xubrew
11-30-2009, 11:05 AM
i'm a huge supporter of the non-major conference teams. i do not believe there is a bias against teams that aren't in the big six conference when it comes to the selection committee or the ncaa in general, but i do believe there is a certain circumstantial disadvantage that they face. it is more difficult for them to get the sheer quantity of games against major programs on equal terms. in other words, they don't get as many chances to prove themselves as a major conference teams who automatically has 10 or so games against quality opponents built into their schedule.
coming into this season, i felt there were more teams from outside major conferences that could (and would) make a splash on the national scene and in the ncaa tournament than what we've seen for quite some time.
western kentucky returns virtually everyone (and adds even more) to a team that nearly made the sweet sixteen last year
siena lost just one starter, and returns everyone else on a team that went nine deep
northern iowa finished very strong and returned everyone
utah state lost their best player, but appeared to be strong again
old dominion looks to be an at-large caliber team when you look at all that they bring back
everyone knows all about butler
everyone also knows about creighton
over the past two weeks, nearly all these teams got the chance to play against major conference teams in tournaments where they could have established themselves......and blew it. it wasn't as if these were games where they were on the road in front of a hostile crowd with everything stacked against them. for the most part these were games that were played on equal terms.
butler lost to minnesota and clemson in the 76 classic.
xavier lost to baylor and marquette in the old spice.
western kentucky lost at lsu in the nit, which robbed them of a chance to go to madison square garden and take on some much needed quality competition. granted that was a road loss, but the game was so poorly attended it was virtually a neutral site game.
old dominion lost to both missouri and mississippi state down in south padre island
northern iowa lost their first game to depaul in the paradise jam (although they did beat boston college)
creighton lost all three of their games in the old spice
dayton lost to nova (who is exceptional) and kansas state (who is not) in puerto rico
siena lost two games in the philadephia tournament.
people complain about the non-major conference teams getting snubbed every year. in nearly every case that i listed above, what appeared to be a strong non-major conference team lost to a mid-level major conference team, and did so on a level playing field. that's why the major conferences get the majority of the bids. all of those games could have been won, and arguably should have been won by the non-major conference teams.
i'm just kind of ranting. it's just that i really thought this would be a big breakout year for the so-called "mid-majors" (a term i hate and try not to use), and so far it hasn't been. teams outside the major conferences, and those who support them, claim that they're always snubbed and don't get a chance. well, this was their chance. it wasn't their only chance, but it was perhaps their best. there won't be another week where so many non-major conference teams have so many chances to make statements. it seems as though virtually none of them really did. it's kinda dissapointing and discouraging for someone who wanted to see so many non-major conference teams breaked through, and was actually under the impression that it not only could happen, but was likely to happen.
coming into this season, i felt there were more teams from outside major conferences that could (and would) make a splash on the national scene and in the ncaa tournament than what we've seen for quite some time.
western kentucky returns virtually everyone (and adds even more) to a team that nearly made the sweet sixteen last year
siena lost just one starter, and returns everyone else on a team that went nine deep
northern iowa finished very strong and returned everyone
utah state lost their best player, but appeared to be strong again
old dominion looks to be an at-large caliber team when you look at all that they bring back
everyone knows all about butler
everyone also knows about creighton
over the past two weeks, nearly all these teams got the chance to play against major conference teams in tournaments where they could have established themselves......and blew it. it wasn't as if these were games where they were on the road in front of a hostile crowd with everything stacked against them. for the most part these were games that were played on equal terms.
butler lost to minnesota and clemson in the 76 classic.
xavier lost to baylor and marquette in the old spice.
western kentucky lost at lsu in the nit, which robbed them of a chance to go to madison square garden and take on some much needed quality competition. granted that was a road loss, but the game was so poorly attended it was virtually a neutral site game.
old dominion lost to both missouri and mississippi state down in south padre island
northern iowa lost their first game to depaul in the paradise jam (although they did beat boston college)
creighton lost all three of their games in the old spice
dayton lost to nova (who is exceptional) and kansas state (who is not) in puerto rico
siena lost two games in the philadephia tournament.
people complain about the non-major conference teams getting snubbed every year. in nearly every case that i listed above, what appeared to be a strong non-major conference team lost to a mid-level major conference team, and did so on a level playing field. that's why the major conferences get the majority of the bids. all of those games could have been won, and arguably should have been won by the non-major conference teams.
i'm just kind of ranting. it's just that i really thought this would be a big breakout year for the so-called "mid-majors" (a term i hate and try not to use), and so far it hasn't been. teams outside the major conferences, and those who support them, claim that they're always snubbed and don't get a chance. well, this was their chance. it wasn't their only chance, but it was perhaps their best. there won't be another week where so many non-major conference teams have so many chances to make statements. it seems as though virtually none of them really did. it's kinda dissapointing and discouraging for someone who wanted to see so many non-major conference teams breaked through, and was actually under the impression that it not only could happen, but was likely to happen.