After a season hiatus, the Hoopsville Rant returns and the first topic of the season: every game counts!
It seems every season, when late February arrives and it comes time to start seriously talking about the NCAA Tournament, the fans of teams on the proverbial bubble always complain:
“Our team is one of the hottest teams in the nation. That loss to so-and-so in November shouldn’t count against them!”
Or, “they didn’t have their top player when they played so-and-so in that game in December, that shouldn’t be the reason they miss the tournament!”
Guess what… it very well could be.
When the Selection Committee sits down and decides who is in and who is out of this season’s tournament, they aren’t going to look at how teams played only in February, or the last two months, or just the second half of the season, they are going to look at the WHOLE season.
So, any team hoping to make the NCAA tournament has to keep a few things in their minds right now, there are only two ways to get in: win your conference’s automatic bid or be good enough to get one of those coveted at-large, Pool B or C bids.
For those top teams in weak conferences like the NEAC, CUNYAC, HCAC or the Skyline, losing a bad game may not haunt them later. For those in the WIAC, CCIW, ODAC, and even the OAC, a bad loss out of conference could ruin any chance at the Walnut and Bronze, before the tournament even tips-off.
Remember… EVERY game counts, especially when in region.
So, Wash U can’t take a night off against Earlham; Augustana shouldn’t be losing to Coe; Mary Hardin-Baylor can’t take Worcester State lightly; Amherst can’t look past Emmanuel; Rochester can’t ignore
Nazareth; and Baldwin-Wallace needs to play all 40-minutes against Case Western Reserve.
We will find out on March 2nd – Selection Sunday – if the losses experienced by Wash U. to Calvin, Brockport State to Rowan, or Capital to Mount St. Joseph will end up keeping them out of the NCAA tournament or the chance to host.
Just ask Millsaps football. They lost a 21 point lead in the last half of the fourth quarter against Mississippi College in the first game of the season. The starters were on the bench during the rally; it was the first game of the season after all. Millsaps stumbled to Mississippi College in the first game of the season, ended up costing them a tournament bid.