kwyjibo Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Sportsline/Meija has SLU in versus Wisconsin(!) in their "if the tournament was today" projections. Neither Jerry Palm (collegerpi.com) nor Joe Lunardi (ESPN) has SLU in or even close. http://www.ncaachampionships.com/collegeba...l/story/6827138 http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketbal...jectingtheseeds Thicks has been stressing that the RPI is not the only criteria. Very true. Top 50 RPI and/or 20 wins gets you "on the board"; then the other criteria play a role (although RPI differences are still important further into the selection process). What are the other factors? Top 25 wins, Top 50 wins, top 100 wins, last 10 games, Bottom 120 losses, away wins. This is what is important and so far SLU is OK with some top 25/50 games ahead. Conference position (there is NO such thing as conference slots--each team is evaluated indidvidually), how you did in your tournament, and how much Dick Vitale talks about you only indirectly determines how well you will fare. (it is POSSIBLE for a really good conference to get fewer bids than a worse conference--it all depends how the INDIVIDUAL team profiles shake out). This is the OFFICIAL selection committee press release from last year. Their RPI did get SLU on the board last year but they did not have a strong enough relative profile to get selected (beating UAB would have likely done it). http://www.ncaa.org/releases/champselectio...003031602sl.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Right now I am more concerned about CUSA's relative strength and how many teams CUSA can get in the tourney. If CUSA remains strong and gets 4 or 5 temas in line to go dancing the rest will take care of itself. SLU right now certainly is a top 4 team in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLfan Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Nice summuray for CUSA in the link you provided. "Conference USA (5) Conference champ: Louisville. At-large: Cincinnati, Marquette, Charlotte, Saint Louis. Bubble burst: Memphis, UAB, Southern Miss, DePaul. Want a case where the RPI can be misleading? Let's inspect the resume of Saint Louis, which has run its league record to 3-1 after wins over Southern Miss and South Florida this past week. The Billikens have an RPI in the 70s despite wins over Butler and Dayton and extremely strong outings against Georgia Tech, Arizona and Marquette. Excellent defense and the presence of exceptional guard Reggie Bryant will make them a tough out on a timely basis, and a friendly schedule -- no games against Cincinnati or Louisville until late February -- gives them a great chance to build momentum. As teams continue to step up in C-USA, the likelihood of the league receiving five bids increases, especially with Cincinnati and Louisville positioning themselves for runs at a No. 1 seed." However does it bother anyone that just as CUSA is about to get the most respect it ever has we are moveing to a league that is projected to get 2 teams into the dance. I think that the A10 is our best option but after seeing that I don't think an extra year in our current conf. could hurt us. "A-10 (2) Conference champ: Saint Joseph's. At-large: Dayton. Bubble burst: Xavier, Rhode Island, George Washington. Dayton has taken command of the West and can really put some distance between itself and the rest of its division mates with wins over George Washington and LaSalle this week. Undefeated Saint Joseph's moves up to a No. 1 seed in our projections and the thought here is it could stay there awhile. The Hawks' record heading into Selection Sunday should be downright gaudy, and if they claim both the A-10's regular season and conference tournament titles, it will be hard to deny them a top seed." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I can't imagine a team that is not from one of the major conferences Big12, Big10, Pac10, BigEast, SEC, or ACC getting a No.1 seed. Maybe a 2 or a 3 ... but I can't see a No.1 I just don't think they play a strong enough schedule ... and I can't see the NCAA selection team being so bold. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 skip they beat you. you have fallen into the trap of belief that the "big conferences" are better just because. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 No ... I don't think they are ... but I do think the NCAA selection committee will not break the norm. I was commenting on what I think they will do. Last year ... Cinci should not have gone ... but they did. They went against most of their own criteria to select them. I just don't think they will do anything different. With that said ... I would have to look more closely at St. Joe's schedule and results to know if I would consider giving them a 1 seed. I do think that the bigger conferences have to play a tougher schedule night in and night out and that counts for something. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyClyde Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I agree with you Skip that the bigger conferences are tougher due to conference depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 While St. Joe's has less margin for error (Duke can have "off nights"), they will definitely get a 1 seed with no losses. They can even lose 1 or 2. They are good, they have beaten a few decent teams (Gonzaga, California, BC--Al Skinner is doing a great job to get his team to play past expectations). Also, the A-10 is not that bad (not as good as C-USA but not one-bid either). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 St Joes is No 1 in RPI in the country. I can't see a way that they can be denied a 1 seed at this point. St. Joes has good wins, plays in a fiarly good conference, is not just a flash in the pan team and has a POY candidate. If they don't lose more than 3 I think they are No 1 seed easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 If they don't lose more than 3 ... they've beaten Gonzaga and haven't and won't play a team with an RPI higher than 50 besides Gonzaga. I think if they go undefeated you are right ... but 1 loss and can't see them getting a 1 seed. I guess we will see. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyClyde Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Sounds like the situation we had with TCU and deserving to be in a BCS bowl. Play somebody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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