MU should reject the NCAA bid ala Al in 1970

[marqfan22]

Let Drexel play instead and we"ll go win the NIT in NYC.

[Mayor McCheese]

I was thinking the same thing... nah we can give it to Cuse.

[MUCam]

This is a preposterous suggestion that is as out-dated as the polyester plaid suits worn during the 70's.

[marqfan22]

I know it is..Just for fun, I wonder if Al would have done this

[Tommy Brice for Coach]

Whoa Whoa Whoa... wait. Al Rejected a NCAA bid in 1970?!?!

Someone please explain the story to this youngster!

[BuzzSucksSucks]

 "As late as 1970, Coach Al McGuire of Marquette, the 8th-ranked team in the final AP poll of the season, spurned an NCAA bid in protest of his team's placement in the Midwest Region, where his team would have to have played games further away from home than it would if it were in the Mideast Region. The team played the NIT instead, which they won. Such an action would be unthinkable today."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Invitation_Tournament

[Harrison]

1970 Mu is ranked in the top 5 in the country and they send MU to some location in FLa. or something as opposed to Chicago or Dayton locally.  He is miffed and pulls his team out.  Destroys the NIT field, including UMass and Doctor J in the semis if I recall, and St Johns and Carnesseca in the Finals to win the title.

[spiral97]

considering that the ncaa owns the nit now too.. spurning the ncaa bid might not be a wise idea.. it might lead to NO bid even in the NIT.

[patso]

I for one would like to win the NIT and set up an NCAA stalk next year. It would show the monopolistic NCAA that teams like Duke do not deserve instant recognition even when they suck.To tell the truth, the fans are always smarter than the committee.

[marqfan22]

I know the story.  What I meant, was I wonder if Al would done it based on this year's team and the lack of respect.  If he coached this year's team, would he have rejected it? (assume this was prior to the rule banning teams to reject bids)

[patso]

Marrquette had a great year with a few lapses and deserved a 5 or 6. They have gotten no respsect since Al left. We had a very good year when I was a student with Doc Rivers as our star and we were seeded low and met a killer Tennessee team

[Warrior4Ever94]

The 8 seed was not as I expected, but I am sure the Jerel injury and going 5 & 5 the last ten games did not help either.  If we deserve an 8, give us the Lexington slot in lieu of Purdue rather than playing in NC's backyard, we could have played closer and further from the #1 seed.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Are you guys really comparing this year's MU team to the 1970 team, featuring Dean Meminger, which was one of the best in the country?   

In the "lesser" NIT alone, we faced Dr. J, Pete Maravich and a St. John's team essentially playing at home.

Maybe we deserved a 6 seed, maybe a 7. The MU team in 1970 was like a 2 seed today. Al just didn't like the location we were being shipped to.

[79Warrior]

"As late as 1970, Coach Al McGuire of Marquette, the 8th-ranked team in the final AP poll of the season, spurned an NCAA bid in protest of his team's placement in the Midwest Region, where his team would have to have played games further away from home than it would if it were in the Mideast Region. The team played the NIT instead, which they won. Such an action would be unthinkable today."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Invitation_Tournament

The NIT was an excellent tourney back then. The NCAA field was much smaller, I think only 32 got in, so the NIT had plenty of very good teams.

[BuzzSucksSucks]

There were only 25 teams in the NCAA field, 16 in the NIT.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Just for some clarity, you can no longer turn down a NCAA bid.  As of last year, you can no longer turn down a NIT bid either (the NCAA now owns the NIT).