(03-22-2017 12:52 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-22-2017 12:02 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(03-22-2017 10:38 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-22-2017 10:14 AM)esayem Wrote:  

(03-22-2017 10:04 AM)stever20 Wrote:  And of those 5 teams since 2015- 3 of them only got in because they won their conference tourney. Nevada, Fresno, and Wyoming.

Nevada got in because they won their conference period. That is not a valid point because there is always going to be an auto-qualifier. How about all those years when Gonzaga made the lone appearance?

The fact remains that in the last ten years, hell we can go all the way back to 2002 when Pepperdine made an appearance to help your case, the MWC has 10/11 teams making tournament appearances (SJSU is hot garbage and hasn't been since their Big West days with an upset tourney victory and losing record) while the WCC has 5/10.

The MWC is much stronger top to bottom than the WCC and it's not even close.

Sure Gonzaga may have made the lone appearance- BUT they would have been in if they hadn't won the conference tourney. You can not say the same about the MWC schools here recently. MWC lost some really good basketball when BYU and Utah both left. The conference isn't close at all to what it used to be.

Also the problem is conferences are measured what they are at the top. And if you take all 21 teams from the conferences- right now the WCC would have probably the top 3 teams.

Yeah, and San Diego wouldn't have made the dance either, that's the point.

Conferences absolutely are not measured by where they are at the top or there wouldn't be so many mid-major snubs! The WCC has two great coaches that are content where they are and BYU.

The MWC four years ago (2013) is the exact same MWC right now (minus a historically strong Utah State and a historically abysmal SJSU). There were FIVE representatives from the conference in the NCAA tournament: UNM (regular season and tournament champ), Colorado State, UNLV, SDSU, and Boise State. That's four at-larges! The WCC will never sniff that.

And the MWC will never sniff that either again. And the conference hasn't been all that.
New Mexico 5 NCAA trips since 1999. 2 wins.
UNLV 7 NCAA trips since 1999. 3 wins.
SD St 8 NCAA trips since 1999. 6 wins.
Boise 3 NCAA trips since 1999. 0 wins.
Colorado St 3 NCAA trips since 1999. 1 win.
Fresno St 2 NCAA trips since 1999. 1 win.
Nevada 5 NCAA trips since 1999. 4 wins.
Utah St 8 NCAA trips since 1999. 1 win.
Wyoming 2 NCAA trips since 1999. 1 win.
Air Force 2 NCAA trips since 1999 0 wins.
San Jose St 0

so as a conference- 45 trips since 1999. 18 years. Several of those trips auto bids from MWC and WAC. only 19 wins in those 18 years.
The WCC teams even w/o Gonzaga- 25 trips and 12 wins. Add them in and it's 43 trips and 35 wins.

I'm not arguing that Gonzaga isn't the best program of the two conferences (it's all Mark Few btw), but take out the top two teams of each and it is evident which conference is stronger from top to bottom. The WCC is extremely top heavy like the old Big West with UNLV and New Mexico State (with three instead of two programs), but every other program is subpar. Gonzaga would not steamroll through the Mountain West every season like they do the WCC. There is more talent and better coaching week after week and that takes a toll; something Gonzaga has the luxury of avoiding.