"Basketball was a foundation piece for the conference," C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said during last season's conference tournament in Tulsa. "It goes way, way back. As we balance the realignment, we want to make sure we're competitive in all our programs, but men's basketball is critically important."

Based on early NCAA Tournament projections, though, that respect might need at least a year to germinate. Right now, bracketology is no friend to Conference USA.

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sport...1401270150

(01-28-2014 11:01 AM)GreenSteve Wrote:  "Basketball was a foundation piece for the conference," C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said during last season's conference tournament in Tulsa. "It goes way, way back. As we balance the realignment, we want to make sure we're competitive in all our programs, but men's basketball is critically important."

Based on early NCAA Tournament projections, though, that respect might need at least a year to germinate. Right now, bracketology is no friend to Conference USA.

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sport...1401270150

that's a really good article that reiterates what most on here have posted over the last year

at the top in hoops, cusa was/is deeper and more competitive

if Charlotte doesn't lose to the crazies, UAB wins a couple on the road, and UTEP had stayed the course, more of the media would be thirsting on cusa right now

disclaimer: not discounting what ODU and MT have done, they just aren't eye candy yet

(01-28-2014 11:37 AM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 11:01 AM)GreenSteve Wrote:  "Basketball was a foundation piece for the conference," C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said during last season's conference tournament in Tulsa. "It goes way, way back. As we balance the realignment, we want to make sure we're competitive in all our programs, but men's basketball is critically important."

Based on early NCAA Tournament projections, though, that respect might need at least a year to germinate. Right now, bracketology is no friend to Conference USA.

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sport...1401270150

that's a really good article that reiterates what most on here have posted over the last year

at the top in hoops, cusa was/is deeper and more competitive

if Charlotte doesn't lose to the crazies, UAB wins a couple on the road, and UTEP had stayed the course, more of the media would be thirsting on cusa right now

disclaimer: not discounting what ODU and MT have done, they just aren't eye candy yet

Yep. There have been some good wins in the conference this year(unlike last year), but there have been some bad losses to offset them.

We just need to take another step as a conference. Hopefully every other team's OOC schedule isn't a complete joke this year. Hopefully the top half of the conference can get into the top 100 of the RPI. Hopefully the lower half can schedule games OOC so they have a winning record entering conference play. There are enough good teams for this league to get multiple bids, we just need them to all have good years more often than not.

I think the author nailed. This year the results aren't there.

However, I think the foundation has been laid to pay dividends in the future. Some teams are recovering from bad years or reloading after a couple of good seasons. Plus, next year the conference gets even better as we add a historically good program in WKU while dropping Tulsa, ECU and Tulane.

The author is correct about the remaining bottom programs needing work but there are cellar dwellers in every conference.

(01-28-2014 12:03 PM)monarchoptimist Wrote:  I think the author nailed. This year the results aren't there.

However, I think the foundation has been laid to pay dividends in the future. Some teams are recovering from bad years or reloading after a couple of good seasons. Plus, next year the conference gets even better as we add a historically good program in WKU while dropping Tulsa, ECU and Tulane.

The author is correct about the remaining bottom programs needing work but there are cellar dwellers in every conference.

This is what we should use as an argument to begin a conference challenge with the likes of say the A-10/MWC/AAC...we need something like this to develop while we are emerging and have a tad bit of fire power....next year really needs to be the year to get this started

If Charlotte didn't crap the bed an at-large may have been possible....SMH

(01-28-2014 12:00 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 11:37 AM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 11:01 AM)GreenSteve Wrote:  "Basketball was a foundation piece for the conference," C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said during last season's conference tournament in Tulsa. "It goes way, way back. As we balance the realignment, we want to make sure we're competitive in all our programs, but men's basketball is critically important."

Based on early NCAA Tournament projections, though, that respect might need at least a year to germinate. Right now, bracketology is no friend to Conference USA.

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sport...1401270150

that's a really good article that reiterates what most on here have posted over the last year

at the top in hoops, cusa was/is deeper and more competitive

if Charlotte doesn't lose to the crazies, UAB wins a couple on the road, and UTEP had stayed the course, more of the media would be thirsting on cusa right now

disclaimer: not discounting what ODU and MT have done, they just aren't eye candy yet

Yep. There have been some good wins in the conference this year(unlike last year), but there have been some bad losses to offset them.

We just need to take another step as a conference. Hopefully every other team's OOC schedule isn't a complete joke this year. Hopefully the top half of the conference can get into the top 100 of the RPI. Hopefully the lower half can schedule games OOC so they have a winning record entering conference play. There are enough good teams for this league to get multiple bids, we just need them to all have good years more often than not.

Hopefully.

(01-28-2014 12:10 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  This is what we should use as an argument to begin a conference challenge with the likes of say the A-10/MWC/AAC...we need something like this to develop while we are emerging and have a tad bit of fire power....next year really needs to be the year to get this started

I don't think either of those 3 are attainable. Those 3 conferences are in the top 10 of conference RPI's this year. They are more likely to start a challenge against each other than CUSA.

If something like this is to happen you have to find a peer conference--right now the best bet is the Missouri Valley but they only have 10 teams. The MAC is also close and has 12 schools so that could work.

But it begs the questions what does CUSA or either of those conferences gain from a conference challenge? If you can pit the top teams against one another then maybe it helps 1 or 2 sure up an at-large resume. But this is essentially a watered down version of Bracketbusters.

(01-28-2014 12:24 PM)monarchoptimist Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 12:10 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  This is what we should use as an argument to begin a conference challenge with the likes of say the A-10/MWC/AAC...we need something like this to develop while we are emerging and have a tad bit of fire power....next year really needs to be the year to get this started

I don't think either of those 3 are attainable. Those 3 conferences are in the top 10 of conference RPI's this year. They are more likely to start a challenge against each other than CUSA.

If something like this is to happen you have to find a peer conference--right now the best bet is the Missouri Valley but they only have 10 teams. The MAC is also close and has 12 schools so that could work.

But it begs the questions what does CUSA or either of those conferences gain from a conference challenge? If you can pit the top teams against one another then maybe it helps 1 or 2 sure up an at-large resume. But this is essentially a watered down version of Bracketbusters.

yeah, but the AAC loses UL and Rutgers right? and maybe the A-10 is shooting a tad high...by the time this year plays out, it may take on a different shape

For schools like USM and La Tech, it would seriously fill an OOC need.

...also thinking there would be a media benefit gained in december.

(01-28-2014 12:24 PM)monarchoptimist Wrote:  

(01-28-2014 12:10 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  This is what we should use as an argument to begin a conference challenge with the likes of say the A-10/MWC/AAC...we need something like this to develop while we are emerging and have a tad bit of fire power....next year really needs to be the year to get this started

I don't think either of those 3 are attainable. Those 3 conferences are in the top 10 of conference RPI's this year. They are more likely to start a challenge against each other than CUSA.

If something like this is to happen you have to find a peer conference--right now the best bet is the Missouri Valley but they only have 10 teams. The MAC is also close and has 12 schools so that could work.

But it begs the questions what does CUSA or either of those conferences gain from a conference challenge? If you can pit the top teams against one another then maybe it helps 1 or 2 sure up an at-large resume. But this is essentially a watered down version of Bracketbusters.

I think you put this together to get the TV coverage of it, if anyone will carry it. A side benefit would be playing an OOC school of similar RPI instead of a sub-Div I team.

As a fan, I want to win every game, but it wouldn't upset me if LT and USM ran the table through the conference championship. I think it's good for the long-term health and respect of the conference to put multiple teams in the tourney as early and often as possible.

For years, the CAA was a single-bid conference. Then one year we lucked out and got 2...the at-large being George Mason who went to the Final Four. After that, the conference regularly received 2 and even 3 bids. Familiarity made the selection committees more comfortable choosing at-large bids from the CAA.

CUSA needs three things to happen. #1 our conference champion has to perform well in the NCAA tournament...reaching at least the Sweet 16 on a regular basis. #2 we need to place at least one team in as an at-large bid...and it wouldn't hurt if that team won a game or two. #3 we collectively need to step-up our OOC scheduling. We absolutely CANNOT continue to schedule DII teams...ever. Any coach who does should be kicked square in the nuts. It makes us look bush-league.

On a side-note. I'm pleasantly surprised by the competitiveness and passion of our new conference and I think the future is bright. Next year should be even better. ODU will be back closer to our normal level and I hope the rest of the traditional powers will be good too. A conference core of USM, LT, UTEP, UAB, Charlotte, ODU, WKU, MTSU, Marshall and UNT should be pretty darn stout. That leaves only 4 teams that need to step up their game, and 4 out of 14 isn't going to really affect our overall RPI that much.

Quote:The other end of the spectrum, though, is where C-USA cringes. The conference has 31 losses to teams ranked 200 or lower in the RPI. Southern Miss isn't to blame here, and neither is Louisiana Tech, which lost to USM 80-71 earlier this season and looked dominant in its Saturday win over Marshall. Neither the Golden Eagles nor the Bulldogs have a sub-200 loss.

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sport...1401270150

Four years of sub-60 RPIs and it still seems odd to see Southern Miss talked of as a basketball power.

(01-28-2014 12:50 PM)techdawg88 Wrote:  

Quote:The other end of the spectrum, though, is where C-USA cringes. The conference has 31 losses to teams ranked 200 or lower in the RPI. Southern Miss isn't to blame here, and neither is Louisiana Tech, which lost to USM 80-71 earlier this season and looked dominant in its Saturday win over Marshall. Neither the Golden Eagles nor the Bulldogs have a sub-200 loss.

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sport...1401270150

Neither has UTEP, Tulsa, and UAB.

Give it a couple a years and I believe it will get better. This conference will be a lot better in the long run.

Ya'll have no idea how nice it will to be in a conference that cares about bball starting Jul 1.

I do love college football, but it isn't the only game in town.

(01-28-2014 12:41 PM)Maryland Monarch Wrote:  As a fan, I want to win every game, but it wouldn't upset me if LT and USM ran the table through the conference championship. I think it's good for the long-term health and respect of the conference to put multiple teams in the tourney as early and often as possible.

For years, the CAA was a single-bid conference. Then one year we lucked out and got 2...the at-large being George Mason who went to the Final Four. After that, the conference regularly received 2 and even 3 bids. Familiarity made the selection committees more comfortable choosing at-large bids from the CAA.

CUSA needs three things to happen. #1 our conference champion has to perform well in the NCAA tournament...reaching at least the Sweet 16 on a regular basis. #2 we need to place at least one team in as an at-large bid...and it wouldn't hurt if that team won a game or two. #3 we collectively need to step-up our OOC scheduling. We absolutely CANNOT continue to schedule DII teams...ever. Any coach who does should be kicked square in the nuts. It makes us look bush-league.

On a side-note. I'm pleasantly surprised by the competitiveness and passion of our new conference and I think the future is bright. Next year should be even better. ODU will be back closer to our normal level and I hope the rest of the traditional powers will be good too. A conference core of USM, LT, UTEP, UAB, Charlotte, ODU, WKU, MTSU, Marshall and UNT should be pretty darn stout. That leaves only 4 teams that need to step up their game, and 4 out of 14 isn't going to really affect our overall RPI that much.

nice analogy to open with....

large hills to climb (respectful conference recognition from the media, higher seedings, competitive ooc scheduling, etc....), but yeah, that pretty much mirrors my thoughts

let's venture into the land of hypothetical from a personal perspective.....

if/when we lose Tyndall, I have reason to fear a tectonic shift in sentiment regarding USM...we hit the lottery with this guy and that will be hard to duplicate....we better pony up the dollars after this year....his mid season raise was a mere pittance in my eyes and hopefully not his

the juco recruiting strategy runs into a brick wall if we lose DT w/o the conference gaining future respect....we would be beyond screwed

we missed our opportunity with continued advancement in football.....really hope we don't fk this one up too and do everything possible to prevent it.

...am always a tad nervous when it comes the mindset of some in the 'burg

(01-28-2014 12:53 PM)Freshy Wrote:  Four years of sub-60 RPIs and it still seems odd to see Southern Miss talked of as a basketball power.

....still thanking LE for kick starting the heart....so true from the beginning sentiment of our locals when I started posting here

Yea pretty amazing you guys actually discuss hoops and know enough to have intellgient conversations about the orange ball (minus that 1 ECU fan who is a joke)..Over at the SB board another thread out of 100 threads are being created about how much better SB is than CUSA on the "field"...Another thread was started saying how baseball is now more important in SB than mens basketball for most SB schools, what a freakin joke!...Sadly attendise wise I can actually believe that a lot of SB schools average mroe for baseball....The Sun Belt is becoming such a laughing stock and I for one cannot wait until July 1st....

Look who is here. Smack board in 5, 4, 3, 2.......