Do you feel bad for Iona and Middle Tennessee?

[QuaoarsKing]

Iona - MAAC champs, 25-7, 41 RPI<div>Middle Tennessee - Sun Belt champs, 24-6, 59 RPI</div><div>
</div><div>Both of these teams lost in the conference tournaments, and despite a decent (better than ours) RPI, are pretty unlikely to go to the NCAA Tournament.</div><div>
</div><div>Now, I obviously don't hope one of these takes our spot away, but something's just wrong here. These teams are clearly the best in their conference, and among the 68 best teams in the country over the entire season, but they get upset once in the conference tournament and that's it for them.</div><div>
</div><div>I would absolutely support giving the autobids to regular season champions instead, and I don't know why those small conferences don't as well. Clearly Iona or MTSU would have a much better shot of winning a game or two than whoever goes to represent those conferences.</div><div>
</div><div>For that matter, if the tournament just took the 64 (or 68, if they must) teams with no autobids, both of these teams would still make it, as would any team who made the Sweet 16 in at least the last decade.</div>

 

[thatsbaseball]

nm

 

[msubullie4life]

A whole season's good work is flushed down the drain because of one loss in the conference tournament.<div>
</div><div>Yes, I agree that both MTSU and Iona have NCAA tournament worthy resumes but then again if you can't get up your game to beat an Ark St or a Fairfield in March when it all matters, how can you expect them to beat an Iowa State or a Michigan or a Florida State in the NCAAT?</div>

 

[KurtRambis4]

*

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

Every conference gets one automatic bid, and the conference gets to determine how its awarded. Most of them choose to award it via conference tournament championship. The reason is because it enhances revenue. ESPN or CBS is willing to carry the championship game of a small conference when an NCAA bid is on the line. But if not, they won't bother with it.

But I do feel bad. Especially for teams that have exceptional records and reasonable RPI's that are in the range of bubble teams. I personally would give a little bit of a bonus to a team like that as opposed to the 9th or 10th team in a power conference.

BFB

 

[Hump4Hoops]

At least they get an autobid to the NIT, where they are likely to do much better.

Really they should switch it around, but wont, because of TV money.

 

[Mutt the Hoople.buhoops]

win their tournaments. Oftentimes the NCAA will give them a low seed and push out a middling team from a major conference.

If we had wound up in the top 2 or 3 in the SEC, I'd have LOVED to have seen a bunch of low-level teams win their Conference tournaments and get the automatic bid.

I remember one year, Bob Weltlich coached some small Florida team to the NCAA tournament after a 6-18 season when he won his Conference tournament title.

 

[Eureka Dog]

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