If Murray St doesn't get an atlarge bid....

[Louisvillekid1]

Hell yeah Temple is in, they most likely gonna win a game also

[2daBank]

Hell yeah Temple is in, they most likely gonna win a game also

they praying to draw murry st.

[2daBank]

Hell yeah Temple is in, they most likely gonna win a game also

i dont really pay too much attention to who in or out, see the 12 groups of 4s espn shows on one side or other.. i look at temple and think where is one quality road win? yea they smoked ku at home but cmon try winning/sheduling a few tough road gms cause you cant tell me the road wins they have n a conf smu got snubbed last year mean anything, but i know you prob more up to speed on who in..

[Louisvillekid1]

lol that wax getting to your head...

Temple lets say a 11/12 seed vs who? Butler/GTown/SMU/Provo type?

Gimmie the Owls + the points vs any of them

[DOM_Toretto]

Go home Banker, you're drunk.

You started a rant about LSU over Murray State in response to my post saying I'd rather have Murray State over any SEC team OTHER THAN kentucky, LSU, or arky....

[2daBank]

Go home Banker, you're drunk.

You started a rant about LSU over Murray State in response to my post saying I'd rather have Murray State over any SEC team OTHER THAN kentucky, LSU, or arky....

yep read that wrong then,rather have uga in too if you want a different rant.

[Soxsfan9]

Not according to Lunardi.

Joe Lunardi @ESPNLunardi · 21h 21 hours ago
“@MadsenCasey: @ESPNLunardi Where would Murray State be had they lost today?” N.I.T.

So fukking sick of Lunardi. Guy is a chump!

[jtoler]

They arnt that good doesn't matter if they got a bid, can't defend and wouldn't score well against a decent defense.

[texhooper]

People taking a ton away from Belmont.. Well coached and deadly shooters.. A very successful program.. We know what happens when teams like this make the dance...

In Belmont's case specifically, they just lose their first game every time

[LT Profits]

So fukking sick of Lunardi. Guy is a chump!

He is usually spot on with who's in though, usually gets at least 63 teams right. Think he got 67 right last year, only miss was he had SMU.

[2daBank]

They arnt that good doesn't matter if they got a bid, can't defend and wouldn't score well against a decent defense.

thnk fukkin god, someone that making sense.sure they could pull a upset on a handful of the overrated teams that nothing special but so what, eventually they run into a team that grinds them down and turns the gm into something they dont want. pace favors the turtles whether it pleasing to the eye of not, there a reason even traditional more up tempo teams have largely begun to slow it down, cause if you ill prepared for a dogfight you not advancing past a junk yard dog.. 3 gms all year played in the 60s and running up the score on bunch of bottom feeding no defense. that high powered o was running it up against a avg defensive ranked team of 266.. and we underselling belmonts 261st ranked d..

[LT Profits]

In Belmont's case specifically, they just lose their first game every time

Didn't they throw a scare into Texas a few years ago?

[LT Profits]

Didn't they throw a scare into Texas a few years ago?

Sorry, just checked, that was Oakland.

[2daBank]

Didn't they throw a scare into Texas a few years ago?

tex usually scared walking into the arena, at best grossly unprepared..

[Cookie Monster]

From SBnation...

Despite its gaudy record, Murray State would have long odds to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large participant. In starting the season 2-4, the Racers lost to Xavier by 27 and Valparaiso by 35, and their best win all year came against Illinois State — which won't make the NCAA Tournament without upsetting both Wichita State and Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley tournament, it would seem.

[Memento]

I agree that Murray deserves a bid...win 25 straight..lose by 1 on a crazy circus shot...and your out?? So a team could go 31-1 loses on some crazy shot to a team that goes 4-30 (wins all tourney games for auto bid)? Conferences should send the regular season champ to NCAA like the IVY does. This BS conference champs is all $$$

[EaglesPhan36]

It's the way the system is set up with the conference tournaments and it's silly, but outside of the impressive conference record - their RPI is not great and their SOS is down on the bottom tier of D1.

[MoneyLineDawg]

Just eye test alone they belong.....A real shame that some shit team with a sub .500 conference record is going to get in over them

They're really dangerous and would be a fun team to have in the field

That was a great game between Belmont and Murray St btw.....March Madness type atmosphere, back and forth with huge shots, etc

[Ghenghis Kahn]

too bad they lost but you can't have two teams from this shit conference.

[Iwinyourmoney]

The rules state that the head of the conference can send either the conference tourney winner or the team with the best conference record to the ncaa tournament.

Granted they always send the conference tourney winner, but it could happen. It's all about $ for these small conferences, and Murray st gives them the better chance to make more $

[xdodger19]

Belmont had the home floor, and they got up early not having to play from behind like they did against Eastern Kentucky,
The Belmont players all look the same to me. Belmont does a nice job of getting to loose balls, and runs a nice offense.
They probably get like a 14 seed and head on over to Iowa St. or something. Why would they rank Murray St. at 25 then leave them out of the tournament because they lose one time on the road at the buzzer.
Well, one thing that is lame about college basketball is that teams like Kansas and Kentucky will not go on the road to a team like BYU early in the season. Too afraid to get beat and look bad.

[LT Profits]

I agree that Murray deserves a bid...win 25 straight..lose by 1 on a crazy circus shot...and your out?? So a team could go 31-1 loses on some crazy shot to a team that goes 4-30 (wins all tourney games for auto bid)? Conferences should send the regular season champ to NCAA like the IVY does. This BS conference champs is all $$$

Which would be fine if the team that won 25 straight played in a major conference or even a legit mid-major. The OVC is more like a minor and everyone knew going in that this is a one-bid conference, so Murray failed to finish the deal. It is what it is.

[ebbearsfb1]

It's the way the system is set up with the conference tournaments and it's silly, but outside of the impressive conference record - their RPI is not great and their SOS is down on the bottom tier of D1.

this... its a terrible system though. as I mentioned conference tournaments are a money grab for these schools to get their games on the big networks also.

Additionally, the system wont change because of the money and/or no one will stick their neck out to say why does one game in march change you're full body of work from December to that point (conference play) in regards to your conference tournament. And also from a game/season prospective the favorites are at disadvantage because it is extremely difficult to beat a team 3 times in one year (yes, i know it is what it is)



I would say in this years example, I would like to see Murray State get in the tourney, and I think Belmont will be out in round 1, like they seem to be every year

[ebbearsfb1]

i understand everything you saying and yea it certainly not as easy for them to schedule but more to the point they cant get teams to come there for home and home 2 year deals. so just put yourself out there and take gms away like ucsb and put yourself thru a brutal schedule, whats it matter if you lose the gms you in same spot anyway. obviously they have disadvantages but other teams have proven you can overcome them even if it isnt fair..

i do like what ivy league does but i do love the conf tourneys. i think it should be a source of pride for any team to win the reg season crown and to me means much more than nothing. nothing because they arent assured into dance? really so what, if they cant run thru their conf tourney they not running thru the 6 gms and winning it all, yes they could make a run but how is that more meaningful than any other accomplishment.

i dont disagree with your premiss, i just like the current format and dont think at the end of the day it matters if the best team doesnt make it..winning your conf reg season championship is a big deal in every conf to every team i believe so not meaningless.

I do agree with putting your neck out there though, but a lot of big schools dont even want to schedule home and homes (at least in football)


right i love the conference tourneys also because as a fan they are very exciting and last night was a great game. And sure looking back i'm sure some kids will say with pride we won the regular season tournament, and I know coaches use it as a source of recruiting, but in reality more kids than not wont care about that and wish they had even just one game in the big dance. March Madness is one of biggest sporting events in the world, and people still talk about Valpo beating Ole Miss, or Hampton vs. Iowa state etc... so yeah hampton didnt win any more games, but thats more of an accomplishment then if they won their regular season title.


And I agree at the end of the day it wont matter because it doesnt effect the top conferences (I'd say Power 5 but b-ball has a few more conferences with potential winners) , and the small schools will just be happy to be there. And again maybe meaning less isnt the right word, but more kids would rather be a 6 seed in their conference and win the conference tournament then be a one seed and lose in it


All in all its a good discussion (haha made me sign back in to talk about it)

[daneblazer]

4 of the 5 power conferences bitch & moan about SEC bias half the year during football season, but they don't seem to care much about bias during basketball season

[jjgold]

put teams like Murray St in big 10 and they would be under 500

[LT Profits]

4 of the 5 power conferences bitch & moan about SEC bias half the year during football season, but they don't seem to care much about bias during basketball season

Basketball actually has six power conferences (Big East is sixth). But I don't think it is bias in hoops, if you look at any set of reliable ratings with absolutely no opinion involved, teams like Murray State do not belong. Eye test becomes irrelevant when you look impressive vs. garbage teams.

[leetreaper]

Murray lmao...

[daneblazer]

Why have them in the top 25? Why even have ratings & polls?

[ebbearsfb1]

It wont change anyway cause most will say it doesnt effect the big picture..

But I'd rather see a team like Murray as one of the last 4 in ala VCU a few years back, then a 19-13 texas team or whoever

[jjgold]

Rutgers worst team in Big 10

Line on Neutral Court

Murray St -3
Game Over

[Wilfred]

Rutgers worst team in Big 10

Line on Neutral Court

Murray St -3
Game Over

Rutgers beat Wisconsin though so if Murray State would beat them they >Wisconsin. So Murray State should be a 2 seed.

[Wilfred]

Come on man, EYE TEST?

Against who?

They played one team ranked in the RPI Top 50, and lost by 27.

27 point loss to Xavier!

So you don't think the eye test should be used for a team who won 25 games in a row just because they don't play in a premier conference. But let's keep referencing games that happened in November as our concrete detail. Name 36 better at large teams than Murray State. You can't.

[thetrinity]

murray st has no chance sorry kid PLAYED 3 top 100 teams all year, i could see them doing a lot of damage in the nit though

[swirv]

Why do they deserve an at large bid? Look at their schedule, no big wins. Didn't play a hard out of conference schedule. Their SOS ranking is like 197, BPI is in the late 60's. They have bad losses to Portland, Houston, and Valpo. Valpo is a solid squad but they lost by like 30.

I show no mercy for these schools when they don't test themselves in the non-conf. schedule. Like what do they expect if they don't get the automatic bid.

This.

No real wins vs a tourny team. Their fault for scheduling crap out of conference and losing to that crap