Exhibition game results - DePauw 66 Evansville 62

[WuDrWu]

Look, mensa members, this isn't about losing to a DIII program. Losing to a DIII programs accentuates the problem, but it doesn't cause the problem.

Evansville blows because they don't commit to athletics. That's fine, but stop leeching off the rest of us (or at least those of us that do provide the commitment). Pony up or go away.

That doesn't mean that can't win occasionally. It means that they make the rest of us weaker. That Penn State is weak in the Big10 in basketball means nothing. That Evansville is a drain on the rest of the Valley in basketball means everything.

Win the league sometime and be relevant anytime (like UNI) and you can be a DIII waste and stay around (like UNI) but otherwise you're just an infected boil that needs to be lanced.

[Ace Dad]

I watched a high school team with five future D1 players lose five games during a high school season to teams that in many cases had none. How? The other team played better. The other team passed the ball. The other team hit open threes. The presence of better players, more height, and better athleticism can be negated in basketball with speed and a high shooting percentage. If Evansville plays DePauw 10 times the Aces will win 7-8 of the games. If Kansas plays Northern Iowa 10 times last year, Kansas wins 7-8 times. We are too quick to say "fire the coach." I said it when Jim Crews was in charge. I said it when Steve Merfeld was in charge. Fans need to learn how to embrace their team, warts and all, and understand the complexities of recruiting, development, retention, and bench coaching. Too many experts here who have never, ever been in charge of anything other than their underwear. Rant over.

[TylerDurden]

David should not beat Goliath.

Milan should not have beat the team from South Bend (Hoosiers)

The Amateur American Hockey Players should not have beat the Professional Russians (1980)

Remember when the Appalachian State football team beat Michigan?

Underdog Chaminade beat #1 Houston in 1982

LeMoyne College 82-79 upset nationally-ranked Syracuse (1983)

Carnegie Mellon beat Princeton a couple of years ago

Calm down, that is why they play the game. No way the Aces shoot 50% Free Throws all season long.

Milan beat Muncie Central.

[jayball]

what is the criteria for ponying up?

How does Eville's committment to athletics significantly harm WSU's ability to build a successful athletic program or the MVC from being a respected basketball league?

Every league has a bottomdwelling team/program. Does it matter if it is Eville or someone else?

[Ace Dad]

WuDrWu: You lost me.

The Big Ten comparison using Penn State is the perfect analogy and example of how a "weaker" conference team does not influence the status, reputation, or prestige of the conference. Again, a conference is comprised of strong, average, and weak teams. Look at the ACC: Three teams will finish in the bottom three, no matter how good they are.

[bigdawg]

I think his point revolves around perception. The big ten has elite teams at the top for people to focus on. The valley needs all the help we can get to be recognized and bad news about any of our members isn't easily overcome when basketball pundits use the "eye test".

[jayball]

I think his point revolves around perception. The big ten has elite teams at the top for people to focus on. The valley needs all the help we can get to be recognized and bad news about any of our members isn't easily overcome when basketball pundits use the "eye test".

Well if it is about perception then WSU (or any other team that wants to be a big boy) better just start kicking the **** out of everyone and have a dominant program that demands recognition.

Do Gonzaga fans talk about how the U of Portland Pilots are holding them back or does Xavier talk about how Fordham is a giant leech?

Winning gets noticed. Winning repeatedly in March, get your remembered and respected. Everything else is just noise. Should MVC schools get some more respect? Probably. Is is UE's fault that we don't? No.

Lots of CU fans want to be recoginzed as a big boy...the next Gonzaga blah blah. We are a good program, with resources to be successful. But we aren't going to be hailed as a "big boy" until we win in March repeatedly. If we can do that, I would be overjoyed. If we don't I will still enjoy being a CU fan. But I will never blame Eville if it doesn't happen. Sustaining high level success is difficult for any school let alone schools our size, in nonBCS leagues.

[TylerDurden]

I think his point revolves around perception. The big ten has elite teams at the top for people to focus on. The valley needs all the help we can get to be recognized and bad news about any of our members isn't easily overcome when basketball pundits use the "eye test".

Well if it is about perception then WSU (or any other team that wants to be a big boy) better just start kicking the **** out of everyone and have a dominant program that demands recognition.

Do Gonzaga fans talk about how the U of Portland Pilots are holding them back or does Xavier talk about how Fordham is a giant leech?

Winning gets noticed. Winning repeatedly in March, get your remembered and respected. Everything else is just noise. Should MVC schools get some more respect? Probably. Is is UE's fault that we don't? No.

Lots of CU fans want to be recoginzed as a big boy...the next Gonzaga blah blah. We are a good program, with resources to be successful. But we aren't going to be hailed as a "big boy" until we win in March repeatedly. If we can do that, I would be overjoyed. If we don't I will still enjoy being a CU fan. But I will never blame Eville if it doesn't happen. Sustaining high level success is difficult for any school let alone schools our size, in nonBCS leagues.

+1

There is some validity to the criticism of UE and its support of athletics, relative to the rest of the league, but it does not hold any other school back from being as great as they can be.

[DoubleJayAlum]

You know how keep Evansville from making a program look bad? Stop losing to them.

If you lose regularly to a particular program, it stands to reason that they are not as far beneath you as WSU fans seem to want to claim.

I can understand wanting to bring in someone to replace Evansville. However, I think it is a really weak argument to say it is because they are division III, especially when you keep losing to them (it looks like sour grapes). To say they don't bring much to the conference and the conference could do better is something all together different -- and something I could endorse.

[Ace Dad]

As a current resident of Kansas and a Wichita State fan, I work with many University of Kansas and Kansas State University alums who view Wichita State as a third tier institution, with a second rate basketball program. They compare WSU to KU and KSU in both academics and athletics, and the "eye of the beholder" theory takes hold: "Your school's academics and basketball program are not as good as mine." Well, we all know that a good education can be "gotten" at WSU and that the Shockers could give both the Jayhawks and the Cats a competitive run on the basketball court.

There is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel who is a WSU grad in my department and between the two of us, we defend the Shockers' honor and I explain that both KU and KSU are "ascared" to play WSU.

My point: be careful about looking down your nose at other programs because someone is looking down their nose at yours.