This is just embarassing...

[oldschoollefty]

I haven't seen this brought up here before so I'm going to take a shot at it now.

The very fact that WKU is playing in a freaking play in game Tuesday for the "prize" of being a 16 seed in the big dance only to be slapped naked by Kentucky is a huge embarassment to the SBC and its members. Now I understand we had our opportunity to take care of this situation in the conference championship game last week but that rant has come and gone.

To see the Sun Belt tournament champion relegated to a play in game quite frankly sets back even further the hope of "building the 'Belt" and makes this conference even less relevent on the national stage than before if that's possible.

This isn't some sour grapes slam against Western Kentucky, they did what they had to do in Hot Springs. I guess it just further strengthens my resolve to see us out of this mess of a conference soon.

By the way, had we won the tournament last week, where do most of you think we would we have been seeded? I can't see us having to play in a play in game.

Edited March 13, 2012 by oldschoollefty

[foutsrouts]

I haven't seen this brought up here before so I'm going to take a shot at it now.

The very fact that WKU is playing in a freaking play in game Tuesday for the "prize" of being a 16 seed in the big dance only to be slapped naked by Kentucky is a huge embarassment to the SBC and its members. Now I understand we had our opportunity to take care of this situation in the conference championship game last week but that rant has come and gone.

To see the Sun Belt tournament champion relegated to a play in game quite frankly sets back even further the hope of "building the 'Belt" and makes this conference even less relevent on the national stage than before if that's possible.

This isn't some sour grapes slam against Western Kentucky, they did what they had to do in Hot Springs. I guess it just further strengthens my resolve to see us out of this mess of a conference soon.

By the way, had we won the tournament last week, where do most of you think we would we have been seeded? I can't see us having to play in a play in game.

I guess all you can do is look at WKU's record. They really don't deserve any better by any gauge, and we just plain and simply let our 13 point lead slip away. I'm pretty sure that we would have avoided the play-in had we won, but I wasn't overly concerned had we been a play-in team.

It may be a slight slap in the face, but winning the play-in would had been a nice warm up for North Carolina or whatever. Since we've decided again that we're not interested in the lower pay to play tourneys, let's just get everyone back and eligible and be a top ten (or five) seed next year. No embarassment there. No other choice at this point.

[golfingomez]

I haven't seen this brought up here before so I'm going to take a shot at it now.

The very fact that WKU is playing in a freaking play in game Tuesday for the "prize" of being a 16 seed in the big dance only to be slapped naked by Kentucky is a huge embarassment to the SBC and its members. Now I understand we had our opportunity to take care of this situation in the conference championship game last week but that rant has come and gone.

To see the Sun Belt tournament champion relegated to a play in game quite frankly sets back even further the hope of "building the 'Belt" and makes this conference even less relevent on the national stage than before if that's possible.

This isn't some sour grapes slam against Western Kentucky, they did what they had to do in Hot Springs. I guess it just further strengthens my resolve to see us out of this mess of a conference soon.

By the way, had we won the tournament last week, where do most of you think we would we have been seeded? I can't see us having to play in a play in game.

so you're saying playoffs don't always work?

I'll alert the BCS!!!

[UNT90]

We would have been a 18 seed and a candidate for a play in game. Our strength of schedule was terrible.

MTSU could have been as high as a 13 seed. Too bad for the Sun Belt that they choked in Hot Springs. This happens from time to time with every single bid conference.

[NT03]

2 years in a row

[Mo Green]

The wku rpi is now better than ours (199)& they are playing a play in game. So..........

[KRAM1]

The wku rpi is now better than ours (199)& they are playing a play in game. So..........

Agree...should UNT have won the tournament, I would all but bet that UNT would, indeed, be playing in a play-in game. What do they call them now? The NCAA doesn't use the term "play-in"...what do they call it now? Whatever they call it, UNT would be in it! Agree with Mo Green here.

[Green P1]

To me it was a foregone conclusion that we were headed for a play-in game.

[CMJ]

When MTSU looked like they were gonna win, most sites had them listed as a 12 or 13 (there was an 11 outlier I saw as well).

After they lost Denver was the team most sites had going in from the Belt. They were generally listed as a 14.

Once they went down, all the projections had us in. There were about eight sites I visited. One had us as a 15 (outlier), two had us as a regular 16, the rest as in one of the first four (that's play-in to the rest of you) game.

[buff64]

Looking in the paper this morning at the 4 post season tourney brackets, it appears UNT is the only team in the nation not participating.

[PlummMeanGreen]

I will say this again:

"IF" we get in the Alliance, UNT varsity teams across the board will have to immediately get out of their "SBC mindset" because it will be a whole new game with those we would be competing against. The SBC mindset is IMO....compete "only" against SBC schools with no real goal of going much further than that." I believe Johnny Jones "WILL" do what he needs to do to raise our BB program with the Alliance's (much higher than the SBC's) tide, too.

Just check out John Wooden's first 14 years at UCLA. Just not as eventful as many would have believed, ya' think?

When Wooden recruited Gail Goodrich many years after he had been at UCLA is when "the Wizards of Westwood's famous run would begin. Then Wooden shocked the NCAA basketball world by going into New York City and getting Lew Alcindor. Up until that time, most New York high school basketball phenoms would never leave the New York area to play college basketball.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/10233046

[Green Lantern]

I'd trade places with them in a heart beat. True story.

Gotta finish next year!

[golfingomez]

hmmm... apparently Obama thinks it will be a good game

[Green Mean]

Is the play in game all that bad if we were in it? I mean if I remember correctly it gets nationally televised in ESPN during prime time hours and if you play in a good win and actually win a game in front of that audience with that kind of exposure...I personally don't think the play in game is a bad idea at all. Regardless if you play in the play in game or not you'd probably be a 15 or 16 seed anyways and the likelihood of getting blasted is the same either way so why not take advantage of that extra game and publicity and see if you can get a win out of it.

[CMJ]

Is the play in game all that bad if we were in it? I mean if I remember correctly it gets nationally televised in ESPN during prime time hours and if you play in a good win and actually win a game in front of that audience with that kind of exposure...I personally don't think the play in game is a bad idea at all. Regardless if you play in the play in game or not you'd probably be a 15 or 16 seed anyways and the likelihood of getting blasted is the same either way so why not take advantage of that extra game and publicity and see if you can get a win out of it.

The First Four games are all on TruTV.

WKU/MVSU and Iona/BYU tonight

Vermont/Lamar and South Florida/California tomorrow

[Green Mean]

The First Four games are all on TruTV.

WKU/MVSU and Iona/BYU tonight

Vermont/Lamar and South Florida/California tomorrow

Didn't realize TruTV was broadcasting these games. Didn't the play-in games be on ESPN in the beginning tho a few years back when they started it?

[KoldBeer]

Is the play in game all that bad if we were in it? I mean if I remember correctly it gets nationally televised in ESPN during prime time hours and if you play in a good win and actually win a game in front of that audience with that kind of exposure...I personally don't think the play in game is a bad idea at all. Regardless if you play in the play in game or not you'd probably be a 15 or 16 seed anyways and the likelihood of getting blasted is the same either way so why not take advantage of that extra game and publicity and see if you can get a win out of it.

It's not good for the image of the Sun Belt (which used to be decent in basketball or at least WKU was better) but from a money standpoint, it's better to be in the first round (aka play-in). WKU has a 50/50 shot a winning and if they do the Sun Belt gets another credit in the NCAA tournament payout (i.e. NCAA payout is based on appearances and wins).

If MTSU would have won, then the 12 seed isn't a bad place (we all know one 12 seed wins every year). Denver would have been in a tough spot b/c 14 seeds don't win too often. For the Sun Belt, it would have been best if Denver could have beaten MTSU in the final. MTSU might have been in argument for an at large (I think they would have been sort but would they have been that different than Iona).

[CMJ]

Didn't realize TruTV was broadcasting these games. Didn't the play-in games be on ESPN in the beginning tho a few years back when they started it?

TNN had it the first year (2001?). ESPN had it up until last year when there went from being one opening round game to four. Now TruTV has those games.

[GrandGreen]

With Denver and MTSU having solid OC and conference records, the Belt would have escaped a play-in game if either had won the tournament. On the other hand, the tournament format yields at least in theory the team playing the best at the current time. NT should have won the tournament, the last two years giving up sizable leads in both, but they couldn't close the deal. I think NT definitely had a better team than UALR in 2011 and probably better than WKU in 2012. It took a miraculous shoot by Bozeman and a lot of poor refereeing in 2011. This year a career game by Azol to power WKU to victory. NT lost both games, end of story.

I see a lot of crying on MTSU part just as I did in the first year of Belt football when NT won the right to play in the New Orleans Bowl yet had a losing record. You don't change the rules because you don't like the results, until at least the next year which the Belt did as it relates to a team with a losing record going to the NO Bowl.

I like the tournament format as is, it gets every team involved. The tournament is going to have upsets, if not why have it. The Southland conference actually changed their rules, after I think a three win NT team before the tournament ended up in the finals. Although, NT didn't win in the finals, the thought of a 6 win and 20+ loss team in the NCAA representing your conference was too much for them.

The problem with the Belt is not that it will occasionally have upset winners going to the Dance, but it's teams with excellent records that don't win the tournament are most often are left out. Frankly, this year I think WKU was the best team at tournament time and I think they will do just as good as MTSU, NT or anyone else the Belt could have sent. The Belt in my view was overall mediore with at least half the teams being about even on the court.

[KoldBeer]

I see a lot of crying on MTSU part just as I did in the first year of Belt football when NT won the right to play in the New Orleans Bowl yet had a losing record. You don't change the rules because you don't like the results, until at least the next year which the Belt did as it relates to a team with a losing record going to the NO Bowl.

I like the tournament format as is, it gets every team involved. The tournament is going to have upsets, if not why have it. The Southland conference actually changed their rules, after I think a three win NT team before the tournament ended up in the finals. Although, NT didn't win in the finals, the thought of a 6 win and 20+ loss team in the NCAA representing your conference was too much for them.

I don't like not giving teams a chance but some conferences (like the WCC, Big East and MAC) give the teams double or triple byes. That way every team still has a chance but puts more emphasis on regular season performance. I'm not sure that's something the Sun Belt should do but I think it's an interesting concept.

[CMJ]

In just over a week's time WKU defeated:

(1)MTSU - last game of regular season

(2)UALR (Quarters)

(3)Denver (Semis)

(5)NT (Finals)

The only "easy" game they had in the stretch was FIU in the opening round of the SBC tourney (who gave them a shockingly tough game too). WKU was just on a roll. It happens.

[oldschoollefty]

I guess my biggest frustration here is this is our annual reminder that we are stuck in a one bid conference. I must say I would be much more excited watching MUTS going into the tournament as a 12 seed and their prospects, than WKU possibly losing tonight in a (yes, I'm going to call it a play-in) game.

Like I said before, this further sets back what little national relevence the SBC had and makes it harder for future teams to garner a higher seed no matter what their record.

It's events like this that make me even more inclined to offer my prayers to sweet, clean basketball, football, baseball, etc. Jesus that we have a seat at the Alliance table soon.

[CMJ]

I guess I just can't call them "play-ins" after VCU last year.

[CMJ]

BTW - here's an article that was posted on UALR's board the other day that sort of fits in with this discussion.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120311/SPORTS/203110317/SUn-Belt-HOOPS-MIRED-drought

[untbowler]

so would it still be embarassing if UNT was in the Play-in game had we not choked and WKU's mini Manute not have a career game?