Is MU still a lock if they lose the first BE tourney game?

[gumbyandpokey]

I would think so, but ND does have far better quality wins than MU does (WVU and Pitt) and they've beaten MU on their home court. 

Could ND get a bid and not MU if ND wins a few games in the BE tournament?

[paulpogo]

Well Katz just said we're out unless we go on a big run in the BE tourney.

People thinking we're already locked in may be in for quite the surprise.

[goodgreatgrand]

I was stuck watching the Syracuse-Louisville game and since Lou beat a non-chalant Cuse team, they are IN. Without a doubt. ND is IN. GTown is IN.

Cuse
Nova
WV
Pitt
Lou
Gtown
ND
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MU would be the 8th team. I THINK we are in but we HAVE to win TWO in the BE tourney to eliminate ANY doubt. Our first BE game will be against a bottom feeder and will prob not mean much.

[Bling]

Worst case scenario: MU plays UCONN in the 1st round of BET, MU loses, back on the bubble, and we are slighted on Selection Sunday.  Not that far fetched and a strong possibility.  This loss reallllly hurts..

[NersEllenson]

Well Katz just said we're out unless we go on a big run in the BE tourney.

People thinking we're already locked in may be in for quite the surprise.

Where did you see that?  That surprises me.  My take is we are IN..period...5th place finish in the Big East.  Period.  No way an 11-7 Big East team that is 9-2 over its last 11.  We are IN. 

[paulpogo]

Where did you see that?  That surprises me.  My take is we are IN..period...5th place finish in the Big East.  Period.  No way an 11-7 Big East team that is 9-2 over its last 11.  We are IN. 

Saw it at halftime of the Winthrop-Coastal Carolina game.  They were showing all the BE highlights today.  Katz said ND is in, Louisville is in, and we are currently out.  Hard to deny we'd be the 8th of 8 Big East teams in the pecking order right now.

[Doc]

I find it hard to believe the selection committee could totally discount the standings in the Big East and put three teams that finished below MU in the tourney and leave MU on the outside.

If that happens, I'll be questioning why we even play a conference schedule... because the results don't matter. I understand MU doesn't have a lot of statement wins, but 11-6 in the Big East has to count for something.

[NersEllenson]

Saw it at halftime of the Winthrop-Coastal Carolina game.  They were showing all the BE highlights today.  Katz said ND is in, Louisville is in, and we are currently out.  Hard to deny we'd be the 8th of 8 Big East teams in the pecking order right now.

It would also be hard to deny that it would be hard for the NCAA tourney committee to put 2 teams that finished behind MU in the Big East, and NOT MU..including 1 team (Louisville) you actually beat by 20 points head to head.  Scary thought though.

[NersEllenson]

This is officially a MOOT point..UCONN lost to South Florida today..no way do they get in.  The Big East can get 8 teams in..it is justifiable..

[bma725]

Hard to deny we'd be the 8th of 8 Big East teams in the pecking order right now.

Except for the fact that we finish ahead of those teams in the Big East standings.  There's no way the committee takes the teams behind the 5th place team in the conference unless that team has a losing record out of conference.

[paulpogo]

I find it hard to believe the selection committee could totally discount the standings in the Big East and put three teams that finished below MU in the tourney and leave MU on the outside.

If that happens, I'll be questioning why we even play a conference schedule... because the results don't matter. I understand MU doesn't have a lot of statement wins, but 11-6 in the Big East has to count for something.

Not all conference schedules are created equal.  We got Providence, DePaul, and Nova twice.  And as mentioned, we didn't beat anyone above us in the standings.  And our RPI is worse than the other 7.  So there's all that, too.

[paulpogo]

Except for the fact that we finish ahead of those teams in the Big East standings.  There's no way the committee takes the teams behind the 5th place team in the conference unless that team has a losing record out of conference.

No way?  Whew, I feel better now.

[Doc]

Not all conference schedules are created equal.  We got Providence, DePaul, and Nova twice.  And as mentioned, we didn't beat anyone above us in the standings.  And our RPI is worse than the other 7.  So there's all that, too.

I understand that the conference schedules aren't equal, but MU beat both Louisville and G'town -- and Louisville and G'town lost to teams that MU beat... as did ND.

I won't be totally comfortable until MU shows up on a line on selection Sunday, but I feel pretty confident MU is in.

[gumbyandpokey]

I understand that the conference schedules aren't equal, but MU beat both Louisville and G'town -- and Louisville and G'town lost to teams that MU beat... as did ND.

I won't be totally comfortable until MU shows up on a line on selection Sunday, but I feel pretty confident MU is in.

Sure, but Louisville, Georgetown and ND all have far stronger quality wins than MU.

Maybe 8 teams get in.  But I sure wouldn't want to be in MU's position if they lose to UCONN.

[ecompt]

If we don't get in the tournament after finishing 11-7 in the best conference in the country, then what's the sense of being in the BE? Maybe we should just join the Horizon, where we could go 14-2 every year and be assured of a bid.

[chapman]

If we don't get in the tournament after finishing 11-7 in the best conference in the country, then what's the sense of being in the BE? Maybe we should just join the Horizon, where we could go 14-2 every year and be assured of a bid.

+1.  We're still in.  So what, the BE is probably getting 8 bids.  It's what happens when it's the strongest conference in the country and there are a lot of teams in other conferences on the wrong end of the bubble.  Last I checked there wasn't a limit per conference.  14 of 15 teams that have won 10 have gotten in, nobody winning 11 will be left out. 

[4everwarriors]

Everyone take a chill pill. I'm figuring the bubble is soft this year.

[SacWarrior]

Before the game today no one in the country had this as a "do or die" game for MU. Pretty much everybody had this as a must-win for ND, who were on Lunardi's last 4 in. On this very forum there was a thread that went three pages on the topic of whether or not Buzz should sit the stars against ND since it won't matter if we lose.

Now that we have lost on a buzzer beater three to send it to OT against the hottest team in the NCAAs all of the sudden we're out? Katz is just looking to stir the pot. MU didn't need to win to get in, they were solidly in beforehand. It certainly didn't help us to lose but it's also not going to undo the Louisville win, so we're likely going to be right where we were at the start of the week.

[GregClausenForever]

I'm not going to breathe easy without another win or two.

Sure, it would be really hard to overlook the fact that we didn't lose any games by double-digits this year and had some good wins.

However, not a lot of tournament teams have brutal losses like NC State and DePaul.  If memory serves me well, MU is the prototypical "snub" team on Selection Sunday: a team that is capable of beating quality NCAA-tourney-type opponents but had one too many inexcusable lapses.

[StillWarriors]

Just about every team has some bad losses. Heck, didn't Cuse lose at home to a team that isn't even D1 at the beginning of the season. Now they'll be a No.1 seed.It happens.   

[jsglow]

Leaving MU out of the NCAA would be the greatest slight of a BEast team in history.  We might have marginally hurt our seed today but we are not being sent home.  The BEast is getting 8 teams in.  The dividing line is pretty clear.  I'm kind of thinking a 9 seed at the moment.  Louisville and ND punched their ticket today.  A ND loss might have left them on the outside looking in.

[ATWizJr]

Yes.

[Aughnanure]

Saw it at halftime of the Winthrop-Coastal Carolina game.  They were showing all the BE highlights today.  Katz said ND is in, Louisville is in, and we are currently out.  Hard to deny we'd be the 8th of 8 Big East teams in the pecking order right now.

Andy Katz twitter says....@mark_strot Never said Marquette wasn't in. Golden Eagles are in without an issue.


God that makes me feel better, you guys are scaring the crap out of me.

[chapman]

However, not a lot of tournament teams have brutal losses like NC State and DePaul.

Just Duke (NC State), FSU (NC State), Wake (NC State), Pitt (Indiana), Georgetown (Rutgers), Notre Dame (Rutgers, Loyola-Marymount, Northwestern), Louisville (Western Carolina),  Virginia Tech (Miami), Rhode Island (St. Bonaventure), Memphis (currently not even in the last four out for Lunardi: UMass, Houston, SMU), Cal (USC, UCLA, Oregon State), Arizona State (USC, UCLA), St. Mary's (USC), UNLV (USC, Utah twice), San Diego State (Pacific, Wyoming), Ole Miss (Arkansas), Missouri (Oklahoma, Oral Roberts), Ohio State (Michigan), Baylor (Alabama, Colorado).

We've got a 10+ team cushion in the pecking order in Lunardi and just about everyone else's bracket.  The result of 1/31st of our schedule is NOT going to change that.  Must be pretty depressing to continually undermine your achievements and expect failure.

[Avenue Commons]

If we lose int he first round of the BET it is very, very possible that we are out of the tournament. That ND game totally changed the trajectory of our season.

ND is now in, and we may be out. Basically the two teams just switched positions on the bubble.