ESPN Bubble Watch

[VULB#62]

NO......................... !!!!  Don't say that.  Hope.  We need hope. Where is the hope?

[a3uge]

NO......................... !!!!  Don't say that.  Hope.  We need hope. Where is the hope?

I won't be holding my breath. But crazier additions have been made.

Sent from my XT1095 using Tapatalk

[agibson]

I won't be holding my breath. But crazier additions have been made.

Feels like a snowball's chance, at least. I'll certainly be watching the show, if I'm home. But also planning to watch the NIT show later.

If there's any public gathering, I've not heard about it. I imagine the team is gathering, but maybe just in the basketball wing or at Bryce's house or something.

Lunardi still has us first-four out, implying an NIT 1 seed. John Templon (nycbuckets.com) still likes us for a 2 seed, against IPFW (but I'm not sure how serious he is about the bracketing). Lunardi's got Green Bay a 15 against... Michigan State! It'll sting is San Diego State really is an 11, and even more if South Dakota State really is a 12 (likely?), and wins a game.

Templon also has almost half of the CIT bids already taken, including Ball State.

Siena to the CBI.

Bracketmatrix has Green Bay pretty solidly at the 15, but as the best of the 15's with a handful of 14's and even a 13.

And we're relatively unchanged, still hanging around as the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th (basically a tie) among those almost but not quite in the at-large pool. On 10 of 97 brackets in this iteration (Monmouth's on 39, good for second-to-last out).

[a3uge]

I won't be holding my breath. But crazier additions have been made.

Feels like a snowball's chance, at least. I'll certainly be watching the show, if I'm home. But also planning to watch the NIT show later.

If there's any public gathering, I've not heard about it. I imagine the team is gathering, but maybe just in the basketball wing or at Bryce's house or something.

Lunardi still has us first-four out, implying an NIT 1 seed. John Templon (nycbuckets.com) still likes us for a 2 seed, against IPFW (but I'm not sure how serious he is about the bracketing). Lunardi's got Green Bay a 15 against... Michigan State! It'll sting is San Diego State really is an 11, and even more if South Dakota State really is a 12 (likely?), and wins a game.

Templon also has almost half of the CIT bids already taken, including Ball State.

Siena to the CBI.

Bracketmatrix has Green Bay pretty solidly at the 15, but as the best of the 15's with a handful of 14's and even a 13.

And we're relatively unchanged, still hanging around as the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th (basically a tie) among those almost but not quite in the at-large pool. On 10 of 97 brackets in this iteration (Monmouth's on 39, good for second-to-last out).

After getting shafted with a 14 playing Michigan State and then a 13 with a 50 RPI playing another underseeded team, it would hurt to see a team that finished 4th in the weakest ever Horizon with a +100 RPI get as good of a seed as those regular season champion teams.

[valpotx]

We would kill Monmouth, which is why this will sting even more if they get in, and we don't

[usc4valpo]

I agree tx - I will say this, the mid-majors this year have never been weaker - not one mid-major team is in the top 25.

[oklahomamick]

Truly sad that the HL doesn't send its best team.  Unhappy that Valpo is better than several teams in the NCAA (AQ or at-large)  Miserable knowing that this Valpo team had a good chance of making a run and knocking some good teams out (Oregon trip demonstrated that - don't forget that was with some injuries and shortly after an East Coast road trip).   Devastated if we win our first NIT game and then can't host a big10 school.   

[classof2014]

I'm sorry but if Valpo gets an NIT wins round 1, gets into round 2 and doesn't play at home because of some dumb high school basketball tournament than I hope guys like Alec leave. If Valpo basketball doesn't come before high school basketball then Valpo doesn't deserve one of the premier mid-major programs in the country. All though I trust that if this did happen the high school games would get rescheduled, basketball is the premier sport and an opportunity to play another game in the ARC, potentially against a school from the B1G doesn't happen often. Last time we had a school from a true power conference in the ARC was 2010 against Purdue.

Hopefully all this talk is all for not because Valpo get an at-large. Still holding out hope for that but I know it's unlikely but I've seen crazier things happen.

[usc4valpo]

Start feeling devastated. The goal for the NIT is to strictly make money by all means possible. The Big 10 team will host if there is money to be made.

[valpo64]

class of 2014...then you hope guys like Alec leave?  You have got to be kidding!   Clear your head first, let the frustrations subside, then make a level headed comment.
-

[VULB#62]

Over on the NIT string this is being discussed as well.  We are talking a 4 hour block on the weekend  My suggestion was to simple cut that block out of the grade school tournament (I believe we are precluded from hosting HS BB tournaments due to NCAA restrictions) and have the kids attend the NIT game.  If the grade tournament people feel they can't do that use any one of the numerous gyms in town for those 4 hours.

[a3uge]

Start feeling devastated. The goal for the NIT is to strictly make money by all means possible. The Big 10 team will host if there is money to be made.

Robert Morris hosted Kentucky in the Nerlens Noel injury year, and they were an 8 seed. It happens.

[bbtds]

We would kill Monmouth, which is why this will sting even more if they get in, and we don't

There are a bunch of teams we SHOULD have killed and one of them was Green Bay on a neutral court. But of course that didn't happen. I wouldn't say we can beat any of these good teams like Monmouth when we can't even beat Green Bay in a semi-final tournament game. If we can beat Monmouth with the healthy players then we should have beaten Green Bay too.

[SanityLost17]

We have about a 1% chance of getting in, but it is not impossible.  I remember reading something along the lines that this team didn't even host a watch party.  Didn't think they had a chance.  Were not a name brand team yet. 
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/2670/year/2011/vcu-rams

[rink]

Is there any logical reason why this year's Valpo team would get an at-large bid when last year's Belmont team did not?  Or would that be totally illogical? I don't remember the intimate details of Belmont's 14-15 season, but it included like a 26 game winning streak and a loss at the buzzer in the OVC finals, right? With those scant details, sounds more worthy than 15-16 Valpo.

Still, I sorta get the feeling that this year's Valpo team drew more national attention and interest from the types who might be on the selection committee. An, "I want to see what these guys would do", that wasn't there with Belmont last year. Maybe I'm making that up ... a biased perspective based on proximity.

[agibson]

We are talking a 4 hour block on the weekend  My suggestion was to simple cut that block out of the grade school tournament

I bet we're talking about more than for hours. Both teams, at least the visitors, need practice time on the main ARC court as well. For all I knowbthe bleacher/stand/broadcast configuration would need to change as well.

I would hope that arrangements can be made, but I respect that the logistics may be intimidating.

As per the Oren article today, it's reasonably common for post-season teams to have facilities problems and have to give up a home game.

[a3uge]

Is there any logical reason why this year's Valpo team would get an at-large bid when last year's Belmont team did not?  Or would that be totally illogical? I don't remember the intimate details of Belmont's 14-15 season, but it included like a 26 game winning streak and a loss at the buzzer in the OVC finals, right? With those scant details, sounds more worthy than 15-16 Valpo.

Still, I sorta get the feeling that this year's Valpo team drew more national attention and interest from the types who might be on the selection committee. An, "I want to see what these guys would do", that wasn't there with Belmont last year. Maybe I'm making that up ... a biased perspective based on proximity.

Obviously so memorable that people mistake Murray State for Belmont...

[oklahomamick]

Seth Davis - My last 5 in: St. Bon, MIch, Syracuse, Wich St, SDSu. My first 5 out: South Carolina, Valpo, Vandy, Monmouth, Tulsa.

We are just a couple spots away....

[classof2014]

Sadly have to agree. Valpo isn't getting in. I mean there's always the chance but nothing went right for us. Maybe Bryce sold his soul to the devil but that's about the only way we get in.

[agibson]

Seth Davis - My last 5 in: St. Bon, MIch, Syracuse, Wich St, SDSu. My first 5 out: South Carolina, Valpo, Vandy, Monmouth, Tulsa.

We are just a couple sports away....

A couple of spots away, even according to one of Valpo's biggest supporters.

[ValpoDad89]

When you look at Valpo's RPI respective of CBS site and Jerry Palm and do the team by team comparison, we have better credentials than Syracuse, Michigan, Monmouth and St. Mary's. As well as Wichita State. Now Cuse and WSU will point at Bieheim and Van Fleet being out. To me either argument doesn't hold weight relative to Valpo as we had key guys out most of the season starting the new year. Only St. Bonaventure and SanDiego State had better resumes than the Crusaders. I'm not holding my breath they get in but they stack up with and have better numbers than a lot of the bubble teams. Plus we had a great loss (by 6 at Oregon at a #1 Seed). We'll see....

[rink]

Is there any logical reason why this year's Valpo team would get an at-large bid when last year's Belmont team did not?  Or would that be totally illogical? I don't remember the intimate details of Belmont's 14-15 season, but it included like a 26 game winning streak and a loss at the buzzer in the OVC finals, right? With those scant details, sounds more worthy than 15-16 Valpo.

Still, I sorta get the feeling that this year's Valpo team drew more national attention and interest from the types who might be on the selection committee. An, "I want to see what these guys would do", that wasn't there with Belmont last year. Maybe I'm making that up ... a biased perspective based on proximity.

Obviously so memorable that people mistake Murray State for Belmont...

Ha, indeed, I meant Murray St. No logic for 15-16 Valpo to get in when 14-15 Murray St was left out, right? (I remember being shocked when the Racers were snubbed last year.)

[VULB#62]

Oregon is a #1

[a3uge]

Is there any logical reason why this year's Valpo team would get an at-large bid when last year's Belmont team did not?  Or would that be totally illogical? I don't remember the intimate details of Belmont's 14-15 season, but it included like a 26 game winning streak and a loss at the buzzer in the OVC finals, right? With those scant details, sounds more worthy than 15-16 Valpo.

Still, I sorta get the feeling that this year's Valpo team drew more national attention and interest from the types who might be on the selection committee. An, "I want to see what these guys would do", that wasn't there with Belmont last year. Maybe I'm making that up ... a biased perspective based on proximity.

Obviously so memorable that people mistake Murray State for Belmont...

Ha, indeed, I meant Murray St. No logic for 15-16 Valpo to get in when 14-15 Murray St was left out, right? (I remember being shocked when the Racers were snubbed last year.)

Murray State didn't really have an at-large resume - just a really long win streak. You need a strong OOC schedule and a couple really good wins to get in. I don't think Murray State had a signature win - Valpo has 1 vs Oregon State, but lack a strong 2.

[oklahomamick]

Summit League tournament champs, South Dakota St. gets a #12 seed.