D-West & PO-Z

They said that in previous years. I wasnt talking about after the fact. I know Kenpom is one thing they also consider, among others I am sure, and Bona was #79 in KenPom. Butler was 40. Temple was the worst KenPom ranked team to get an at large at #86. I dont pretend to completely understand KenPom rankings and how that all works, I know it takes a lot of different factors into account, and by most opinions is a way better measure than the RPI.

Just seems odd out of all the teams to complain about Butler being the first. Unless he complained about others first and I missed it.

Not to mention I am seeing Butler at 56 in RPI and 4 teams below them in the RPI who got in: Michigan, Tulsa, Temple, Vandy. Not sure what your obsession with Butler is?

You are focusing way to much on the RPI. That might be true in a previous world but the committee has stated they are looking at other measures as well, the RPI is a piece but not the end all be all. Especially just looking solely at a teams overall RPI.

Yeah I dont get the Butler hating on being in? They has 3 top 25 RPI wins, 4 in the top 50. They also had zero "bad" losses. Bona definitely got screwed but it wasnt bc Butler got in. Having 2 sub 150 losses to Duquesne and Lasalle I;m sure hurt pretty bad too.

I guarantee there were more Purdue fans than Butler fans in Indy. Do you realize how small Butler is?

Yeah Butler is way down the list when talking about questionable teams, if on it at all.

Butler won @UC and beat Purdue on neutral court. That is 2 better wins away from home than probably half the field. What are you talking about?

This.

Agree about the recycle route. I think Underwood would be a very god hire.

Travis Steele would be a really good hire if they went assistant route. Great recruiter. No head coaching experience may be a downside. If Mack ever leaves XU Steele would get a long look but might not be quite ready for that level yet, especially with no HC experience.

Crews has been so bad and fans are so desperate for anyon else that it is blinding them into thinking retreads like Weber and Lavin would be good hires.

If mediocrity is your goal Lavin would be great. He has a name because he is on TV. He is a good recruiter but he did nothing with some really good talent at St. Johns.

Lavin would be an awful hire. He can't coach his way out of a paper bag. I like him as a studio guy and he is a decent recruiter but he is a bad coach.

Yeah he was very successful at VCU, but he did have 2 guys on his roster who were 1st round NBA picks. Wonder if he recruited them? Maybe he would do well again at a school with no football where basketball takes precedence.

Yeah he would be a decent candidate (way better than Bruce Weber) but I'm not sure I understand all the love he is getting on here. Especially not if you have to break the bank to get him. Whoever it is it needs to be someone with a proven recruiting record and hopefully with strong recruiting ties to the general area, whether a current assistant or a head coach.

Yeah no kidding. There is no reason SLU should not be able to be a top tier A10 team. Good school, good location, good facilities. It wont happen instantly but the right coach will have SLU in a good position after a couple of recruiting classes.

HA! Obviously, but lets not make that our bar.

Majerus was different than Weber, he was always a good succssful coach everywhere at all levels and left the game for personal reasons not because he was a fired retread at 2 different schools like Weber would be. Why anyone would want an old fired multiple times Bruce Weber is beyond me.

I havent read all of the thread but imo SLU needs to hire a young up and coming coach who has been successful in the mid-major to low major ranks. Hiring another retread older coach like Bruce Weber would be a disaster imo. Grab a young go-getter with something to prove who is working his but off to make a name for himself. When does hiring a guy like Bruce Weber ever work out? That has the makings of Crews part 2. To make a (maybe not so great) compariosn to UC football They had great success hiring no name guys from mid major programs (Brian Kelly, Butch Jones) that were young hungry coaches wanting to make a name for themselves and UC football thrived. Then after Jones though go and hire a retread who had had some success at bigger schools and been around for quite a while in Tommy Tubberville and it has been a disaster.

Ya I was afraid he was holding his knee for a moment. Hopefully it is nothin too serious.

The first half was brutal! Very frustrating to watch. Georgia is not a good basketball team but we looked worse in the first half. We play half way decent in the first half we win that game and I think we win fairly easily.

No, because although they would get the top seed it would still be a split A10 Championship which Xavier wouldnt want to have plus Xavier is playing for seeding the NCAA tournament. If the beat UD and Richmond and win the A10 tourney they have a chance for a 3 seed.

I think Temple may sneak in if they win their last game and make it to the conference tourney finals. But it is a shame they lost so many close OOC games. Here is an excerpt from this article Doug Gottlieb wrote on espn. Visit My Website "But if we are really looking for the 34 best at-large teams, why are we not looking for the best teams? For instance, Maryland is in? Does a great team get beaten by 41 by their archrival? Does a great team lose to Georgetown by 27? Clemson by 29? Yes, the Terps beat UNC after trailing by 16 in the second half, but they turned around and lost again at home to Duke. Does a great or even really good team have that kind of inconsistent play? Or does a great team give everyone a great game, like Rhode Island? Seven of the Rams' eight losses this season have been by a total of 24 points. And they have won nine of 10. Rhode Island lost by three at Cameron early in the season and is playing its best basketball right now. Do I know that they are better than Maryland? No. I am confident, but far from arrogant enough to say I know. But the Rams have never lost to Morgan State and have never been "hosed" this year. Why not reward such a solid team?"

While I agree that the schools who are making the commitment should indeed be able to criticize those who dont, I think you are wrong when you say some schools need to make the same commitment because more than some have there are only a few at the very bottom I am concerned about. Also spin our wheels and go where? If there were some place better to go at this point dont you think a team like Xavier would already be gone? Barring another BE breakup there isnt really any good options. Maybe MVC for SLU but that is only because of geographical reasons, it isnt a better conference than the A10. The A10 is still usually one of the top 8 conferences every year and usually never worse than 9th. They are usually the first or second best conference outside the big 6. So lets not pretend like SLU is going to pack up and leave if things dont get changed, because there really isnt anywhere better to go.