For those that do not recall, the rule basically prevented schools from signing more than 5 players in one year or 8 in two years(I could be off on the numbers). Without this rule more BCS schools have more scholarships to provide to transfers and freshman - it basically made it harder for MVC schools to get in the door for the top 150ish type guys.

My point is our rpi hasn't really fallen (until this year). We were the #7 rpi conference last year. That is about as good (except for 2006) as it has ever been (since the early 80s anyway).

We are being preceived nationally, in my opinion, as a one bid league, but we really should not be. We should be perceived in the same category as the MWC, the A-10 and C-USA.

Over the last 5 years we have really done better (rpi wise) than those conferences, but that doesn't seem to be the perception.

And even though we have only received one bid each of the last 3 years, we have had 4 sweet sixteen teams in the last 5 years (WSU, BU-2006, SIU-2007, UNI-2010).

One bid conferences don't do that.

[AndShock]

2010 RPIs
MWC - 15, 25, 28, 48
A-10 - 11, 17, 24, 34, 39
MVC 12, 50, 76, 77

2009 RPIs
MWC - 13, 31, 37, 69
A-10 - 14, 25, 33, 60
MVC - 46, 52, 58, 93

This is why the MVC is a one bid league. Our overall RPI is pretty good because our cellar is better than the A-10's or MWC's cellar. The cellar dwellers aren't the teams who get the bids, the top 3-4 are the teams who get the bids, and the MVC's top 3-4 usually suck.

[GarH]

I'd much rather play one of the Bracket Buster teams than teams like North West Canadian Basket Weaving U, like we've been scheduling.

[shocks02]

I forget, is the return game next year or 2 years from now?