College Sports Madness Top 144

[VUGrad1314]

Looking at these rankings I feel as though the Valley has been vastly underrated and unfairly punished for Wichita State's departure. Everyone is in such a rush to write the epitaph for this conference, constantly talking about how down the Valley is, how low the conference has sunk, and how this league is going to join the ranks of the other perennial one-bid leagues. Sure the league is down now but by no stretch of the imagination is it out. Look at the WCC. No one's writing their obituary and they're going to have as many teams in these rankings (4) as the MVC. The difference between them and us is simply that they haven't been plundered yet and they got a huge gift when BYU took its football team independent and joined up. How down can a conference truly be when a rival mid major conference needs two realignment gifts (Gonzaga being too far away from other conferences to jump and BYU going FBS independent and joining) to even stay near the MVC while the MVC has been the unfortunate victim of the past two realignments.(Creighton becoming a major geographical outlier in the Big East, and the AAC choosing to add Wichita State when they could have easily added VCU instead). The Valley is down but it's surely not out, and it is great to see teams like UNI and Illinois State realizing this and going for it. I just hope the overwhelming majority of the other schools follow suit. The time is now as we stand at the crossroads and the decisions made by the Valley schools in these next few critical years will determine its destiny.

[LanceShock]

Looking at these rankings I feel as though the Valley has been vastly underrated and unfairly punished for Wichita State's departure. Everyone is in such a rush to write the epitaph for this conference, constantly talking about how down the Valley is, how low the conference has sunk, and how this league is going to join the ranks of the other perennial one-bid leagues. Sure the league is down now but by no stretch of the imagination is it out. Look at the WCC. No one's writing their obituary and they're going to have as many teams in these rankings (4) as the MVC. The difference between them and us is simply that they haven't been plundered yet and they got a huge gift when BYU took its football team independent and joined up. How down can a conference truly be when a rival mid major conference needs two realignment gifts (Gonzaga being too far away from other conferences to jump and BYU going FBS independent and joining) to even stay near the MVC while the MVC has been the unfortunate victim of the past two realignments.(Creighton becoming a major geographical outlier in the Big East, and the AAC choosing to add Wichita State when they could have easily added VCU instead). The Valley is down but it's surely not out, and it is great to see teams like UNI and Illinois State realizing this and going for it. I just hope the overwhelming majority of the other schools follow suit. The time is now as we stand at the crossroads and the decisions made by the Valley schools in these next few critical years will determine its destiny.

Based on Illinois State not getting an at large bid and the seed Wichita State got last year, I'm not sure the way the Valley is viewed is that much different than when Wichita State was in the Valley.

[Aargh]

The way things are working now with the NCAA tourney, the deck is heavily stacked - and it's not in favor of the Valley.

I think Jerry Palm just cherry-picked top-100 games last year because it happened to fit his agenda like a glove. While it was a cherry-picked criteria, evidently he spouted it so often that it became a significant factor. After he harped on it for several months, others started saying the same thing - again, because last year it perfectly fit the agenda of denying at large bids to mid-majors.

This year WSU looks to have 16 top-100 games in conference. Last year we had two.

Getting an at-large in the Valley probably requires getting invited to one of the better exempt tourneys and winning it or at least getting to the championship game. Then pretty much sweeping the rest of the season. WSU's 10-seed last year was a red flage. A BIG red flag.

[mvcfan]

Leagues wide open this year. I'm with Superfan, i'm pretty high on are teams potential but it's only potential at this point; and i don't think many other teams in the Valley are slouching either. I see 4 teams that could be in the running for first, potentially 5 depending on how Valpo's additions go. Then beyond that i think there are 7 really solid teams in the league this year. One will be looking from the outside come STL. Should be a fun season.

It would be difficult to disagree with your premise that the MVC will be a dogfight this year. Personally, I would put MSU at the top with Loyola, Valpo, ISUR, and UNI as possibilities but in the end, there could be 6-7 teams within 1-3 games fighting for the Championship. It should be fun to watch.

[VUGrad1314]

The way things are working now with the NCAA tourney, the deck is heavily stacked - and it's not in favor of the Valley.

I think Jerry Palm just cherry-picked top-100 games last year because it happened to fit his agenda like a glove. While it was a cherry-picked criteria, evidently he spouted it so often that it became a significant factor. After he harped on it for several months, others started saying the same thing - again, because last year it perfectly fit the agenda of denying at large bids to mid-majors.

This year WSU looks to have 16 top-100 games in conference. Last year we had two.

Getting an at-large in the Valley probably requires getting invited to one of the better exempt tourneys and winning it or at least getting to the championship game. Then pretty much sweeping the rest of the season. WSU's 10-seed last year was a red flage. A BIG red flag.

I would agree, but I think Wichita State's resume was hurt by the relatively soft schedules by the Valley teams. (It feels like for the most part this is being corrected somewhat this year) I also think WSU got punished for their best wins (LSU and Oklahoma ) playing really badly this year and got unfairly punished for their double digit losses to Louisville and Oklahoma State. They should not have been a 10 seed. Illinois State lacked a true signature win in the nonconference, and getting run off the floor twice by the Shockers couldn't have helped, but I do feel that their body of work warranted an at-large. 27 wins has to mean more. Their situation is somewhat similar to Valpo's the year before: they tripped in some early games and had a bad loss in the conference tournament. Unfortunately the committee is most unforgiving. The Valley appears to be scheduling up and I believe we will see considerable improvement from multiple conference members. I don't believe that the era of the multi-bid MVC is over, but the committee is a big (and unfavorable) wild card.

[AndShock]

SWOMO is an interesting case because my perception of them is so much different than reality. When I think of possible top-100 teams in the Valley for next season, SWOMO is really the only one that comes to mind and they weren't even in the ballpark last season.

I think next year is going to be really ugly for the Valley and it kind of hurts even more that it's happening Wichita State's first year in a new conference. Wichita State is gone and the Valley is going to slap itself with the reputation that they're horrible without Wichita State. I do think the Valley has the potential to be solid in a couple years, but at this point it does like we've all been saying that forever. I don't think the Valley will ever be a legit multiple-bid conference, which is just as much a product of the current college basketball landscape as it is the Valley not being good enough.

I think Medved will have Drake as a top 100 team in a few years, same thing with Wardle and Bradley. Give Muller a couple years to build back up. Moser seems to have a solid thing going. Jacobson is Jacobson. Valpo is Valpo. Half the conference floating around the top 100 is pretty respectable. The problem is that to get an at-large it seems like the conference needs to have 3-4 teams floating around the top 30. It's gonna take a perfect storm for that to ever happen. Looking at the Mountain West this year, I think it's totally reasonable to think the Valley might have those exact same numbers in a few years. The problem was that the MWC was getting 0 at-large bids this past year, even with a top 30 team.

[Drakey]

SWOMO is an interesting case because my perception of them is so much different than reality. When I think of possible top-100 teams in the Valley for next season, SWOMO is really the only one that comes to mind and they weren't even in the ballpark last season.

I think next year is going to be really ugly for the Valley and it kind of hurts even more that it's happening Wichita State's first year in a new conference. Wichita State is gone and the Valley is going to slap itself with the reputation that they're horrible without Wichita State. I do think the Valley has the potential to be solid in a couple years, but at this point it does like we've all been saying that forever. I don't think the Valley will ever be a legit multiple-bid conference, which is just as much a product of the current college basketball landscape as it is the Valley not being good enough.

I think Medved will have Drake as a top 100 team in a few years, same thing with Wardle and Bradley. Give Muller a couple years to build back up. Moser seems to have a solid thing going. Jacobson is Jacobson. Valpo is Valpo. Half the conference floating around the top 100 is pretty respectable. The problem is that to get an at-large it seems like the conference needs to have 3-4 teams floating around the top 30. It's gonna take a perfect storm for that to ever happen. Looking at the Mountain West this year, I think it's totally reasonable to think the Valley might have those exact same numbers in a few years. The problem was that the MWC was getting 0 at-large bids this past year, even with a top 30 team.

Those predictions about who is going to be good will be very unpopular on this board. I agree with them.

[BirdsEyeView]

SWOMO is an interesting case because my perception of them is so much different than reality. When I think of possible top-100 teams in the Valley for next season, SWOMO is really the only one that comes to mind and they weren't even in the ballpark last season.

I think next year is going to be really ugly for the Valley and it kind of hurts even more that it's happening Wichita State's first year in a new conference. Wichita State is gone and the Valley is going to slap itself with the reputation that they're horrible without Wichita State. I do think the Valley has the potential to be solid in a couple years, but at this point it does like we've all been saying that forever. I don't think the Valley will ever be a legit multiple-bid conference, which is just as much a product of the current college basketball landscape as it is the Valley not being good enough.

I think Medved will have Drake as a top 100 team in a few years, same thing with Wardle and Bradley. Give Muller a couple years to build back up. Moser seems to have a solid thing going. Jacobson is Jacobson. Valpo is Valpo. Half the conference floating around the top 100 is pretty respectable. The problem is that to get an at-large it seems like the conference needs to have 3-4 teams floating around the top 30. It's gonna take a perfect storm for that to ever happen. Looking at the Mountain West this year, I think it's totally reasonable to think the Valley might have those exact same numbers in a few years. The problem was that the MWC was getting 0 at-large bids this past year, even with a top 30 team.

These kinds of posts from Shocker fans, I can get on board with. Level-headed analysis and not all about their own precious school.

I agree with you wholeheartedly except Drake being a top 100 team could be a challenge.
It's too bad if Missouri St. wins the Valley bid that we can't give them Ben Jacobson or Dan Muller to replace Lusk in the postseason. I give Lusk ZERO shot at winning back to back games in the NCAAs. His game planning won't be up to snuff, especially if he finds a way to win the first one and has to turn around and plan for another two days later.

[Lusuperfan1]

I just don't get the Loyola love. I think they'll be up there but I don't think they'll be number one. I get why msu should be number one but I also get why people question whether they will be. I think SIU is underrated and ready to take a step forward. Valpo, while good, lost their best player and I don't see them truly being a contender. I also think they'll struggle more in a new league. Same for UNI. ILSU always seems to put a good team on the floor since muller has taken over but they have so much turnover it's hard to really know how they'll turn out. Really it's all up to msu. If they play like they should they will run away with it. If not, loyola, SIU, ILSU could all take it. I think Bradley is another year away.

MSU
ILSU
SIU
Loyola (We had Porter Moser as our coach. I don't think he can do it. I've seen it first hand and have no faith in the guy. That's why they're here.)
UNI
Valpo
Bradley
Drake
INSU
Evansville

Really, the first four are interchangable. Then the next three are interchangable. Then 8/9 are interchangable. Sorry, Evansville. You're in the cellar this year.

Completely agree here!!!!!!

Loyola might be the most overhyped team in the history of the league. This is a team that lost to Drake with an interim coach just a few weeks into the job, and also lost to Evansville, should have been twice to the Aces. And oh yeah these clowns lost to Southern three times last year, THREE TIMES, the hat trick.

Missouri State by far and away the favorites. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh wow today is fun

[ThisIsTheLineup]

I just don't get the Loyola love. I think they'll be up there but I don't think they'll be number one. I get why msu should be number one but I also get why people question whether they will be. I think SIU is underrated and ready to take a step forward. Valpo, while good, lost their best player and I don't see them truly being a contender. I also think they'll struggle more in a new league. Same for UNI. ILSU always seems to put a good team on the floor since muller has taken over but they have so much turnover it's hard to really know how they'll turn out. Really it's all up to msu. If they play like they should they will run away with it. If not, loyola, SIU, ILSU could all take it. I think Bradley is another year away.

MSU
ILSU
SIU
Loyola (We had Porter Moser as our coach. I don't think he can do it. I've seen it first hand and have no faith in the guy. That's why they're here.)
UNI
Valpo
Bradley
Drake
INSU
Evansville

Really, the first four are interchangable. Then the next three are interchangable. Then 8/9 are interchangable. Sorry, Evansville. You're in the cellar this year.

Completely agree here!!!!!!

Loyola might be the most overhyped team in the history of the league. This is a team that lost to Drake with an interim coach just a few weeks into the job, and also lost to Evansville, should have been twice to the Aces. And oh yeah these clowns lost to Southern three times last year, THREE TIMES, the hat trick.

Missouri State by far and away the favorites. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh wow today is fun

Please, very much let us eat crow. I, for one, am happy for Porter and the Ramblers! This also shows how bad MoSt. was this year.