[ballcoach15]

I was glad to see UNC-A win it. As for NCAA tournament, a conference champion should never have to play in the play in games. All conference champions earned their way into tournament. They did not have to receive a bid from NCAA Selection Committee.

[R i]

I was glad to see UNC-A win it. As for NCAA tournament, a conference champion should never have to play in the play in games. All conference champions earned their way into tournament. They did not have to receive a bid from NCAA Selection Committee.

I agree.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Not sure why everyone thinks Asheville will be in the play-in game. As of now, I think they pretty much have a 15 seed locked up. They have a very solid resume (a top-100 RPI win over ETSU and a win over Georgetown, who is currently just out of the top-100 but could get back into the top 100 depending on how they do in the Big East tournament...and no losses to anyone with a sub-200 RPI) compared to other teams in the mix at the 'bottom' of the bracket. They clearly have a better resume than two teams that have gotten into the field (Austin Peay & FGCU) and they are better than anyone in the MEAC & SWAC, and also better than the remaining teams in the Patriot League and Northeast Conference. That right there (if I'm analyzing it right, which I can't see a reasonable argument against what I just said) puts them on the 15 line...and that doesn't even account for the chance of upsets in leagues like the America East or Big Sky, where there's only a a team or two that look better than UNCA.

[ATrain]

I was glad to see UNC-A win it. As for NCAA tournament, a conference champion should never have to play in the play in games. All conference champions earned their way into tournament. They did not have to receive a bid from NCAA Selection Committee.

I agree.

I also agree.

[kingaling42]

Not sure why everyone thinks Asheville will be in the play-in game. As of now, I think they pretty much have a 15 seed locked up. They have a very solid resume (a top-100 RPI win over ETSU and a win over Georgetown, who is currently just out of the top-100 but could get back into the top 100 depending on how they do in the Big East tournament...and no losses to anyone with a sub-200 RPI) compared to other teams in the mix at the 'bottom' of the bracket. They clearly have a better resume than two teams that have gotten into the field (Austin Peay & FGCU) and they are better than anyone in the MEAC & SWAC, and also better than the remaining teams in the Patriot League and Northeast Conference. That right there (if I'm analyzing it right, which I can't see a reasonable argument against what I just said) puts them on the 15 line...and that doesn't even account for the chance of upsets in leagues like the America East or Big Sky, where there's only a a team or two that look better than UNCA.

Yeah- I agree.. not sure why some folks here are projecting play-in game at all. For clarity reference the Nitty Gritty report http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2016/nitty-live which summarizes some of what WEF has stated.. 20 D1 wins, Bulldogs are also 7-3 in there last 10 games, went 5-5 in OOC play (SOS top 150) with only 1 double digit loss on the road to a #5 Texas A&M (at that time).. no bad losses

Could it happen, sure, the last go around Primm/Dickey and Co were clearly on the #15 line (RPI of 102 that year) as well and faced Syracuse as a 16 seed in the opening round in Pittsburgh

[WinthropEagleFan]

Not sure why everyone thinks Asheville will be in the play-in game. As of now, I think they pretty much have a 15 seed locked up. They have a very solid resume (a top-100 RPI win over ETSU and a win over Georgetown, who is currently just out of the top-100 but could get back into the top 100 depending on how they do in the Big East tournament...and no losses to anyone with a sub-200 RPI) compared to other teams in the mix at the 'bottom' of the bracket. They clearly have a better resume than two teams that have gotten into the field (Austin Peay & FGCU) and they are better than anyone in the MEAC & SWAC, and also better than the remaining teams in the Patriot League and Northeast Conference. That right there (if I'm analyzing it right, which I can't see a reasonable argument against what I just said) puts them on the 15 line...and that doesn't even account for the chance of upsets in leagues like the America East or Big Sky, where there's only a a team or two that look better than UNCA.

Yeah- I agree.. not sure why some folks here are projecting play-in game at all. For clarity reference the Nitty Gritty report http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2016/nitty-live which summarizes some of what WEF has stated.. 20 D1 wins, Bulldogs are also 7-3 in there last 10 games, went 5-5 in OOC play (SOS top 150) with only 1 double digit loss on the road to a #5 Texas A&M (at that time).. no bad losses

Could it happen, sure, the last go around Primm/Dickey and Co were clearly on the #15 line (RPI of 102 that year) as well and faced Syracuse as a 16 seed in the opening round in Pittsburgh

The two teams that 'jumped' over Asheville that year into the 15 line (Norfolk State & Detroit) each had 2 top-100 RPI wins...Asheville had none..that goes a long way when seeding teams at that level. That's why I like UNCA's chances at a 15 this year. The 0 sub-200 losses are huge (nobody else has that) and the 1 or 2 top-100 wins should help too.

Nothing is guaranteed, and there are 'surprises' each year, but at this point, I feel pretty comfortable that UNCA will be a 15. I'd actually be stunned if they are in the First Four. At worst they'd be one of the other 16s, but I still don't see that happening.

[ballcoach15]

Only "at large" teams should be in first 4. Even if a team went winless in regular season and then won their tournament, they earned their bid, and did not have to gets blessings from selection committee.

I hate to see Conference Champions get the shaft, no matter their record or RPI.

[Humble_Opinion]

I think some here are saying UNCA will be in the play-in game because LU was two years ago.

[R i]

Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.

They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.

[kingaling42]

Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.

They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.

LU had 12 wins that same year- only LU and the play-in opponent NC A&T had losing records in the entire tourney field that year, 14 losses to teams with higher than a 201+ RPI ranking alone, 0 wins vs the top 100, a SOS of 309, and a RPI of 290.. that's not even apples vs oranges in comparison.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.

They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.

And the teams they are battling for 15/16 seeds with will almost all have more than 11 losses (not that it has much to do with anything by itself...it depends on who you lost to, and UNCA has no losses against sub-200 RPI teams..they'll likely be the only candidate at that level that can say that). But for argument's sake, Austin Peay has 17 losses, FGCU has 13, the best SWAC teams have 12/13 losses, Lehigh (the best remaining Patriot League team) has 14 losses....so even if the 11 losses mattered in a vacuum, there are at least 4 teams in the field that have more than UNCA does.

And yeah, LU's seeding a few years ago has nothing to do with this year. And that Liberty team had one of the worst records in NCAA history to ever make the tournament...of course they were going to the play-in round.

[FlameFan11]

I originally felt UNCA would be a 16 because of finishing 4th with 6 losses in a weak conference. Double digit total losses from a small conference is also typically grounds for a 16. What helps UNCA is they did have a nice non-conference performance with the only hiccup the home loss to Elon. Now with Austin Peay and FGCU both pulling upsets as lower seeds in their conf tourneys, I think UNCA should definitely be safe from a 16 seed/play-in game as long as "bracketing rules" don't knock them down there.

[ATrain]

WEF and Kingaling nicely explained why you can't compare our tourney run a few years ago to UNCA's team this year.

[R i]

Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.

They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.

LU had 12 wins that same year- only LU and the play-in opponent NC A&T had losing records in the entire tourney field that year, 14 losses to teams with higher than a 201+ RPI ranking alone, 0 wins vs the top 100, a SOS of 309, and a RPI of 290.. that's not even apples vs oranges in comparison.

They still have 11 losses, and finished 4th in the regular season in the Big South.

[kingaling42]

Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.

They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.

LU had 12 wins that same year- only LU and the play-in opponent NC A&T had losing records in the entire tourney field that year, 14 losses to teams with higher than a 201+ RPI ranking alone, 0 wins vs the top 100, a SOS of 309, and a RPI of 290.. that's not even apples vs oranges in comparison.

They still have 11 losses, and finished 4th in the regular season in the Big South.

I believe my signature says the rest then..

[ATrain]

Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.

They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.

LU had 12 wins that same year- only LU and the play-in opponent NC A&T had losing records in the entire tourney field that year, 14 losses to teams with higher than a 201+ RPI ranking alone, 0 wins vs the top 100, a SOS of 309, and a RPI of 290.. that's not even apples vs oranges in comparison.

They still have 11 losses, and finished 4th in the regular season in the Big South.

Yet they don't have 20 losses like we did. Where they place a team in the bracket is determined by more than just where they finished in the conference.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.

They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.

LU had 12 wins that same year- only LU and the play-in opponent NC A&T had losing records in the entire tourney field that year, 14 losses to teams with higher than a 201+ RPI ranking alone, 0 wins vs the top 100, a SOS of 309, and a RPI of 290.. that's not even apples vs oranges in comparison.

They still have 11 losses, and finished 4th in the regular season in the Big South.

So which of FGCU, Austin Peay, SWAC team of your choice, MEAC team of your choice, the Lehigh/Holy Cross winner, and the Wagner/Fairleigh Dickinson winner would you have ahead of UNCA?

[thepostman]

How is it possible to compare a 20 loss liberty team to ashville? I feel as if years of bj on this board has rubbed off on a lot of you guys. Geez.

[Cider Jim]

Don't exaggerate, guys. We only lost 19 games.

[R i]

Im pulling for UNCA, and would rather not see them in a play in game. I was just pointing out that it is a possibility.

[olldflame]

Im pulling for UNCA, and would rather not see them in a play in game. I was just pointing out that it is a possibility.

I don't see it happening, but a playin game would not be a bad thing for this UNCA team. Tons of exposure, and they would probably win it, giving them a second game of tourney experience. I really think their resume' merits a 15 seed.

[flamehunter]

You heard it here first - I predict Asheville is a 15 seed and wins their first round game.

[Chris Lang]

Don't exaggerate, guys. We only lost 19 games.

They're talking about the '13 tournament team, which lost 20.

[olldflame]

You heard it here first - I predict Asheville is a 15 seed and wins their first round game.

You certainly aren't the first to predict a 15 seed, but a win over a 2 seed, while it has happened before, would be a shocker. I don't see a dominant team this year, and there are going to be some potential national champions who get 2 seeds. Maybe even the Cavs.

[BJWilliams]

I really think that UNCA, as good as they are this year, probably is a 1 and done or 2 and done if they make it out of the first four.