Illinois State finished the season in second place in what is one of the top eight conferences. The made it to the conference tourney final. These are very solid credentials. The MVC has usually done well in the NCAA tounament. This should be one of the easiest at large slots to fill.
Illinois State finished the season in second place in what is one of the top eight conferences.
Conferences get bids, not teams.
The MVC has usually done well in the NCAA tounament.Irrelevant - the team's credentials this year, not the conference's over the past couple years, are all that matter.
That said, I agree that they should get in - Creighton moved up to #49 in the RPI somehow (my guess is all the teams falling past them yesterday), so that gives ISU two top-50 wins. The bad losses may hurt, but they finished the season hot (8-2 last 10) and have a winning road/neutral record. I think they've got a good shot, unless all the bubble teams still alive step it up.
When ISU has had the opportunity to get a "quality" win outside the MVC they couldn't get it done. The argument for the Redbirds is over once they ask "What NCAA Tournament teams did Illinois State defeat?"
You were kidding with that statement about Butler, right? At least they beat teams that are on the bubble or will be in the tournament like VA Tech, Ohio St, and Fla St. They also won @ Southern Illinois, something Illinois State couldn't do. Illinois State had 5 chances to beat tournament bound teams and lost all five (Indiana, Kent St, Drake x 3). The last memory they leave the tournament committee with is a 30 point loss. Illinois St does not deserve to get in. They have already proven they can't compete on that level. They will struggle to get a win in the NIT against a 6th, 7th, or 8th place team from a major conference.
Hey G231829 - Illinois State did beat SIU on SIU's home court last game of season, which whomever won that game, got the #2 seed in the MVC tourny. SIU was considered a bubble team up to that point......
ISU 57 - SIU 49
Glad people like you are not on the selection team.
ISU is now 2-5 in the top 50 RPI. This makes it even easier to take the #2 team from the MVC, especially with a 33 RPI now, 69 SOS, and a 9-6 Road/Neutral record.
I stand corrected. Illinois State did beat Southern Illinois on their home court. That doesn't change my mind about their tournament status though. Its not like SIU is a tournament team anyway. If you are going to put a team in like Illinois State, then you better put in a team like Robert Morris (26-7), who at least won their conference. They have almost identical crappy schedule results against any team worth while. However, they both posted great win/loss records against those quality opponents. If they had a tournament with all of the bubble teams, Illinois State would lose just like they did against every team sniffing the tournament this year.
g231829 - Creighton and SIU were sniffing the tourny until they got bounced from the MVC conference tourny - yes, last weekend SIU and Creighton were considered bubble teams on every board. The MVC plays its and finishes its tourny a week before everyone else.
Your analysis is off. You are biased because you already concluded that ISU is not worthy and are clinging to weak assumptions to bolster your point.
Robert Morris does not have the RPI, SOS, #of RPI top 100 wins, or anything close to Illinois State.
BTW, they do have a tournament with all the bubble teams, it is called the NIT.
If you are so high on Illinois State, please name one quality victory they have had all year. All I am asking for is one. I know they scheduled two quality teams, but they lost to both of them. They also couldn't beat Drake any of the three times they played them. What does a 30 point loss to Drake on a neutral court say? If ISU is so good, I guess we will be crowning Drake as the NCAA champion at the end of the tournament. Don't get me started on how weak I think Drake is. They might lose in the first round of the tournament. I hope they don't play St Mary's again. They were the only quality opponent Drake played all year and of course they lost.
I also brought in Robert Morris as a joke to show you a team that resembles ISU. They are another team that didn't beat any tournament bound teams, other than the auto bid n their conference. At least they won their conference though. That should at least put them in the same conversation and your mighty ISU team. Or how about Stephen F Austin? They won their conference, have a better win/loss record than ISU and also have a quality victory (@Oklahoma) on their resume. Would you take them in over ISU?
I think for a team to be in the tournament, they should at least have one quality out of conference win. All I am asking for is one. Inflating your record by beating a bunch of teams that would have a hard time competing in Division II, shouldn't qualify you for the Division I tournament.
