C-USA needs a makeover!

[ohio herd]

Like Rodney Dangerfield we are getting no respect.
JOE LUNARDI'S has UAB picked to win and a #15 seed. Really? That's the best seed a team from this conference merits? I mean at least a #12 or 13.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

Look at some of the schools with higher seeds and tell me you agree.

 

[Herdmeister]

They played the #300 schedule in America.

 

[jocktalker]

This year's UAB squad is not playing as well as last year's team.

 

[whf2]

I've seen valpariso play, UAB head less talent per position, but two of the best players. They'd deserve someone higher placement than Valpo.

 

[herdalicious]

C-USA's national basketball profile is pretty accurate.

 

[andy4theherd]

when Memphis was in CUSA and took a huge amount of shit for their SoS they were still usually around 100........ that's only 200 spots higher than UAB............................

 

[RedParallax]

It's hard to argue against this when you look at the conference standings and the overall records of each program in comparison to where they rank in-conference, IMO. CUSA is an absolute tire fire this season in basketball.

 

[Herdmeister]

It's hard to argue against this when you look at the conference standings and the overall records of each program in comparison to where they rank in-conference, IMO. CUSA is an absolute tire fire this season in basketball.

We may be a tire fire but I'm enjoying it more than any C-USA season we have been involved with.

 

[RedParallax]

We may be a tire fire but I'm enjoying it more than any C-USA season we have been involved with.

Oh, absolutely! I'm in the same boat with you there. Memphis gave CUSA a bit of credibility before, but it also kinda locked most other programs out of CUSA Championship contention from year to year. I hope that 3 programs in the current lineup can really set themselves apart as consistent CUSA contenders so as to give the overall conference more credibility while also opening up and making the CUSA tournament more fun to watch/attend.

 

[ohio herd]

My point wasn't that C-USA is a powerhouse in Basketball. I am shocked that our top team according to some would receive such a low placement. I think maybe 12- 13 would be in order. Our conference has a long history of good basketball and many solid teams in it. I think we deserve better. IMO

 

[Herdmeister]

My point wasn't that C-USA is a powerhouse in Basketball. I am shocked that our top team according to some would receive such a low placement. I think maybe 12- 13 would be in order. Our conference has a long history of good basketball and many solid teams in it. I think we deserve better. IMO

Strictly due to such a weak strength of schedule. They played NOBODY in OOC part of season.

 

[19MU88]

Hopefully if we make it, our OOC strength of schedule gives us a spot or two. #15 is a tough draw. but first things first, let's win the CUSA tourney

 

[GreenDuke]

My point wasn't that C-USA is a powerhouse in Basketball. I am shocked that our top team according to some would receive such a low placement. I think maybe 12- 13 would be in order. Our conference has a long history of good basketball and many solid teams in it. I think we deserve better. IMO

All the history and solid teams are long gone. The current lineup has a chance to make their own record and work on yearly multiple bids.

 

[BT4373]

Just win baby!

 

[whf2]

What we need as a conference is to get two teams, or even more, in the NIT with a couple first round games; and then MANY chances in the two other Pay to Play tourneys. This year, I'd much rather be in the NIT or one of the other tourneys than for us to win the C-USA tourney, get a play in game, and not advance. Just my opinion.

 

[Pioneer_PA]

What we need as a conference is to get two teams, or even more, in the NIT with a couple first round games; and then MANY chances in the two other Pay to Play tourneys. This year, I'd much rather be in the NIT or one of the other tourneys than for us to win the C-USA tourney, get a play in game, and not advance. Just my opinion.

It doesn't carry over. They strictly use numbers that are generally weighted toward power conference schools.

UAB was barely .500 last year and they beat the Big 12 champs Iowa State in the round of 64.

Old Dominion has 4 starters back from a team that went to New York in the NIT last year.

Nobody outside our league cares. We need to examine how the Missouri Valley gamed the system about 10 years ago. They didn't go deep into the tournament, but they got several teams based on numbers, upped their profile, and now the cream of the crop in that league has been as good as anyone the last 3 seasons (when healthy).

But it has to be a process and it has to have everyone all in.

Basically, more teams need to schedule like us in terms of the Akron, James Madison, etc type schools. You don't have to beat Kansas, you just need to beat teams with inflated RPI's to get your numbers up.

 

[Gochneaur645]

Here are his 14 seeds with their records and RPI rank. You can't definitively argue UAB (20-5, 95) should be ahead of any of them.

South Dakota State (20-6, 46): with recent tourney experience
UNC-Wilmington (20-5, 68): with an 11-game winning streak
Hawai'i (20-3, 88): with a close loss to Oklahoma
Stephen F. Austin (19-5, 102): with recent tourney success

C-USA added some awful, awful basketball teams in an attempt to shore up football numbers and lost an elite program along with a couple of good ones. We're nowhere near as good of a conference as we were five years ago, and this year's UAB wouldn't be 20-5 if they had to play a C-USA schedule from five years ago.

 

[HerditAllBefore]

I think the numbers show the doubt they have and the possibility of upset by let's say "the herd" because a uAB might win the regular conference but could see them being upset by herd or LA Tech and conference champs have auto bid

 

[andy4theherd]

This year, I'd much rather be in the NIT or one of the other tourneys than for us to win the C-USA tourney, get a play in game, and not advance. Just my opinion.

i'm sorry, but i couldn't disagree with you more on this. there is no situation ever that i would want the NIT over NCAA.......... there is NOTHING like March Madness........

 

[Gochneaur645]

What we need as a conference is to get two teams, or even more, in the NIT with a couple first round games; and then MANY chances in the two other Pay to Play tourneys. This year, I'd much rather be in the NIT or one of the other tourneys than for us to win the C-USA tourney, get a play in game, and not advance. Just my opinion.

There's no way we'd be in a play-in game if we win the C-USA tourney (barring losing like every regular season game we have left). 14 or 15 is most likely.

 

[ohio herd]

There's no way we'd be in a play-in game if we win the C-USA tourney (barring losing like every regular season game we have left). 14 or 15 is most likely.

Not so sure about that. I mean the point of this post I started is that UAB currently is listed as a #15 seed.They are 20-5 we are 13-12. If we win we will not be higher I don't think. So we end up a #16 or a play in. Wouldn't bet on it, but it looks like that since C-USA gets no respect anymore

 

[Gochneaur645]

Not so sure about that. I mean the point of this post I started is that UAB currently is listed as a #15 seed.They are 20-5 we are 13-12. If we win we will not be higher I don't think. So we end up a #16 or a play in. Wouldn't bet on it, but it looks like that since C-USA gets no respect anymore

Only the 4 worst teams have to go to the play-in games. The RPI's of the teams Lunardi has there are: 196, 208, 209, and 220. The non-play-in 16's are 163 and 178. We're at 134.

I said C-USA was a lot weaker, and that's true, but it's still not down there with the HBC's and the really small-time New England/Mid-Atlantic conferences that fill out those play-in games.

Us winning the tourney requires winning at least 3 straight games so that puts us at 16-12. Splitting the remaining regular season games would make us 19-15 with a strong out-of-conference schedule. Definitely not 16-seed material.

UAB is the strongest 15 in Lunardi's bracket, and they're on par with at least a couple of the 14's. His model also assumes the best team in each conference wins the conference tourney, which almost never happens. That means it's more likely to move up than down from your projection if you win your conference tourney.

 

[connsinfonia]

C-USA added some awful, awful basketball teams in an attempt to shore up football numbers and lost an elite program along with a couple of good ones. We're nowhere near as good of a conference as we were five years ago, and this year's UAB wouldn't be 20-5 if they had to play a C-USA schedule from five years ago.

If by awful teams, you're referring to LT (three straight regular season championships, one in WAC), ODU (Been to the NCAA 4 times and NIT twice since 2005), WKU (one sub-.500 season this century, 7 NCAA appearances with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen, and two NIT appearances in that time span, more overall NCAA wins than any other CUSA team has appearances at 19) MTSU (two sub-.500 seasons this century, one trip each to the NCAA and NIT in that span), UNT (05/06 09/10 five straight 20+ win seasons from 05/06 through 09/10, with two NCAA tournament appearances), UTSA (04 and 11 NCAA appearances), or Charlotte (Missed the NCAA or NIT four times from 91/92 through 07/08, another NIT appearance in 12/13), then sure, some terrible awful teams were brought in. Even F_U, which have pretty bad basketball history and only started their teams in the 80's, have been to the NCAA tournament more recently than MU.

So yeah, I'd say the conference made some excellent additions in basketball - especially WKU, ODU, Charlotte, LT, and MTSU. I'd say they make up for losing Memphis-post-Calipari, SMU, and Houston. Just wait until all these teams get their crap together - a CUSA with WKU, ODU, UNCC, LT, MTSU, MU, UAB, and UTEP playing to form would be terrifying.

 

[Gochneaur645]

I was referring to FAU, FIU, UTSA, and North Texas. I'm not giving any of those schools credit for getting to the tourney because they occasionally won the Atlantic Sun or Southland conference tourney.

You're right about the others though. They are solid additions who are mostly just going through a down cycle.