Lunardi comments on SportsCenter (11am)

[ejacobson]

Joe says

"Valley will get 4 at large bids, in this order, WSU, BU, UNI, MSU, he says CU has an outside shot but needs a lot of bubble teams to lose."

(At large bids, aka this does not include SIU who is an automatic bid)

Just wanted to post this because Lunardi is notoriously good at the Bracketology this time of year.

And I have been worried and sweating lately, but after that I am feeling a little better.

GO PANTHERS!!!

[BCPanther]

I am surprised BU gets in ahead of UNI. But, oh well, this is great news for the valley!!

[SteinPizza]

Thanks EJac. One of the other ESPN guys gave us big props on basketball tonight last evening as well during the "punch the ticket" segment. It may have been Lunardi, not sure as it was around 11:00ish and I was pretty tired. Sounds like they're pretty sold on us getting in.

[Matt Trump]

They say on Sportscenter that he has only missed 1 team in the last 5 years.

[panther2317]

Maybe the Committee should invite him up to their 'war room' for a cup of coffee and get his thoughts. They need to hear them.

[UNI MadCat]

They say on Sportscenter that he has only missed 1 team in the last 5 years.

Yeah, I've been saying this for years, its really not that tough to figure it out when you release a bracket between Noon-3 p.m. on Sunday, which is what he typically does.

I used to hate, hate, hate this guy but then as more and more "Bracketology Experts" started popping up, he started looking a lot less like a buffoon. But still, he makes some idiotic predictions. For instance, in the last bracketology I looked at, dated 3/4, he had us playing Wisconsin in the first round. I mean, really, do you REALLY, think the comittee would do that again? Doubtful.

Lets also not forget, he didnt put UNI into his bracket until late Saturday night last year and there were a lot of people that put us in as "locks" much earlier in the week. The earliest on the bandwagon was I believe, "Mejia" from cbs.sportsline last year.

Anyway, I dont feel like any of these guys are "experts", we've got better ones residing on this board!!

[Panthers#1]

The only problem Ejake...Is that right now there is only 1 garunteed bid, and thats the team you left out...Southern Illinois, who won the tourney?

He is saying strickly at large bids. Everyone knows that SIU is getting in. Joe is talking about at large bids.

[ejacobson]

He is saying strickly at large bids. Everyone knows that SIU is getting in. Joe is talking about at large bids.

Thanks Panther#1, that was what I was getting at. They were talking about teams other than SIU, who is a lock.

[Matt Trump]

Yeah, I've been saying this for years, its really not that tough to figure it out when you release a bracket between Noon-3 p.m. on Sunday, which is what he typically does.

I used to hate, hate, hate this guy but then as more and more "Bracketology Experts" started popping up, he started looking a lot less like a buffoon. But still, he makes some idiotic predictions. For instance, in the last bracketology I looked at, dated 3/4, he had us playing Wisconsin in the first round. I mean, really, do you REALLY, think the comittee would do that again? Doubtful.

Lets also not forget, he didnt put UNI into his bracket until late Saturday night last year and there were a lot of people that put us in as "locks" much earlier in the week. The earliest on the bandwagon was I believe, "Mejia" from cbs.sportsline last year.

Anyway, I dont feel like any of these guys are "experts", we've got better ones residing on this board!!

Yeah, I was kind of making a jab at the four letter network because they like to say that he's only missed 1 in the last 5 years. Kind of like how they take AP press releases and say that one of their reporters was the one who broke the story.

[Coachdags]

He is saying strickly at large bids. Everyone knows that SIU is getting in. Joe is talking about at large bids.

You guys are quick, after I read it, I realized I was wrong (misread) and deleted, sorry Ejake..

[merkpanthers]

Thanks EJac. One of the other ESPN guys gave us big props on basketball tonight last evening as well during the "punch the ticket" segment. It may have been Lunardi, not sure as it was around 11:00ish and I was pretty tired. Sounds like they're pretty sold on us getting in.

You are exactly right Lunardi did the UNI punch the ticket segment. He said that I should be punching this 7 times for their RPI top 50 wins. By Lunardi's count there was 7 at large spots. SIU got the auto bid and WSU was a lock according to Lunardi and UNI, MSU and Bradley all got their tickets punched. So they did put 5 Valley teams in the Tournament.

[merkpanthers]

However, last night on college game night Lunardi also slipped in the NIU saying. All they have to do is look at our logo it says U-N-I right above the Panther logo. I can't believe that we were the talk of the Mid-majors and MVC for most of the season and they can't even get the name right. On the same token at the MVC Tournament against MSU the player of the game for NIU was Grant Stout with 16 points. The people in St. Louis couldn't even put UNI on the scoreboard correctly.

[Newsbreaker]

Remember, while it's "easy" to project the field at noon on sunday, until then you also don't have all the information needed to accurately make a good prediction...games are still being played to that point. You can't fault someone for making their last guess once the information is available.

The Commitee has an opportunity here, to send a STRONG message to the nation. If they let 5 MVC teams in, they will be saying that scheduling, going on the road and rasing that OOC SOS is VITALLY important, and telling the A10's of the world, as well as the major conferences, how things have to be done.

[ejacobson]

Remember, while it's "easy" to project the field at noon on sunday, until then you also don't have all the information needed to accurately make a good prediction...games are still being played to that point. You can't fault someone for making their last guess once the information is available.

The Commitee has an opportunity here, to send a STRONG message to the nation. If they let 5 MVC teams in, they will be saying that scheduling, going on the road and rasing that OOC SOS is VITALLY important, and telling the A10's of the world, as well as the major conferences, how things have to be done.

I hope that for the sake of college basketball they do send that message. I mean there are top 25 teams that have very bad losing road/neutral records and that is just weak. I think it makes basketball better when teams go on the road, look what it has done for the Valley, it has made every school in the conference better. If you up the competition you up your own game or get beat. The "power" conferences need to get the message that you go on the road, and prove you can win, or you stay at home in March. I think it is ridiculous that teams/coaches can bash the MVC, CAA, and other Mid-Major confs. when they won't even risk going on the road to play them. But if the committee sends that message, I think you will see things start to change especially for the "power" conference middle of the pack schools. Which will in my opinion make basketball better overall, I mean does anyone else get tired of watching "power" teams win at home and get more credit than going on the road and getting it done. Thats just my 2 cents worth.

[panther2317]

I hope 5 Valley teams get in and then the Selection Committee Chair says this, "What we've done here today is to prove the imporatnce of the willingness to play out of conference road games. The teams receiving at-large bids went on the road and won games. Let that be a scheduling lesson for the future to the teams that got left out."

That's what I'd like to see. Then, I'd like to see teams schedule home and home series with Valley (and others) conferences and bring teams like Virginia to Cedar Falls (they played in Ames last season...why couldn't they have come up to CF or down to Des Moines and play a second game? I think UNI would even be willing to play in Des Moines at Wells Fargo to get a team like that to come to Iowa!

Memo to BCS conference schools...SCHEDULE NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES!