1/29/13 Valley Standings

[shaunguth]

__________________Valley___Home___Away_____All___
Wichita State______8-2______5-1____3-1____19-3___
Creighton__________7-2______4-0____3-2____18-3___
Indiana State______7-3______5-0____2-3____14-7___
Evansville_________6-4______5-0____1-4____13-9___
Bradley____________5-5______4-1____1-4____13-9___
Missouri State_____4-5______3-2____1-3_____6-15__
Northern Iowa______4-6______3-2____1-4____11-11__
Drake______________3-6______2-2____1-4_____9-11__
illinois state_____3-7______2-3____1-4____12-10__
Southern Illinois__1-8______1-3____0-5_____8-12__

Wednesday, January 30
Missouri State @ (21)Creighton, 7:00pm CT
Drake @ Southern Illinois, 7:05pm CT

[tornado]

wait a minute - wasn't the some ISU guy hooting about being in our rear view mirror?

[Bravesfan]

Is it now safe to say that Indiana State should be an at-large NCAA Tournament team after tonight?! I know they have a few questionable losses, but so does every BCS team. How much better can their wins be? They have beaten three of the current top 25 throughout the season, which is even better than Creighton and Wichita State themselves! I know they still have work to do, but I'm not sure they even need to beat CU and WSU again, though a split of their remaining two games against them would help.

Despite tonight's win, we REALLY will have our work cut out for us against them at home. We'll need the crowd as loud as they were tonight. But I think Indiana St. is highly deserving of a slot in the NCAA Tournament as much as some mid level BCS team.

As for our great win against ISU red, let's just say we are not out of the NIT race just yet!

[LittleBrave]

Is it now safe to say that Indiana State should be an at-large NCAA Tournament team after tonight?! I know they have a few questionable losses, but so does every BCS team. How much better can their wins be? They have beaten three of the current top 25 throughout the season, which is even better than Creighton and Wichita State themselves! I know they still have work to do, but I'm not sure they even need to beat CU and WSU again, though a split of their remaining two games against them would help.

Despite tonight's win, we REALLY will have our work cut out for us against them at home. We'll need the crowd as loud as they were tonight. But I think Indiana St. is highly deserving of a slot in the NCAA Tournament as much as some mid level BCS team.

As for our great win against ISU red, let's just say we are not out of the NIT race just yet!

No way did I expect Da Trees to come away with a win last night in one of the toughest arenas - maybe the toughest and most intimidating of all mid-major schools.

I still don't think Indy St. will get in with a 12-6 record, but after reflecting some more, I think they get a pretty long look due to this great road win, which no other league team, even Creighton, can boast.

Beating either Creighton or Wichita St. at home will help them immensely, and they need to win their B'busters game (home), and lose only 1 more to teams behind them in the league. They will likely be favored to win the rest, aside from the CU / WSU games. Then you've got Arch Madness, and we've seen how much that has implications on At-Large consideration.
I have confidence we'll take down the Trees in Peoria, which could hurt in the long run if we finish below .500 in conference.

That win certainly looks great now, along with the other 2 vs. ranked opponents. I'm starting to see your side a little more Bravesfan, though we're not quite on the same page.

[LittleBrave]

Is it now safe to say that Indiana State should be an at-large NCAA Tournament team after tonight?! I know they have a few questionable losses, but so does every BCS team. How much better can their wins be? They have beaten three of the current top 25 throughout the season, which is even better than Creighton and Wichita State themselves! I know they still have work to do, but I'm not sure they even need to beat CU and WSU again, though a split of their remaining two games against them would help.

Despite tonight's win, we REALLY will have our work cut out for us against them at home. We'll need the crowd as loud as they were tonight. But I think Indiana St. is highly deserving of a slot in the NCAA Tournament as much as some mid level BCS team.

As for our great win against ISU red, let's just say we are not out of the NIT race just yet!

I'll add that IF the season were to end today, the Sycamores are dancing.
But better avoid losing to Drake, MSU, SIU.

[Bravesfan]

No way did I expect Da Trees to come away with a win last night in one of the toughest arenas - maybe the toughest and most intimidating of all mid-major schools.

I still don't think Indy St. will get in with a 12-6 record, but after reflecting some more, I think they get a pretty long look due to this great road win, which no other league team, even Creighton, can boast.

Beating either Creighton or Wichita St. at home will help them immensely, and they need to win their B'busters game (home), and lose only 1 more to teams behind them in the league. They will likely be favored to win the rest, aside from the CU / WSU games. Then you've got Arch Madness, and we've seen how much that has implications on At-Large consideration.
I have confidence we'll take down the Trees in Peoria, which could hurt in the long run if we finish below .500 in conference.

That win certainly looks great now, along with the other 2 vs. ranked opponents. I'm starting to see your side a little more Bravesfan, though we're not quite on the same page.

Yeah, I'm sure some on the selection committee might be looking for excuses to keep them out, so as you said LittleBrave, they are not shoo-ins yet. But they certainly will get a huge look especially after their win last night, which definitely caught the attention of ESPN's Myron Medcalf:

4. It??™s a new day in the MVC -- The Indiana State-Wichita State matchup was off the radar. It was buried by the buildup to Kentucky-Ole Miss and Wisconsin-Ohio State. But it might have been the most important conference game of the night. And who gave the Sycamores a chance? They hadn??™t won at the imposing Koch Arena in nearly a decade and the Shockers had won 19 in a row at home. Even Creighton couldn??™t win in Wichita this year. But Indiana State scored a huge 68-55 upset that changed the Missouri Valley title race, as Manny Arop led all players with 17 points. The Sycamores attacked Carl Hall (four fouls, two points). And they overcome 15 turnovers with a 53.3 percent mark from the field and a strict defense (WSU shot 16-for-59 overall). The Valley is not a two-team race between Creighton and Wichita State anymore. Indiana State -- a team that has also defeated Ole Miss and Miami this season -- is a legit contender now.

So I think it's safe to say based on their coverage last night that Indiana State has definitely caught the attention of ESPN and the committee.

[Da Coach]

As with all borderline teams, it will likely come down to some variables that cannot be predicted.
Such as:
>which conferences have upset winners in their tournaments, forcing bids to go to teams that would not have gotten at-large bids and leaving fewer at-large bids available
>how Indiana State performs through the rest of their schedule
>whether they get matched up with a good team in the BracketBuster that has a higher RPI than they do so they can improve their out-of-conference resume'
> how well Indiana State performs in the MVC tournament- they may need to upset one of the top 2 teams and advance to the final game to be considered.

But at least they are still in the running for an at-large bid and the rest is up to them.

[LittleBrave]

how Indiana State performs through the rest of their schedule
>whether they get matched up with a good team in the BracketBuster that has a higher RPI than they do so they can improve their out-of-conference resume'
> how well Indiana State performs in the MVC tournament- they may need to upset one of the top 2 teams and advance to the final game to be considered.

The B'busters pairings will be determined on Feb. 4th. The Sycamores really need to win at Drake this weekend to get the best possible draw and get a chance to be featured in national spotlight.

I agree that how they perform in the MVC tourney will have much bearing on their consideration.

What I think is with a 14-4 Valley record and B'busters win, they don't necessarily have to get to the championship game, but anything less, they may have to.

It's hard to guess what the selection committee is thinking about them...

on one hand, they could consider the strength of the league and figure Indy St. is the 3rd that would get an At-Large. On the other hand, they will have won 4 games vs. ranked opponents (at least tournament teams) which would look quite impressive.

[Da Coach]

Here is the ESPN site announcing the teams-

http://espnbracketbusters.com/site/component/content/article?id=15

And here again is a site that tracks the BracketBuster teams' RPIs.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/bb.html

Bradley is a road team with an RPI of 160.
The home teams in the Midwest with a close RPI are-
Western Illinois 131
Wright State 143
Oakland U 159
Youngstown St. 165
Loyola 178

There are other possibilities, but these seem to be the most likely pool to be matched up with. But there have been past years when the difference in RPI has been over 100 slots, so it's impossible to predict for sure..

[Bravesfan]

As with all borderline teams, it will likely come down to some variables that cannot be predicted.
Such as:
>which conferences have upset winners in their tournaments, forcing bids to go to teams that would not have gotten at-large bids and leaving fewer at-large bids available
>how Indiana State performs through the rest of their schedule
>whether they get matched up with a good team in the BracketBuster that has a higher RPI than they do so they can improve their out-of-conference resume'
> how well Indiana State performs in the MVC tournament- they may need to upset one of the top 2 teams and advance to the final game to be considered.

But at least they are still in the running for an at-large bid and the rest is up to them.

Right. If they lose 5 of their next 7, this will all be moot. But if the season ended today, they would be right on that proverbial bubble.

[tornado]

Bradley is a road team with an RPI of 160.
The home teams in the Midwest with a close RPI are-
Western Illinois 131.....

Here's a blurb by Kevin Capie - who doesn't write about college basketball..
and it touches on WIU and the BracketBuster...

Coach Molinari is obviously looking to get a matchup with one of the MVC teams...

"When I asked Western coach Jim Molinari about the BracketBusters earlier this month ..
Molinari deflected the question with his deadpan humor. “I hope (MVC commissioner) Doug Elgin
remembers how nice I was at all those luncheons and takes care of me,” Molinari said.

From the administration’s point of view, Western would love to have a chance to play
either Illinois State or Bradley. Western plays BU in every sport but men’s basketball."

http://www.pjstar.com/blogs/capie/x1037502722/Sizing-up-the-Leathernecks-BracketBuster-possibilties

[SFP]

I really like the way The Trees are playing! I hope they make a run for a spot in the NCAA. I've been impressed on how they execute on offence and defense. Right now they are my favorite team to watch in Valley besides BU.