NIT automatic qualifiers

[warriorfan4life]

Exactly Ice, top seeds have earned the advantage. Also, I would think the NIT would rather have a game at MU with 5,000 fans than a game at Directional State with 500.

I'm still hoping that UWGB gets an at large.

La Tech winning today could help Green Bay's case. The Phoenix played a much better non-conference schedule, but La Tech got their signature win (at Oklahoma) away from home and made it farther in the conference tournament. I maintain that at least one mid-major will be in the First Four, and Green Bay probably is holding onto that spot as of now.

[unclejohn]

I think once you get to the tournament, it ought to be pretty even. Top seeds get their advantage by who they play. They presumably play the supposedly weaker teams. Adding on the home court advantage in every game makes it really difficult for a lower seed to advance. I like the way they do it in the Illinois football playoffs. The home team is the highest seeded team that has played the fewest home games. So in the first round, the high seeds play at home. If they all continue to win, they continue to play at home. But if a lower seed wins on the road, they probably get a home game in the next round. It levels the field, which I think makes for a fairer tournament.

[mutpm]

I think once you get to the tournament, it ought to be pretty even. Top seeds get their advantage by who they play. They presumably play the supposedly weaker teams. Adding on the home court advantage in every game makes it really difficult for a lower seed to advance. I like the way they do it in the Illinois football playoffs. The home team is the highest seeded team that has played the fewest home games. So in the first round, the high seeds play at home. If they all continue to win, they continue to play at home. But if a lower seed wins on the road, they probably get a home game in the next round. It levels the field, which I think makes for a fairer tournament.

You play and try to excel in the regular season to get an advantage in the tournament. Why play the regular season if all we care about is "fairness"?

[unclejohn]

Because games and tournaments should go to the team that that performs better in that game or tournament, not the one that had the greatest advantage before getting there. Besides, it is difficult to determine who exactly excelled in the regular season. This is not a professional league with a relatively small number of teams who typically play each other at least once or twice in the season, or in the case of the NFL, at least play some of the same opponents and roughly similar schedules. These teams are all over the place. Many will have few if any common opponents. More often than not, the seeding will be a result of reputation and guesswork than actual quality. It may often be right, probably will be most of the time, but it is difficult to justify numerically. I cannot see how Marquette for instance has "earned" a higher seed than Belmont or Utah Valley or Iona, who actually won their league's regular season titles.

[unclejohn]

La. Tech lost to Tulsa. Maybe they have a shot at an at-large bid. Probably not. Ga. State is kicking ass, so they are out of the picture. So including La. Tech, that is twelve slots with four more games to play.

[MU/Panther]

Georgia State lost the Sun Belt title game. Add another to the NIT