Around the Valley

[440Rambler]

I want to believe that we'd get the benefit of the doubt, we certainly have earned it. But ISUr went 17-1 and was 28-7 in 2016-2017 and was left out. In 2017-2018 Belmont went 25-9 and 15-3 in conference play and was left out. Porter left, in part because he didnt think our at large chances in the Valley were very good. From a quadrant perspective the league doesnt offer any chances for good wins or losses, only bad losses. I think we'd have a prayer with 2 losses in MVC play and a loss in Arch Finals but I wouldnt feel good about it.

[Blers42]

I want to believe that we'd get the benefit of the doubt, we certainly have earned it. But ISUr went 17-1 and was 28-7 in 2016-2017 and was left out. In 2017-2018 Belmont went 25-9 and 15-3 in conference play and was left out. Porter left, in part because he didnt think our at large chances in the Valley were very good. From a quadrant perspective the league doesnt offer any chances for good wins or losses, only bad losses. I think we'd have a prayer with 2 losses in MVC play and a loss in Arch Finals but I wouldnt feel good about it.

You never want to rely on an auto bid in the Valley, but with only two losses and an arch madness loss I wouldn't be worried. Like I stated Drake got in with three losses and an arch madness loss last year. It's also worth noting that Drake had one of the weakest non-conference schedules in CBB that year. If Loyola lost arch madness last year, they would have gotten in the first four at a minimum and this current Loyola team has better non-conference wins and losses than last season.

@ MSU also has a chance of being a quadrant 1 win if they keep winning.

[WestCoastFan]

It's tough to speculate on exactly what record gets in because it also depends on how many teams steal autobids. At conference tournament time I'll be paying close attention to the ACC, A10, American, Mountain West, OVC, Pac 12 and maybe the MAAC as conferences where an unexpected team could grab the autobid and shrink the bubble.

[goramblers2011]

It's tough to speculate on exactly what record gets in because it also depends on how many teams steal autobids. At conference tournament time I'll be paying close attention to the ACC, A10, American, Mountain West, OVC, Pac 12 and maybe the MAAC as conferences where an unexpected team could grab the autobid and shrink the bubble.

The thing that really sucks about UNI/MoSt/Drake falling flat in non-conf is that this seems like a perfect year for mid-majors to grab at-larges. ACC is brutal(only 4 bids currently), AAC is brutal (other than Houston, which is the only current bid), the A-10 is meh (Davidson is the only current bid) and the Pac 12 is meh (four bids).

Bracketmatrix has the WCC has a four bid league (Gonzaga, BYU, San Francisco and St. Mary's) and the Mountain West as a two bid league (Colorado State and San Diego State) with two on the bubble (Wyoming and Boise State). OVC is also currently a two bid league (Murray State and Belmont), but that may change as Belmont is down late tonight.

Just seems like the MVC could have positioned itself well to fill the void the AAC and A-10 are leaving (both are usual multibid leagues). Instead, the only chance at a two-bid Valley is Loyola finishing strong and then getting upset in STL.