NIT possibility

[BadMedicine]

If Lamar loses to SFA in the championship game, it seems they would get the NIT invitation.  However, if they lose to SH in the semifinals, Sam will probably get at least the NIT and Lamar's season will be over.  I doubt they would be invited to the 16 team tournament.

[KFDM COOP]

That is what i'm thinking!!! I would hate to see the season end like this.

[Guest abovetherim]

I've heard from a very reliable source the women will be invited to the CBI tournament. If they are, I would think the men had as good or better season. Sometimes it comes down to who you know and Coach Tubbs, Coach Roc and Coach Tidwell know a lot of basketball people.

Agree, SHSU if they go far in the SLC tournament will get a NIT bid over Lamar.

[TexasTerror]

I've heard from a very reliable source the women will be invited to the CBI tournament. If they are, I would think the men had as good or better season. Sometimes it comes down to who you know and Coach Tubbs, Coach Roc and Coach Tidwell know a lot of basketball people.

Agree, SHSU if they go far in the SLC tournament will get a NIT bid over Lamar.

SHSU is "on the bubble" for the NIT-bid according to NIT-ology (google it, it's out there). That loss today did us no favors. Ultimately, it comes down to seeing how many spots are needed for the one-bid conferences who have their regular season champion fail to make the Dance...

That would be great if the Lamar women made the CBI tournament. I know there is at least one conference that has boycotted the CBI. It will be interesting to see how the CBI bracket falls for both men and women. I'm not sure how competitive they will be with the NIT for the bids and I am not sure if they'll be "pro" mid-major (will we see .500 teams from the SEC, ACC for instance instead of 20+ win teams from the SLC?).

If Lamar does not make the SLC tournament final, there will be no post-season. Same goes for any team that does not make the finals. I do not think SHSU would make it to the NIT without making the final and even then, I'm not sure we can.

[UNLV]

No guys, Lamar goes 3-0 or nothing. SHSU goes 3-0 or maybe a CBI...Maybe.

No NIT for SHSU, And certainly no NIT for Lamar...

[Guest abovetherim]

UNLV, would you like to bet. Ask Icky, I'll pay up if I lose. However, if Lamar gets to the finals they will make the CBI. We can go double or nothing saying the ladies make the CBI regardless of how they do in the SLC tournament. Coach Tidwell was told win the east division and you'll get in the CBI.

Now, do you really think I'd make such a bold statement unless I heard it from someone with connections to the basketball program? I love Lamar but I'm not about to state something like that without some information being provided.

[Guest etbu]

What is the CBI and how old is it? So you have the Ncaa, Nit and now the CBI?

[TexasTerror]

What is the CBI and how old is it? So you have the Ncaa, Nit and now the CBI?

CBI is new, the third tournament -- 16 teams. This is year numero uno.

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[UNLV]

UNLV, would you like to bet. Ask Icky, I'll pay up if I lose. However, if Lamar gets to the finals they will make the CBI. We can go double or nothing saying the ladies make the CBI regardless of how they do in the SLC tournament. Coach Tidwell was told win the east division and you'll get in the CBI.

Now, do you really think I'd make such a bold statement unless I heard it from someone with connections to the basketball program? I love Lamar but I'm not about to state something like that without some information being provided.

I never felt comfortable betting against my team when it matters.

[Guest abovetherim]

[KFDM COOP]

No guys, Lamar goes 3-0 or nothing. SHSU goes 3-0 or maybe a CBI...Maybe.

No NIT for SHSU, And certainly no NIT for Lamar...

  :'( :'(

[Guest coachacola]

The NIT takes the conference champion if they don't make it to the NCAA tourney.  What's the rule if a co-champion doesn't make it?  I bet since SFA is the #1 seed and already beat LU, they would get an invite to the NIT but not LU.

The way I see it the LU/SHSU winner on Friday (assuming they both win on Thursday) will be playing in a post-season tournament, no matter if they win on Sunday.

[TexasTerror]

The NIT takes the conference champion if they don't make it to the NCAA tourney.  What's the rule if a co-champion doesn't make it?  I bet since SFA is the #1 seed and already beat LU, they would get an invite to the NIT but not LU.

It goes by conference tie-breaker protocol, so SFA has it in the bag.

The way I see it the LU/SHSU winner on Friday (assuming they both win on Thursday) will be playing in a post-season tournament, no matter if they win on Sunday.

I think a LU appearance in the SLC final would put them in the CBI, not sure about the NIT...then again, we're all in the dark with how this CBI vs NIT will work considering it appears they will compete against each other for teams...

[Tiger90]

Honestly, does anyone actually keep up with any other tournament than the NCAA?  It is great to hear post-season etc, but lets be real here.  The NIT, which is bigger than this CBI or whatever it is called, only gets a small blog at the end of an ESPN Sportcenter.  I don't mean to be "Debbie Downer" but it is 3-0 with an NCAA invite or nothing really.

[Guest abovetherim]

After 24 years of losing with the lone exception the run the 2000 team made in the SLC Tournament I'll take "a small blog at the end of an ESPN SportsCenter."

That said, I do understand others points of view. Twenty years ago, when I was 21 instead of 41 I would have said the same thing with Lamar in this position. 

[Bulldog92]

Any post-tournament basketball is good for those kids. We all want to make the NCAA, but the NIT or CBI certainly wouldn't be the end of the world.

[TexasTerror]

The resume...

15-10 against Div I competition

Lone OOC wins are Rice and Utah Valley St

SLC, 19th best conference by RPI

Best win: 90 SHSU

Record based on RPI

1-50 0-2

51-100 1-3 (win over #90)

100-200 2-3 (win over #s 176, 181)

201+ 12-2

Your going to have a tough argument to get into the NIT with this one, especially if SFA is not the team with the auto-bid. Like SHSU last year, Lamar lost their post-season bid (pending SLC tournament title) on the final day of the regular season. Sure, I can eat my words -- especially as it relates to the CBI as we're all clueless on how that will fall -- but after a review of the RPI, it does not look.

Since you guys will bring up SHSU and attack our resume, I'm not saying we're a guarantee (our RPI of 90 is better than last year's 115, but we still lack 20 Div I wins, which I think is mandatory for us to get into a post-season tournament).

1-50 0-0

51-100 2-2

100-200 6-2

201+ 10-3

[Guest coachacola]

Since you guys will bring up SHSU and attack our resume, I'm not saying we're a guarantee (our RPI of 90 is better than last year's 115, but we still lack 20 Div I wins, which I think is mandatory for us to get into a post-season tournament).

Lamar, SHSU, and SFA each played 4 games against non-D1 opponents.  I don't like those games and I wish we didn't schedule them. 

[TexasTerror]

Lamar, SHSU, and SFA each played 4 games against non-D1 opponents.  I don't like those games and I wish we didn't schedule them.

I agree -- but apparently the conference as a whole (and we all know this is true) has a hard time getting home games. Ideally, we would only allow two sub-Div I opponents each year (this makes a bit more sense). Our teams have upgraded the schedule (Lamar, NWST and SHSU getting 2 for 1 with Texas Tech being the highlight), but we're obviously not where we want to be.

Guess we need to play more SWAC schools, but we'd have to give them home-and-homes (we're realistically one of the few conferences that would bother traveling to the SWAC). Perhaps the SLC schools should work out deals with mid-major teams where say a team from out of region would play two neighboring SLC schools in one swing (I think a few schools have had some success with this, typically piggy-backing on major schools who are guaranteeing a game).

There's different solutions, but I do not think all of them fit to each institution. One way to handle the problem for a Lamar would not work for a Nicholls State. College athletics is all about the $$$...

[Guest abovetherim]

UNLV, would you like to bet. Ask Icky, I'll pay up if I lose. However, if Lamar gets to the finals they will make the CBI. We can go double or nothing saying the ladies make the CBI regardless of how they do in the SLC tournament. Coach Tidwell was told win the east division and you'll get in the CBI.

Now, do you really think I'd make such a bold statement unless I heard it from someone with connections to the basketball program? I love Lamar but I'm not about to state something like that without some information being provided.

The following is from an interview with Billy Tubbs by Bob West of the Port Arthur News. Notice the part of making the finals of the conference tournament. I believe I stated something similar on March 8th. This article will hit the news stands today.

Until last Saturday’s loss at Southeastern Louisiana, LU was holding the insurance policy of an automatic NIT bid as the SLC’s No. 1 seed. But now SFA, based on what Tubbs thinks is an unfair tiebreaker, has the top seed and the NIT guarantee if it’s needed.

The question for the athletic director, then, was whether he thinks Lamar can get a bid into the 32-team NIT, or the new 16-team College Basketball Invitational, if it doesn’t host the championship trophy Sunday afternoon.

“I’m not optimistic,†he said. “Last year, the only teams in the NIT with an RPI over 100 were the conference champions that didn’t win their tournament. I think the NIT already knows which teams it’s going to take.

“The CBI is new, so it doesn’t have a track record. I have heard it will give you a first round home game if you guarantee $60,000. We’re not in a position to do that. We will do what we can to make both tournaments aware of us, but it’s a long shot.

“Now, if we were get to the finals of the conference tournament, that might change things.â€

[weslinder]

Lamar, SHSU, and SFA each played 4 games against non-D1 opponents.  I don't like those games and I wish we didn't schedule them.

I agree -- but apparently the conference as a whole (and we all know this is true) has a hard time getting home games. Ideally, we would only allow two sub-Div I opponents each year (this makes a bit more sense). Our teams have upgraded the schedule (Lamar, NWST and SHSU getting 2 for 1 with Texas Tech being the highlight), but we're obviously not where we want to be.

Guess we need to play more SWAC schools, but we'd have to give them home-and-homes (we're realistically one of the few conferences that would bother traveling to the SWAC). Perhaps the SLC schools should work out deals with mid-major teams where say a team from out of region would play two neighboring SLC schools in one swing (I think a few schools have had some success with this, typically piggy-backing on major schools who are guaranteeing a game).

There's different solutions, but I do not think all of them fit to each institution. One way to handle the problem for a Lamar would not work for a Nicholls State. College athletics is all about the $$$...

I go back to my suggestion of a Summit League - Southland Conference Challenge, similar to the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.  Every team in the Summit League gets a game, and the Top 10 in the Southland (previous year's standings) get a game.  Get CSTV or Fox Sports to buy exclusive rights and let them play whatever games they feel like.

[TexasTerror]

I go back to my suggestion of a Summit League - Southland Conference Challenge, similar to the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.  Every team in the Summit League gets a game, and the Top 10 in the Southland (previous year's standings) get a game.  Get CSTV or Fox Sports to buy exclusive rights and let them play whatever games they feel like.

I'm into the idea, but the Summit League is not a geographically sound fit. The travel to some of those schools is not ideal for the conference. If it was a league in our geographic region (i.e Sun Belt, SWAC), it would make more sense...

The addition of Houston Baptist to the region should help. Their fan base states that they will play an ALL Div I schedule next year. I'm sure they'd love in-season home-and-homes with SLC squads.

[weslinder]

I go back to my suggestion of a Summit League - Southland Conference Challenge, similar to the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.  Every team in the Summit League gets a game, and the Top 10 in the Southland (previous year's standings) get a game.  Get CSTV or Fox Sports to buy exclusive rights and let them play whatever games they feel like.

I'm into the idea, but the Summit League is not a geographically sound fit. The travel to some of those schools is not ideal for the conference. If it was a league in our geographic region (i.e Sun Belt, SWAC), it would make more sense...

The addition of Houston Baptist to the region should help. Their fan base states that they will play an ALL Div I schedule next year. I'm sure they'd love in-season home-and-homes with SLC squads.

It's a level of play match, which in my mind is much more important than a geography match.  There's no reason for the SLC to play down to the SWAC, nor is there much motivation for the better Sun Belt teams to schedule SLC road games.  Travel to non-guarantee games will be a concern for some SLC teams that run their program on the cheap (ahem, Nicholls), but they won't be in it anyway.

Besides, there is significant overlap in the geography.  Northwestern is closer to Centenary than any SLC school, and Central Arkansas is closer to Oral Roberts than any SLC school.  I don't think it makes much difference whether Southeastern or Corpus Christi have to travel to the Dakotas or to Denver.  It's a plane trip either way.