- WSU got the Valley’s second-best win on BracketBusters day. Creighton defeated George Mason (No. 54 in the Jerry Palm RPI). WSU defeated Cleveland State (No. 73). WSU’s RPI moved to No. 146.
- Best news of the day may have been the performance of A.J. Hawkins. Ten points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes is fantastic production. He doesn’t have to shoot threes well to help this team with rebounding and defense.
- The big question for next season is shooting. WSU needs, at least, one knockdown guy from the outside to emerge. And that’s assuming Toure Murry bumps up his accuracy a few points. Johnny Coy should help some, although counting on a freshman is dangerous. David Kyles may be the answer.
- I was not as impressed by Cleveland State as I expected. It is hard to get a read on a team off one game, but the Vikings did not strike me as team talented enough to finish in the top three of the Valley.
- Creighton continues to give itself a shot at an at-large bid. Dayton’s loss to St. Louis doesn’t help. Still, a good weekend for the MVC, which couldn’t afford a disaster. The down side is that Northern Iowa and Illinois State lost. The upside is that three sub.500 MVC teams (WSU, Evansville and Missouri State) beat teams at or near the top of other conferences. That says something about the depth of the MVC.
Dare to dream?
For anybody wondering about a miracle run to the postseason for WSU, here’s what I can add. Don’t bother thinking about the NIT. It is a much more legit 32-team field than a few years ago, when it took 40 teams and its selection process involved off-shore accounts, brown bags and darts. Now that the NCAA is running it, the NIT is tougher to get into.
- Last season, the lowest RPI to get an at-large spot in the NIT was Minnesota’s No. 101. Other than the Gophers, at-large RPIs ranged from 32 (Dayton) to 92 (Cal). Even if WSU wins out until Sunday in St. Louis, I don’ t think it can climb 50 places. In that scenario, it would be 18-15 (17-15 against Division I schools), 9-9 in the Valley. I don’t think the NIT will go for that.
- Any regular-season conference champion that misses out on the automatic bid gets a spot in the NIT. So the number of at-large spots will rise or fall during the tournaments. Seven schools needed the automatic bid last season.
- I did ask about the College Basketball Invitational and the new CollegeInsider.com tournament (which I assume is a go). WSU has not been asked to hold any dates at Koch Arena. WSU does receive updates on those tournaments. Would WSU’s history of selling tickets help with these tournaments? I don’t know. Both are 16-team tournaments that will take anybody left over. Last season, the CBI invited teams with RPI rankings between No. 72 (Miami, Ohio) and No. 129 (Old Dominion). It seems premature to get too concerned until the Shockers show they can play better on the road. To get to 18 wins, they will need to win three times away from Koch Arena. To date, they have won twice away from home.
- Would you hang a CBI or CollegeInsider.com banner in Koch Arena?