I, personally, am in a bit of a quandary. One thing is clear to me: I believe that MTSU belongs in the NCAA Tournament, and I really want to see them there. That, in itself, should easily decide how I want the rest of the C-USA Tournament to go: I should root for MTSU to win tomorrow.
However, it's not so easy for me. There have been some on this board who have argued over the past couple of years that the regular season does not matter, that C-USA is a one bid league no matter what, and that all that matters is the C-USA Tournament. I have argued the other way: that it is definitely possible to earn an at large by playing well against a strong OOC schedule, and winning the conference crown while avoiding bad losses, despite how weak this league is.
No team has truly been able to accomplish the above since these arguments have been made. ODU played great OOC a few years ago, but didn't play near as well in conference. Others have dominated the conference, but lacked the signature OOC wins. With the exception of the loss to us, which is only a bad loss on paper, MTSU has done exactly what they needed to do in order to deserve an at large bid. There is definitely a part of me that hopes that La Tech wins tomorrow, to see if the committee appropriately awards MTSU a Tournament bid.
Now I know that there are some on here that will say that they don't care, that they only follow UTEP athletics and couldn't care less about anyone else, including our conference mates. This, however, is short sighted. A win by a member of our conference in the NCAA Tournament does help UTEP, both financially, and by raising, if ever so slightly, the perception of the conference in which we play. An at large bid by one of our conference mates demonstrates that a single bad game in the conference tournament need not be fatal, and encourages our staff to play a strong OOC schedule whenever they are expecting a strong team.
I'm interested in reading the opinion of everyone else on this issue: are you cheering for MTSU to win tomorrow and receive the auto bid, or would prefer to see them lose to see if an at large is forthcoming? As always, Sunday will be interesting. I just hope that it's not too frustrating.
However, it's not so easy for me. There have been some on this board who have argued over the past couple of years that the regular season does not matter, that C-USA is a one bid league no matter what, and that all that matters is the C-USA Tournament. I have argued the other way: that it is definitely possible to earn an at large by playing well against a strong OOC schedule, and winning the conference crown while avoiding bad losses, despite how weak this league is.
No team has truly been able to accomplish the above since these arguments have been made. ODU played great OOC a few years ago, but didn't play near as well in conference. Others have dominated the conference, but lacked the signature OOC wins. With the exception of the loss to us, which is only a bad loss on paper, MTSU has done exactly what they needed to do in order to deserve an at large bid. There is definitely a part of me that hopes that La Tech wins tomorrow, to see if the committee appropriately awards MTSU a Tournament bid.
Now I know that there are some on here that will say that they don't care, that they only follow UTEP athletics and couldn't care less about anyone else, including our conference mates. This, however, is short sighted. A win by a member of our conference in the NCAA Tournament does help UTEP, both financially, and by raising, if ever so slightly, the perception of the conference in which we play. An at large bid by one of our conference mates demonstrates that a single bad game in the conference tournament need not be fatal, and encourages our staff to play a strong OOC schedule whenever they are expecting a strong team.
I'm interested in reading the opinion of everyone else on this issue: are you cheering for MTSU to win tomorrow and receive the auto bid, or would prefer to see them lose to see if an at large is forthcoming? As always, Sunday will be interesting. I just hope that it's not too frustrating.
