Bizarre...

[MU_Iceman]

If Morgan State goes on to win the MEAC...they will be 16-15 and dancing. Then, in the Big West..you will have either 13-19 Cal Poly in the dance, or 18-17 Cal St. Northridge, and possibly a 17-17 Idaho St team, if they win the WAC. Now come on people, you REALLY would rather see teams like that in the tourney than MU?? Granted, MU certainly did nothing special this year, and there is NO argument they deserve to be in the tournament, but they certainly deserve to be in it more than any of the above mentioned teams, or any of the other small conference tourney champs. Speaking of which, all these one bid leagues(like UWGB in the Horizon), how long before the presidents/AD's get together and start sending their regular season champ instead?? I mean that's a HUGE loss of revenue for these schools that win their regular season, then don't get in because of a bad tournament game. I'm sorry, the NCAA tourney is the greatest sporting event ever(IMO), but when teams that are .500, or below .500 are getting in in these small conferences because they win their tourney...to me, that's what's wrong with the system.

[MU/Panther]

Yes. It's a field of 68, not the best 68. Another reason why I enjoy the NIT.

[unclejohn]

Granted, MU certainly did nothing special this year, and there is NO argument they deserve to be in the tournament, but they certainly deserve to be in it more than any of the above mentioned teams, or any of the other small conference tourney champs.

I think you answered your own question. Marquette did nothing to deserve it. I do not know that they deserve it more than a small conference tourney champ. Let's take our crosstown neighbors. I have little doubt that we are better than they are this year. This isn't even a case of UWM fans being able to argue that when they have a good year and we have a bad one, they are the best team in town. Fact is, they were not very good this year, and finished fifth in their league. We finished sixth in a much tougher one. Their biggest claim to fame is two close wins over a bubble team. But they did what they had to do to get in. They had to win four in a row on the road and they did. It was a long shot, but they made it.

The fact is, large conference teams have plenty of chances to win enough games to get in. We have gotten spoiled with the fact that if we were good enough to go .500 in the Big East, that would probably include enough wins over ranked teams to get us in. Perhaps with our non-conference record this year, it would not, but in past years, it has. And our non-conference schedule was loaded. Too much so, as it turned out, but as usual we played a bunch of ranked teams in our conference, a couple more in single non-conference games, and then played in a tournament where we had a shot at another couple of quality wins. UWM has little chance to play conference games like that, and has a hard time scheduling games against major teams, regardless of how good they are. Little chance of a made-for-tv game against New Mexico. No chance they play a home game against Ohio State. Now take a look at the MEAC teams and the like. They have no chance at all.

The tournament was originally just among conference champions. Then they added independents. Then they added at-large teams. They finally hit a point where they removed the limit on teams coming from the same conference. It has made for lots of excitement, but when you are taking the teams in the middle of a conference, it is hard to argue that they are the best in their conference. When Maryland lost a legendary game to North Carolina and conferences were only allowed to send one team, you could make a pretty good argument that they were still the best team in the country, and should have gotten a chance to prove it instead of some small school team. For a while in the 70's when conferences were limited to two, you would sometimes argue that the NIT had a better field than the NCAA. Some years it would have a bunch of teams that got knocked out of their conference tournament early that were better than the conference champs. When the tournament expanded more and they removed the limit on teams from a conference, all the big conference teams had plenty of chances. You can argue that Marquette or some similar team is better than Podunk State from the Dreadful Conference, but it is hard to make the argument that they are the best team in their conference, or that they have a realistic shot at winning the tournament.

So if a team finishing .500 in a big conference does not make it, I do not have all that much sympathy for them. Yeah, sometimes the last team in turns out to be NC State in '82 or VCU a couple years ago. Mostly not. The last few years have been kind of an anomaly. Typically since the tournament expanded to 64, the teams that have won it have all been top 4 seeds. Even appearances in the Final Four have been rare for teams seeded below that. We have just had a rash of them in the last few years. So if the small conference teams go out there and be cannon fodder in the first round, so what? Give them their moment in the sun. Look at it this way. What is more fair? Giving UWM a shot against Creighton and seeing them get clobbered, or giving us a shot against them and possibly getting clobbered for the third time this year?

[mufansince72]

Well, if MU was good enough to win a conference tourny, you would like that right?

[unclejohn]

Well, if MU was good enough to win a conference tourny, you would like that right?

Sure. If that is the way the rules are set, go with it. That is fair enough. A major conference team would typically have to go on a roll and win three or four in a row with wins against good teams. A team like that might well be good enough to make a run in the tourney. And the result would probably be that some other big conference team would not make it. I just do not see much merit in kicking out the little guys so that the mediocre big guys can get in.

[MU_Iceman]

Well, if MU was good enough to win a conference tourny, you would like that right?

I typically wouldn't like it if MU had to rely on winning their conference tourney to get in. They should be in long before that(see years prior to this one).

[MayorBeluga]

Teams played within the rules. Rules are each conference guaranteed one bid. Seems fair to me. MU failed within the rules set forth.

[MUBB713]

I love how it is. Every single team has a fair chance to win the championship at the beginning of the season unlike college football.

[MU/Panther]

I love how it is. Every single team has a fair chance to win the championship at the beginning of the season unlike college football.

College football is one of the best sports out there and your statement could not be anymore true.

[DCwarrior]

College football is one of the best sports out there and your statement could not be anymore true.

I stopped watching college football about 3 years ago - partly as my way of protesting how it corrupted college athletics and forced all the unnecessary conference realignment, but mostly just because I really don't care about the sport anymore (until they get to the NFL).