Bob's Not As Poor As Reported

[Cajunsmike]

Losing six game isn't getting a mid major a bid. When we (SBC) got at large bids the total loss was four. They lost every important out of conference game.

Middle Tennessee would not have gotten a bid without winning the CUSA tourney and they lost five games. Did any mid majors get at large bids this year? I think St. Mary's did but I have not checked the bracket in detail. Keep in mind that UTA soundly defeated St. Mary's on the road in pre conference play. An announcer during the Troy-Texas State game yesterday addressed this issue. He said that college basketball should not allow schools to buy games. His recommendation was that all non conference games should be part of home and home deals. That would help balance the RPI since so much of it is weighted towards schedule and TV schools do not go on the road against non TV schools. That has zero chance of happening of course.

[Cajun90]

The linked article does a good job of pointing out another problem mid majors have-being able to improve your schedule without having to play so many non conference games on the road. Committee likes to point out that some mid level P5 teams get in because of a victory over a ranked opponent. Vanderbilt got in with 15 wins this year due to beating Florida. Well if you are not in the SEC, you have no opportunity to beat Florida and definitely not on your home court. The point Cali made about adjusting your schedule so as to be able to garner at large bids is flawed as shown by that example. In today's world, your conference tournament is the most important part of the season for a mid-major regardless if people want to accept it as a fact or not. That is unfortunate as any team can have a bad shooting game which will knock you out. No one is moving to not have the tournament either due to reasons pointed out in another thread. Even the Ivy League has a tournament now. Of course the regular season is important for seeding and a guaranteed NIT opportunity if you win the league. Hopefully the move to use more tools than RPI will help the problem in future years. We will see beginning next season if it helps address the issue.

One thing they could do is punish P5 teams that make the tournament but have refused to play G5 schools away from home. If they were to start getting seeded lower it would do two things. Give the G5's who make the tournament a slight advantage that they don't normally have and make the P5's reconsider their scheduling.

[ManAboutTown]

Illinois State went 17 and 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. They did not receive an at large bid due to not winning the conference tournament. The MVC is one of the top mid major leagues in the country. If that does not tell you the difficulty mid majors have today in attracting at large bids, I don't know what will. Scheduling changes won't change that.

I watched Illinois St play 4-5 times this year (betting purposes). They are a very talented, cohesive, well coached and balanced basketball team. They reminded me a lot of Butler. It is a crime that this team is not in he tourney and highlights exactly what I've been saying about the uphill battle that G5 basketball fights. Might be a little bit different this year, but go check out the RPI disparage between SBC and MVC basketball over the last decade.

[basinbear]

UMass was a home and home in the Marty Fletcher days. We did not pay them and they did not pay us.

Thanks Mike. I could not remember the money side of this deal.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Middle Tennessee would not have gotten a bid without winning the CUSA tourney and they lost five games. Did any mid majors get at large bids this year? I think St. Mary's did but I have not checked the bracket in detail. Keep in mind that UTA soundly defeated St. Mary's on the road in pre conference play. An announcer during the Troy-Texas State game yesterday addressed this issue. He said that college basketball should not allow schools to buy games. His recommendation was that all non conference games should be part of home and home deals. That would help balance the RPI since so much of it is weighted towards schedule and TV schools do not go on the road against non TV schools. That has zero chance of happening of course.

I know WKU got an at large bid the year we won the tournament. I cannot recall if UNO an at large the year they blew away the regular season. They probably won the tournament, but I don't remember

[Cajunsmike]

I know WKU got an at large bid the year we won the tournament. I cannot recall if UNO an at large the year they blew away the regular season. They probably won the tournament, but I don't remember

Year we won the tournament and WKU got an at large was in 1994 from what I recall. Different time. I don't think RPI was used as much then as the committee uses it now to select at large bids. I don't think they got in either in 2005, 2004, or 2000 which was the other years we won the tournament. They may have gotten in as an at large during the Robert Lee years. I do believe UNO got in as at large during the Tim Floyd years (over 20 years ago) when they lost only three games.

[VObserver]

Really and what did that get them? The point is the same and again they play FCS football. They played in a tournament in Hawaii, I am pretty sure the one we were dis invited to. Who did they play out of conference that was better than Georgia, Minnesota, Texas Southern or UNO? Look what UTA's RPI got them, fact is both UTA and ISU are playing in the NIT, if that is what you want then be a LTU@Ruston fan.

According to the Federal Government Report on Equity in Athletics, Illinois State's Men's Basketball budget in 2016 was $2.45 million, UL was $2.33 million. More, true, but by around 5%, barely significant. Their operating expenses were actually less than UL's.

As to the rest of your questions, They played no one better than Minnesota, but they DID play 3 top 100 teams to our 2, and 4 more 101-200, to our 2, only one non D-1 and even the bad teams they played were better than McNeese.

As to what it got them, how about an average home attendance of 5,200/game compared to our 3,800/game? [By the way, LTU averaged 3,855 blue tarps].

I want a successful program that plays a meaningful schedule and garners some measure of respect from both its own fans and from others who are less biased. I want a program that is always in the conversation about who is going to win whatever conference we are in; and which is considered as a dangerous matchup in the NCAA or NIT when we make it. We used to have that.

You are perfectly welcome to both expect less and to accept less.

[VObserver]

I watched Illinois St play 4-5 times this year (betting purposes). They are a very talented, cohesive, well coached and balanced basketball team. They reminded me a lot of Butler. It is a crime that this team is not in he tourney and highlights exactly what I've been saying about the uphill battle that G5 basketball fights. Might be a little bit different this year, but go check out the RPI disparage between SBC and MVC basketball over the last decade.

There is a large disparity, mostly because the MVC schools have played better OOC schedules.

[MelRock]

According to the Federal Government Report on Equity in Athletics, Illinois State's Men's Basketball budget in 2016 was $2.45 million, UL was $2.33 million. More, true, but by around 5%, barely significant. Their operating expenses were actually less than UL's.

As to the rest of your questions, They played no one better than Minnesota, but they DID play 3 top 100 teams to our 2, and 4 more 101-200, to our 2, only one non D-1 and even the bad teams they played were better than McNeese.

As to what it got them, how about an average home attendance of 5,200/game compared to our 3,800/game? [By the way, LTU averaged 3,855 blue tarps].

I want a successful program that plays a meaningful schedule and garners some measure of respect from both its own fans and from others who are less biased. I want a program that is always in the conversation about who is going to win whatever conference we are in; and which is considered as a dangerous matchup in the NCAA or NIT when we make it. We used to have that.

You are perfectly welcome to both expect less and to accept less.

And neither made the NCAA tournament so you welcome to keep _____ing about something that is not going to change. You are also welcome to keep blaming coach when our baseball coaches and our new AD says scheduling is a problem. But some how when other teams talk about it, they are still better than us and it is our coaches fault. You keep bringing up FCS schools but want to compare them to us, you keep bringing up non football playing schools and comparing them to us.

It is amazes me you are not a DI coach in baseball, basketball, football and track because you have the answers. I could probably throw softball in their too.

[MelRock]

Also if you want to compare Lafayette to Ruston and why they out draw us, because there is nothing else to do in that ____hole. Unless you want to ____ a goat or date your sister. I am sure I lived there not being a tech at ruston fan, I might go to the game. Probably not,because I hate those bastards.

[CajunAmos]

According to the Federal Government Report on Equity in Athletics, Illinois State's Men's Basketball budget in 2016 was $2.45 million, UL was $2.33 million. More, true, but by around 5%, barely significant. Their operating expenses were actually less than UL's.

As to the rest of your questions, They played no one better than Minnesota, but they DID play 3 top 100 teams to our 2, and 4 more 101-200, to our 2, only one non D-1 and even the bad teams they played were better than McNeese.

As to what it got them, how about an average home attendance of 5,200/game compared to our 3,800/game? [By the way, LTU averaged 3,855 blue tarps].

I want a successful program that plays a meaningful schedule and garners some measure of respect from both its own fans and from others who are less biased. I want a program that is always in the conversation about who is going to win whatever conference we are in; and which is considered as a dangerous matchup in the NCAA or NIT when we make it. We used to have that.

You are perfectly welcome to both expect less and to accept less.

Actually, they averaged about 2942 for home attendance while the Cajuns averaged 3655.

[CajunAmos]

There is a large disparity, mostly because the MVC schools have played better OOC schedules.

I don't think it's just better OOC schedules but I think they have a smaller conference footprint with better historical rivalries. Additionally, basketball has always been bigger in the northern states, even when we were having consistently good seasons.