With an RPI below 30 and 22 wins I believe they are a lock, giving the MAC 2 and if lucky 3 w/Miami of Ohio. As every year the sub .500 teams winning tourneys hurt. If Maryland gets in and we don't get 3 then that makes the BCS look legit compared to the commitee in bball. We'll see.
If they don't get in, it is because of teams like WVU and Memphis making big runs in their conference tournament and getting a bid over Buffalo despite a worse record.
Buffalo even gets mentioned on Yahoo! although not the most complimentary, at least they're on the radar
<a href='http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab' target='_blank'>http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab</a>
Quote:The selection committee has some tough decisions to make at the bottom of the bracket – Bufffalo?
WVU is in. Memphis is not even close and are deciding whether to go NIT or not. I think they will of course.
Interesting side note, Arkansas players voted to take NIT bid but Coach Stan Heath vetoed it and ended the Hogs' season.
Let's be clear, I think Buffalo deserves a bid. So does Miami. But both teams have no one to blame but themselves if they are headed to the NIT after tonight's selections.
Miami - could not win anything significant away from home, stumbled badly down the stretch (Akron, BG, OU, Marshall)
Buffalo - lost 2 games where they had second half double digit leads: @ Miami (up 17, and even up 14 with less than 5 minutes), and Ohio (up 19)
Change any of those outcomes, and each team could've virtually locked up a bid by now.
I hope the stars are aligned tonight, but who knows.
I most definitely think that buffalo is in...miami on the other hand is out...you can't compare maryland getting in over miami being a sham.....maryland has the 12 S.O.S and is playing in a much tougher conference..and the fact that they swept Duke this year helps them greatly..especially if Duke wins the ACC Tourney..yes Maryland might be 6-11 against RPI under 100 but you have to figure a majority of those 11 loses were against top 25 and top 30 teams....waiting to see where kent ends up as i am hoping both mens and womens get invites to first round home games for the NIT...will be interesting to see how it works out in the long run.
axeme Wrote:WVU is in. Memphis is not even close and are deciding whether to go NIT or not. I think they will of course.
Interesting side note, Arkansas players voted to take NIT bid but Coach Stan Heath vetoed it and ended the Hogs' season.
WVU is definitely probably in. However, before the Big East tournament started they were definitely a bubble team and making the run in their tournament puts them in and hurts Buffalo as I said.
As for Memphis, I forgot they lost to Louisville yesterday. I was thinking the championship game was today for some reason.
Did anyone see that Memphis loss though? I guess they were down 2 and a guy was fouled on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer. He made the first and missed the last two foul shots so Memphis lost by 1 point.
The other funny media darling that gets mentioned is VaTech. I guess tey believe VaTechs near miss losses to WMU and THE CITADEL deserve consideratoion w/theie 120 RPI. How they get into the conversation is beyond me, w/out shouting out Buffalo and Miami.
Digger Phelps (Former ND Coach) just said that ND deserves in before Buffalo. Of course he is a former ND coach, but this is the problem the MAC has to fight. The national perception is that we are not as good and not as worthy, despite the fact that Buffalo has a better record and RPI ranking.
I like ND and certtainly think they warrant before any bubble Major teram, including the ACC fakes but Buffalo deserves in. Look at the RPI, bs as it is its what they go off of to make it. Remember Digger is a big ND booster, as well, and we had him w/us it would be great. Vitale usually does us justice though.
Miami won the regular season and has the better RPI. Winning the regular season should count for something. Buffalo and Miami split their 2 meetings. If a second team gets picked, it shoud be Miami, but in a perfect world, Buffalo and Miami would both get in and the Va Techs and Notre Dames of the world would move on to the NIT.
Joe Lunardi, ESPN's Bracketology guru, has Buffalo IN and Miami OUT bythismuch. Lunardi does just about the most objective work out there and hopefully he is a harbinger for good news this evening.
Quote:Winning the regular season should count for something.
I agree. The way it's set up now, winners of an 18-game season are nearly forgotten as soon as the 3-game conference tournament comes into play. However, that said, I do think Buffalo is playing slightly better ball right now than Miami. But I also feel sorry for regular-season champions who get left out of the party. Such is life in what is usually a One Bid Conference.
klingon288 Wrote:Miami won the regular season and has the better RPI. Winning the regular season should count for something. Buffalo and Miami split their 2 meetings. If a second team gets picked, it shoud be Miami, but in a perfect world, Buffalo and Miami would both get in and the Va Techs and Notre Dames of the world would move on to the NIT.
Miami's RPI is only like 2 spots better than Buffalo. For all intents and purposes they have equivalent RPI.
connerito Wrote:The other funny media darling that gets mentioned is VaTech. I guess tey believe VaTechs near miss losses to WMU and THE CITADEL deserve consideratoion w/theie 120 RPI. How they get into the conversation is beyond me, w/out shouting out Buffalo and Miami.
VT actually lost to VMI :rofl:
I've heard several of these NCAA "insiders" say RPI is not discussed much at all in the committee meetings this weekend. If thats the case 2 slots is hardly worth even mentioning at all. I feel Buffalo's last 10 and 22 wins should nullify any advantage Miami has on paper (squeaking out the regular season title). If the committee actually watched the MAC play they'd probably take UB. If they just look at standings and SOS they probably take Miami. Whatever they choose I'll live. If MU gets it, I'll root for them.
I'm getting sick of the "power" conferences having their cake and eating it too. They not only abstain from mid-major road games, but they get to play each other, build up their perceived SOS...get all the notoriety, publicity and TV time and also grab 4, 5 or 6 at-large spots per conference. Digger Phelps is jerking off over the fact that Notre Dame beat UConn at home...the kind of win UB never got. Well don't you think if UConn took a little road trip through the top 6 MAC teams they'd lose a few? absolutely they would. I'm tired of listening to these talking heads.
Quote:I'm getting sick of the "power" conferences having their cake and eating it too. They not only abstain from mid-major road games, but they get to play each other, build up their perceived SOS...get all the notoriety, publicity and TV time and also grab 4, 5 or 6 at-large spots per conference. Digger Phelps is jerking off over the fact that Notre Dame beat UConn at home...the kind of win UB never got. Well don't you think if UConn took a little road trip through the top 6 MAC teams they'd lose a few? absolutely they would. I'm tired of listening to these talking heads.
It wouldn't be the first time that a Buffalo sports team got screwed out of something.
If it really comes down to Buffalo vs. Miami for last spot, I wouldn't want to be on the committee. Personally, I'd give edge to Buffalo based on recent play, but Miami based on total season's resume including the conference title.
Head to head was split, but comparing the top 3 of the MAC..... Miami went 2-3 (1-1 vs. Buffalo, and 1-2 vs. Ohio), while Buffalo went 1-4 (1-1 vs. Miami, and 0-3 vs. Ohio). Every game was generally close, if not a nailbiter.
Miami had slightly tougher schedule down the stretch, but bad loss to Marshall plus bad early loss to Butler.
Buffalo played weaker non-conference teams overall. Both had a big name game that they lost... UConn (better team) and Cincinnati. Not sure how Buffalo looked against UConn, but Miami didn't really shine vs. Cincinnati.
We can argue they both deserve, but with upsets it looks like 1 is best case if that. Flip the damn coin.