Vitale is ripping into Bilas and Phelps!

[Bravesfan]

Way to go Dickie V! He's ripping into these two lamebrains that it is almost impossible for mid-majors to schedule BCS teams. Bilas says it's not fair, but they have to go on the road to play them!

But good for Vitale and Gottlieb backing up the mid-majors. St. Marys played good teams on the road and they got shafted. So it's almost a no win situation short of winning a few of these types of games in an exempt tournament or on the road.

Maybe that will be us next year.

[SFP]

DV is such a true basketball junkie and is usually as much as I hate to admit it he's as fair as they come, as long as he is not talking about Coach K!

[Bravesfan]

DV is such a true basketball junkie and is usually as much as I hate to admit it he's as fair as they come, as long as he is not talking about Coach K!

Yeah, if it came down to the last two spots, and it was between Duke, North Carolina and seven mid-majors, he would always pick Duke and UNC. Otherwise he is very fair!

[houstontxbrave]

This whole thing has gotten much to out of hand.

If you are not in a BCS conference you are told to go out and challenge yourself, so from Bilas the other two on that show that means even if you have to play every game on the road then so be it. But do not in any way shape or form lose one of those games.

The BCS of the world have figured it out and that is just play all your games at home. I mean look at Penn State their non conference was horrible, they lose somewhat early in the Big Ten tourney have a muddle along over all record but yet here they are still in the running discussion for a bid. They do not have to schedule road games they simply need to replace a couple bad low majors with a couple middle majors.

The whole thing has swayed since 04-05 to BCS. The BCS of the world just issolate themselves in their own arenas or an occasional neutral site tourney. The MVC of the world regardless of who they schedule are in a no win situation with the NCAA tourney, you are either perfect or you win your automatic bid other then that any atlarge goes to a BCS conference.

No way that if you put Niagra or St Mary's resume against Arizona does Arizona have a better resume, but they play on.

Its to the point of just have a BCS tourney and forget about it. Its essentially what we have right now.

[Fetz86]

I like the rest of the studio making fun of digger saying he wont be able to pronounce any of the UNI players names.

[real fan]

I said a long time ago that the Valley would get only 1 bid, the BCS schools have figured out by not playing mid-majors on the road that it is almost impossible for non BCS schools to get at-large bids. The best way to get into the tour. is to win the automatic bid because it is getting harder each season to try and receive an at large bid. I think a lot of this has to do with the year George Mason went to the final 4 and BU and Wichita St. went to the sweet 16, it embarrased the big schools and it also took a huge amount of money away from them.Bob Knight was right in that he feels the tour. should expand to 128 teams as it would only add 1 more game and it would also be a lot harder to keep teams with 20 plus wins out.

[braveatheart]

The problem for mid-majors is that the BCS schools get to play good teams at home, mid-majors have to play them on the road.
They love to use the measures of how teams do against the top 50 or top 100. Well BCS schools get to play more than half those games at home. Mid-majors are doing most of that on the road. Not really comparing apple to apples.
Think about what a B10 team gets to do. They get a lot of top 50 conference teams which they get to play half those games at home. Plus if they do play a tough mid-major in non-con it is either a 2 for 1 or a neutral site.
How many top 50 did BU play this year? I would guess CU twice,MSU,Florida and Butler. Two at home and three on the road. We lost all those this year but even if we win the home games we have a loosing record vs the top 50. I bet almost all BCS schools get more that half the top 50 games at home.
Much easier to look good that way.
They let Arizona in the tournament with a RPI in the 60's. How do they justify that? They look at how teams do againt the top 50. The deck is stacked.

[brocks]

While I agree with all these comments, it's worth remembering how John Calipari put UMass on the map: we will play anybody, anywhere, any time. He used to say give him a 10-for-1 against UNC and they'll be there. That was the reality back then, and it's the reality now. We need 3 or 4 BCS games in the non-con no matter how we get 'em. Exempt tourneys are optimal, but we've got to feel out other options too. Once the Valley does that enough and succeeds enough, it won't be "mid-major" anymore and won't have to fight as hard.

That's a long way off, but it's got to start now.

[Beninator]

While I agree with all these comments, it's worth remembering how John Calipari put UMass on the map: we will play anybody, anywhere, any time. He used to say give him a 10-for-1 against UNC and they'll be there. That was the reality back then, and it's the reality now. We need 3 or 4 BCS games in the non-con no matter how we get 'em. Exempt tourneys are optimal, but we've got to feel out other options too. Once the Valley does that enough and succeeds enough, it won't be "mid-major" anymore and won't have to fight as hard.

That's a long way off, but it's got to start now.

This should be a mandate from the MVC that Valley teams do this. A lot of the talent in the MVC is young so there is time to make a schedule with an eye toward the next couple of years.

[braveatheart]

Beninator, the picture on your avitar is very distracting!

[dogsrus]

While I agree with all these comments, it's worth remembering how John Calipari put UMass on the map: we will play anybody, anywhere, any time. He used to say give him a 10-for-1 against UNC and they'll be there. That was the reality back then, and it's the reality now. We need 3 or 4 BCS games in the non-con no matter how we get 'em. Exempt tourneys are optimal, but we've got to feel out other options too. Once the Valley does that enough and succeeds enough, it won't be "mid-major" anymore and won't have to fight as hard.

That's a long way off, but it's got to start now.

Brocks...what exactly IS a "mid-major? If its what the original defenition of it is...we will ALWAYS be mids. It comes down to money/athletic budgets.

To me we are all D1...pure and simple.

[brocks]

Brocks...what exactly IS a "mid-major? If its what the original defenition of it is...we will ALWAYS be mids. It comes down to money/athletic budgets.

To me we are all D1...pure and simple.

We don't disagree AT ALL. I'm talking perception, not reality.

There was a time when the A-10 came real close to shedding that "mid-major" label. But Temple and UMass disappeared, St Joe's failed to keep momemntum, etc. Coaching changes? Bum luck? I don't know.

But the MVC was real close too recently . . . even national pubs calling us "high major."

The BB does nothing at all to sustain that. It just pits us against usually inferior programs and makes us LOOK LIKE just another mid-major conference.

Why do we do this? Why don't we say, "A program designed to help mid-majors? Go find a mid-major conference, then. We're out."

[Grassman]

It starts nest year! 85% of scoring back.N. Iowa returns everybody. Southerns great recruitng class of 08/09 is back. Wichita returns everybody but Clemente. Indiana St. returns everybody but Tunnell. ISU loses Oguchi, Holloway, and Ssampay, but returns "O:" Odiakosata, and has a great recruiting class.
Creighton is alway "money." I would not want to play a team of Maniscalco, WARREN, Egolf, McCain , and Chris Roberts/Taylor Brown. With a deep bench and Wilkins coming in the following year.
Only E-Ville is signficantly hurt by graduation.
The Valley will be a FORCE to be reckoned with.
Jim Nantz? Jay Bilas/ Mike Gottfried will have to recognize The Valley.
If The Valley has another great recruiting year, watch out!

[Beninator]

Beninator, the picture on your avitar is very distracting!

I know.... I was looking for a Jennifer Aniston picture for a new avatar, but Charlize Theron won me over.

[Bravesfan]

While I agree with all these comments, it's worth remembering how John Calipari put UMass on the map: we will play anybody, anywhere, any time. He used to say give him a 10-for-1 against UNC and they'll be there. That was the reality back then, and it's the reality now. We need 3 or 4 BCS games in the non-con no matter how we get 'em. Exempt tourneys are optimal, but we've got to feel out other options too. Once the Valley does that enough and succeeds enough, it won't be "mid-major" anymore and won't have to fight as hard.

That's a long way off, but it's got to start now.

Well, the Valley is off to a good start for next year. There is a thread on Valleytalk.net where people are posting their respective teams' schedules. Creighton has scheduled about as brutal as ours next year. Most teams seem to have stronger schedules (a lot to do with the MWC challange) aside from the two ISU teams (what is with the Redbirds? Will they never learn???). So most of us have no excuse next year. We have the games scheduled. Let's win some and we may be lucky to get an at-large bid.

Hmmmm, the more I think of it, maybe the Redbird's philosophy is better. Everyone schedule cupcake teams at home like the BCS schools, therefore everyone will have a high RPI going into the conference schedule. Then most of our RPI top 50 wins will come from within!

Naah. That wouldn't work either. The committee will compare us to this year's Penn St team saying we didn't play anyone out of conference!

No consistancy anywhere, and we are in a no-win situation every year!