Is CUSA really that bad in Basketball after all?

[GiddyUp]

The answer is yes. The talent is pretty mediocre. Parity prevails

[Hoop Fan]

cusa was very weak this year. Memphis, Houston, UAB, and even Utep all took a step down this year and no one really stepped up. It was a league that a veteran team with even marginal ability could make some noise in. We did that at times with a couple nice wins.

[Mustangsabu]

I think the bottom end of CUSA has improved but yes, the top end has certainly dipped in standard. That said, I don't mean to take away from SMU's year which has shown such improvement, especially in conference play. Next year we should look for a top 4 conference finish, and the NIT.

[hoopmanx]

I heard Kevin Stallings on the radio yesterday, and he said he'll miss coaches & player relationships when he retires, but not people who call your season great, when it actually sucked, b/c you got a win or two in the postseason. The same people who call great seasons awful when you get bounced early in the postseason.

I'm definitely guilty of that mentality, but I'm not prepared to say CUSA was down, when every single indicator, other than postseason, said it was up.

[mustangxc]

I agree hoopmanx. Just like a win would not have justified UAB's inclusion in the tournament, a loss does not diminish their worthiness. VCU beat USC, so is Bilas going to now say in retrospect Colorado and Boston College should have gotten in instead of UAB and USC when he was blasting VCU earlier on? Did Villanova deserve a 1 seed the year they won the title? no!

[hoopmanx]

Furthermore, I'll buy into people saying CUSA was a one bid league, IF we get rid of low majors automatic bids. Can't have it both ways and call better teams unworthy, when all kinds crap teams make the dance. If anything, the NIT & CBI had better match-ups and teams than the entry NCAA games over the past few.

[mustangxc]

Don't look now, but VCU is in the sweet 16!!! Talk about a true cinderella given that the experts were outraged by their inclusion in the tournament. I think UAB and VCU were fair inclusions. Tournaments are full of surprises and you can't use hindsight to justify a team's inclusion or to argue against it.

[hoopmanx]

Don't look now, but VCU is in the sweet 16!!! Talk about a true cinderella given that the experts were outraged by their inclusion in the tournament. I think UAB and VCU were fair inclusions. Tournaments are full of surprises and you can't use hindsight to justify a team's inclusion or to argue against it.

mids are stepping up all over. Butler, VCU, San Diego St, BYU and Richmond give me hope.