Iona @ Valpo Game Thread - Wednesday 7:05, CIT First Round

[dcvalpo]

Well, that sure is a disappointment.  I for one would much rather be playing on the road in the CBI against a major conference team than hosting Iona.

Oh well, more home basketball I guess.

[csd72]

Any details on the game yet? I guess the question is do they know what time it will be?

[dcvalpo]

7:05

[okinawatyphoon]

We are playing in the CIT, just in case others didn't know since it wasn't mentioned.

[valpopal]

Details of the game are up at the VU Athletics home page.

[StlVUFan]

Valpo: RPI 71, Sagarin 90
Iona: RPI 68, Sagarin 79

The only team with a higher RPI/Sagarin in the 24-team field is Marshall (54/78)

Obviously, neither rating figures prominently in the pairings.

[VUfan]

What does CIT Stand For 

[govalpogo]

So...is there a bracket after the first round then?

[valpofan56]

What does CIT Stand For 

Collegeinsider.com Tournament

[valpofan56]

Students are back on campus this week, right?

[govalpogo]

Students are back on campus this week, right?

yessir

[csd72]

According to the write up on their site it looks like Valpo committed last week. Now the marketing post makes a lot more sense. They knew they were hosting Friday.

[StlVUFan]

So...is there a bracket after the first round then?

That's what somebody said on the Valpo Basketball Facebook page.

If they do use RPI after the first round, then if we win it looks like we could get a bye.

[wh]

http://www.collegeinsider.com/tournament/results.html

Interesting format - all 24 teams play in Round 1.  Then 4 of the remaining 12 teams get a second round bye.

Personally, I see this as an excellent opportunity to extend the season and play in what should be a very competitive tournament.  Ok, it's not the NIT, but so what?  The NIT is so watered down this year with low RPI teams that lost their conf. tournaments, who cares?  Our A.D. deserves a lot of credit for stepping up and paying a large amount of money so we could host. I hope we have a big crowd on Wed.  Our team and our athletic department deserve our full support.

[milanmiracle]

I hope they win, but this is a disappointment. No offense to Iona, but that's not beating Washington in the CBI.

I came back and edited this because it comes off as too negative. I am happy that Valpo had a good season and qualified for a post season tournament, but I wish it could have been vs. a BCS school

[valpofan56]

Iona Message Board

In case anybody is interested . . .

[talksalot]

So a win in the first round (we've only played Iona once... 2008-09 in the Virgin Island's Paradise Jam... Gaels won 75-55)

but the "Top 4 Seeds get second-round byes" based on~among other things~ RPI and Geographical Location...

So... here are today's RPIs for the 24 teams in the tournament...
1    Marshall    55
2   Iona    70
3    Valparaiso    72
4    East Tennessee State   91
5    East Carolina    96
6   Portland    104
7   Rider    105
8    Air Force    110
9    Northern Iowa    112
10   Furman    115
11    San Francisco    120
12   Oral Roberts    131
13   Idaho    137
14   Jacksonville    142
15    Quinnipiac    144
16   Northern Arizona    150
17    Santa Clara    158
18    Hawaii    161
19   Ohio    163
20   Buffalo    166
21    Western Michigan    175
22   Tennessee Tech    189
23    SMU    207
24   North Dakota    271

So... Let's have a great crowd on Wednesday... and hope for a another home game a week later...

[valpofan56]

So a win in the first round (we've only played Iona once... 2008-09 in the Virgin Island's Paradise Jam... Gaels won 75-55) . . .

What a bad year that was, ugh.

[vuweathernerd]

sounds like we got one of the better first round matchups. luckily we've had some time to rest up from our brutal stretch. i think we can win this and win solidly.

[Valpo2010]

www.collegeinsider.com/tournament

This has an interesting article about the tournament.  It also states that we had committed to this tournament last week.  Interesting that we didn't hold out hope for the NIT.

[valpofan56]

www.collegeinsider.com/tournament

This has an interesting article about the tournament.  It also states that we had committed to this tournament last week.  Interesting that we didn't hold out hope for the NIT.

I'm sure our being in the CIT was contingent on not being offered a spot in the NIT.

[StlVUFan]

www.collegeinsider.com/tournament

This has an interesting article about the tournament.  It also states that we had committed to this tournament last week.  Interesting that we didn't hold out hope for the NIT.

I'm sure our being in the CIT was contingent on not being offered a spot in the NIT.

As stated in that very article, that's exactly what it was.  If we'd been offered the NIT, we would have gone to the NIT with the CIT's sincere blessings.

[cmack]

I think the Valpo athletic department was being realistic in accepting this invitation early on.  The NIT was never really an option for a 4th place Horizon League team. I am not disappointed with the CIT.  My disappointment  still lies in how we threw away the end of our regular season and conference tourney.  The CIT gives me something to do on Wednesday night at least.

[StlVUFan]

In case anyone is interested, here is the CBI field: http://www.collegesports-fans.com/ncaa-tournament/cbi-basketball-tournament.html

[valpo84]

Looking at the field for the CIT, we have a great chance to win the whole thing, and be a possible home site all the way through. I'm guessing that was part of the thinking on the part of the AD and coaches. Think about this, as long as we are winning, we are practicing. If we keep winning, we likely do not travel. Good for the student-athletes and the fans. It's a nice going away party for the seniors and invaluable experience for the younger guys. This is mid-major tourney and we should make the Horizon proud. Based on the field for the CBI at that link, there is only one BCS conference. We'll save for a later date the fact that the NCAA Tourney took way too many BCS teams and scheduled the better mid-majors either against each other or in difficult matchups (our buddies Oakland we're hosed and Butler v ODU is just not fair to eliminate one of those team).

What's the computer availability for this?