Is that respect earned? It depends. In the Valley's defense, they are a pretty good mid-major conference. Maybe the best of them. But after watching some of that conference tournament and some selected games this season, it's pretty obvious that the Missouri Valley is not on the same level as the "BCS Conferences". And was that championship game between Bradley and Southern Illinois tough to watch or what? Dennis Dodd summed it up best:
"Everybody's favorite mid-major topped off a weekend of physical, ugly and almost traumatic basketball with more of the same."
I've watched the Missouri Valley tournament for years, and thought the sights of fans jumping around in a mostly empty Saavis Center with their silly "Missouri Valley Champs" signs was pretty humorous. It's nice to win your conference title, but let's face it, the Missouri Valley is still a mid-major conference. A very improved Valley, that's for sure. But, the RPI gives the Valley much more respect than they deserve. And Monday morning, I bet the brass at CBS were thinking the same thing.Creighton is pinning their hopes on their victories of George Mason (who? They lost in the semis of the Colonial Conference tournament), Nebraska, and Xavier (tenth in the A-10). Well, shoot, if we're going to name drop, Nebraska beat Marquette (4th in the Big East) and Oklahoma and we know Nebraska isn't even remotely close to the tournament.
I really admire what Dana Altman has done at Creighton. He's one of the best coaches in the country. He did an excellent job with his best player out for the season, and his next-best player out for the past month. But, Creighton is what Creighton is. A decent team in a mid-major conference. Last year, they had to win the Missouri Valley tournament to get in. This year, their hopes are fading.
Are we setting up for another NIT rematch of Nebraska and Creighton? Hard to say, especially since the NIT is now set up with brackets and seedings. In the past, they tried to set up matchups like NU/CU to sell tickets, but with the NCAA running the show, that might not be in the cards for this year.
3 comments:
Creighton is not "gaming" the RPI; I never made that charge. I don't know how anybody can do that. Creighton is scheduling to the RPI, but anybody can do that.
What I am saying is that Creighton's "RPI enhancing" wins don't appear all that noteworthy.
As for the communicating their case for an NCAA bid, I really don't think the fan web site is the medium for that communication. Posting it there is simply pandering to your fan base; essentially whining.
As for "would Nebraska do it"? I don't know. All I know is that in 2001 when the BCS was working out, everybody else was complaining about the system while Nebraska let the system work it's way out.
Accusing the sportswriters who vote in the AP poll and the coaches who voted in the ESPN/USA Today poll of not being human is rather harsh.
No human element? Hmmmm....
There were about 60 sportswriters and 60 coaches voting in 2001 to help determine who was #1 and who was #2. Some people were advocating voting Nebraska at #10 or lower to ensure that Nebraska couldn't qualify for the BCS title game. Yes, the human element is different in the BCS versus the NCAA selection committee, but it's still there.
And torear, you need to read my blog a little more closely if you think that something would be ok if Steve Pederson did it. (Hint... read the opening line underneath the title of my blog!)
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