I know, we still have one game to go, but I thought I'd take a look and speculate where we might end up if we win on Tuesday.
In general, given the committee's reluctance to say they rely on the rpi alone, I have found that the Sagarin's actually play out fairly closely to final seedings.
At the moment, we are ranked 120 and the Horizon is ranked 12th. Unfortunately, even though there are 20 conferences ranked lower, only 5 schools in the lead in their respective conferences are ranked lower than us at the moment. That makes us a 15. The key to final seeding is upsets in conference tourneys, and we ALL should be pulling for the under dog.
At the moment Murray State, Belmont, UNC-Asheville and I believe, Harvard, are in. UNC-Asheville is slightly lower ranked than us and all the others are much better. We'll see...
Quote from: vu72 on March 04, 2012, 12:22:09 PM
I know, we still have one game to go, but I thought I'd take a look and speculate where we might end up if we win on Tuesday.
In general, given the committee's reluctance to say they rely on the rpi alone, I have found that the Sagarin's actually play out fairly closely to final seedings.
At the moment, we are ranked 120 and the Horizon is ranked 12th. Unfortunately, even though there are 20 conferences ranked lower, only 5 schools in the lead in their respective conferences are ranked lower than us at the moment. That makes us a 15. The key to final seeding is upsets in conference tourneys, and we ALL should be pulling for the under dog.
At the moment Murray State, Belmont, UNC-Asheville and I believe, Harvard, are in. UNC-Asheville is slightly lower ranked than us and all the others are much better. We'll see...
harvard's not a lock yet. penn still has 1 game left, and if they win, there will be a one game playoff between the two to determine the bid.
I'm a bit confused here. Do four of the play-in teams have to be bubble teams who are not conference champions? If not, we would have to be better than eight teams to earn a 15th seed, correct?
Quote from: humbleopinion on March 04, 2012, 01:05:06 PM
I'm a bit confused here. Do four of the play-in teams have to be bubble teams who are not conference champions? If not, we would have to be better than eight teams to earn a 15th seed, correct?
I know some are not a big fan of Wiki, but it represents the initial intent of the WWW when it was invented:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NCAA_Men%27s_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament)
To quote:
"Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—will play in the First Four"
I can't see either team from the Horizon being the lowest seeded automatic qualifiers.
In my honest opinion, trying not to take account membership in Crusader Nation, I think its frankly a slap in the face to put Valpo any lower than a 12 seed.
The committee says they don't go on RPI alone only as a guide, so prove it! Valpo has beaten the 2 time national runner up 4 times in a row and dominated one of the top mid-major conferences in the country.
If we win Tuesday, I can see the selection committee putting Valpo at whatever seed necessary to play against Baylor in the first round. Within reason, of course. If it works out that Baylor is the 3rd seed, I would expect a 14 seed.
Quote from: MattCarter on March 04, 2012, 02:25:11 PM
In my honest opinion, trying not to take account membership in Crusader Nation, I think its frankly a slap in the face to put Valpo any lower than a 12 seed.
The committee says they don't go on RPI alone only as a guide, so prove it! Valpo has beaten the 2 time national runner up 4 times in a row and dominated one of the top mid-major conferences in the country.
The fact that they are the 2-time national runner up has no bearing whatsoever.
I think it would be rational to hope for a 14 seed if we flatten Detroit Tuesday night. Flattening Butler in addition would help. It contributes to the "last 10 games" aspect. But 12 seed? Well, I think that would certainly be widely viewed as an absolute joke, and I think we could hardly expect otherwise.
Quote from: StlVUFan on March 04, 2012, 03:17:01 PMQuote from: MattCarter on March 04, 2012, 02:25:11 PMIn my honest opinion, trying not to take account membership in Crusader Nation, I think its frankly a slap in the face to put Valpo any lower than a 12 seed. The committee says they don't go on RPI alone only as a guide, so prove it! Valpo has beaten the 2 time national runner up 4 times in a row and dominated one of the top mid-major conferences in the country.
The fact that they are the 2-time national runner up has no bearing whatsoever. I think it would be rational to hope for a 14 seed if we flatten Detroit Tuesday night. Flattening Butler in addition would help. It contributes to the "last 10 games" aspect. But 12 seed? Well, I think that would certainly be widely viewed as an absolute joke, and I think we could hardly expect otherwise.
For a 12 to be remote possible, as VU72 said, a ton of conference tourney upsets would have to occur. If we make it... 14 is reasonable...no worse than a 15.
I'm expecting a 14 or 15 seed. Now we see the importance of the non-conference schedule. There's no upside to playing IPFW or IUPUI. Hopefully we can schedule some lower tier major conference schools next year.
If we make it, a #15 seed awaits. The losses to IUPUI and IPFW were killers.
Paul
Quote from: MattCarter on March 04, 2012, 02:25:11 PM
In my honest opinion, trying not to take account membership in Crusader Nation, I think its frankly a slap in the face to put Valpo any lower than a 12 seed.
The committee says they don't go on RPI alone only as a guide, so prove it! Valpo has beaten the 2 time national runner up 4 times in a row and dominated one of the top mid-major conferences in the country.
12? Really? Just based on beating Butler 3 times and their reputation last year? We are going to be a fifteen unless upsets occur. The number one in the MAAC, Iona, lost today. They were going to be seeded as a 13 according to Lunardi. The remaining teams in the MAAC have lower RPIs than us, except than Loyola MD, who is about the same RPI as us according to realtimerpi.com as of yesterday. So this may help us, if that Loyola doesn't win and isn't looked at as slightly better than us.
Quote from: drewsaders11 on March 04, 2012, 04:56:06 PM
Quote from: MattCarter on March 04, 2012, 02:25:11 PM
In my honest opinion, trying not to take account membership in Crusader Nation, I think its frankly a slap in the face to put Valpo any lower than a 12 seed.
The committee says they don't go on RPI alone only as a guide, so prove it! Valpo has beaten the 2 time national runner up 4 times in a row and dominated one of the top mid-major conferences in the country.
12? Really? Just based on beating Butler 3 times and their reputation last year? We are going to be a fifteen unless upsets occur. The number one in the MAAC, Iona, lost today. They were going to be seeded as a 13 according to Lunardi. The remaining teams in the MAAC have lower RPIs than us, except than Loyola MD, who is about the same RPI as us according to realtimerpi.com as of yesterday. So this may help us, if that Loyola doesn't win and isn't looked at as slightly better than us.
unfortunately, illinois state lost to creighton in the mo valley today. so that doesn't help us. i don't like the prospect of being a lowly 15, but it's a whole lot more realistic than expecting a 12.
I'm superstitious, so I won't speculate and jinx the team. :-X
Middle Tennessee State lost tonight in the 2nd round so the Sun Belt is now likely sending a team who would be seeded behind you.
Quote from: swiftmutiny on March 04, 2012, 02:42:34 PM
If we win Tuesday, I can see the selection committee putting Valpo at whatever seed necessary to play against Baylor in the first round. Within reason, of course. If it works out that Baylor is the 3rd seed, I would expect a 14 seed.
Or Michigan St... who looks like a 2-seed at this point. If Valpo wins, I really think they'll play either Michigan St or Baylor.
But lets look at the data. It's easier to think about building the tournament from the bottom up.
If each team with the highest RPI wins their tourney, Valpo would be looking at a 15 seed. Detroit probably a 15 seed as well.
Along with UNC Asheville which already won, here are the conferences that will finish with a champion with a higher RPI than Valpo (85).
Big South - UNC Asheville (109)
AEC
MEAC
NEC
Southland
SWAC
Sun Belt
Remember there's 6 16 seeds, and 4 15 seeds, etc. Don't forget about the play in game.
That's 8 right there, so in order for Valpo to bump up to a 14 seed, 2 conference tourneys would have to go to an underdog who is worse than Valpo. Theoretically, Valpo could even be a 9 seed... but don't expect Nebraska and DePaul to win their conference tournaments.
Here's some conferences that we could realistically see an upset:
Ivy League - no tournament, Penn (98) needs to beat Princeton and then a one game playoff against Harvard (36). Penn has won 7 straight, including one at Harvard. Penn/Valpo seeding could be troublesome.
MAAC - tomorrow night Loyola (80) plays Fairfield (114) for the championship
Big Sky - Valpo could edge out top seed Montana (81), but Weber St (71) is also in the semis. The 3,4 seeds could also pull upsets.
Big West - Long Beach St (35) has the 1 seed, but it's a 3-round neutral-site tourney with every other team having high RPIs
Patriot League - Bucknell (82) and Lehigh (101) play each other for the championship. This is at Bucknell.
Stretch:
SoConn - Probably not as likely, since Davidson looked really good tonight, but Davidson (67) would have to lose to Western Carolina (224) in the championship game.
Summit - Oral Roberts (38) and South Dakota St (52) would have to both lose to some bad Summit teams.
WAC - Nevada (47) and New Mexico St (68) would have to both get knocked out.
MAC- Akron (62) and Buffalo (74) get triple byes, and Ohio (70) has a double bye. Kent St (104) could have a chance?
That leaves Valpo at a 13 as the absolute lowest (if true miracles happen) and 14 as a possibility (if we get a little help) and a 15 as the most probable landing-point.
With all that said, we could get a 14 seed if the selection committee likes a match-up (Baylor vs Valpo), or even if these upsets happen could still see a 15 if they want to see Michigan St vs Valpo. What's really terrible to think about, however, is what Butler would have been seeded if they had beat Valpo and then beat Detroit. Statistically, they probably would deserve no higher than a 15, but I could have seen them handing them a 12 or 13 seed out of nowhere.
Very good analysis. This is how we should be thinking about other conference tourneys at this point. The only flaw in that onslaught of info is including the Great West. They don't get an autobid to the NCAA tourney (too few teams in the conference, at 6, and not a conference for long enough, I believe, to qualify...their winner goes to the CIT).
We should also be thinking about the flipside of this. The more mediocre conference leaders that lose and get autobids to the NIT, the higher a possible NIT seed could be for us. So, if the first place teams in the AE, MEAC, SWAC, etc. all lose, we would be looking at a 7 or 6 there, as compared to an 8 if we were one of the four worst 1 seeds to lose in the tourney. Really, really hoping this doesn't matter and come in to play, but hey, the NIT is better than the CIT and CBI, right?
With all of that said, let's do work on Tuesday and let the chips fall where they may.
Woops, the Great West was linked at the bottom of the conference tournament Wikipedia articles.
That leaves 3 needed upsets.
The NIT scenario is interesting, but let's note that mid majors don't really have Cinderella runs in the NIT. The NIT is usually dominated by power conferences. I'm not sure what seed Valpo would get in the NIT given a loss, but I would imagine it would be above a 5, not getting a home game first round.
drewsaders11, if we go to the NIT, we'll have a higher seed based on the conference RPI.
Also, in the analysis of conferences, the poster said that Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, and Kent State were in the WCC (West Coast Conference). They are actually in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
I also feel that our NCAA bid could still be a 16 seed because of our previous tournament history. The committee does take that into consideration. Yes, the conference has had success the past two seasons, but that doesn't matter, it's the team representing your conference. Due to our tournament history, I don't see us being any higher than 15 this year, even if so many of you want the Baylor or Michigan St. matchup because of a storyline with the opponent. I just don't see it happening though. We will have to travel, and I don't think we will get a favorable bracket matchup either.
Quote from: valporun on March 04, 2012, 11:09:45 PM
I also feel that our NCAA bid could still be a 16 seed because of our previous tournament history. The committee does take that into consideration.
False. Absolutely, patently false. If you've read ANY of the articles written by people involved in the numerous mock selection processes over the last few years, you would realize that the exact opposite is the case.
Mock selection is just that, "Mock selection". It's just like "mock drafts" for fantasy sports, they just projections to show newbies how to draft, and work the system to your advantage. It doesn't mean they actually follow the rules used in the mocks to make the final decisions. The committee will show how they play the rules, but it doesn't mean they will follow them to the same "T" as they do in the Mock selection the writers talk about. The NCAA will look at tournament history, otherwise we wouldn't have had two years of 16 seeds, like I posted above.
Quote from: valporun on March 04, 2012, 11:35:37 PMotherwise we wouldn't have had two years of 16 seeds, like I posted above.
Was that in the other thread? As I probably replied there, we haven't had two 16 seeds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valparaiso_Crusaders_men%27s_basketball#All_time_tournament_results (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valparaiso_Crusaders_men%27s_basketball#All_time_tournament_results)
History shows the 14, 15, and 16 seeds are mostly in direct order of their RPI. Since very few of these teams have had any success in the NCAA tournament, it wouldn't make any sense to look at these schools past history. In fact, of the 10 projected 15 and 16 seeds this year, only Valpo and Bucknell have won a tournament game in the past 40 years.
Quote from: valporun on March 04, 2012, 11:09:45 PM
I also feel that our NCAA bid could still be a 16 seed because of our previous tournament history. The committee does take that into consideration. Yes, the conference has had success the past two seasons, but that doesn't matter, it's the team representing your conference. Due to our tournament history, I don't see us being any higher than 15 this year, even if so many of you want the Baylor or Michigan St. matchup because of a storyline with the opponent. I just don't see it happening though. We will have to travel, and I don't think we will get a favorable bracket matchup either.
Not going to be a 16 seed. Not, at least, for this reason. Why the heck would they take a 2004 tournament with a different coach in a different conference into consideration over the actual results of the season. I don't know how anyone could possible think that and defend it logically. There's no evidence to suggest the selection committee holds 8+ year grudges against teams who have lost tournament games in the past (as 15 and 16 seeds). Of course they didn't win as 15 and 16 seeds, not many do. Are you saying that the selection committee, when looking at Creighton for example, will look at their 2005 and 2003 tournament results, and dock them a couple seeds because of losses that came from a complete different team?
Valpo isn't going to be a 16 seed.
AEC - Stony Brook (140) vs Vermont (155) isn't going to produce a seed higher than Valpo.
Big South - UNC Asheville (109) isn't going to be a higher seed than Valpo.
MEAC - Worst conference in NCAA D-1 basketball. Savannah St (181) or Norfolk St (131) neither of these teams have a chance of being seeded lower than Valpo.
Southland Conference - Another terrible conference. UT-Arlington (96) or Stephen F Austin (200) neither of these teams are going to be seeded lower than Valpo
SWAC - Miss Valley St (156) or Texas Southern (241) again, terrible conference with two weak frontrunners.
These two conferences could possibly contain a team that ends up seeded lower than Valpo, but it would be very unlikely due to being in a weaker conference compared to the Horizon.
NEC - Long Island (91) if they win the tourney could be a lower seed, but it would not jump them up in the RPI much at all. The Northeaster Conference is also pretty bad.
Sun Belt - Denver (89) if they win the tourney could be a lower seed, and they have a couple big wins in their resume, but they couldn't manage to win the regular season in a pretty bad Sun Belt conference.
This would assume a Bucknell (82) in the Patriot League gets a lower seed, and Montana (81) in the Big Sky also gets a lower seed. Both conferences are lower than the Horizon.
This also, of course, would assume that no upsets happen in the conference tournaments. If last year is any prediction of conference tournament upsets, I would almost lean more toward a 14 than a 15, but definitely not a 16.
Throw in the MAAC as well now that Iona lost in the semis.
Quote from: valporun on March 04, 2012, 11:35:37 PM
The NCAA will look at tournament history, otherwise we wouldn't have had two years of 16 seeds, like I posted above.
They obviously looked at tournament history in 1999, the year after we won two games in the tournament. That's why we got something like an 11 seed that year, right? Oh wait, that's right, we got a 15.
I don't understand the want on the part of some people on this board for VU to play Baylor in the first round.
If you're a fan of the Drews, then you're guaranteeing that one Drew will have absolutely no chance at advancing past the first round.
You should want to stay as far away from Baylor as possible. I would imagine no one in the family wants a VU/Baylor draw in round one for that very reason.
There would be one thing worse than drawing Baylor in a 3/14 game:
Getting Brandon Wood and Michigan State in a 2/15 matchup.
Now that would be adding insult to (minor) injury.
Quote from: milldew72 on March 05, 2012, 10:45:18 AM
I don't understand the want on the part of some people on this board for VU to play Baylor in the first round.
If you're a fan of the Drews, then you're guaranteeing that one Drew will have absolutely no chance at advancing past the first round.
You should want to stay as far away from Baylor as possible. I would imagine no one in the family wants a VU/Baylor draw in round one for that very reason.
You're mistaking the posters on this board with the selection committee and major networks. We don't necessarily want it to happen, but we know that it's likely. Sibling rivalries in sports always bring in more viewers and they are definitely keeping that in mind when they draw up the bracket. Just look at the Manning and Harbaugh families in the NFL. If a family match up is feasible (which it is in this case) they are going to try to make it happen whether we like it or not.
The Manning and Harbaugh battles are better for Conference Championship and Super Bowl games because those games have more meaning in ratings and advancement, not a wild card or early round/first round matchup like what Valpo-Baylor would be. The way the first rounds are setup, that game would be mixed up in one of the four stations showing the game, but it wouldn't necessarily be a great feature matchup in the "second round" Thursday/Saturday or Friday/Sunday matchups in the rounds of 64 or 32.
In Lunardi's recent release, he is again pitching a Valpo/Baylor matchup:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology)
Quote from: valpotx on March 05, 2012, 12:45:12 PM
In Lunardi's recent release, he is again pitching a Valpo/Baylor matchup:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology)
Yeah, I saw that too. When we win tomorrow night and become a 14 seed, I'd rather see Michigan or Georgetown.
OK, for tonight, in the games that matter, we need Loyola MD over Fairfield and Western Carolina over Davidson. Those are championship games. Obviously having W. Illinois beat ORU in a semi-final wouldn't hurt either.
I think you mean Fairfield over Loyola MD, Fairfield is 112 in the RPI while I believe Loyola is a little bit ahead of us. But either way I feel as if we are ahead of both of these teams. Wins by Western Carolina and Illinois would be a big help but I don't see either of those as being very likely, then again it is March...
Quote from: valpo4life on March 05, 2012, 02:07:11 PM
I think you mean Fairfield over Loyola MD, Fairfield is 112 in the RPI while I believe Loyola is a little bit ahead of us. But either way I feel as if we are ahead of both of these teams. Wins by Western Carolina and Illinois would be a big help but I don't see either of those as being very likely, then again it is March...
Well, if you follow my Sagarin thinking, Fairfield is ranked 120 and Loyola is ranked 137. We are ranked 122 this morning. Either is a "pickum" compared to us.
Quote from: valpo4life on March 05, 2012, 02:07:11 PM
I think you mean Fairfield over Loyola MD, Fairfield is 112 in the RPI while I believe Loyola is a little bit ahead of us. But either way I feel as if we are ahead of both of these teams. Wins by Western Carolina and Illinois would be a big help but I don't see either of those as being very likely, then again it is March...
I think we Fairfield and the Westerns - W. Kentucky, W. Illinois, and W. Carolina. Go WESTerns!
Western Illinois just took a one point lead on Oral Roberts with 23.1 seconds to play. ORU has an RPI well above ours at 38, so a loss would a) knock them out of the NCAA and b) slide one more auto-bid below us potentially. South Dakota State is still above us at 52, however, so they would need to lose as well.
Update: ORU turns the ball over with 7.9 seconds left. WIU is in the 1-and-1 if they were to be fouled.
Update 2: WIU misses the front end, ORU comes down and turns it over again. ORU is out of the Summit.
Loyola (MD) has won the MAAC. They are fairly comparable to us.
In the Summit, the Leathernecks out of Western Illinois have done us a favor by dispatching of Oral Roberts. If Western or Southern Utah comes out of the Summit, we will be higher than them.
Down in the SoCon, Western Carolina is up early on Davidson. This would be a pivotal game for all 13s-15s, as Western Carolina shouldn't be higher than a 16, barring other ridiculous upsets, while Davidson could feasibly be a 13.
From Asheville, NC:
At the half (RPI #66) Davidson 36, (RPI #222, 15-17 record) Western Carolina 35 in the SoCon Championship.
Would be another team that falls below us if Western Carolina wins this one.
And, in game #2 from Sioux Falls, Southern Utah trails by one at the half against South Dakota State. A SUU win would be yet another "lock" for a team to fall below Valpo on the s-curve.
As long as ORU doesn't somehow snag an at-large bid, this is good. Just to be on the safe side, SDSU should lose too, of course ;)
Could ORU get an at-large bid???
Could they, yeah...anybody could. I don't see it though.
They have an RPI of 39, and a SOS of 188, and that doesn't include tonight's "bad" loss to WIU. They have 3 "good wins" (57 Xavier, 52 SD State, 60 Akron), as well as 3 "bad losses" (193 UTSA, 123 Oklahoma [apparently, they aren't very good...math wise], 188 Western Illinois).
I suppose they have a "chance", but extremely unlikely.
Here's what we're looking at:
(http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2756/ncaaseeding.png)
Couple things aren't going our way. The Sun Belt looks a bit better, but Valpo jumped up a bit in RPI (89). Beating a higher 136 Detroit won't push that number down all that much. Loyola actually looked pretty bad in their win. Fairfield could not make a shot and Loyola had every oportunity to bury them. They were missing wide open shots and easy layups. Fairfield couldn't hit anything and took literally 8 minutes to get their first points in the second half. They were turning the ball over left and right, yet the game came down to the end because Loyola couldn't capitalize on anything. Not a team that looks better than Valpo.
The SoCon game looks close at this point, so maybe Davidson will get upset by a team that would play Syracuse...
The only speculation I saw where oru got an at large bid had them losing a tight game to sdsu tomorrow night. So, you're probably right.
I still think if we can snowball the titans like we did the dawgs, it will have somr impact on seeding. How much is unknown to me.
SD State wins in the Summit (title game tomorrow), Davidson locks up their bit in 2OT against Western Carolina.
(http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/103/ncaarankings2.png)
That WCU vs Davidson game was probably the best game I've seen all year. WCU made two banked threes, and got fouled on a three with a couple seconds left. They were down 10 and were able to come back to force OT, which turned into double OT. They weren't able to pull it out. Dikembe Mutumbo's nephew was tearing it up for WCU.
Good news though: Sun Belt will have a play-in game now that Denver is out. North Texas (192) vs WKU (212).
ORU is not getting an at-large bid. Their win against Xavier looks good on paper, but the committee knows that was during the time 3-4 of their main players were suspended...
Bottom line:
Concern yourselves with the game tonight and let the chips fall where they may. The Horizon League has quite a bit of recent history (seven straight years with at least a round-of-64 victory) on its side.
Our board had a thread just like this last year ... and, well, yeah. :(
Go get 'em, Crusaders! :thumbsup:
Quote from: dylanrocks on March 06, 2012, 09:36:50 AM
Bottom line:
Concern yourselves with the game tonight and let the chips fall where they may. The Horizon League has quite a bit of recent history (seven straight years with at least a round-of-64 victory) on its side.
Our board had a thread just like this last year ... and, well, yeah. :(
Go get 'em, Crusaders! :thumbsup:
I have been more afraid of Detroit than any other team in the Horizon since before they left town the last time. They are the one team in the league that can still beat us when we bring our best game. If we have anything to celebrate then lets wait until about 10:00 pm to start. Until then lets speculate on other matters.
Did anyone watch the Davidson-Western Carolina game. Davidson was up 10 late in second half (1 or 2 minutes left I believe), and Western Carolina tied it. WCarolina tied it with only seconds remaining in the first OT and stole the inbounds pass, but couldn't connect. Very exciting finish. I was rooting for Western Carolina.
Yes, saw the highlights as well. There was 1:20 left when they were down by 10, quite incredible.
Quote from: valpotx on March 06, 2012, 01:56:04 PM
Yes, saw the highlights as well. There was 1:20 left when they were down by 10, quite incredible.
Valpotx - Not to change the subject, but you said once you saw the University and East end of town in the daylight, you were going to tell us what you thought of all the changes in the 8 years since you left. I'm interested... By the way, are you still here?
Quote from: covufan on March 06, 2012, 12:34:21 PM
Did anyone watch the Davidson-Western Carolina game. Davidson was up 10 late in second half (1 or 2 minutes left I believe), and Western Carolina tied it. WCarolina tied it with only seconds remaining in the first OT and stole the inbounds pass, but couldn't connect. Very exciting finish. I was rooting for Western Carolina.
Quote from: a3uge on March 05, 2012, 10:46:51 PM
(http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/103/ncaarankings2.png)
That WCU vs Davidson game was probably the best game I've seen all year. WCU made two banked threes, and got fouled on a three with a couple seconds left. They were down 10 and were able to come back to force OT, which turned into double OT. They weren't able to pull it out. Dikembe Mutumbo's nephew was tearing it up for WCU.
same thread.
Unfortunately, even though I thought we would get to the final, I didn't want to make my travel plans based on that possibility :). I am back in the good 'ole DFW.
I was very impressed with the changes to both the town and campus.
Campus: I came away awestruck by the architecture of the new buildings compared to what I was used to. The Christopher Center, Harre Union, parking garage, new Arts & Science building , softball stands/field improvements, baseball outfield wall improvement (wood now)/clubhouse painting, new (to me) tennis courts, football field surface, Engineering building addition, and solar furnace facility are top-notch. I believe these additions are going to very much help us achieve our stated goal of 6k students. Even though it was inconvenient not being able to drive through the old Chapel Rd, it does add a lot to the character of the campus to only have roads on the outskirts of the campus. It was very well-manicured, and just gives you more of the feel that you are at a great academic school.
I almost left out the ARC improvements in the video screens, sound system, and moving the championship banners around to different areas of the upstairs track. The video screens were great to have, though as someone previously mentioned, the players in the game don't show up when subbed in, until a few minutes later. I had no issue with the sound system, and I was in the chairback section people usually complain about sound-wise. I heard everything clearly (even with a raucous crowd), and no glitches could be heard. The banner move seems to help the mezzanine viewing, as I remember when I sat up there in school, you had to duck down a little bit to see under them.
Retail/restaurants: I would have loved to have what they have right by campus now: Best Buy, Cinemark theater, Red Robin, TGI Friday's, Panera Bread, Noodles & Company, JC Penney (not as much this one), Coldstone Creamery, Chipotle, Odemweir's (spelling, ice cream place), Great Clips (it might have been Sports Clips: I had to get my haircuts at Wal-Mart 8 years ago in Valpo, as I didn't see any others), and 2 Jimmy John's (they built 1 my last year there). It looks like they are still adding to the retail side by the theater/JC Penney area, so I am sure more will be coming.
All in all, the area itself reminded me of the area I live in to an extent. I live in what they call the Mid-Cities area, where there are probably 10 different cities with 30,000-50,000 people in each city (midway between Dallas and Fort Worth). Though you have open land between cities in Indiana and do not in the DFW (city after city as you trek the highways, no unincorporated land), it seems you don't really have to leave the area to go to Merrillville anymore, much like each of the mid-cities here.
My experience at Valpo was great, but it would have been even better with these improvements to campus and area.
Quote from: valpotx on March 06, 2012, 02:32:41 PM
Unfortunately, even though I thought we would get to the final, I didn't want to make my travel plans based on that possibility :). I am back in the good 'ole DFW.
I was very impressed with the changes to both the town and campus.
Campus: I came away awestruck by the architecture of the new buildings compared to what I was used to. The Christopher Center, Harre Union, parking garage, new Arts & Science building , softball stands/field improvements, baseball outfield wall improvement (wood now)/clubhouse painting, new (to me) tennis courts, football field surface, Engineering building addition, and solar furnace facility are top-notch. I believe these additions are going to very much help us achieve our stated goal of 6k students. Even though it was inconvenient not being able to drive through the old Chapel Rd, it does add a lot to the character of the campus to only have roads on the outskirts of the campus. It was very well-manicured, and just gives you more of the feel that you are at a great academic school.
I almost left out the ARC improvements in the video screens, sound system, and moving the championship banners around to different areas of the upstairs track. The video screens were great to have, though as someone previously mentioned, the players in the game don't show up when subbed in, until a few minutes later. I had no issue with the sound system, and I was in the chairback section people usually complain about sound-wise. I heard everything clearly (even with a raucous crowd), and no glitches could be heard. The banner move seems to help the mezzanine viewing, as I remember when I sat up there in school, you had to duck down a little bit to see under them.
Retail/restaurants: I would have loved to have what they have right by campus now: Best Buy, Cinemark theater, Red Robin, TGI Friday's, Panera Bread, Noodles & Company, JC Penney (not as much this one), Coldstone Creamery, Chipotle, Odemweir's (spelling, ice cream place), Great Clips (it might have been Sports Clips: I had to get my haircuts at Wal-Mart 8 years ago in Valpo, as I didn't see any others), and 2 Jimmy John's (they built 1 my last year there). It looks like they are still adding to the retail side by the theater/JC Penney area, so I am sure more will be coming.
All in all, the area itself reminded me of the area I live in to an extent. I live in what they call the Mid-Cities area, where there are probably 10 different cities with 30,000-50,000 people in each city (midway between Dallas and Fort Worth). Though you have open land between cities in Indiana and do not in the DFW (city after city as you trek the highways, no unincorporated land), it seems you don't really have to leave the area to go to Merrillville anymore, much like each of the mid-cities here.
My experience at Valpo was great, but it would have been even better with these improvements to campus and area.
Thanks for your thoughts of campus, tx! It really has come a long way, and with a new residence hall or two and the new Welcome Center, campus will continue to be transformed.
Quote from: dylanrocks on March 06, 2012, 09:36:50 AM
Bottom line:
Concern yourselves with the game tonight and let the chips fall where they may. The Horizon League has quite a bit of recent history (seven straight years with at least a round-of-64 victory) on its side.
Our board had a thread just like this last year ... and, well, yeah. :(
Go get 'em, Crusaders! :thumbsup:
:-[
Good call. I think it was fun to hypothesize about the what-ifs. Doing that makes this bitter pill a little bit harder to swallow, though.
What seed do you all see Detroit getting? I think no better than 15 with 16 a possibility.
Quote from: Crusader03 on March 06, 2012, 11:27:54 PM
What seed do you all see Detroit getting? I think no better than 15 with 16 a possibility.
16 is out of the question. 14 is more likely at this point, with possible 13.
13 seems out of the question, too. 14 is a possibility, a realistic one in fact.
Quote from: motowntitan on March 07, 2012, 05:54:29 AM
Quote from: Crusader03 on March 06, 2012, 11:27:54 PM
What seed do you all see Detroit getting? I think no better than 15 with 16 a possibility.
16 is out of the question. 14 is more likely at this point, with possible 13.
I think there is absolutely no shot at a 13. Stop drinking the koolaid. You guys are a 15 unless you get some lucky breaks with other teams losing.
Quote from: motowntitan on March 07, 2012, 05:54:29 AM
Quote from: Crusader03 on March 06, 2012, 11:27:54 PM
What seed do you all see Detroit getting? I think no better than 15 with 16 a possibility.
16 is out of the question. 14 is more likely at this point, with possible 13.
Okay, say Detroit somehow gets a 13 seed because the selection committee recognizes the great talent and great play at the end of the season. Detroit will face a #4 seed who will say, "no, not Detroit." Ray Jr. will need to exhibit some self control or this season is going to finish with an awful thump. Valpo has been there many many times.
A #4 seed will not falter when one big man goes down. They may shoot poorly and not handle the ball well but most will be able to turn on an inside game. Also they will most likely have an extremely quick guard who will defend Ray Jr and frustrate him many more times than Valpo was able to frustrate him. The momentum will turn in the game whether early or late and unless Ray Jr can keep his composure the Detroit fan base will be drowned out from the beginning and it will be all downhill with an extremely bitter pill to swallow. Many of the most remembered TV shots of the tournament are of the star player realizing his dream is crushed and letting out the emotion on the bench. How will Ray Jr react when this time comes. Like an ass or like a gentleman with character? I think we all know. Anyone remember Ron Nored's reaction at the Butler/Valpo game on Saturday after he left the game? Grow up quickly, Ray Jr, or you will turn into that one "unshining" moment of the 2012 NCAA tournament.
Jerry Palm (cbssportsline) has Detroit as a 15. He's been the best in the business over the last few years.
There is absolutely no way that Detroit gets a 13 seed with their rankings. There is probably a 5% chance at a 14. They are a 15 seed at best, unless as Chef mentioned, there are many more upsets in the remaining conference tournaments.
Quote from: valpotx on March 07, 2012, 10:50:57 AM
There is absolutely no way that Detroit gets a 13 seed with their rankings. There is probably a 5% chance at a 14. They are a 15 seed at best, unless as Chef mentioned, there are many more upsets in the remaining conference tournaments.
Actually, I mentioned that first...but don't let the facts get in the way of a great story.
Anybody have any clue what NIT seed Valpo could be getting?