Stomp The Lunatic

Category: 2016 Blog

  • The Bubble Just Got Tighter

    Monday so far has been a rough day for some of the best mid-major teams in the country.   First, Monmouth (whose RPI is #47) lost a close game to Iona in the MAAC Championship game.   There is some sad irony because Monmouth was known for the emotion that their bench displayed in major upsets, but it was a technical foul called on a player on the court trash talking that broke a tie late in the game – and Monmouth spent the rest of the game trying to chase down the lead.

    Then, despite some amazing heroics to send the game to overtime, Valparaiso (whose RPI is #39) lost to Green Bay.   It would have been easy for the Phoenix to fold after Valparaiso came charging back in regulation – including an improbable baseball pass with 2 second left leading to the tying basket.  But Green Bay came out hot in the overtime and knocked out the Horizon Conference’s regular season champion.

    So, now, two of the mid-major’s best need the committee’s help.  Monmouth beat UCLA and Georgetown on the road, and Notre Dame and USC on neutral courts – as well as played a tight game with Dayton.   Valparaiso went on a West Coast road trip where they played Oregon to the wire, and then upset Oregon State on way to a 26-6 record.

    And that doesn’t even include the show that the Colonial regular season co-champions put on – as UNC-Wilmington triumped in another overtime game over Hofstra.  If you decided not to watch the games until the big tournaments started playing, you missed some really fun basketball games that really epitomize what March is all about.

    6 more days to Selection Sunday!!!!!!

  • Let the Madness Begin

    Congratulations to Yale and Austin Peay – our first two teams to get their invitation to the dance.

    Austin Peay did it in classic Cinderella style.  As the number 8 seed in the Ohio Valley (and a protected bracket set up to try to avoid this scenario), the Governors won 4 games in 4 days – beating the 5 seed, 4 seed, 1 seed and 2 seed to claim the championship.  After an exciting overtime victory over Belmont, where the top seed missed a last second three-pointer in overtime and made the rebound and lay-up after the buzzer had gone off, the underdogs hit a school record 16 three-pointers to beat Tennessee-Martin for the championship.

    Yale’s path is the traditional way in the Ivy League.   The Bulldogs did what they did all season in conference.  They went on the road to Columbia and beat the Lions by 16 points on the way to a 13-1 regular season championship.  Yale will be going to NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1962, which makes this bid extra special.  Thanks to the Ivy League being the only conference that rewards their regular season championship with the bid, the Bulldogs will be dancing for the first time in 54 years!

    Well, make that maybe the only conference that rewards their regular season champion….  Madness is happening in the Atlantic Sun tournament – thanks to the 7th seeded Stetson Hatters.  Stetson is ineligible this season for the NCAA Tournament due to an audit ruling them under the Academic Progress Rate guidelines based on their 2012 team.  There is a decent explanation of the full story on the CBS Sports site (as probably other sites – since this has gotten a little bit of outrage).   That is because in the other semi-final, Florida Gulf Coast went onto the home court of the A-Sun’s regular season champ, North Florida, and beat the Ospreys by 33 points.

    Despite the oddity of the circumstances, I actually don’t buy into the outrage that it should go to FGCU if they get upset on Sunday.   Basically, based on the CBS story, the Atlantic Sun didn’t feel it was fair to punish the Stetson players who were not the reason the school was ruled ineligible, but in doing so, they have punished other teams.  Stetson has been on a tear in the tournament, beating #2 seed NJIT by 15 and #6 seed Lipscomb by 21.   Is it fair that NJIT and Lipscomb had their season ended by a team that can’t play in the post-season – why should the outrage only happen if FGCU loses the championship?   By putting Stetson in the tournament, the conference essentially decided that it was fair.   And once they made that decision (which I would not have done), I think they have made the fairest decision possible.  If Stetson blows out FGCU, should NJIT get the bid if they played Stetson the closest, or should it go to FGCU simply because they got the farthest in a 3 day tournament.  Why answer that question when you can simply give the bid to the team who won the most games in the conference all season?

    Sadly, it is a bad situation with lots of wrongs.  The NCAA is to blame by not making a timely decision.  Stetson was punished in 2015 after an audit on their 2012 team.   It is ridiculous that they can’t make those decisions faster – this leaves students without options but playing on a team that can’t compete for the ultimate goal of a championship.  But if we are going to rule a team an ineligible for post-season, the Atlantic Sun shouldn’t be allowing them to play in the post-season.  While it is hard to accept, the NCAA can’t punish the players who already left.  They punish the institutions that don’t follow the rules, and the conferences should enforce those punishments.  But everyone who is complaining now are complaining too late about the wrong thing.  They are upset because a team could get into the dance after losing by 33 points the night before in the tournament.  The outrage shouldn’t be about FGCU being cheated if they lose after beating North Florida – no one complained for NJIT and Lipscomb, and so Florida Gulf Coast shouldn’t get any sympathy either (unless of course, you were complaining before the tournament started).  The honest answer is conference officials figured there was no harm in letting a 4-10 team play in their tournament since they wouldn’t go far and it would let the students still get to play – and now, that decision is backfiring (unless you go with the opinion of people are talking about the Atlantic Sun tournament, and so it was brilliant).

    So, on Sunday, Florida Gulf Coast will be playing in the Atlantic Sun tournament for a chance to dance.  And Stetson will be playing for pride to claim a title no one thought they would be competing for.   And if the Hatters cut down the nets after the victory, it will be North Florida who will get a rare second chance to put on their dance shoes.

    Lets not forget the Big South and Missouri Valley – who will also have their conference tournament championships decided on Sunday.   And both of them watched their regular season champions, High Point and Wichita State, lose today in the semis.  We have a team who hasn’t been to the dance in over 50 years and a team who needed all 4 conference tournament victories just to get above .500 in winning percentage.  The bubble has gotten tighter thanks to Wichita State losing in their conference tournament, and we might see a team tomorrow win their conference’s bid by watching at home on television.  And we still have an entire of week to add to this craziness before the dance even begins.  The Lunatic is so thrilled – it must be March!!!!   Let the Madness BEGIN!!!!!