***Official Other Bubble Teams Thread***

Again, not directed at you. Why the hell are they even in any published bubble discussion? Is the rest of their schedule entirely comprised of top 25 teams that will bring up their RPI 60 points?

Probably cause Bob Bowlsby is their AD. But seriously, I don't know. Maybe there is some sentiment to get a 4th Pac-12 in, and they're just as good as any of the midlevel teams from that horrible conference.
 
Since we're discussing Minnesota right now we might as well look at resumes.
Minnesota:
17-7, 5-6. Key wins- Illinois, Indiana, Bad losses- Iowa (2x), Purdue, Dayton. RPI- 49, SOS- 58.
Iowa State:
17-7, 7-4. Key wins- Kansas, Kansas State, Bad losses- Drake, UNI. RPI- 35, SOS- 56.
Who would the committee take?

You gotta take ISU. But I dont have one shred of confidence in the selection committee. Nor anyone who votes in polls.
 
Since we're discussing Minnesota right now we might as well look at resumes.
Minnesota:
17-7, 5-6. Key wins- Illinois, Indiana, Bad losses- Iowa (2x), Purdue, Dayton. RPI- 49, SOS- 58.
Iowa State:
17-7, 7-4. Key wins- Kansas, Kansas State, Bad losses- Drake, UNI. RPI- 35, SOS- 56.
Who would the committee take?

TAKE NEITHER. SELECT UAB! #2011NCAATOURNAMENTCOMMITTEE
 
Interesting to see Colorado State on that list. I believe former Cyclones Wes Eikmeyer is the leading scorer for the Rams.
 
Since we're discussing Minnesota right now we might as well look at resumes.
Minnesota:
17-7, 5-6. Key wins- Illinois, Indiana, Bad losses- Iowa (2x), Purdue, Dayton. RPI- 49, SOS- 58.
Iowa State:
17-7, 7-4. Key wins- Kansas, Kansas State, Bad losses- Drake, UNI. RPI- 35, SOS- 56.
Who would the committee take?

What we have to watch out for is the WTF?!? team that the selection committee always puts in the tournament. There will be 2 or 3 teams around 20 to 22 wins with RPI's in the 50's and SOS's in the top 80 or so and the committee will blindside everyone by selecting some team that is 18-14 or 17-15 with an RPI in the high 40's and an SOS around 150 or something ridiculous. The committee never fails to put at least 1 team in that leaves every college basketball fan in the country shaking their heads.
 
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Since we're discussing Minnesota right now we might as well look at resumes.
Minnesota:
17-7, 5-6. Key wins- Illinois, Indiana, Bad losses- Iowa (2x), Purdue, Dayton. RPI- 49, SOS- 58.
Iowa State:
17-7, 7-4. Key wins- Kansas, Kansas State, Bad losses- Drake, UNI. RPI- 35, SOS- 56.
Who would the committee take?

Is UNI a bad loss? Serious question.
 
What we have to watch out for is the WTF?!? team that the selection committee always puts in the tournament. There will be 2 or 3 teams around 20 to 22 with RPI's in the 50's and SOS's in the top 80 or so and the committee will blindside everyone by selecting some team that is 18-14 or 17-15 with an RPI in the high 40's and an SOS around 150 or something ridiculous. The committee never fails to put at least 1 team in that leaves every college basketball in the country shaking their heads.
Exactly. There is one every year and you do have to wonder if they do that on purpose to get people talking about the tournament. Usually though, that team ends up winning a couple games and surprising some people.
 
Is UNI a bad loss? Serious question.
I would say it is close but at this moment yes. I think Minnesota having two losses to Iowa is much worse but unless UNI gets really hot and makes a run at the tournament it will be seen as a blemish.
 
Exactly. There is one every year and you do have to wonder if they do that on purpose to get people talking about the tournament. Usually though, that team ends up winning a couple games and surprising some people.

That team was VCU last year. They made it to the Final Four.

"The analysts from CBS and Turner Sports were more subdued. CBS' Seth Davis said he was shocked Colorado didn't make it.
There was no such restraint over at ESPN, which lost the bidding for TV rights to CBS/Turner. ESPN analysts called some of the picks laughable and mocked the selection committee. The inclusion of Alabama-Birmingham and Virginia Commonwealth and exclusion of Colorado, Saint Mary's and Virginia Tech drew the most scorn."

"I wonder if some people on the committee know whether the ball is round," said Jay Bilas. "That sounds harsh. But I'm wondering. These were bad decisions. They're indefensible."
 
Is UNI a bad loss? Serious question.

I think so. UNI has a losing record in the Valley. And we lost at Hilton.
I know many on here think the Drake loss was worse, but I think they fail to take into account that road losses in college basketball arent looked upon nearly as negatively as home losses are.
That is why losing to Okie St in Stillwater wont sting us nearly as badly as losing to A&M this Saturday at home would. You gotta win at home.
 
Texas has lost soooo many games by 5 points or less this year. If they finish strong, I could see them going 10-8 in the Big 12 and be on the bubble. They just may end up sneaking in.
 
That team was VCU last year. They made it to the Final Four.

"The analysts from CBS and Turner Sports were more subdued. CBS' Seth Davis said he was shocked Colorado didn't make it.
There was no such restraint over at ESPN, which lost the bidding for TV rights to CBS/Turner. ESPN analysts called some of the picks laughable and mocked the selection committee. The inclusion of Alabama-Birmingham and Virginia Commonwealth and exclusion of Colorado, Saint Mary's and Virginia Tech drew the most scorn."

"I wonder if some people on the committee know whether the ball is round," said Jay Bilas. "That sounds harsh. But I'm wondering. These were bad decisions. They're indefensible."

UAB was also head-scratching (from what I remember) VCU really drew a lot of attention, but that team didn't seem to be on anyone's bubble radar (UAB was at least in the discussion toward the end, along w/ USC, Colorado, Virginia Tech, and such).

... I recall Bilas being pretty harsh (although I did chuckle when he said, "You've heard of the eye test. Well, this doesn't pass the smell test.")

VCU didn't have the resume of a few teams that got left out, cannot deny that. The fact they took advantage of the situation with that deep tourney run doesn't change anything about the actual selection.
 
I think so. UNI has a losing record in the Valley. And we lost at Hilton.
I know many on here think the Drake loss was worse, but I think they fail to take into account that road losses in college basketball arent looked upon nearly as negatively as home losses are.
That is why losing to Okie St in Stillwater wont sting us nearly as badly as losing to A&M this Saturday at home would. You gotta win at home.

Going strictly by the RPI numbers, Drake is worse, but UNI seems worse because it was at home. Even though road losses are more forgivable, I don't know how much the committee takes that into account (although it should, to be fair — because road wins apparently are considered a positive)

ISU came close to losing at home to OSU, which would have been a worse home defeat than UNI by RPI numbers — home much worse, there's still some movement, but I don't OSU overtakes UNI this season. It would be nice if O-State could climb into the top-100. Losses to 100 and above can really drag down the resume.
 
Texas has lost soooo many games by 5 points or less this year. If they finish strong, I could see them going 10-8 in the Big 12 and be on the bubble. They just may end up sneaking in.

I think Texas, KSU, and ISU all end up in the tournament.
 
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Yesterday was a pretty good day for us, if we end up on the bubble. Minnesota, Illinois and Miss St all lost to ranked teams. Those would have been big for their bubble chances. Also, Colorado lost at Arizona, both of which are bubble teams although Colorado is probably a fringe bubble team at best.
 
Here's a link to their schedule. Minnesota Men's College Basketball - Golden Gophers News, Scores, Videos - College Basketball - ESPN
They still play:
Wisconsin
Ohio State
Northwestern
Michigan State
Indiana
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Right now they are 17-7, 5-6 and they will probably end up somewhere around 20-11, 8-10. That would put them squarely on the bubble and probably in the last four out section, depending on how they do in the BIG tournament.

If they end 8-10 in the BigTen, I think they are no longer on the bubble. A team with a losing conference record should never even be considered.
 
You gotta take ISU. But I dont have one shred of confidence in the selection committee. Nor anyone who votes in polls.

I'm with you. I know it was just local media, but this morning on the news, they were talking of Northwestern being a good shot at the tournament this year as well as Illinois, but they are slipping. I don't understand the B1G bias that gets thrown around during tournament time. These teams both have bad losses this year, not just to who they lost, but when they played the big boys, they got spanked. I'm not wanting to argue which conference is better, I don't follow it close enough for that, but these are teams that have proven they can't play with the top teams. ISU may have lost some games, but we've kept them close.

Again, probably just local media hype.
 

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