Bay Area Billiken

Mo. State's RPI is 83; SLU's RPI is 86. That RPI continues to be a problem for SLU. Irrespective of all these pronouncements, the past evidence in terms of bids, compared to the RPI, shows that the RPI is still closely followed in selecting the NCAA and NIT fields. The other big problem with the NIT is the automatic bids going to lower conference regular season champs, even a co-champ with the #1 seed in its conference tournament that doesn't win that conference tournament. For instance, Lipscomb, with an RPI of 196 and a 4 way regular season co-champ in the Atlantic Sun, somehow with the #1 seed in its conference tournament, has already "earned" an automatic NIT bid if it fails to win its conference tournament. We have to root for teams like Lipscomb, Lehigh, Jackson State, etc.- patently absurd. SLU would wipe the floor with those teams.

Missouri State finished 8-10 in the MVC, the 9th rated conference, only in 7th Place, and has to play in the dreaded Opening Round of the MVC Tournament, which involves the 7th through 10th place teams. SLU is 10-4 in the A-10, the 6th rated conference, with a decent shot at 4th Place and an Opening Round bye in the A-10 Tournament. Winning tonight against Temple would certainly aid SLU's cause. Irrespective of the Mo. State win at SLU, a game in which the SLU team did not have Kwamain Mitchell and Cody Ellis, SLU very clearly deserves an NIT bid ahead of Mo. State, based upon the more recent "entire body of work" standard. Let Mo. State pay to play in the CBI. The CIT would be a good spot for a 7th Place team too. I'm also ok with both SLU and Mo. State making the NIT- as long as SLU is in there (and, of course, assuming the Billikens are not in the NCAA). My point is that Mo. State should not make the NIT ahead of SLU.

Real good win for SLU. SLU had 4 men in double figures, led by Kwamain Mitchell's 23 points. And SLU held Duquesne's best player, Damian Saunders, to only 9 points.

My answer remains a strong no. Why should a team from a conference with an RPI over 200 get any automatic post-season bid? Does a Jackson State, with an RPI over 200 deserve a post-season tournament bid? Does a Lehigh, with an RPI of 170 deserve a post-season bid? First and foremost I look at these things from SLU's perspective, and this NIT rule definitely cost SLU an NIT bid in Brad Soderberg's last year, when a SLU team with 20 wins was snubbed by the new NIT. Another question is whether some of those lower conferences should even be in the always expanding Division 1. I agree that the NIT is not SLU's goal, but the NIT is a good tournament, and is better than nothing.

I'm not a psychiatrist or psychologist and my info is coming from Burwell's column, but I think Coach was just frustrated with the tantalizingly close loss. Burwell made it seem to me like Majerus was starting to talk about a moral victory, and then he seemed to catch himself. I think Coach realizes this team is close to being there. We don't want any more near misses. We want wins and NCAA bids. We want to beat very good teams like Xavier, not lose by 2 points.

Agreed, and same thoughts here. I was also proud of the team and the way they played against a very good Xavier team. My friend, a Cal season ticket holder, was impressed. I told him that I thought Xavier was better than anyone in the Pac-10, and he tended to agree. SLU is almost there.

I think what Coach is saying is that there can be no more moral victories for SLU. It is time to take the next step.

Agreed, and that will be a desperate Dayton opponent. SLU nearly won there last season, so there is still hope.

I'd like to think #1 would do it, but I doubt it will, not with SLU's RPI at 90. Isn't that something- SLU loses by 2 points to the #14 RPI team in Xavier, and SLU's RPI drops 8 spots? Right now, per the RPI, SLU would not even be in the NIT and would be the first team out of the NIT, prior to taking into account the inevitable NIT automatic bids. But at bare minimum, hopefully SLU is at least NIT bound. Duquesne's RPI is 87, meaning that Saturday night's game is very important for SLU-on both the NCAA and NIT levels. Irrespective of the RPI, SLU should be ahead of Duquesne in the eyes of the NIT. A win Saturday and sweep of the Dukes would solidify SLU's position there.

Also, Fordham is reportedly going to play 3 games next season at Izod Center (New Jersey Meadowlands, still home of NJ Nets before they move to Brooklyn) and 1 game v. Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden. I've met Father McShane, the Fordham President, and he is competitive, a big Yankee fan, and not the kind of guy who wants to keep losing. I agree that something needs to be done about Rose Hill Gym, but at least Fordham appears to be moving in the right direction. They need to win some games and fill Rose Hill Gym before they take the next step, a new on campus facility. Rose Hill Gym is renovated. It is not that bad. But it seats only 3,470 with a lot of the seating behind the two baskets. Remember, out here St. Mary's, a potential NCAA team (RPI 45) plays in the 3,500 seat McKeon Pavilion, which looks a lot like a big high school gym. Fordham was between a rock and a hard place going into this season. Fordham was saddled with Dereck Whittenburg's contract. Jio Fontan was a player, but has transferred to USC. Chris Gaston is a freshman star in the A-10. SLU shut down Gaston, but he has had some big games against others. Also, Fordham is moving to football scholarships in FCS (Division 1-AA). So Fordham is starting to make financial commitments to its athletic program.

I heard it, and I remember it. The one I heard was not said this season. It may have been said in jest, but it sounded more like ridicule. My point is why is something like that said at all over St. Louis Radio in SLU's hometown? There was no place for it. Conspiracy? These talking heads have their own bent, their own biases. That's not necessarily a conspiracy. Some of them went to Mizzou. Some of them support Mizzou. Some of them have been courted by the MVC. Mizzou and SLU may not be recruiting against each other at this time, with the current coaching regimes, but they certainly did in the past. And they still compete with each other for media attention. That has always been the case. Now that the SLU program is clearly on the upswing, it appears the STL Media is starting to jump on the bandwagon. That is ok with me. Welcome aboard!

This year the A-10's RPI is #6, with 6 teams in the Top 42: Temple (12), Xavier (20), Rhode Island (22), Richmond (27), Dayton (33), and Charlotte (42). The MVC is #9 in conference RPI this season, with Northern Iowa (RPI 25) and Wichita State (RPI 47) as the only NCAA At Large Bid candidates. Following the RPI, the NCAA would cut off today at RPI 49, with 6 A-10 teams and 2 MVC teams. The Pac-10 (conference RPI of #8) would have only 1 NCAA team per the RPI: #23 Cal. But again, don't believe that IMO. I think the Pac-10 will get at least 2 NCAA teams. SLU, with its RPI at 91, still has more work to do. But there is some hope, and the RPI is not the end all, even if it usually proves to be very close to that, with only about 3 variances per year, irrespective of NCAA Committee pronouncements, etc. If SLU could get its RPI into the low 50's and enter Selection Sunday as a red hot team, that NCAA Committee would hopefully take notice.

I agree that the A-10 is not a mid-major. By some definition circulating in the past, the A-10 is not a mid-major. Further, we cannot assume, contrary to these pundits, that the Pac-10 is a Juan Bid league this season. I think first place Cal (RPI 23) is going to get an NCAA bid, irrespective of the Pac-10 Tournament result. Further, I doubt that Cal will win the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center in LA, primarily based upon history and just by being out here, following the games over the years. Thus, the Pac-10 will get at least 2 NCAA teams- Cal and the Pac-10 Tournament winner. Watch Lorenzo Romar's Washington Huskies, RPI 53. UW has had problems on the road, but has some talent. Also watch UCLA, playing in the Pac-10 Tournament in its hometown, albeit not on its home floor. A number of desperate teams will be competing in that Pac-10 Tournament. One of them will come out of LA with the NCAA automatic bid.

Anything is possible, but that cry seems unlikely any time soon, with Gonzaga still ruling the roost. I was at the Gonzaga at SMC game earlier in the season. While it was a good game, Gonzaga seemed pretty much in control throughout- on St. Mary's home court. Then the Zags took it to SMC last Thursday night in The Kennel in Spokane. Without Patty Mills, SMC is good, but doesn't seem as good as last year's team. Gonzaga has reloaded. Gonzaga is not invinceable, as the Zags were upset at USF. The Zags also were all but beaten at Santa Clara, but rallied late to take that one. The WCC Tournament is at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, a neutral floor, for the second straight year.

Coaching continuity is important, as shown by Gonzaga. When I first came out here in the mid-'80's, Gonzaga was a middle of the pack WCC team. But Dan Fitzgerald started that program, followed by Dan Monson, and then Mark Few, who himself was a Gonzaga assistant. Gonzaga has ruled the WCC for a long time. Butler was even less than a middle of the pack team in the MCC before it became the Horizon, when schools such as Xavier, SLU, Marquette, and Dayton were members. Gonzaga and Butler now have their own fiefdoms in their mid-major conferences to the point where NCAA bids are almost a given, and really are givens in Gonzaga's case. As for players, it seems like Matt Bouldin at Gonzaga has been playing forever. He follows a long line of similar players for the Zags, guys like Derek Raivio, except Bouldin is 6'5". The other night someone said Gonzaga is the New York Yankees of the WCC, and that St. Mary's is the Brooklyn Dodgers. St. Mary's, by the way, lost a key WCC road game at Portland. The Gaels, again, are very much on the NCAA bubble. It is tough to compare clubs that don't play each other, but I would take our Billikens over St. Mary's this year, irrespective of what those RPI's say. Admittedly I'm biased, but I think SLU has the better club.

MAGNIFICENT WIN!!! We are in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and just learned the score. To paraphrase the good folks down here: Who dat there gonna beat dem Bills? Who dat? Who dat? Not Dayton in The Lou on Mardi Gras. No way. Good job, SLU. We're proud of you. And we'll be spreading the good news on Bourbon Steet tonight!!!

The post did not say he went to Mizzou. One can be a Mizzou media supporter/apologist without being an alumnus. One can be a MVC media cheerleader without going to an MVC school. Sarcasm irrespective, does anyone believe SLU should be in the Ohio Valley Conference?

It's still Duck Season in Boone County, isn't it? It would seem that Boone County Duck Season is now perpetual.

As for the media, it was Randy Karraker who said that SLU should be in the Valley, as in the Ohio Valley. What was that given that it was coming from a member of the St. Louis Media on a St. Louis Area radio station? That was just about as low as it could get- nearly akin to that Mizzou fan at the old Hearnes Center with that sign shown on St. Louis TV: "St. Louis U In Division 2." Delusions? Stereotypes, perhaps? See, the Bay Area is really a big place, over 5 million people, and not all of us are on chemicals.

Delusions? Stereotypes, perhaps? See, the Bay Area is really a big place, over 5 million people, and not all of us are on chemicals.

This is more media driven rubbish designed to suppress the SLU program, and in this case, given that it is coming from Columbia, the bent is patently obvious. Cut and paste a quote here with one there, and presto, the threat to the East is gone.

Speculation re the dominoes has Colorado headed to the Pac-10, Arkansas moving to the Big 12, and Memphis replacing Arkansas in the SEC. Meanwhile, Pitt goes to the Big 10, opening a spot in the Big East. Dare we dream there? If SLU only had football ... Charlotte is adding football, but unless something has changed, first at the FCS (D1-AA Level). Still perhaps Charlotte would return to C-USA, replacing Memphis.

Postcard, I've read some of your posts in the past. Exactly whose side are you on? I think we all know that answer. Re the Jesuit priest, with all due respect, I'm confident that he knows much more than you do about the inner workings in DuBourg Hall, and I do not feel that I'm at liberty to say more on that subject.

Agreed that this is a great post. As SLU fans, we are conditioned to fear. We have seen history repeat itself too many times. It is clear that Majerus is getting the job done. Give Majerus back the chartered flights. And then Majerus zips it until after the season. Let the big decisions re program direction, conference affiliation, be decided behind closed doors, not in the media.

I was told by a Jesuit priest from an East Coast school, who was in the know re SLU, that the A-10 would not be big enough for SLU, citing TV. When I asked where he thought SLU should be, he thought about it and ultimately said the Big East.