IdaGriz01
Well-known member
I myself consider the conference championship tournaments a part of “March Madness.” However, there are those who only think of the “Big Dance” in those terms.
Anyway, the first big tournament upset sparked the thought of a thread about all the other craziness going on already.
So let’s get started close to home, with the Mountain West. The pundits tried to make a lot out of the “tussle” 9-seed Air Force gave San Diego State in the second round. But it was only close for awhile and you “knew” the Aztecs would wake up, put on a run, and then coast along to a solid win … which they did. They have to see Utah State as the real danger. (Not good, since they have to get through Boise State, which looked better than expected against UNLV.) But Wyoming (2-16 regular season), the 11-seed is the story here. They knocked off a pretty good Colorado State team in the first round, and then 3-seed Nevada in the second. They face #2 Utah State tonight, so … who knows?
But the real drama happened in the Missouri Valley, where 8-seed Drake pummeled #1 Northern Iowa, 77-56. The Panthers won the regular season with an outstanding 25-5 record. Their NET/RPI are excellent, but the SOS is only #119 (last I checked). The MV is not a particularly strong conference, so it will be interesting to if they get an at-large bid. With so many teams in the running, my guess is … they’ll have to settle for the NIT.
Anyway, the first big tournament upset sparked the thought of a thread about all the other craziness going on already.
So let’s get started close to home, with the Mountain West. The pundits tried to make a lot out of the “tussle” 9-seed Air Force gave San Diego State in the second round. But it was only close for awhile and you “knew” the Aztecs would wake up, put on a run, and then coast along to a solid win … which they did. They have to see Utah State as the real danger. (Not good, since they have to get through Boise State, which looked better than expected against UNLV.) But Wyoming (2-16 regular season), the 11-seed is the story here. They knocked off a pretty good Colorado State team in the first round, and then 3-seed Nevada in the second. They face #2 Utah State tonight, so … who knows?
But the real drama happened in the Missouri Valley, where 8-seed Drake pummeled #1 Northern Iowa, 77-56. The Panthers won the regular season with an outstanding 25-5 record. Their NET/RPI are excellent, but the SOS is only #119 (last I checked). The MV is not a particularly strong conference, so it will be interesting to if they get an at-large bid. With so many teams in the running, my guess is … they’ll have to settle for the NIT.