CNN/SI users: Take our Bubble team ... please!
Posted: Thursday March 04, 1999 03:21 PM
With Selection Sunday coming up fast, many NCAA Tournament hopefuls still
sit on the Bubble, keeping players and fans on edge throughout the week of
conference tournaments. CNN/SI asked users to make the case for their favorite
Bubble team. Here is a selection of your
responses.
Click here to submit a plea for your own Bubble
team.
Rutgers deserves an at-large bid. They have a good enough RPI and an
even better strength of schedule, but really consider the following: As of March
4 they are 18-11. Six of those 11 losses have come against teams in the Top 10:
UConn, Auburn, St. John's (2) and Miami (2). Not the Top 50 or even the Top
25, THE TOP 10. Two were even "quality losses", 77-73 to St. John's
and 68-63 to Miami on the last game of the regular season. Therefore if you look
at their record against the "other 300" they are
18-5.
-- Paul Westbrook East Brunswick,
N.J.
Living in the middle of MAC land, born in Toledo, working in Athens, I feel that
the MAC deserves at least two teams : Miami and obviously Kent. The MAC
for years has been shunned by the committee. Wins by MAC teams include
Tennessee, Syracuse, Michigan and Ohio State. I feel if the Big Ten gets seven
teams in, we at least deserve
two.
-- Mark Mathews, Athens,
Ohio
The California Golden Bears and the DePaul Blue Demons are both
tournament-caliber teams. They, through their play, have shown an ability to
play good, tournament-level basketball. Now in DePaul's defense, yes, they lost
two games in the last week, but one of those games was to Duke, who many a good
team has lost to. Let's consider the fact that without facing Duke twice this
year, Maryland, who in any other year would have a case for a No. 1 ranking,
would have only three losses. And as far as Cal is concerned, I think that
anyone who saw this team dismantle a very good Arizona team led by Player of the
Year candidate Jason Terry, not to mention a win over UNC among others, would
say this team deserves to be in the field of
64.
-- Kai Lewis,
Chicago
New Mexico does not deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament. They played an
awful schedule and are in a conference which is having a bad year. Their low
RPI is indicative of how misleading their record is. I'd rather see URI,
Rutgers or
Cal.
-- Adrian, New
York
Miami (Ohio). The nation should have a chance to see Wally Szczerbiak.
Miami has performed well in some previous appearances in the big dance. we are
all tired of a lot of Big Ten teams making it off the Bubble and then flopping
in the
tournament.
-- Rich Hauman, Cape Town, South
Africa
Wake Forest -- There has been talk of only three ACC teams receiving
bids, but I contend that Wake's 7-9 conference mark is misleading. Despite a
"down year" in the ACC, Wake still played six conference games against
consensus top teams Duke, Maryland and North Carolina. The Deacons managed to
play Duke to within 10, split with Maryland and take Carolina to overtime. The
committee looks at recent play also? Well WFU is 4-1 in the last five with the
only loss being an OT defeat at the Dean Dome. A vastly improving team, Wake
deserves to be the fourth ACC team in the
NCAA's.
-- Michael Earls,
Boston
The Washington Huskies have had a decent year. It has especially been
rough the last couple of weeks, but with a win Saturday against Washington State
they will finish 10-8 in the Pac-10 and secure 4th place. They went to the sweet
16 last year and they have their top three players back this year. They should
get in the tourney. The Huskies beat Arizona, UCLA, New Mexico, New Mexico
State., St. Louis, Georgia Tech. They had some key wins and they had a stretch
in the middle of the season where they won six in a row and eight of nine, so
they were one of the hottest teams in the country and they have a pretty good
RPI
rating.
-- Jeff Engelhart, Puyallup,
Wash.
The Evansville Purple Aces play in the Missouri Valley Conference, the
7th best conference in the world. They won this conference convincingly by 2
games during the regular season and made it to the championship in the
conference tourney only to be upset by Creighton in the worst game Evansville
has played all year. Even though they had a very weak out of conference
schedule, Evansville belongs in the field of
64.
-- Brandon Gaudin, Evansville,
Ind.
You would have to be crazy to even think that UNC Charlotte is not in the
tournament. They are No. 24 in the RPI. They have six wins against teams in the
top 50 in the RPI (including the first team to beat Cincinnati, plus they beat
Miami and took UNC to overtime in Chapel Hill).They already have 19 wins
(including a DePaul sweep). I mean what else can you ask for? If they were in a
bigger name conference no one would even be questioning whether or not they
should be in the
tournament.
-- Bobby McGraw, Charlotte,
N.C.
Old Dominion University has 24 wins this year. They played well in their
conference tournament games, making it to the championship where they lost by
five. They are more worthy of a shot to play for the national championship than
some Big Ten teams who couldn't finish higher than 7 or 8 in their own
conference.
-- Ian Grazulis, Irving,
Texas
Here's a longshot vote for Toledo as the 3rd team from the MAC. On the
plus side: The Rockets have the No. 1 non-conference RPI in the nation, plus
wins over five likely tourney teams Ohio State, Miami (Ohio), Xavier, Kent and
George Mason. The MAC was the best-ever in terms of quality and depth this year,
plus the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee is starting to reward the MAC on
its play (witness Western Michigan's "surprise" at-large last
year).
On the negative side: Toledo's devastating loss at Northern Illinois late in the
year; a loss in first round of MAC tourney; a loss of a key player to injury;
and some discontent currently occurring on the
team
The Skinny: The right combination of other Bubble teams need to burst in order
for the Rockets to slip
in.
-- Greg Plumb, Johnson City,
Tenn.
UCLA, North Carolina, and Arizona. What do these teams have in common? They
were all beaten by Cal , that's what. Cal should be in the tournament
because they're a good team and because I went
there.
-- Juan Ramirez, Los
Angeles
Fresno State should be in the NCAA Tourney without a doubt. They won 20
games in the regular season, were in the 50s the whole season in RPI, and played
half the season without one of the best guards in the country, Chris Herren.
They also have wins against New Mexico, Miami of Ohio, and Temple, who was
ranked #6 at one point this season! The others were in the Top 25 as well.
They also put up one of the best performances of any team lately against Utah,
scoring more points than any team they've played, 82. Both Utah coach Rick
Majerus and New Mexico coach Dave Bliss say they deserve a spot in the
tourney.
-- Todd Roberson, Fresno,
Calif.
Southwest Missouri State University should make the field of 64 because
they beat a very good Missouri team, and a formidable St. Louis team. They play
one of the toughest schedules in the nation, which also says a lot about their
conference. They have several very good players. If you leave this team out of
the Big Dance, you'll regret it as soon as they win the
NIT.
-- Matt Chrisman, Sarcoxie,
Missouri
Ole Miss deserves to be in the field of 64. The Rebels (18-11, 8-8 SEC)
have wins over Oklahoma, Florida (Gators' only loss in Gainesville), and swept
Arkansas (something that even Auburn couldn't do). With their RPI in the high
30's and a schedule rated as the 20th toughest in D-1, the Rebs should get a
chance to make up for the "Valpo miracle" loss from last year's
tourney.
-- Michael Martin, Tupelo,
Miss.
This case is being made for Princeton University. Despite losing the Ivy
title to Penn last night, Princeton has an enviable out-of-conference record.
Wins against Texas, UNC Charlotte, and Florida State show that in an unusual
year for this conference, two Ivy schools deserve bids. CNN/SI mentions that
UNC Charlotte is on the Bubble, as is Texas. Why not Princeton, which was able
to beat both? It is true Princeton lost to Rutgers, who is also on the Bubble,
but other out-of-conference schools fell to the Tigers as
well.
-- Sam Shukovsky, New
York
Perhaps they have played themselves into the tournament with their last two
wins, but the Minnesota Golden Gophers still could use my ringing
endorsement. They play in the toughest league in the nation (Big 10+1), they
have the second-leading scorer in the nation (Quincy Lewis, who hasn't received
but one favorable foul call all year and has been keyed on by everyone), they
have an RPI rating in the Top 20, they always play well on a neutral court
(giving them upset potential in the Dance), and they have the walking quote,
Miles Tarver, a reporter's dream (witness his "We're sinking faster than
the Titanic" comment after a loss last season). Who could ask for anything
more?
-- Dan Gorder, Coon Rapids,
Minn.
Click here to submit a plea for your own Bubble
team.
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