Those mean MVC teams are spoiling things for the BCS schools

[Da Coach]

This is hilarious---

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030401283.html

The big boys are whining that the MVC schools have used trickery to get their RPI's up and threaten to steal bids away from more deserving ACC and Big 12 schools.

[Big Mike]

Sounds like a lot of sour grapes...........their really stepping out there aren't they........well play any Valley team on a 'Neutral court' ...........wow how about playing us on our own courts since your so- superior?

[Biff]

Maybe they will get a chance to play about 5 of them on neutral courts in the next couple weeks.

[MickeyT]

What a load of cr@p! I have lost all respect for Gary Williams, Tom Penders,

As far as playing each other to keep their RPI's high, these BCS schools do the same thing every year. Now the MVC actually is playing good schools on the road and the RPI that was once their friend, now suddenly they don't like it.

The funniest thing is that the RPI was invented and tweaked by these same big boys just to use it against mid-majors, and to get 5, 6, and 7 teams from their conferences in the tournament. Now Tom Penders calls it "garbage"?

[andypt7]

So in essence, they're saying the the "key" to unlocking the RPI is to have one of your teams pull an upset on the road vs. a highly ranked team during non-conference, and then have that team be a sort of sacrificial lamb in league play. As if Northern Iowa just let all other Valley teams beat them so the conference as a whole would benefit from their high RPI.

Maybe Maryland should have beaten the only non-conference top 50 team that they played, then they wouldn't have to be crying like this.

If you look at this from the other side of the coin, Valley teams don't have the chance to pick up a win over Duke, Texas, or Memphis during the last week of the year to magically make their very average season look like gold, like FSU, Texas A&M, and UAB were able to do this week.

[threeeleven]

-witchita state beat providence but lost to illinois on a questionable call
-nothern iowa beat iowa and lsu
-bradley beat depaul (not a strong team) but a team that did everything but depants a syracuse 108 to 69
-cu beat george mason (g m is going to ncaa tourney) and nebraska
-drake loses by 3 to #10 boston college and iowa by 5
-evansville beat purdue
-indiana state beat indiana

so where is the evidence that the valley doesnt play good teams?
acc,big 12, big ten, big east

[Big Mike]

Good Points .........311!

It must be really frustrating to the BCS schools to have all that money and power and still get their world rocked!

[threeeleven]

interesting article http://www.sportsline.com/collegebas.../story/9286450

[thefish7]

After arguing a bit with a friend of mine from Michigan State about Valley vs. Big Ten, I put the numbers together. Against Big Ten, Big Twelve, SEC, ACC, and Big East, Valley teams went 7-9 and lost by an average of 1.67 points. So after 16 games we're pretty close. Some of our teams have to advance in the NCAA or we just proved everyone right.

[BUBravesMan]

Regardless of whether or not Valley schools go out to play teams in hopes of boosting RPI numbers, they still beat the other teams.

[BTID]

After arguing a bit with a friend of mine from Michigan State about Valley vs. Big Ten, I put the numbers together. Against Big Ten, Big Twelve, SEC, ACC, and Big East, Valley teams went 7-9 and lost by an average of 1.67 points. So after 16 games we're pretty close. Some of our teams have to advance in the NCAA or we just proved everyone right.

Great stat fish! Whomever gets into the NCAA or NIT must do well (even if they get eliminated). Who knows, this may be the best season of Missouri Valley Conference basketball we will ever witness, or it could be the start of something really big for our league and the schools that play in it.

[user1]

The entire purpose of going with such a "thing" as an RPI
weas to justify taking the 5th and 6th place teams in some conferences (like the ACC or Big East) over a team that might have won its conference but not gotten the auto bid.
In other words, it is doing for the MVC exactly what they invented the thing for, and now they complain.

[SFP]

I hope JL is on the phone right now with Gary Williams scheduling a home game with U of MD. I wonder who JL has called in the BCS who does not want to come to Peoria for a home and home schedule. I'm sure it probably was a Big Ten school who has the most to lose lossing to a school that recruits in the same area.