SN list of "bubble boys"

[bauman]

Wow, how far this group of kids have come! Today's Sporting News list us as one of about 10 bubble teams along with Rhode Island, Ill and a few other big-time MBB programs. Also was interesting to note that Temple is a 4, X and Richmond are 6s and Dayton is in (somewhere around a 10 seed-Missouri is a 7 seed. Obviously the remaining conference games will change a lot.

[Runnin'Billiken]

Wow, how far this group of kids have come! Today's Sporting News list us as one of about 10 bubble teams along with Rhode Island, Ill and a few other big-time MBB programs. Also was interesting to note that Temple is a 4, X and Richmond are 6s and Dayton is in (somewhere around a 10 seed-Missouri is a 7 seed. Obviously the remaining conference games will change a lot.

Seems a little rosy. No way Dayton is in without beating X on Friday. Too many losses, too many losses in conference, too many recent losses. Their "eye" test is more like a "get-poked-in-the-eye test" lately. They really don't have many factors going for them at the end of the season. I don't think we can get at at-large without winning all three games, but hey, we get a bid anyway for that! Getting to the final could probably put us in the first four out category, but the season is just not long enough for us to dig out of the hole we dug for ourselves in nonconf.

[bauman]

Seems a little rosy. No way Dayton is in without beating X on Friday. Too many losses, too many losses in conference, too many recent losses. Their "eye" test is more like a "get-poked-in-the-eye test" lately. They really don't have many factors going for them at the end of the season. I don't think we can get at at-large without winning all three games, but hey, we get a bid anyway for that! Getting to the final could probably put us in the first four out category, but the season is just not long enough for us to dig out of the hole we dug for ourselves in nonconf.

I agree with you, but the point of my post is that we are at least getting some love from the national media.

[JohnnyJumpUp]

Seems a little rosy. No way Dayton is in without beating X on Friday. Too many losses, too many losses in conference, too many recent losses. Their "eye" test is more like a "get-poked-in-the-eye test" lately. They really don't have many factors going for them at the end of the season. I don't think we can get at at-large without winning all three games, but hey, we get a bid anyway for that! Getting to the final could probably put us in the first four out category, but the season is just not long enough for us to dig out of the hole we dug for ourselves in nonconf.

If we beat Rhode Island and Temple, and at least make it a game against X, we're in.

[Pistol]

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

Lunardi has Illinois as the last team in for some reason. Washington, Seton Hall, Rhody, and Ole Miss are the first four out and Dayton, UAB, Mississippi State, and Minnesota are the next four out. He has Temple as a 5 and Xavier and Richmond as 6-seeds.

[JMM28]

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

Lunardi has Illinois as the last team in for some reason. Washington, Seton Hall, Rhody, and Ole Miss are the first four out and Dayton, UAB, Mississippi State, and Minnesota are the next four out. He has Temple as a 5 and Xavier and Richmond as 6-seeds.

Yeah don't quite get the Illinois being in thing. Their only hope is to win the big10 tourney, maybe making the finals? But they have Wisconsin first, and are likely to get pounded into the NIT.

[kwyjibo]

If we beat Rhode Island and Temple, and at least make it a game against X, we're in.

If that happens, SLU will have an RPI around 70. They will have a nice finish to the season (10-3) and may get some consideration for play with Cody Ellis on board but they have negatives (most notably losing to Ball St Bowling Green, Iowa St. and GW and generally playing too many easy non-conf games). There is no historical evidence of a team with an RPI of 70 getting that much extra love with SLU's profile). Dance Card, has run regression about ALL the factors that get people into the tourney and currently forecasts SLU getting about a 10 place bump above their RPI rank. That is good but not good enough in all likelihood.

Hopefully, this will be a learning opportunity about the importance of playing a more competitive schedule.

I am not saying this to be negative (in fact, I will always point out that SLU probably earned the right in their last NCAA appearance as an at-large even though they got in as an automatic--people forget their RPI would have been in the low 40s with a decent profile as a 2nd place team 10 years ago).

[Billiken Rich]

If that happens, SLU will have an RPI around 70. They will have a nice finish to the season (10-3) and may get some consideration for play with Cody Ellis on board but they have negatives (most notably losing to Ball St, Iowa St. and GW and generally playing too many easy non-conf games).

Hopefully, this will be a learning opportunity about the importance of playing a more competitive schedule.

Bolling Green?

[kwyjibo]

Bolling Green?

Yep, Bowling Green! Sorry.

[billiken_roy]

Yeah don't quite get the Illinois being in thing. Their only hope is to win the big10 tourney, maybe making the finals? But they have Wisconsin first, and are likely to get pounded into the NIT.

the talking heads just cant except that the big ten only has 4 worthy teams. more of the bcs superiority nonsense.

same with the pac 10 and sec. the pac 10 truly should be a one bid conference and he sec a three bid conference. it is making them nuts.

[Pistol]

the talking heads just cant except that the big ten only has 4 worthy teams. more of the bcs superiority nonsense.

same with the pac 10 and sec. the pac 10 truly should be a one bid conference and he sec a three bid conference. it is making them nuts.

If the Pac 10 and A10 both wind up with 3 bids apiece this year, there is no justice in the world. If someone other than Cal or ASU wins their tournament, ASU should get bumped. I probably wouldn't include ASU at this point, but if it ends up being a Cal-ASU final, they probably both deserve it. I could still see the Pac 10 ending up with 3 if Cal loses, ASU wins a couple and loses the tournament to some other undeserving Pac 10 team.

I'm also only seeing 4 worthy teams in the Big Ten and 4 in the SEC.

I don't think SLU, Charlotte, URI, or Dayton are worthy of an at-large bid right now, but I definitely don't think Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Florida, Seton Hall, or South Florida are worthy, either.

[Bay Area Billiken]

If the Pac 10 and A10 both wind up with 3 bids apiece this year, there is no justice in the world. If someone other than Cal or ASU wins their tournament, ASU should get bumped. I probably wouldn't include ASU at this point, but if it ends up being a Cal-ASU final, they probably both deserve it. I could still see the Pac 10 ending up with 3 if Cal loses, ASU wins a couple and loses the tournament to some other undeserving Pac 10 team.

I'm also only seeing 4 worthy teams in the Big Ten and 4 in the SEC.

I don't think SLU, Charlotte, URI, or Dayton are worthy of an at-large bid right now, but I definitely don't think Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Florida, Seton Hall, or South Florida are worthy, either.

The potential Arizona State (RPI 54, 22-9, 12-6) v. Washington (RPI 50, 21-9, 11-7) semi-final game in the Pac-10 Tournament could be for an NCAA bid. The Pac-10 reversed the game order in the quarterfinals so Arizona State, the 2nd Place team, plays the first evening game before Washington, and gets more recovery time (by a couple of hours). That is how close this has become.

I still think the Pac-10 will get 3 teams. Washington has been coming on strong and has the talent; ASU has 22 wins and 12 Pac-10 wins.

And as I've posted before, UCLA AD Dan Guerrero is the Chairman of the NCAA Basketball Committee.

The only thing keeping Illinois (RPI 75) in the discussion is that Illinois did finish 10-8 in the Big Ten, and that traditionally is good enough to get in the NCAA. It may well be unprecedented, certainly I don't remember a case, in which a 10-8 Big Ten team was kept out.

[Pistol]

The potential Arizona State (RPI 54, 22-9, 12-6) v. Washington (RPI 50, 21-9, 11-7) semi-final game in the Pac-10 Tournament could be for an NCAA bid. The Pac-10 reversed the game order in the quarterfinals so Arizona State, the 2nd Place team, plays the first evening game before Washington, and gets more recovery time (by a couple of hours). That is how close this has become.

I still think the Pac-10 will get 3 teams. Washington has been coming on strong and has the talent; ASU has 22 wins and 12 Pac-10 wins.

And as I've posted before, UCLA AD Dan Guerrero is the Chairman of the NCAA Basketball Committee.

The only thing keeping Illinois (RPI 75) in the discussion is that Illinois did finish 10-8 in the Big Ten, and that traditionally is good enough to get in the NCAA. It may well be unprecedented, certainly I don't remember a case, in which a 10-8 Big Ten team was kept out.

Well, this is a perfect opportunity for that to happen.

I didn't realize the Pac 10 had moved that game. Very interesting. I like Romar, but Washington has underachieved by a lot this year and I always hate to see really talented, underachieving teams get in.

[brianstl]

the talking heads just cant except that the big ten only has 4 worthy teams. more of the bcs superiority nonsense.

same with the pac 10 and sec. the pac 10 truly should be a one bid conference and he sec a three bid conference. it is making them nuts.

The only reason why the talking heads are talking about us is because of Majerus and many being his friend. If SLU gets to the A 10 final those guys are not going to start trashing us.

The fact that we would be getting love from them won't matter in the end. We just don't have a good enough resume to go to the NCAA without winning the A 10 tourney.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Well, this is a perfect opportunity for that to happen.

I didn't realize the Pac 10 had moved that game. Very interesting. I like Romar, but Washington has underachieved by a lot this year and I always hate to see really talented, underachieving teams get in.

Also Coach Romar was in the papers today complaining that Cal's Jerome Randall was named Pac-10 Player of the Year over UW's Quincy Poindexter. I think the Coach is trying to fire up the troops.

UCLA has had a horrible season, and really is not very good at all. But don't count the Bruins out in this Pac-10 Tournament either, not with the games at Staples Center in LA. I think UCLA has the better of the brackets- Arizona in the quarterfinals, probably Cal in the semi-finals. Cal knows it is in, and UCLA won in Berkeley (the 2 UC's split, each winning on each other's court).

In Steve Lavin's last year at UCLA, the Bruins also had a bad year, but made a run in that Pac-10 Tournament.

My best hunch is that either UW or UCLA will win that Pac-10 Tournament.

[Quality Is Job 1]

Hopefully, this will be a learning opportunity about the importance of playing a more competitive schedule.

Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI was on with Bernie Miklasz this afternoon, and BM brought up a similar point, and Palm disagreed, saying that the Billikens would be fine, even with their non-conference schedule, had they won the games. Had the Bills beat Iowa St., Missouri St., and Bowling Green, they'd be in.

[Bay Area Billiken]

Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI was on with Bernie Miklasz this afternoon, and BM brought up a similar point, and Palm disagreed, saying that the Billikens would be fine, even with their non-conference schedule, had they won the games. Had the Bills beat Iowa St., Missouri St., and Bowling Green, they'd be in.

Then perhaps the finger should be pointed at the NCAA Clearinghouse. Of course, that won't do SLU any good, as it would be biting the hand that feeds. But I think SLU beats Iowa State and Mo. State with Cody Ellis.

Bowling Green was a clinker, but still it was only a 9 point road loss. I questioned why SLU was even playing Bowling Green. If you are going to take a risk like that, it might have been better to play someone closer to home, like Illinois State.

Someone should be asking that the old last 10 game standard be applied.

I looked this morning, and SLU's RPI since Cody Ellis joined the team is 42, which would put SLU right there with Mizzou, ahead of Mizzou on the most recent version of the "Eye Test."

[kwyjibo]

Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI was on with Bernie Miklasz this afternoon, and BM brought up a similar point, and Palm disagreed, saying that the Billikens would be fine, even with their non-conference schedule, had they won the games. Had the Bills beat Iowa St., Missouri St., and Bowling Green, they'd be in.

That is true and so is the fact that SLU could have lost more games if they played a harder schedule--but neither of them are the point. You can make the NCAA with any strength of schedule. My point is about scheduling not what ifs. You can win or lose games but you have control over your non-conf schedule (also remember the A-10 was better than a lot of people expected so the Bills overall SOS, which is fine, was based partly on luck or incredible insight). The point is when you schedule you need to account for the inevitable hit that playing a team expected to lose a lot of games will have on your RPI (even more true if said bad team plays in a bad conference like Kennesaw St.).

[cheeseman]

Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI was on with Bernie Miklasz this afternoon, and BM brought up a similar point, and Palm disagreed, saying that the Billikens would be fine, even with their non-conference schedule, had they won the games. Had the Bills beat Iowa St., Missouri St., and Bowling Green, they'd be in.

This a good point - it is not the SOS that solely matters but whether you win the games in the end. Yes I know that a strong SOS would be nice for the selection committee to hang their hats on but if you have a strong SOS but are a 500 team then you are not going to get selected.

[cheeseman]

Then perhaps the finger should be pointed at the NCAA Clearinghouse. Of course, that won't do SLU any good, as it would be biting the hand that feeds. But I think SLU beats Iowa State and Mo. State with Cody Ellis.

Bowling Green was a clinker, but still it was only a 9 point road loss. I questioned why SLU was even playing Bowling Green. If you are going to take a risk like that, it might have been better to play someone closer to home, like Illinois State.

Someone should be asking that the old last 10 game standard be applied.

I looked this morning, and SLU's RPI since Cody Ellis joined the team is 42, which would put SLU right there with Mizzou, ahead of Mizzou on the most recent version of the "Eye Test."

We played them in order to get a two game series with a home and home. I know some think that we can schedule anybody we want just by snapping our fingers but the reality is it is not easy for us and teams like us to schedule that is why it is so important for us to be in a strong conference.

[moytoy12]

Looks like we're getting a little help as Seton Hall fell today to ND. Maybe Cincy can pull off an upset of Louisville.

Also, we're the 6th team out according to this blog: http://beyondthearc.msnbc.msn.com/archive/...10/2223709.aspx

Damn, I'm afraid i'm too busy thinking about the possibilities and not concentrating on URI.

[This...is Steven Koren]

Having Majerus on our side certainly doesn't hurt, and probably helps to generate a little buzz.

I think we will have to make it to the A10 championship game to have any legitimate gripe about an at-large bid.

I also think that if the name of our team was "Dayton" or "Temple" or some other team that regularly goes to the tourney, then there would be a lot more talk about Cody Ellis and how everything that happened before his arrival is somehow invalid, and we should only be judged on what has happened in conference play.

I'm not saying it's a valid argument. But the "we only had our star player for part of the season" argument has worked for some teams in the past. As a biased fan, I am willing to play that card to get my team in, if necessary.

Naturally, I'd rather just see our guys go out there and win the damn tournament.

S-A-...

[TheChosenOne]

Looks like we're getting a little help as Seton Hall fell today to ND. Maybe Cincy can pull off an upset of Louisville.

Also, we're the 6th team out according to this blog: http://beyondthearc.msnbc.msn.com/archive/...10/2223709.aspx

Damn, I'm afraid i'm too busy thinking about the possibilities and not concentrating on URI.

Bubble teams have to be happy with the Big East tournament thus far with Seton Hall and South Florida both losing yesterday. I thought Louisville played their way in this past weekend, but losing to Cincinnati does not help their case. So the three teams from the Big East most on the bubble all lost. I think Louisville still gets in, but Seton Hall and South Florida have to be on the wrong side of the bubble now.

[SShoe]

Looks like we're getting a little help as Seton Hall fell today to ND. Maybe Cincy can pull off an upset of Louisville.

Also, we're the 6th team out according to this blog: http://beyondthearc.msnbc.msn.com/archive/...10/2223709.aspx

Damn, I'm afraid i'm too busy thinking about the possibilities and not concentrating on URI.

ND has to be in the way they're playing.

[TheChosenOne]

ND has to be in the way they're playing.

I agree. I was definitely rooting for Notre Dame to beat Seton Hall last night. I thought Notre Dame had played their way in the last couple weeks of the season winning 4 straight over Pitt, at Georgetown, UConn, and Marquette. That was all without Luke Harangody too. With 20+ wins and 10 wins in the Big East, I thought Notre Dame was looking good. Seton Hall on the other hand went into the game with 19 wins and a .500 record in conference play, so a team that I thought really needed another quality win to have a shot at a bid. The loss last night would appear to knock Seton Hall on the wrong side of the bubble and make Notre Dame a lock (if they weren't already).