With wins over Oklahoma and Sam Houston State, is it conceivable to see you guys gain an at-large bid if you don't win the conference tournament? If you win out, you will be 22-3 against D-1.
"Now, don't get me wrong here. This team plays in a bad conference that probably does not deserve an at large bid. With that said, so many bubble teams are losing lately and really not deserving of a bid to the tournament. Look no further than Lunardi's bracket, where two at large teams were given 13 seeds. That is simply unreal.
Now, let's examine Stephen F Austin's chance if they do not win out. The major problem that ESPN and other media outlets have wtih this team is that they played four DII schools. Yet, this is absolutely an absurd criticism. What do the big conference schools do? Well, they schedule underbudgeted midmajors preferrably at the bottom of the MEAC and SWAC and win against them. After watching DII basketball fairly close over the past two years, I am certain that many of these schools are very much on par with these lower DI schools in terms of ability. Look no further than the Grand Valley St upset or even Findlay. I'm not saying that Stephen F Austin played squads of a similar caliber to those two teams, but it just re emphasizes the point that Division 2 basketball is no laughing matter. I would honestly count those four DII wins as legitamite. They take enough of an RPI hit considering that doesn't include them into the schedule. It just shows the hypocritical nature of major news media outlets when analyzing some of the lesser conference teams.
Now, let's look at their conference record: 11-2 so far. That is extremely impressive by any standard. Their two losses both came on the road. One was inexcusable against a bad Nicholls St team. Still, it was a one point loss and should certainly not be a deal breaker considering how many terrible losses some of these at large hopefuls have. Then, they lost on the road by 2 points against Sam Houston St. Sam Houston St. upset Texas Tech earlier in the year and is a legitamite squad. They also have a win against UCF, a road win against St. Louis and a general 12-1 nonconference record. So, with this, it is easy to see that Stephen F Austin has lost against a legitamite conference threat who is capable of winning on a large scale, and also has one bad loss. Still, these are both by 2 and 1 points respectively. This must be taken into account. And, they were both on the road. They haven't lost a home game all year!
As of late, their margin of victory makes them one of the most dominant forces in their conference. They won by 22 against Sam Houston St. at home and have won by an average margin of victory of 14.5 points per game during their current 8 game win streak. If that is not domination, I don't know what else it could be considered.
Also, they did their job in the nonconference schedule. They won at Oklahoma by 4 points and at San Diego by 6. Oklahoma is a definite tournament team which may achieve an 8 seed or even lower. This is definitely a signature victory. Take into account San Diego's proficiency at home, which many do not realize, and you have a nice nonconference slate in terms of wins. San Diego is 9-3 in the West Coast conference and defeated St. Mary's earlier in the year in a home game. This team is no joke in terms of signature wins.
Then take into account their sole conference loss. It was on the road against a Texas Tech team that was certainly dangerous, particularly at the time. At that juncture in the season, they were playing extremely well with a win against Gonzaga at home.
And, finally, realize that their RPI is in the 40's without even counting four of their wins. This is reason enough for me to include them in the field. Sure, they probably should not have scheduled those D2 games. But, you cannot penalize a team who was seconds away from having a one or potentially two loss season. This team should be included in the field if they win out in their conference and are upset in the championship game. They would have 4 losses on the season and certainly would be deserving of a bid in light of the losses bubble teams are suffering in the major conferences.
"
Stephen F. Austin is a good little team and would be a nice team to watch if they won their conference tournament in the big dance as a 14 seed. An At-large bid is out of the question though. Their are too many bubble teams that have better resumes than this team. If they dont win their confernce tournament they will likely make the NIT but again, they have absololutly no shot at an at-large
I hope your team wins your tournament. Who cares how many DII games you played? It's not like 4 extra wins against the SWAC would help build anyone's resume. I don't understand why Western Kentucky and Houston are on the bubble, and nobody talks about your school.
Oklahoma is better than EVERYONE Butler and Drake beat (excluding Drake's win over Butler, but someone had to win that game...) Those teams are ranked, and yet you aren't even considered a bubble team with only 4 losses. I don't get it.
I agree with Louisville. I'm an SFA student, and I've watched more than half their conference games this season. We've got no shot at an at-large bid. The conference just isn't strong enough around us, on top of the comittee looking down on the DII opponents. But I think we should win the conference tournament, and I feel very confident they will upset their 1st round opponent in the NCAA's, and possibly their second rounder depending on the matchup. We have a legit post presence in Kingsley, and a scorer who can take over a game in Alexander. We're among the absolute elite in D1 in field goal defense, (in fact I think we're either 1 or 2) All that added up, I say we're primed to spoil some big time school's season. And even if we're upset in the conference tournament, we should have a good run in the NIT.
I would love to see a team like Stephen F. Austin rewarded with an at-large bid should they not win their tournament. They put together a great season. Teams have to play the schedule they are dealt and unfortunately most Power conferences teams will not schedule Mid-Major of SFAs caliber. That being said SFA did a great job going on the road and picking up wins at Oklahoma, San Diego and SMU. Unfortunately, the media does not focus much on these smaller conferences and so despite a great season, this team will need to win the tournament to get into the Big Dance. I agree this team has great potential for a first round upset of a higher ranked team..
They have to be an at-large. How can you have five losses throughout the season and not make it to the tourny. Plus they won there regular season conference title.
Thanks for the laugh everyone. I got on this page to check out the Lumberjacks because I'm in MA and was curious about tonight's game. I read all those posts and I can't believe anyone, let alone more than one person, actually thought that a team from the Southland deserved an at-large bid to the NCAA's. 22-5 looks nice......but not when you have the 275th SOS out of 341!!! They're lucky to be in the NIT and probably better suited for the new CBI tourney. I'll be shocked if they stay within ten of UMass tonight.
