What do we need from conference tourney week?

[MSUDC11-2.0]

1. Have to beat Florida, no question about it. If we lose that game then likely nothing else around the country matters and we don’t have much of a gripe if we are left out.

2. Root for as many favorites to win games in conference tourneys as possible. If a bunch of craziness doesn’t happen then a win against UF may be all we need. It’s not just surprise tourney winners, you don’t want to see other bubble teams playing into weekend, period.

3. If there are a lot of upsets in other tourneys, it’s possible we need a Florida win plus a win against Bama on Friday. Tough ask, but such is life on the bubble. We won’t know until after that fact if we needed it or not, either. Knowing what I know about Jans, if we beat UF, Bama will absolutely be treated like a must win game.

At the very least, we will take the court in Nashville on Thursday very much still in the hunt, and likely not needing to win the whole SEC Tourney to get in. I think most everyone would have taken that when we were sitting at 1-7 in league play. Just need the last week before Selection Sunday to be a good one for us.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

1. Have to beat Florida, no question about it. If we lose that game then likely nothing else around the country matters and we don’t have much of a gripe if we are left out.

2. Root for as many favorites to win games in conference tourneys as possible. If a bunch of craziness doesn’t happen then a win against UF may be all we need. It’s not just surprise tourney winners, you don’t want to see other bubble teams playing into weekend, period.

3. If there are a lot of upsets in other tourneys, it’s possible we need a Florida win plus a win against Bama on Friday. Tough ask, but such is life on the bubble. We won’t know until after that fact if we needed it or not, either. Knowing what I know about Jans, if we beat UF, Bama will absolutely be treated like a must win game.

At the very least, we will take the court in Nashville on Thursday very much still in the hunt, and likely not needing to win the whole SEC Tourney to get in. I think most everyone would have taken that when we were sitting at 1-7 in league play. Just need the last week before Selection Sunday to be a good one for us.

Good Take Bump.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Beat UF and BAMA to be safely in

 

[patdog]

Beat Florida. That’s it.

 

[FlotownDawg]

If we beat Florida I think we’re safe as long as there aren’t like 4-5 bid stealers in conference tournaments.

 

[Baddog11]

Sec tourney wins have NEVER helped us before. As a matter of fact, by all accounts, the field is already set before the Sunday championship game is played. Only a surprising sec tourney champion will make them go in and change the selections.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Florida Atlantic in CUSA
Oral Roberts in Summit
Charleston in Colonial
VCU in Atlantic 10 (just in case, this one probably doesn't matter)
Gonzaga or St. Mary's in the WCC
Houston or Memphis in American

No random winners in the Mountain West or the P5

 

[Baddog11]

Florida Atlantic in CUSA
Oral Roberts in Summit
Charleston in Colonial
VCU in Atlantic 10 (just in case, this one probably doesn't matter)
Gonzaga or St. Mary's in the WCC
Houston or Memphis in American

No random winners in the Mountain West or the P5

The only team getting in from those conferences will be the tournament champion.

 

[FlotownDawg]

Florida Atlantic in CUSA
Oral Roberts in Summit
Charleston in Colonial
VCU in Atlantic 10 (just in case, this one probably doesn't matter)
Gonzaga or St. Mary's in the WCC
Houston or Memphis in American

No random winners in the Mountain West or the P5

Oral Roberts, Charleston and VCU aren’t getting at large bids. FAU might so we need them to win C-USA tourney just to be safe. WCC, American and Pac-12 are the biggest risk for bid stealers.

 

[AstroDog]

Florida is playing well. With Richard and Kugel on fire, it will be very difficult to win. If we do beat the Gators, then we have to beat BAMA to get in.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

We will probably drop out in one or two games. I still think a team built the way we are, that plays defense like we do, could cause a lot of problems in a tournament setting. Especially if they get on a hot streak shooting. We shot the ball awful from the field last night and we still almost pulled it out. Our defensive style and ability to go to the bench to keep everyone fresh can put us in a game with anyone as we can score inside and out. I know you can say that for a lot of teams but this group can be really tough when they're actually putting it in the basket. We have a team full of streaky shooters, except for Tolu Smith. He has been gold down the stretch.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Florida Atlantic has a NET of 15. They're a lock regardless of what happens in the CUSA Tournament. We just don't want a second team coming out of there.

As for Oral Roberts, there is plenty of precedent for the committee selecting a mid-major team with a great record (currently 28-4 and 18-0) and a good NET (currently 44) who loses in their conference tournament. Charleston is a longer shot (52 NET), but wouldn't be totally without precedent either.

 

[msudawg1200]

If we beat Florida I think we’re safe as long as there aren’t like 4-5 bid stealers in conference tournaments.

This. We don't need any crazy upsets, especially in the P5 tourneys. We need teams that are safely in to win those tourneys. I don't think there are as many bid stealer chances from the mid majors this year. We need FAU to win CUSA for sure.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

Sec tourney wins have NEVER helped us before. As a matter of fact, by all accounts, the field is already set before the Sunday championship game is played. Only a surprising sec tourney champion will make them go in and change the selections.

SEC Tourney wins WILL help us this time.

 

[patdog]

This. We don't need any crazy upsets, especially in the P5 tourneys. We need teams that are safely in to win those tourneys. I don't think there are as many bid stealer chances from the mid majors this year. We need FAU to win CUSA for sure.

The only upsets that might hurt us are if FAU loses CUSA or if some random team wins the SEC tournament (very unlikely especially given the tournament format).