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Keep in mind, if any of us were, we'd have to disqualify ourselves from discussion about Bradley or other Missouri Valley Conference schools. Trying to be as objective as possible, this could be a difficult year to be on the 2007 Selection Committee unless some teams truly separate themselves in conference play. This could prove critical for teams like Missouri who have built a nice record by beating some good, but mostly not-so-hot teams all at home. Just some observations on my part as December fades into January:
1. Connecticut got exposed big-time at West Virginia. During the UNI-BU telecast, Dave Revsine and Doug Gottlieb were promoting upcoming games on ESPN, and this was one of them. Gottlieb quipped, "Connecticut has blue uniforms? Who knew?"
2. You get some teams out of their home arenas, and they look rather ordinary. Florida, Arizona, Kansas, and Ohio State could prove to be examples of this. Florida loses to Kansas at Las Vegas and at Florida State. The Gators struggle to beat UAB in Miami. Ohio State loses at North Carolina and Florida. Kansas is shocked at home by Oral Roberts, then looks great against Florida, then throws that win away by getting crushed at DePaul. Arizona loses at Virginia, then pounds everyone else it plays at home. "Road Game" are the two dirtiest words in UCLA's vocabulary. The Bruins won the Maui Invitational, but all other games they've played have been at Pauley Pavilion or at "neutral" Anaheim. Having said that, the teams I just mentioned will not miss this year's tournament, but it would be nice to see them "take a chance" with some non-con road fixtures. Nevada has only 1 loss and it came at home to UNLV. Prior to that, the Wolf Pack played seven road or neutral site games. Maybe the competition wasn't top shelf, but at least they aren't afraid to leave the friendly confines of the Lawlor Events Center.
3. Sweet 16 wannabes from lesser-known conferences have nice wins, but not necessarily marquee wins this year. All the talk is about the top 5 or 6 teams this year. Missouri State and Wichita State have the best wins for the MVC to date (over ranked Wisconsin on a neutral floor and at ranked LSU, respectively). Syracuse was not ranked when they lost to Wichita, but the Orangemen were when they fell to Drexel (of course the game was at the Carrier Dome--Syracuse wouldn't dream of playing anyone in Philly, but they have to because Big East foe Villanova is there!). Gonzaga got a nice win against North Carolina at MSG and home against Washington, but they have lost several other games against BCS conference teams they've faced. And, like the Dogs they are, Washington wants nothing to do with Gonzaga in the near future, saying they want to play a more "national" non-conference schedule. If they drop the Zags to pick up fellow WCC foes Portland or San Francisco, we'll know what the Huskies really mean by that assertion! Credit to Purdue and Indiana. Not only do these guys play in-state foes from outside the Big 10, but they actually go on the road and play them sometimes. That will probably change once Kelvin Sampson has more say in the Hoosiers' schedule.
4. Some conferences look as good as advertised. The MVC is certainly one of them. Our teams have lived up to the hype and expectations generated from the 2005-06 season. The Big 10 overall looks down, but it will be interesting to see if Ohio State and Wisconsin "walk" the league as expected. If they don't, the Committee will have a more difficult task in separating their at-large selections between the bigger and smaller schools. The WAC and Mountain West could each get 3 teams in the tournament at this point. The teams in the top half of those leagues are pretty solid. The Pac-10, Big East, and SEC will be very competitive from top to bottom, just like the MVC. The WCC could get multiple bids if Gonzaga fails to win the conference tournament. Don't look now, but Santa Clara has the best overall record in the WCC. Same for the Horizon League if Butler does not win its tournament in March, but you have to wonder where Loyola's head is following their stunning loss at Youngstown State. Conversely, Butler's only loss was at Indiana State, but like other leagues, the Horizon will apparently be tough to notch road wins too. The Bulldogs just scraped by UW-Milwaukee on Saturday.
I could ramble on some more, but once again, it will be a compelling college basketball season. Who can pick up big road wins in conference play? UNI and SIU have the only 2 so far, but can each team hold serve at home? The only certainty for the MVC in my mind is that the team who wins the regular season title will not win in St. Louis come tourney time--too many minefields out there.
1. Connecticut got exposed big-time at West Virginia. During the UNI-BU telecast, Dave Revsine and Doug Gottlieb were promoting upcoming games on ESPN, and this was one of them. Gottlieb quipped, "Connecticut has blue uniforms? Who knew?"
2. You get some teams out of their home arenas, and they look rather ordinary. Florida, Arizona, Kansas, and Ohio State could prove to be examples of this. Florida loses to Kansas at Las Vegas and at Florida State. The Gators struggle to beat UAB in Miami. Ohio State loses at North Carolina and Florida. Kansas is shocked at home by Oral Roberts, then looks great against Florida, then throws that win away by getting crushed at DePaul. Arizona loses at Virginia, then pounds everyone else it plays at home. "Road Game" are the two dirtiest words in UCLA's vocabulary. The Bruins won the Maui Invitational, but all other games they've played have been at Pauley Pavilion or at "neutral" Anaheim. Having said that, the teams I just mentioned will not miss this year's tournament, but it would be nice to see them "take a chance" with some non-con road fixtures. Nevada has only 1 loss and it came at home to UNLV. Prior to that, the Wolf Pack played seven road or neutral site games. Maybe the competition wasn't top shelf, but at least they aren't afraid to leave the friendly confines of the Lawlor Events Center.
3. Sweet 16 wannabes from lesser-known conferences have nice wins, but not necessarily marquee wins this year. All the talk is about the top 5 or 6 teams this year. Missouri State and Wichita State have the best wins for the MVC to date (over ranked Wisconsin on a neutral floor and at ranked LSU, respectively). Syracuse was not ranked when they lost to Wichita, but the Orangemen were when they fell to Drexel (of course the game was at the Carrier Dome--Syracuse wouldn't dream of playing anyone in Philly, but they have to because Big East foe Villanova is there!). Gonzaga got a nice win against North Carolina at MSG and home against Washington, but they have lost several other games against BCS conference teams they've faced. And, like the Dogs they are, Washington wants nothing to do with Gonzaga in the near future, saying they want to play a more "national" non-conference schedule. If they drop the Zags to pick up fellow WCC foes Portland or San Francisco, we'll know what the Huskies really mean by that assertion! Credit to Purdue and Indiana. Not only do these guys play in-state foes from outside the Big 10, but they actually go on the road and play them sometimes. That will probably change once Kelvin Sampson has more say in the Hoosiers' schedule.
4. Some conferences look as good as advertised. The MVC is certainly one of them. Our teams have lived up to the hype and expectations generated from the 2005-06 season. The Big 10 overall looks down, but it will be interesting to see if Ohio State and Wisconsin "walk" the league as expected. If they don't, the Committee will have a more difficult task in separating their at-large selections between the bigger and smaller schools. The WAC and Mountain West could each get 3 teams in the tournament at this point. The teams in the top half of those leagues are pretty solid. The Pac-10, Big East, and SEC will be very competitive from top to bottom, just like the MVC. The WCC could get multiple bids if Gonzaga fails to win the conference tournament. Don't look now, but Santa Clara has the best overall record in the WCC. Same for the Horizon League if Butler does not win its tournament in March, but you have to wonder where Loyola's head is following their stunning loss at Youngstown State. Conversely, Butler's only loss was at Indiana State, but like other leagues, the Horizon will apparently be tough to notch road wins too. The Bulldogs just scraped by UW-Milwaukee on Saturday.
I could ramble on some more, but once again, it will be a compelling college basketball season. Who can pick up big road wins in conference play? UNI and SIU have the only 2 so far, but can each team hold serve at home? The only certainty for the MVC in my mind is that the team who wins the regular season title will not win in St. Louis come tourney time--too many minefields out there.