What Will It Take?

[MustangKurt20]

What record will we have to post to be 1. NCAA Tournament Eligible or 2. NIT eligible. I think if we win 17 games we have a shot at the NIT. I think our chances at NCAA's lie in the hopes of winning the WAC tournament and that's about it. Peace.

Kurt

[Hoop Fan]

I think we had 18 wins a couple years ago and did not get any serious NIT consideration. 18 reg season wins might be different this year because it would probably mean a clear cut 2nd place in the WAC and a hot streak to end the year. Would have to at least win one, maybe two games in addition to the 18. Our strength of schedule is not bad, but not sure the NIT cares that much.

[PX]

Its not a question of being "eligible" Everyone is eligible right now. For at large bids, the question is what your RPI and strength of schedule rankings are. To have a serious shot at an NCAA at-Large Bid you should have an RPI at least in the 40s. For the NIT, about 75-80, minimum. I think ours is around 100 now. Our Strength of Schedule is better than most years. 18 wins might get a look from the NIT, but to them your attendance numbers, season ticket sales, TV ratings, and the fans travel history is just as or more important. The NIT is in this to make money, pure and simple, and they look for teams that draw well, buy lots of tickets, travel well, and will draw a strong TV audience.

Having a high RPI isnt a guarantee that you will get in. I've seen teams as high as 36 in the RPI get left out, and New Mexico once got an at large bid with a 77 RPI.

The only WAC team that still has a shot at an At-Large bid is Fresno. Everyone else pretty much needs to win the tournament to get in.

A few days ago someone posted that Appalachian State and Oral Roberts would probably be in the tournament, and I think both of them need to win their conference tournament as well, they both have some ugly losses. App State lost to Gardner Webb last night. Both ORU and ASU are near the top of their conference,
and might win their auto bid, but its not a given. Valparaiso is in the same conference as ORU, and Chattanooga, Charleston and Davidson all have legitimate shots to beat App State.

[Charleston Pony]

I agree the only way SMU sees the NCAA tourney is to win the WAC tourney and automatic bid. I think 18 wins is a stretch for the NIT, because that could mean an 18-11 season with a 1st round WAC tourney loss, or an 18-12 season with a 2nd round loss, or 18-13 with a loss in the finals. None of those seems very impressive to me, and PX is right...the NIT is about selling tickets and match-ups. We might have some appeal as a road team if they hype Q and Bhop as "stars"...perhaps as a road team against someone like New Mexico (who can sell the tickets at "The Pit".

[Pony_Fan]

It's so early to be talking about this but I agree with PX, it's all about the money. SMU won't travel well at all and that hurts them. 18 wins won't get in the NIT...RPI is where it's at. We had some really bad blowout losses to Wake, La Tech, Tech, Hawaii, and App State. The only way this team sees any post season is to win the WAC tourney period.