(03-12-2020 10:42 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(03-12-2020 10:25 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(03-12-2020 10:04 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(03-12-2020 10:01 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(03-12-2020 06:09 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  These are all great points. Crazy that Illinois will now go 8 years between NCAA Tournaments.

Hofstra’s another program that just suffered a huge heartbreaker.

The silver lining for someone like Hofstra is that they at least got the AQ. They didn't play in the tournament, but they had a ticket. It's someone like Rutgers that one can really feel for.

And while the rule of thumb has typically been that if you're a non-major and you win a tournament game, you can kiss your coach goodbye, I suspect programs like Dayton, SDSU, and Rutgers better pay up to keep their guys around. They did enough with those teams for a lot of schools to notice.

UC Irvine held onto Russell Turner after a 31 win season and NCAA win in 2019

I'll one up you: Porter Moser.

Yeah, opted to stay with the lesser money at Loyola instead of St. John's. Granted, it's St. John's.

I'm happy that it's not an automatic thing. Some folks realize that the respect and job security pieces mean something. And to be a lord of the earth on campus is pretty sweet, too.

There are plenty of ballers in and around Chicago for Porter Moser, and the Missouri Valley is a fine league. And for Russell Turner, Orange County ain't a bad place to be either.

The problem is they're not anywhere close to the top option in those areas. Unless you have a program built, strike while iron is hot (and for a Dan Monson, his program was not built, Few sustained and built Gonzaga. Didn't work out for him but still a smart move).

FSU got screwed as well. A likely high 2 seed and the first round in Tampa was the likely outcome. FSU was in a good position to go deep in the tourney.

I haven't said this but San Diego State wasn't coming anywhere near a 'ship this year, 1-seed or not.

(03-13-2020 10:17 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  I haven't said this but San Diego State wasn't coming anywhere near a 'ship this year, 1-seed or not.

Agreed. Talented but often too undisciplined. Then again, someone has to win any given game. If someone could knock them off, who had the stuff to do so?

(03-13-2020 11:14 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(03-13-2020 10:17 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  I haven't said this but San Diego State wasn't coming anywhere near a 'ship this year, 1-seed or not.

Agreed. Talented but often too undisciplined. Then again, someone has to win any given game. If someone could knock them off, who had the stuff to do so?

But this is why we watch the tourney, because with a talented but undisciplined team it can easily be a team not expected to, because one seed is caught looking past them to the team expected to, and a whole slice of the bracket is turned upside down.

(03-14-2020 02:04 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(03-13-2020 11:14 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(03-13-2020 10:17 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  I haven't said this but San Diego State wasn't coming anywhere near a 'ship this year, 1-seed or not.

Agreed. Talented but often too undisciplined. Then again, someone has to win any given game. If someone could knock them off, who had the stuff to do so?

But this is why we watch the tourney, because with a talented but undisciplined team it can easily be a team not expected to, because one seed is caught looking past them to the team expected to, and a whole slice of the bracket is turned upside down.

Yeah, who was ready and waiting for someone. I am really going to miss this year’s tournament. I mean, really...so much turnover at the top of the polls. It was wide open.

(03-14-2020 09:38 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(03-14-2020 02:04 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(03-13-2020 11:14 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(03-13-2020 10:17 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  I haven't said this but San Diego State wasn't coming anywhere near a 'ship this year, 1-seed or not.

Agreed. Talented but often too undisciplined. Then again, someone has to win any given game. If someone could knock them off, who had the stuff to do so?

But this is why we watch the tourney, because with a talented but undisciplined team it can easily be a team not expected to, because one seed is caught looking past them to the team expected to, and a whole slice of the bracket is turned upside down.

Yeah, who was ready and waiting for someone. I am really going to miss this year’s tournament. I mean, really...so much turnover at the top of the polls. It was wide open.

I think they set a record with 7 different teams at the top. Kansas, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan St., Louisville and Gonzaga.

(03-12-2020 09:12 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Poor Rutgers...so many decades of dispair, a credible season and now this.

Yeah, was looking forward to them pulling off some cinderella action this year. 29 years and counting.

Maybe on year 30 they find a way to return to the Final Four.

If the rules on extending scholarships next year are changed, It should not matter if they are that good.

(03-12-2020 08:43 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  As previously stated, look for both UD and SLU as expansion targets in 2024, a year before the current BE TV deal with Fox expires. However, if the rumors about an extension being announced when UConn joins in July are true, then that timeline probably gets extended to '26-'27 timeframe. 14 is an ideal league number; UMass could also be paired with UConn to round everything out.

I'll preface this by saying that recently Benedict and UMass' AD seem to be working together pretty closely and sometimes this stuff just comes down to personal relationships, so who knows. That being said, I'd expect UConn and Providence would balk at a third New England school, whoever it might be.

The program that would have a great theoretical shot if they could ever, ever, ever get their stuff together is Duquesne. As an academic institution they clear the bar necessary for consideration, they're smack dab in the geographic center of the conference, and by convenient happenstance a 300-something million dollar NHL arena is across the street from their campus. The athletic department's just been asleep at the wheel for what feels like forever. Then again, they were solid this year and the school's dumped a bunch of money into rebuilding their old on-campus gym, which would make a nice training facility if the university could ever justify a Seton Hall-like arrangement with the local hockey arena. Here's to hoping they somehow stay at the top of the A10.

(03-16-2020 06:13 PM)sierrajip Wrote:  If the rules on extending scholarships next year are changed, It should not matter if they are that good.

That assumes there are no changes across all teams, and that nobody does anything different between the stoppage and next season.

For some teams who were not at their best or "normal level," Rutgers may improve, but so will a lot of others.

The one I expect to drop off is Penn State. I feel like they get one decent season every five years. Sometimes it gets them the tournament, or they get the NIT. It doesn't matter what they may bring back, some how, they just aren't consistent. And if they aren't as good next year, you are going to hear Chambers' critics again. I feel like he had to be good this season, and he was...but, it did technically lead to the same place.