All-Time MVC Elite MBB Teams

[Wufan]

That team was very good. They did not finish in the elite 8 or Final Four. That's where I draw the line for elite. Yes, it can be hard to gauge different eras which is why you look at how those teams did against their peers. UNI is borderline due to beating Kansas, but MSU? Creighton? Sorry, you need to brush up on your history.

Fair enough. Using advancement in the NCAA tournament as criteria I see what you mean. I was thinking more along the lines of national ranking throughout the year. I remember long ago beating a top-15 Creighton team at the Kansas Coliseum and it seemed like a big deal then.

Ranked does not equate to elite.

[Redbird Recon]

An elite March can make a team elite, but I don't think falling short of the Elite 8 necessarily disqualifies a team from being elite. I also don't think all Sweet 16s are created equal. Obviously I don't have a team in this discussion.

[Wufan]

An elite March can make a team elite, but I don't think falling short of the Elite 8 necessarily disqualifies a team from being elite. I also don't think all Sweet 16s are created equal. Obviously I don't have a team in this discussion.

There is lots of criteria one could use. AngryWheat appeared to use tournament appearance OR win the MVC regular season. I think thats weak. What is your criteria?

[Mikovio]

The 4 seed Kansas team Bradley beat had won 15 of its last 16 and was a popular pick to go to the Final Four.

[Redbird Recon]

An elite March can make a team elite, but I don't think falling short of the Elite 8 necessarily disqualifies a team from being elite. I also don't think all Sweet 16s are created equal. Obviously I don't have a team in this discussion.

There is lots of criteria one could use. AngryWheat appeared to use tournament appearance OR win the MVC regular season. I think thats weak. What is your criteria?

I think a team who makes the Sweet 16, beats the consensus #1 team in the nation in epic ESPY-winning fashion, and also wins both MVC 'ships deserves an invitation. 'What' is the biggest by far, but 'how' counts in my opinion.

[Aargh]

Take a look at 2 schools from 2006 - just 7 years ago.

Which school do you think has more national memory - Bradley (S16) with a lottery pick or George Mason with F4?

[rlh04d]

The 4 seed Kansas team Bradley beat had won 15 of its last 16 and was a popular pick to go to the Final Four.

Tennessee was a #2 seed and had ESPN cameras following the team every day of the tournament. Again, I wouldn't count WSU from that year as elite either.

I think UNI is the only Sweet 16 team in recent memory that deserves the "elite" label.

[Shoxfan11]

The 4 seed Kansas team Bradley beat had won 15 of its last 16 and was a popular pick to go to the Final Four.

Tennessee was a #2 seed and had ESPN cameras following the team every day of the tournament. Again, I wouldn't count WSU from that year as elite either.

I think UNI is the only Sweet 16 team in recent memory that deserves the "elite" label.

The 06-07 SIU team was really, really good. There were two terrible calls that went against SIU in the game against KU, each call led to two points for KU. SIU lost by 3.

I know if's don't factor into the discussion, but that team was solid.

[Redbird23]

The 4 seed Kansas team Bradley beat had won 15 of its last 16 and was a popular pick to go to the Final Four.

Tennessee was a #2 seed and had ESPN cameras following the team every day of the tournament. Again, I wouldn't count WSU from that year as elite either.

I think UNI is the only Sweet 16 team in recent memory that deserves the "elite" label.

I think if the Shox make a sweet sixteen appearance that they can be considered an "elite team"

[Wufan]

The 4 seed Kansas team Bradley beat had won 15 of its last 16 and was a popular pick to go to the Final Four.

Tennessee was a #2 seed and had ESPN cameras following the team every day of the tournament. Again, I wouldn't count WSU from that year as elite either.

I think UNI is the only Sweet 16 team in recent memory that deserves the "elite" label.

The 06-07 SIU team was really, really good. There were two terrible calls that went against SIU in the game against KU, each call led to two points for KU. SIU lost by 3.

I know if's don't factor into the discussion, but that team was solid.

I consider the SIU teams of yesteryear to be an elite program, but no one team stands out. The 06-07 team was pretty darn good though!