(02-14-2015 04:52 PM)Longhorn Wrote: I strongly disagree with both points. I neither agree that the P5 "mid-pack teams clean house in the NIT" against JMU or CAA competition, nor do I think a close mid-season loss on the road to a good SEC team means much of anything...other than it proves JMU WBB does challenge itself with a tough regular season schedule.
Right. You're telling me all I need to know about your "knowledge". Calling Vandy a "good" SEC team contradicts your entire argument. You call them a
good team? By SEC standards they're not even middle of the pack at
4-7 in conference play! Compare them to an equivalent CAA team (UNC Wilmington or W&M) and you you think that's parity in terms of competition and prepping a team to play in the NCAAs?
I DO think Vandy is a good team. They just play MUCH tougher competition than CAA and their record reflects that. They beat the CAA's best regardless of how you try to marginalize it (tough, on road, mid-season, whatever).
So to prove my point, if JMU were in SEC with a 17-6 record due to 5 loses in the SEC they deserve to be ranked higher than if they were 21-2 in the CAA. If JMU were in the SEC their record would be worse BUT they would actually be a
better team, improving against better competition.
Did I overstate things with the "cleaning house" comment? Perhaps, but that's a red herring. Your point that except for the "top 5 or 6" P5 schools, top mid-majors are on par with the rest of top P5 is delusional. There may be one or two mid-majors a year than can get up there but very rare (Chattanooga might be this year). For the record, I don't consider American or Big East to be mid-major in basketball, they straddle the line.