Is anyone else sick of the media downplaying the six power conferences? I'm sorry, but if you insert the 6th Big 10 team in the Patriot league, their going to go undefeated, or at worst, 14-2. Remember Baylor going 10-0 at the beginning of the year? Beating up on the small conferences. Small schools will schedule 6 hard games on their slates, and if they beat one major conference school, everyone celebrates. SO WHAT? If a power conference school went 1-5 against NCAA tournament competition, we'd be laughing at their chances of getting a bid. If a mid-major does it, WOW... holy smokes! Roll out the red carpet. Those schools get the recruiting left-overs, and even then, the best ones often transfer out after proving themselves freshman year. Sure, there's an occasional gem... but not that often. There's a Cinderella story every year the media guys say, and that's true... but the vast majority of them get beat by 30 in the first round. Besides, can you honestly tell me that Villanova or Iowa would be a less likely Cinderella than Southwest MO st? I think not. It's nice to see the little guys win now and then. But twenty wins in a small conference is nothing. I don't begrudge them their autmoatic bids-after all, it is fun watching the occasional upsets. But their griping about not getting at-large births is ludicrous. (BTW, Conference USA (most years) and the A-10 are excepted from this rant... power conferences they are not, but they're respectable). ------------------ Boston College - Big East -East Division Regular Season Champs Worst to First in 2001! [This message has been edited by haven (edited March 12, 2001).]
The counter argument goes that simply being in a power conference confers increased publicity, money and better recruiting. As such, simply being in a power conference is an andvantage in and of itself. Take a team like Baylor and put them in a mid-major, and while they will dominate at the beginning, eventually they will suffer the effects of the decreased publicity, and decreased recruiting and eventually begin to play at the level of the other mid-majors. ------------------ The Rockets will be the NBA champions. Believe.
I don't really see the point. If the NCAA tournament's purpose is to field the best teams possible, that's irrelevant. It is true that what conference you're in matters for publicity and recruiting... but it also matters that THOSE SCHOOLS form those conferences. The schools were there first... and created their own prestige. It's generally a money thing more than anything else... the rich schools can afford good programs. So why worry about it? Take the best teams, put them in the tournament, and forget about the disadvantages of mid-majors. I guarantee you, if every team went to the tournament: 1. the major conferences would still dominate and 2. the Cinderellas would occasionally be from smaller conferences, but more often major ones. Cinderellas are matters of luck most often. Gonzaga, imo, is an exception to this... but generally, with all the games there are... randomness is going to have an effect. I don't think it really matters which schools... the team that loses to a Cinderella was probably still the better team. ------------------ Boston College - Big East -East Division Regular Season Champs Worst to First in 2001!
LOL! OVER RATED, clap, clap, clap! Big12 and 10 are SO over rated by people like you it is funny. Those two conferences get jacked up RPI's by playing nothing but cupcakes and home games in OOC, then the whole conference comes in with bloated W/L. "insert the 6th Big 10 team in the Patriot league, their going to go undefeated" Hmmm, that really wasn't the case in the 1st round, see: Butler over ACC's Wake Forest Hampton over Big 12 CHAMPION ISU Gonzaga over ACC Virgina Indiana St. over Big 12 OU Georgia St. over Big 10 Wizconsin Kent St. over Big 10 Indiana St Joes over ACC Ga Tech Utah St over Big 10 Ohio State but of COURSE those teams would all go undefeated and just roll right through the MAAC, Big West, MAC, WAC, etc.... LOL Jokes like Georgia (15 LOSSES!) and Ok St (ZERO quality road wins), had NO business being in the Tourney over teams with 3-5 losses. And as usual the scrubs over the "power conference" made the selection committee look bad. here is a GREAT article on the over rated big 6. http://cbs.sportsline.com/b/page/pressbox/0,1328,3662275,00.html ------------------ Now this shirt is chafing me [This message has been edited by Ty_Webb (edited March 17, 2001).]
I assume the Patriot League was a bit of hyperbole. The Patriot League is not considered a MID-major. I promise you the 6th place teams in the Big 6 conferences, would not go undefeated in a MID-MAJOR conference. You're an idiot if you think they would, after watching the Big 12 and 10 getting embarrassed the last two days. ------------------ Now this shirt is chafing me
Ty, while I agree with most of what you say, these games are upsets for a reason. Sometimes, a big conference school does under estimate a mid-major. The underdog has nothing to lose, and they play like it. But, I can assure you that the 6th place team in the Big 12 (let's say OSU), would win the Patriot League. I have no doubt about that. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
I agree with the media, the Power Conferences are overrated! It's not a cinderella story if half the field is getting knocked off my the mid-majors. It's one thing if one or two, or even three teams win. But teams around the board are winning! It's not luck when Georgia State, Kent State, Butler, Gonzaga, Indiana State, Utah State, Hampton, and teams like this are winning. And it's not a coincidence that teams like George Mason, Iona, Hofstra, S. Utah, Hawaii, and W. Kentucky are almost winning! This shows that we need less "name brand" schools, and more QUALITY schools! I get tired of seeing a billion ACC, Big Ten and Big East schools get in, when there are schools from smaller conferences like C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, and WAC who are doing damage! Charlotte knocked off Tennessee, an SEC school. Fresno State beat Cal, a Pac-10 school. Sometimes a big name isn't always better. ------------------ "I have a scale at home and it only goes up so far, I love that scale!" - Charles Barkley TNT Studios
