BCP Update

I haven't posted anything for a while. Its been mainly because we were getting a new system at work and my obsession with the NCAA tournament. I got 3 out of 4 of the Final Four correct on my bracket (UNC, UConn, Mich St.). The NHL Playoffs begin in April. Once again this year I will be growing the playoff beard. I will not shave it until the Flyers and Sharks are eliminated. I'll have a more detailed blog later in the week. In the mean time, enjoy this snickers commercial.

The Case for San Diego State

The San Diego State Aztecs are located in San Diego, California and play in the Mountain West Conference. They are currently 22-8 (11-5 in MWC). They defeated UNLV 71-57 on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals of the Mountain West tournament, where they will play BYU. The Aztecs do have some very good wins over UNLV (three times), Utah and fellow bubble team New Mexico. They also have lost to good teams like BYU (twice), St Mary's and Arizona State. But they have a pretty bad loss to Wyoming. It will help that the Mountain West is chopped full of good RPI's. The bad news for them is a weak non-conference schedule. A win over BYU on Friday might just move them to lock status. I think the Mountain West can get as many as 3 bids and 2 of them are reserved for Utah and BYU. San Diego State defeated BYU 64-62 Friday night to advance to the MWC final. I think they clinched a spot with this win but they may wanna win the MWC tourney championship just to be safe.

The Case for Saint Mary's

Saint Mary's is located in California and they a part of the West Coast Conference. During the season they went 25-6 (10-4 in WCC). They lost to Gonzaga in the WCC tournament final on Monday night 83-58. They still have one more make up game to play at home on Friday vs Eastern Washington. As for their resume, there are some good wins and losses of interest. Let's start with the pros. Wins over Utah State in bracketbusters, San Diego State and Providence. The cons, lost all 3 meeting with Gonzaga, including the 25 point conference championship loss. They went 6-3 without their star player, Paddy Mills, who broke his hand in the January 29th loss at Gonzaga. They were 18-1 and nationally ranked before the injury. But the committee may leave them out based on the fact that none of their big wins are over a lock for an NCAA tournament bid. Normally the committee gives a little slack to teams who suffer injuries. But they do have one more game to show the committee they are worth a bid. I don't see them missing the tournament, but if we see some more shocking teams win tournaments (example Georgia winning the SEC last year) there probably won't be as many at-large spots. I think they are safe, but you never know. Oh, and by the way, if they win Friday they will have 26 wins and what does 26 wins get ya?

The Case for Creighton

Creighton is located in Omaha, Nebraska and play in the Missouri Valley Conference. They lost in the semi-finals to Illinois State 73-49 on Saturday. This season they are 26-7 (14-4 in conference) and were co-champs of the MVC in the regular season. They do have some quality wins over New Mexico, at Northern Iowa, Dayton and in a bracket buster game vs George Mason. However they did have some bad losses to Nebraska and Drake. The experts say their 24 point loss will hurt their chances of making the field. The MVC has gotten mulitiple bids each of the last 5 years and I see no reason why they should be denied this year. Granted they don't have that one signature win, but I feel they would give someone a better game in the tourney than the crap of the SEC or ACC. Hopefully the committee will realize that Creighton is worthy of being one of the 65 teams. Like I said before, apparently 26 wins means nothing.

The Case for Davidson

I'm so tired of hearing why schools from major conferences deserve 5+ teams in the NCAA tournament. Granted some of them are worthy, but others are not. Davidson is a college in North Carolina and they play in the Southern Conference. They are 26-7 and they are the regular season SoCon champs. They lost in the semi-finals of their conference tournament last night. Now the "experts" say their resume isn't good enough to be one of the 65 teams that qualify for the tourney. I beg to differ. Firstly, they actually played some real good teams. They lost to Oklahoma, Duke, Purdue and Butler, all teams that will make the tournament. They have the best scorer in the NCAA in Stephen Curry. They swept the SoCon tourney champion Chattanooga. But the experts only wanna look at RPI's. Because Davidson's isn't as high as Virginia Tech's or Michigan's, they are instantly blackballed. I'm tired of the ACC and Big East bitching and complaining because they won't get 7-8 bids. I think the tournament is better with teams like Davidson, Siena and Creighton getting a fair shake. Enough of this giving Maryland, Kentucky and Providence credit for playing in a power conference. They all have at least 12 losses. Davidson actually played a good non-conference schedule but are being penalized for playing in a mediorce conference. I say to you selection committee, pick Davidson this Sunday. Stop bowing down to the demands of dinosaurs like Billy Packer, who wants the tournament to consist of all major schools. I will go out on a limb and say Davidson should be in. But we all know that they will not make it in and that's just wrong. Apparently 26 wins means nothing.