stable genius wrote:Way I see it, UNI put all their chips into the table to chase the at large bid. Which was absolutely the right call. Leaving starters in late in games to bolster their NET. But the probability odds were never really on their side (except briefly, before the Loyola OT loss), and what they’re left with is a team that #341 in bench minutes played that appears to be reeling down the stretch. Winning 3 times in 3 days will be a tough task for this group.
This is a sad story for fans of mid major basketball fans and a reminder of how tough it is out there. The power 5 teams have the luxury of removing all of these tricky @Indy State type games but we don't. They may seem insignificant on their own but when you have to play 15 of them your chances of losing a couple add up and the committee will hammer you for it, even though it's likely to happen.
I don’t think at large is necessarily gone, but it very well may be, and it’s at least improbable to a point where I’m not going to spend any more time worrying about it.
You're right. I had a peaceful argument with an Iowa friend of mine about this very topic. I said Iowa doesn't have to play games like @ Indy State, @ SIU, @ Loyola....they can handpick their schedule to avoid games like that. He responded with "Yeah....we are playing tough games like at Maryland and Michigan State while you're playing mediocre teams". The obvious answer was "Yeah, and it doesn't matter if you lose those games.....".
The other part is that as a mid-major that was perceived as the top team in the league....you get everyone's best shot. You have the target on your back. The 11th place team in the Big Ten doesn't have to deal with that.
Its fine....I still love mid-major basketball and whoever reps the Valley in the dance will be my favorite team in the tourney. Unless South Dakota, my other alma mater, also makes it
I was even rooting hard for BU last year despite the fact that the wound was still fresh.
