I'm not sure how much interest there is in Championship Week but it has always been an obsession of mine. Throw a bracket in front of me and I can't help but be entertained.
5 bids will be decided this weekend. The MW and OVC have their title games tomorrow. The Atlantic Sun, MVC and Big South wrap up on Sunday.
MVC 1 seed Northern Iowa is currently down double digits to 8 seed Drake late in the first half.
I love Championship Week, especially the one bid leagues. Go Sacred Heart!
Quote from: CTWarrior on March 06, 2020, 12:53:45 PM
I love Championship Week, especially the one bid leagues. Go Sacred Heart!
That would be great having Bobby V hyping the school before any SH NCAA game.
We possibly have our first bid stealer. UNI is going to lose.
I don't think they get an at-large but they are right on the cutline.
Bradley and Wardle play S. Illinois next, and their path to the NCAA tournament just got easier.
IMO it was either going to be UNI or Loyola from the MVC to get the autobid into the tournament. Did not expect UNI to lose by double digits. Very likely a 1-bid league.
Quote from: zcg2013 on March 06, 2020, 02:21:49 PM
IMO it was either going to be UNI or Loyola from the MVC to get the autobid into the tournament. Did not expect UNI to lose by double digits. Very likely a 1-bid league.
UNI was kenpom 38 before today. I think they had a shot if they lost a close one in the semis or the finals. But they were projected to win by 11 today and lost by 21. That's not going to be good for any of their ratings. I think they now have 3 quad 3 losses and only 1 quad 1 win
Lunardi has Northern Iowa as the last team in after their loss.
Q1: 1-1
Q2: 4-2
Q3: 9-3
Q4: 9-0
Does that look like an at large resume to you?
Sucks for them, but I don't think they'll survive the next 10 days. Won @ Colorado, beat South Carolina on a neutral court. Lost a close one to West Virginia on a neutral court. But man...I just don't think its enough
Quote from: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on March 06, 2020, 03:14:31 PM
Lunardi has Northern Iowa as the last team in after their loss.
Q1: 1-1
Q2: 4-2
Q3: 9-3
Q4: 9-0
Does that look like an at large resume to you?
Sucks for them, but I don't think they'll survive the next 10 days. Won @ Colorado, beat South Carolina on a neutral court. Lost a close one to West Virginia on a neutral court. But man...I just don't think its enough
That alone should quiet anyone who thinks MU won't make the tournament.
Quote from: BM1090 on March 06, 2020, 03:18:16 PM
That alone should quiet anyone who thinks MU won't make the tournament.
It won't.
Lunardi said the other day teams need to go .500 in their league or win two conference tourney games to make the NCAA's. He's not a fan of below .500 league record teams making the NCAA's unless they win a few in conference tourney.
Quote from: shoothoops on March 06, 2020, 03:34:30 PM
Lunardi said the other day teams need to go .500 in their league or win two conference tourney games to make the NCAA's. He's not a fan of below .500 league record teams making the NCAA's unless they win a few in conference tourney.
He said
he thinks teams should have to go .500 or better to be eligible. All that would accomplish is getting worse teams from worse leagues (like SEC or ACC teams this season) in over better teams from better leagues (Big East and B10 this season). Its just an opinion of his.
Quote from: BM1090 on March 06, 2020, 01:50:57 PM
Bradley and Wardle play S. Illinois next, and their path to the NCAA tournament just got easier.
Wardle and Co in TROUBLE
Quote from: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on March 06, 2020, 03:38:33 PM
He said he thinks teams should have to go .500 or better to be eligible. All that would accomplish is getting worse teams from worse leagues (like SEC or ACC teams this season) in over better teams from better leagues (Big East and B10 this season). Its just an opinion of his.
Heard him on the radio yesterday. He stated, that is his thing, some on the committee may favor last 10 games, some favor road wins, others favor margin of victory against top 50. It's all random. NET is a part, but he said some with a good NET may be surprised (in a bad way)
Wardle & Co. complete the comeback for Bradley to move on.
Quote from: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on March 06, 2020, 03:38:33 PM
He said he thinks teams should have to go .500 or better to be eligible. All that would accomplish is getting worse teams from worse leagues (like SEC or ACC teams this season) in over better teams from better leagues (Big East and B10 this season). Its just an opinion of his.
Correct it's his opinion, which was clearly stated, and I shared it.
Watching Valpo vs. Loyola and former Providence player Ryan Fazekas is on Valpo. Couldn't believe it was the same guy.
Storm chasers are going to be in West Virginia tonight. By far the funniest stuff.
Quote from: BM1090 on March 06, 2020, 12:48:50 PM
I'm not sure how much interest there is in Championship Week but it has always been an obsession of mine.
I'm off of work next Thursday & Friday. Around 10 national networks. I enjoy it more than the NCAA Tournament.
Quote from: #UnleashJayce on March 06, 2020, 06:36:42 PM
Storm chasers are going to be in West Virginia tonight. By far the funniest stuff.
Their hit rate since starting it has been pretty incredible.
Valparaiso beat Loyola in OT. Wardle has a great opportunity to make it to the NCAA tournament twice in a row.
Hampton taking down top seeded Radford in the Big South. Winthrop/Hampton for the auto bid on Sunday.
Quote from: BM1090 on March 06, 2020, 09:17:44 PM
Hampton taking down top seeded Radford in the Big South. Winthrop/Hampton for the auto bid on Sunday.
If Winthrop makes the tourney again, I wonder if anyone is gonna waste their time pursuing Pat Kelsey again. He jerked around UMass last time he made the tourney in 2017, and then somehow made a mess of the Northern Kentucky job people all but handed to him last year. If he doesn't leave, I think he's more likely like Chris Lowry than Gregg Marshall 2.0
Quote from: JWags85 on March 06, 2020, 09:31:20 PM
If Winthrop makes the tourney again, I wonder if anyone is gonna waste their time pursuing Pat Kelsey again. He jerked around UMass last time he made the tourney in 2017, and then somehow made a mess of the Northern Kentucky job people all but handed to him last year. If he doesn't leave, I think he's more likely like Chris Lowry than Gregg Marshall 2.0
I visited a customer yesterday that was literally right next to Northern Kentucky University.
It's 10 minutes from DT Cincinnati and I thought about stopping to get a Vikings t-shirt.
Quote from: MU Fan in Connecticut on March 07, 2020, 08:03:48 AM
I visited a customer yesterday that was literally right next to Northern Kentucky University.
It's 10 minutes from DT Cincinnati and I thought about stopping to get a Vikings t-shirt.
They are the Norse, even better. They are very much the 3rd Cincy team with Xavier and Cincy. Brannen did a great job and Darrin Horn has kept it going. Still a relatively young guy, so if he makes a couple NCAAs in the next few years, he might get another P6 gig
Quote from: JWags85 on March 06, 2020, 07:26:34 PM
Their hit rate since starting it has been pretty incredible.
They also just got a huge boost in popularity after being arrested by a couple of overzealous cops at uconn.
Quote from: #UnleashJayce on March 07, 2020, 12:50:00 PM
They also just got a huge boost in popularity after being arrested by a couple of overzealous cops at uconn.
Those videos were absolutely incredible. Couldn't ask for better press, especially they did absolutely nothing incorrectly.
Quote from: JWags85 on March 07, 2020, 01:12:20 PM
Those videos were absolutely incredible. Couldn't ask for better press, especially they did absolutely nothing incorrectly.
It's weird witnessing how power hungry some people get. They had a person staffed on uconn standing next to them saying they were supposed to be there.they were getting ready to do a video with the mc.
It makes it amazing how many camera angles they had for it. And being barstool they will absolutely use them all and not hide under "legal issues"
Quote from: #UnleashJayce on March 07, 2020, 01:21:35 PM
It's weird witnessing how power hungry some people get. They had a person staffed on uconn standing next to them saying they were supposed to be there.they were getting ready to do a video with the mc.
It makes it amazing how many camera angles they had for it. And being barstool they will absolutely use them all and not hide under "legal issues"
Agreed.
And they just did it again in Morgantown. Absolutely incredible
The Fightin' Wardles tied with Valpo early 2nd half on CBS. MVC tournament finale.
Quote from: Oldgym on March 08, 2020, 02:14:53 PM
The Fightin' Wardles tied with Valpo early 2nd half on CBS. MVC tournament finale.
They've almost got this one put away
Quote from: Oldgym on March 08, 2020, 02:14:53 PM
The Fightin' Wardles tied with Valpo early 2nd half on CBS. MVC tournament finale.
Very interesting team Wardle has. Play smart, execute, guys step up and make shots, good plays drawn up in timeouts, don't beat themselves.
In other words, everything we're not.
Wardle is clearly ready for our job. Bradley hasn't been relevant since Hersey Hawkins in late 80's. Now they're about to repeat as conference tourney champs.
I suppose we'll let someone else steal him from Bradley and watch him succeed there.
But, wow, what a freshman class coming in that Wojo will underachieve with
Congratulations to Brian and Bradley. Very impressive resume he has built at UWGB and Bradley.
If not MU, I'd expect him to be HC of a major program in coming years.
Wardle clearly knows how to win hardware. And exceed expectations. Two things our current coach is completely inept at. I'm sold - get it done.
Quote from: 5DollarPitcher on March 08, 2020, 03:18:05 PM
Wardle clearly knows how to win hardware. And exceed expectations. Two things our current coach is completely inept at. I'm sold - get it done.
Speaks volumes when you win at a place that has seen zero recent success until their arrival. He'd be an excellent choice. I'm sold too.
Quote from: HutchwasClutch on March 08, 2020, 03:01:59 PM
Very interesting team Wardle has. Play smart, execute, guys step up and make shots, good plays drawn up in timeouts, don't beat themselves.
In other words, everything we're not.
Wardle is clearly ready for our job. Bradley hasn't been relevant since Hersey Hawkins in late 80's. Now they're about to repeat as conference tourney champs.
If Wardle wasn't a former Marquette player who played for us during one of our worst stretches since Al, would people be as averse to hiring him as they currently are? My guess is he'd be at the top of most of our lists as a sneaky good hire. Would it be an exciting hire? No. Do we know if he'd be able to recruit at the high major level? No, but I think that question can be asked about any mid major coach looking to step up a level.
Do I want Wardle as our next coach? To look at him, he's the same "bland jock" type as Wojo. I wouldn't necessarily be excited about it if he was hired, but I don't think it'd be the end of the world. Anything seems better than what we currently have.
Quote from: HutchwasClutch on March 08, 2020, 03:20:46 PM
Speaks volumes when you win at a place that has seen zero recent success until their arrival. He'd be an excellent choice. I'm sold.
Correct. No bare cupboard excuse for Wardle. He just got it done.
Quote from: HutchwasClutch on March 08, 2020, 03:01:59 PM
Very interesting team Wardle has. Play smart, execute, guys step up and make shots, good plays drawn up in timeouts, don't beat themselves.
In other words, everything we're not.
Wardle is clearly ready for our job. Bradley hasn't been relevant since Hersey Hawkins in late 80's. Now they're about to repeat as conference tourney champs.
Definitely should get consideration if we make a move. Pretty damn good in the post-game interview I just watched.
Quote from: Elonsmusk on March 08, 2020, 03:22:25 PM
Definitely should get consideration if we make a move. Pretty damn good in the post-game interview I just watched.
Sold. Let's do it.
Quote from: manesworld on March 08, 2020, 03:25:28 PM
Sold. Let's do it.
Ahhhh but the best gauge is his In Huddle TV views ! ! ! Between them and his
"Pretty damn good in the post-game interview", there might be the new John Wooden ! ! ! 8-)
Quote from: Silent Verbal on March 08, 2020, 03:21:15 PM
If Wardle wasn't a former Marquette player who played for us during one of our worst stretches since Al, would people be as averse to hiring him as they currently are? My guess is he'd be at the top of most of our lists as a sneaky good hire. Would it be an exciting hire? No. Do we know if he'd be able to recruit at the high major level? No, but I think that question can be asked about any mid major coach looking to step up a level.
Do I want Wardle as our next coach? To look at him, he's the same "bland jock" type as Wojo. I wouldn't necessarily be excited about it if he was hired, but I don't think it'd be the end of the world. Anything seems better than what we currently have.
The difference between Wardle and Wojo is that Wardle has the head coaching experience that Wojo did not in programs that were not Duke, or anything like Duke, and Wardle has done reasonably well. What he inherited at Bradley was a poor program with few resources. And he has improved Bradley's lot significantly. People that are against him really have no reason why, other than Wojo, and whether he can recruit at this level, which is a question mark. But Wojo has not panned out so there is that.
Quote from: 5DollarPitcher on March 08, 2020, 03:21:31 PM
Correct. No bare cupboard excuse for Wardle. He just got it done.
Will MU allow JUCOs, Preps and International School graduates?
Using Kenpom #s ...
Coach #1 beat one team ranked better than his team (#92).
He also lost to 5 teams worse than his (#260, #128, #233, #122, #161, #143).
Coach #2 beat 3 teams better than his (#23, #18, #25)
He also lost to 4 teams worse than his (#41 2 times, #96, #71)
Which one are you gonna hire?
Quote from: rocky_warrior on March 08, 2020, 09:26:21 PM
Using Kenpom #s ...
Coach #1 beat one team ranked better than his team (#92).
He also lost to 5 teams worse than his (#260, #128, #233, #122, #161, #143).
Coach #2 beat 3 teams better than his (#23, #18, #25)
He also lost to 4 teams worse than his (#41 2 times, #96, #71)
Which one are you gonna hire?
Is one of the coaches painfully underperforming at a school with a proud basketball tradition and 1-7 in the month of March over the past two seasons and the only coach with no NCAA wins for the school since 1988? And the other is recruiting to a school in Peoria, Illinois that had a collective .350 record for the 5 years before his arrival?
Quote from: 5DollarPitcher on March 08, 2020, 09:41:25 PM
Is one of the coaches painfully underperforming at a school with a proud basketball tradition and 1-7 in the month of March over the past two seasons and the only coach with no NCAA wins for the school since 1988? And the other is recruiting to a school in Peoria, Illinois that had a collective .350 record for the 5 years before his arrival?
I mean, I'll tell you exactly who they are, if you tell me which one sounds like a better candidate to coach MU.
Quote from: rocky_warrior on March 08, 2020, 09:46:12 PM
I mean, I'll tell you exactly who they are, if you tell me which one sounds like a better candidate to coach MU.
There are 2 teams better than Bradley in the MVC according to KenPom and 4 teams better than Marquette in the BE according to KenPom. There's no equity in your postulate at all. I would rather have Brian Wardle than Steve Wojo.
Quote from: guzica on March 08, 2020, 03:28:53 PM
Ahhhh but the best gauge is his In Huddle TV views ! ! ! Between them and his "Pretty damn good in the post-game interview", there might be the new John Wooden ! ! ! 8-)
Hey red font guy! The best gauge is actually the results. Our head coach has had less March success than any coach at MU since Dukiet.
Nothing better than imploding down the stretch two seasons in a row, the second of which took place in Year 6 of the "rebuild." And next year without Markus? Year 7 likely will be the worst since Year 2 of Wojo's tenure.
But yea...communication skills matter for a coach. Breathe. Fight. Compete. Win this war. You get tired, ask for a breather. Play angry. #superinsightful (and inspiring.)
Quote from: 5DollarPitcher on March 08, 2020, 09:53:02 PM
There are 2 teams better than Bradley in the MVC according to KenPom and 4 teams better than Marquette in the BE according to KenPom. There's no equity in your postulate at all. I would rather have Brian Wardle than Steve Wojo.
So you prefer a coach #1 who wins a smaller percentage of upsets, and gets upset a higher percentage of the time than coach #2?
edit: also, I'm not just looking at conference record, I'm looking at season as a whole.
Quote from: rocky_warrior on March 08, 2020, 10:20:56 PM
So you prefer a coach #1 who wins a smaller percentage of upsets, and gets upset a higher percentage of the time than coach #2?
There are 100 different cherry picked stats you could grab to make Wardle or Wojo look better than the other. For that reason, I'm not taking the bait on 1 of 100 posed by a known Projo. Wojo is incapable of winning anything of real value; that has been proven time and time again.
Quote from: 5DollarPitcher on March 08, 2020, 10:30:30 PM
There are 100 different cherry picked stats you could grab to make Wardle or Wojo look better than the other. For that reason, I'm not taking the bait on 1 of 100 posed by a known Projo. Wojo is incapable of winning anything of real value; that has been proven time and time again.
LOL. Ok Mr. Certain. FWIW, I wouldn't choose either. But if I had to choose, coach #2 is doing better.
Teams in so far:
Utah State
Bradley
Liberty
Belmont
Winthrop
SoCon final is the only one tomorrow. ETSU vs. Wofford. ETSU is probably in either way. Wofford is a definitely bid stealer. Cheer for ETSU
ETSU is far from a lock. 1-2 in Q1, 2-0 in Q2. A Q3 loss and a Q4 loss.
That resume is very thin.
Quote from: Lazar's Headband on March 09, 2020, 12:39:32 PM
ETSU is far from a lock. 1-2 in Q1, 2-0 in Q2. A Q3 loss and a Q4 loss.
That resume is very thin.
I overstated it a bit. Still a team you want to win tonight if you're nervous about potential bid thieves.
USF giving the Zags a run. Dickie V singing praises for Billy Hoyle's BFF (Todd Golden).