Why the love for the MVC?

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:37 pm

I just don't get the love being thrown at the MVC? I keep hearing all this talk about the league and seeing articles being written that say they deserve 4 to 5 teams in the dance? I just don't see it.

One of these so called experts on CBB was on a local station the other day and just loved the MVC. Dude wanted 5 teams in. The host asked him why the MVC was so high in the conference RPI rankings and he responded because the teams within the conference have high RPIs. The host then followed that up with a question as to why the MVC teams were so high in the RPI standings and the guy answered because of the conferences high ranking. Nice circular answer.

Further the guy went on to talk about just how horrible the Big XII was this season, which I agree is a down year, but in the same breath he commented on the fact that Baylor had the toughest schedule in the country. WTF?

So what is your opinion on the MVC?

TheJON · Post by **TheJON** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:17 pm

I agree. MVC is not htat good and Big-12 is better. But the MVC will get more teams because Colorado is finished.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:21 pm

I don't see how anyone could justify getting more than 3* in. I assume So. Illinois would be his 4th or 5th team in, who just lost to bottom feeding Evansville. I think the "unproven" mid major teams, unlike a Gonzaga, need to schedule, or at least beat a couple of major conference teams. So. Illinois has done neither. Missouri St had a chance to impress people by going into Arkansas and getting a win, and they were denied. And it's not even like these teams have amazing records - they're 7 loss teams for the most part! Not bad, but I'm not so sure a 7 loss MVC team is better than a 9 or 10 loss ACC, Big East or Big Ten team. I'll take Virginia over Missouri St on any court any day of the week.

*as of right now Creighton, Wichita St and N.Iowa

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:41 pm

a couple weeks ago Creighton was 7-1 against teams in the rpi top 50. that's pretty damned good. I don't care who you are.

i'm not saying the MVC deserves this or that, but that's pretty damned good.

stuckinia · Post by **stuckinia** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:51 pm

UNI just shat the bed against Bradley, losing by 22, in addition to losing 3 out of their last 4. I would assume that their "lock" status for the tourney is pretty shaky.

TheJON · Post by **TheJON** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:21 pm

The conference has exactly 2 quality out of conference wins against teams from major conference and both were from UNI (Iowa, LSU).

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:21 pm

Everybody loves cinderellas, right? Why not start loading up on the shit schools so we can have more cinderella stories, no?

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:22 pm

I like the MVC Witchita State, So Ill. , Missouri State all could be upsets in the making as a 9-13 seed.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:24 pm

BtH,

I still don't get the Baylor SOS rank. Take Texas for example. They play the exact same schedule that Baylor plays, and then they add to it W. Virginia, Iowa, Duke, Tenn., Memphis, and Villanova. Four of these teams are in the top 5 of the RPI system and another is 10th. Texas did play some directional schools mixed in there too, but only a computer could say that Baylor played a more difficult schedule.

So you have the "system" saying Baylor plays the toughest schedule because they are only playing Big XII teams, yet the same "system" says the Big XII isn't that good. That doesn't compute, hit any key to continue.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Feb 23, 2006 10:25 pm

SunCoastSooner wrote:I like the MVC Witchita State, So Ill. , Missouri State all could be upsets in the making as a 9-13 seed.

I don't understand what Missouri St has done outside of the MVC that would make anyone think they'd upset a top dog. Wichita St almost upset Illinois, so they've got that going for them...I guess.

Terry in Crapchester · Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:28 am

The MVC is getting some love right now because, IIRC, they have five teams in the RPI Top 40.

That having been said, I'm not sure all five get into the dance. The MVC is all but a lead-pipe lock to get at least three (Creighton, Northern Iowa and Wichita State) in. But the other two (Missouri State and Southern Illinois) would appear to be big-time bubble teams.

Btw, imho the Big East deserves nine teams in this year, but for some reason the Tournament Selection Committee has a bias against the Big East, so the Big East will be very fortunate to get seven in.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:39 pm

the Tournament Selection Committee has a bias against the Big East

That's funny seeing as how they rotate members in and out annually.

Mook · Post by **Mook** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:53 pm

The RPI is a joke. I don't think anybody really understands it. I follow Kansas, so I will use them as an example. Kansas has won 10 games in a row and last week they fell three spots in the RPI rankings from 38 to 41, behind Kentucky, a team with three more losses and a team Kansass beat by nearly 30 points........huh??? The top teams seem pretty decent, but when you get to Arizona and Wisconsin in the top 17, I have a problem. It's ridiculous. I think the MVC teams are as deserving as say Colorado, Seton Hall, California or Iowa State. But I don't think for one second that the MVC has four teams in it's league in the top 30. I'd even venture a guess that Kansas would win the Valley this year, not be in fifth place......and if you go by RPI that is the only logical assumption for where they would be in the MVC.

Mook · Post by **Mook** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:56 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote: but for some reason the Tournament Selection Committee has a bias against the Big East, so the Big East will be very fortunate to get seven in.

Care to explain this bias???

That might be the silliest thing I've ever read in here.

Terry in Crapchester · Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:18 pm

Mook wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote: but for some reason the Tournament Selection Committee has a bias against the Big East, so the Big East will be very fortunate to get seven in.
Care to explain this bias???

That might be the silliest thing I've ever read in here.

Being an ND fan, ND has been jobbed the past two years running.

It happens to at least one Big East team every year. And maybe it won't happen this year, but I'm betting that it will. If not, the Big East should get nine in this year, which would be shatter the tournament record (I believe current record is seven).

So put it this way: if there isn't an anti-Big East bias, that's an amazing coincidence.

Shine · Post by **Shine** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:40 am

The MVC is a strong conference this year and that's all there is to it. Forget bs rankings and computers, WATCH SOME GAMES. The MVC easily deserves 3 bids and depending on how conference tourneys play out could get 4. The quality conference getting no love is the Colonial which should also get 3 bids, they have some balling ass teams this year.

As to this:

Btw, imho the Big East deserves nine teams in this year, but for some reason the Tournament Selection Committee has a bias against the Big East, so the Big East will be very fortunate to get seven in.

Looking past the moronic and not based in fact "bias" nonsense (racks to Mook), maybe if the conference weren't a cartoon/joke of a bloated whale-has no business with 16 teams-can't even invite all members to the conference tournament joke of a major conference people would focus only on the fact that there are some damn good teams in the conference.

FWIW, you can book 8 bids.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:09 pm

WHy does a Rice fan grovel over Big12 and Tejas so much?

The big12 is bad.

Degenerate · Post by **Degenerate** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 3:01 pm

Shine wrote: The quality conference getting no love is the Colonial which should also get 3 bids, they have some balling ass teams this year.

Rack. George Mason is hellacious on defense. UNC-Wilmington beat Butler, Northwestern and Wyoming to start the season and took Wisconsin to the wire in Madison.

No conference, especially an oversized clusterfuck like the Big East, should be getting one-eighth of the tournament. I may be wrong, but I counted just three league teams out of a possible 15 that Georgetown played home-and-home. And they didn't play Louisville at all. Concievably, one could home-and-home with S. Florida and Depaul, get Villanova and Syracuse at home, and avoid UConn entirely, while another team gets shafted with road games at all the league heavies. That makes a mockery of the league's conference standings.

Shine's right - the Big East will get eight, with the last one being Cincinatti - which proved once again they aren't even the best team in their own city.

If any conference actually did deserve negative bias shown its direction, it would be the Big East, with a close second to the Atlantic 10- errrrr 14.

Cicero · Post by **Cicero** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:59 pm

MVC is a decent conference but no way do they deserve more than 3 teams. I knwo the ACC is having somewhat of a down year but they deserve at least 5 teams and in now way should the MVC have more tams in the Tourney. No comparisons between the ACC and MVC. I just dont understand why that conference gets so much pub when no one in that conference has played anybody.

Degenerate · Post by **Degenerate** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:43 pm

Cicero wrote:I just dont understand why that conference gets so much pub when no one in that conference has played anybody.

Well over half the MVC has played tougher non-con schedules than that joke of a lineup Florida State faced.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:07 am

Cicero wrote:MVC is a decent conference but no way do they deserve more than 3 teams. I knwo the ACC is having somewhat of a down year but they deserve at least 5 teams and in now way should the MVC have more tams in the Tourney. No comparisons between the ACC and MVC. I just dont understand why that conference gets so much pub when no one in that conference has played anybody.

go away Crowntard,

the adults are talking here

Cicero · Post by **Cicero** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:31 am

Haaaa!!! Just as big a fan as you are man. You tellin me the MVC is better than the ACC?

Terry in Crapchester · Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:16 am

Shine wrote:maybe if the conference weren't a cartoon/joke of a bloated whale-has no business with 16 teams-

Do you know why the Big East has 16 teams? Of course, it had to do with the ACC raid, but it's also looking ahead to a split on football/non-football lines. The reason: anytime a new conference forms, you need at least 6 teams to have played together in a conference for at least 5 years, or else you have to wait 5 years for an NCAA automatic bid (I guess you can call that the Mountain West/WAC rule). Had the Big East split along football/non-football lines this year (which was seriously discussed for awhile), there would have been a serious brouhaha for Notre Dame, as the conference that ended up without ND would have had to wait 5 years for an automatic bid. Now, the hope is to keep the conference in its current format for 5 years, then split along football/non-football lines (for my money ND goes with the non-football schools) and each new conference would get an automatic bid, or at most have to wait one year for it.

If that weren't the plan, adding DePaul and Marquette made no sense.

can't even invite all members to the conference tournament

I actually agree with you on this point. I think at this point the Big East should include all 16 teams in the conference tourney. It made sense to leave two out when membership was at 14, but the logic behind leaving the bottom teams out is now gone.

OTOH, the problem is logistics. You'd have 8 first-round games, and you can't play 8 games in a single day in a single venue. So either the first round would have to encompass two days, or else you play the first round at the higher-seeded teams' home arenas, then have the 8 winners advance to MSG.

joke of a major conference

Joke of a major conference? :roll: The Big East is the toughest conference in the country this year.

people would focus only on the fact that there are some damn good teams in the conference.

FWIW, you can book 8 bids.

You may be right, although I think the Big East deserves nine: UConn, Villanova, West Virginia, Pitt, Georgetown, Marquette, Cincinnati, Seton Hall and Syracuse.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:41 pm

The Big East is no joke. If the Big 12 and Pac 10s best-of-the-best merged, the Big East would still be stronger.

Shine · Post by **Shine** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 3:05 am

Terry- Thanks for the reasoning behind the retarded Orca fat conference the BEAST is this year. I'll cut them some slack unless a point comes where they don't do the split you mention.

16 teams in 1 conference = joke