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From 3/03 Jay Bilas Article
Not madness, just mad
Apparently, I have been labeled Public Enemy No. 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference because I have questioned the RPI numbers of the league. I have been told that some MVC folks are kind of mad about it. That's OK, as long as my opinions are clearly understood. Along with opinions come disagreement, and reasonable minds can disagree.
To be clear, I think (and have said many times) the MVC is a terrific basketball league, and it has some truly outstanding teams that will win games in the NCAA Tournament. The MVC has some great coaches and some up-and-coming coaches who will be household names in a few years. I have said and written that the MVC will get as many as five teams into the NCAA Tournament this year, and there is a possibility that the league will field six NCAA Tournament teams, which is more than I have said about the Pac-10, the Big 12 or the ACC. If that is disrespect, I would be pleased if someone would disrespect me in the same fashion!
What I have said that has gotten the collective undies of MVC supporters in a bunch is that the RPI numbers for the league and some of its teams seem a bit too high. Understand, I have been a vocal critic of the RPI for years. I think it can be a useful tool, but it is flawed. For example, when Tennessee was ranked third in the RPI, I said that I did not believe that the Vols were the third best team in America, even though the numbers said they were.
The Valley has tons of excellent players, like UNI's Ben Jacobson. [photo removed]
Similarly, when I see the résumés of MVC teams with a pile of RPI Top 25 and Top 50 wins, it is notable that the vast majority of those wins are home wins in conference play. (I have said the same thing about the Big Ten.) It's also notable that there is a flaw in the RPI formula that means a home win and a road loss in a two-game series against a good team helps more than a road win and a home loss against that same good team.
The MVC has done a marvelous job of scheduling, playing only teams that have solid records and schedules. Since 50 percent of the RPI formula is based upon your opponents' records, teams that play teams with good slates get a bump. That, coupled with the fact that the MVC (and Big Ten) have yielded few road wins, has brought a perfect storm in RPI points for the league and its teams.
But you know what? That is the system we have, and the MVC has navigated that system very well and should be rewarded for it. MVC teams play good schedules and win against those schedules. The league has five or six teams that can beat most anybody in the country on a given night.
That said, it is not a slam on the league, in my opinion, to say that the MVC is a mid-major league, or that it is not annually as powerful as the Big East, the Big Ten or the ACC. I believe that if you took the top five teams from the MVC and put them in the Big East, their numbers and records would not be as good. But they still would be the same good teams, and it wouldn't change the fact that the top teams in the MVC can beat most every team in the Big East on a given night.
Is it disrespectful to suggest that UConn and Villanova would rip through the MVC with one or no losses? Is it disrespectful to suggest that Notre Dame might very well be an NCAA Tournament team if it played in the MVC? Clearly, the top teams in the MVC can beat Notre Dame, but I think that the Irish would be viewed differently if they played in the MVC. If you are looking at quality wins, though, Northern Iowa is the team that beat Iowa, LSU and Bucknell while Syracuse has not had as many big-time wins and lost to Bucknell.
This year, Northern Iowa has the better résumé, and should get in before teams like Syracuse, Florida State, Colorado, Cal and some others. But is it wrong to suggest that, for the most part, Syracuse fields a better team year in and year out? Heck, the Orange have greater resources, a more powerful league with greater TV coverage, and they recruit better athletes and more of them. Northern Iowa has been better against its schedule this season than Syracuse has been against its. Does that mean that Syracuse cannot beat UNI? Of course not.
If feeling disrespected motivates the teams and players, have at it. And if you want to be mad to fuel yourselves, don't read this part: I think the MVC is really good, and I think the league will do some damage in the NCAA Tournament.
Not madness, just mad
Apparently, I have been labeled Public Enemy No. 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference because I have questioned the RPI numbers of the league. I have been told that some MVC folks are kind of mad about it. That's OK, as long as my opinions are clearly understood. Along with opinions come disagreement, and reasonable minds can disagree.
To be clear, I think (and have said many times) the MVC is a terrific basketball league, and it has some truly outstanding teams that will win games in the NCAA Tournament. The MVC has some great coaches and some up-and-coming coaches who will be household names in a few years. I have said and written that the MVC will get as many as five teams into the NCAA Tournament this year, and there is a possibility that the league will field six NCAA Tournament teams, which is more than I have said about the Pac-10, the Big 12 or the ACC. If that is disrespect, I would be pleased if someone would disrespect me in the same fashion!
What I have said that has gotten the collective undies of MVC supporters in a bunch is that the RPI numbers for the league and some of its teams seem a bit too high. Understand, I have been a vocal critic of the RPI for years. I think it can be a useful tool, but it is flawed. For example, when Tennessee was ranked third in the RPI, I said that I did not believe that the Vols were the third best team in America, even though the numbers said they were.
The Valley has tons of excellent players, like UNI's Ben Jacobson. [photo removed]
Similarly, when I see the résumés of MVC teams with a pile of RPI Top 25 and Top 50 wins, it is notable that the vast majority of those wins are home wins in conference play. (I have said the same thing about the Big Ten.) It's also notable that there is a flaw in the RPI formula that means a home win and a road loss in a two-game series against a good team helps more than a road win and a home loss against that same good team.
The MVC has done a marvelous job of scheduling, playing only teams that have solid records and schedules. Since 50 percent of the RPI formula is based upon your opponents' records, teams that play teams with good slates get a bump. That, coupled with the fact that the MVC (and Big Ten) have yielded few road wins, has brought a perfect storm in RPI points for the league and its teams.
But you know what? That is the system we have, and the MVC has navigated that system very well and should be rewarded for it. MVC teams play good schedules and win against those schedules. The league has five or six teams that can beat most anybody in the country on a given night.
That said, it is not a slam on the league, in my opinion, to say that the MVC is a mid-major league, or that it is not annually as powerful as the Big East, the Big Ten or the ACC. I believe that if you took the top five teams from the MVC and put them in the Big East, their numbers and records would not be as good. But they still would be the same good teams, and it wouldn't change the fact that the top teams in the MVC can beat most every team in the Big East on a given night.
Is it disrespectful to suggest that UConn and Villanova would rip through the MVC with one or no losses? Is it disrespectful to suggest that Notre Dame might very well be an NCAA Tournament team if it played in the MVC? Clearly, the top teams in the MVC can beat Notre Dame, but I think that the Irish would be viewed differently if they played in the MVC. If you are looking at quality wins, though, Northern Iowa is the team that beat Iowa, LSU and Bucknell while Syracuse has not had as many big-time wins and lost to Bucknell.
This year, Northern Iowa has the better résumé, and should get in before teams like Syracuse, Florida State, Colorado, Cal and some others. But is it wrong to suggest that, for the most part, Syracuse fields a better team year in and year out? Heck, the Orange have greater resources, a more powerful league with greater TV coverage, and they recruit better athletes and more of them. Northern Iowa has been better against its schedule this season than Syracuse has been against its. Does that mean that Syracuse cannot beat UNI? Of course not.
If feeling disrespected motivates the teams and players, have at it. And if you want to be mad to fuel yourselves, don't read this part: I think the MVC is really good, and I think the league will do some damage in the NCAA Tournament.
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