Thursday, April 02, 2009

Doc Sadler Owns Creighton Fans (well, some of 'em...)

They just don't get it. For a school with as great of an academic reputation, some of Creighton's fans might be as myopic as they come. This week, KETV's John Schuetz sat down with Husker basketball coach Doc Sadler, and asked him about his comments last week about the NU/Creighton basketball games primarily benefiting the fans. Doc explained it a little more...and the Briejay nation whined once more.

Well, he tried to explain it...but Briejay fan is having none of it. Never let facts get in the way of a good tantrum. And boy, is Briejay fan throwing one once again. They're getting quite good at it lately, whether it's their niche talk show host getting cancelled, or Doc pointing out the truth.

What has BrieJay fan so upset? Simply put: the NCAA tournament committee is focusing on one thing, and one thing only: Who did you beat? The more, better teams you beat...the better chances are that you are in the tournament. Arizona and Michigan got in the dance ahead of Creighton, simply because those schools had so many victories against the top teams in college basketball. As Doc says...both Nebraska and Creighton would be better of playing teams like Duke... or Kansas ... or one of those other Top 25 teams.

Now, of course, neither school is getting to play Duke, of course. But the point is made. It's those type of games that give teams their tournament resume. RPI kind-of/sort-of models it...but it's merely a starting point. Does NU/Creighton help both schools RPI? Yes, to a degree. But for the most part, Nebraska's RPI strength is based much more on their Big XII schedule.

Right or wrong...that's the message the NCAA is sending. Should the NCAA adjust their formula and encourage schools to play non-conference games with a bite? Absolutely. But until the NCAA publicly changes their formula, this is what we've got. Here's a few thoughts: make non-conference matchups a key distinguishing factor, not to mention road games. Give the big name schools a reason to hop a plane and fly to Omaha. Make it so that if you lose to a MVC conference champion team on the road, that counts more than beating up on Alcorn State at home.

So Doc spells it out plain as day...and BrieJay fan howls in protest...with the howls having almost nothing to do with what was actually said. If anything, it's like a puppet. Doc talks, and the BrieJay fan dances their silly little dance.

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