Conference USA must feel like Rodney Dangerfield. It just can’t get any respect.
Not from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, the National Invitational Tournament, or even ESPN. C-USA got two teams in the to the NCAA tournament this year. Memphis was selected as an #8 seed and Southern Miss as a #9 seed.
Really?
Memphis has a top 15 RPI and has been absolutely dominant down the stretch. It is arguably one of the hottest teams in the country right now. Just ask Tom Herrion.
“That team might be the most improved team in the country in the last three or four weeks,” Herrion said after The Herd’s loss to the Tigers in the C-USA Tournament title game.
What is it that the selection committee is looking for? What are the criteria a team must meet to be considered one of the best in the country?
Beats the heck out of me.
The lack of respect for the conference hasn’t gone unnoticed. Southern Miss Head Coach Larry Eustachy went on an epic rant about it following the Golden Eagles’ loss to Marshall in the conference tournament.
“This just goes to show you the constant lack of respect towards our conference. That (Marshall) was the sixth place team in our conference. We are in the NCAA Tournament. We have a 13 RPI and a 48 (in strength of schedule). Are you kidding me? We are in the NCAA Tournament, and they (Marshall) have beaten us back-to-back. Look at what East Carolina did to us. This league does not get the recognition that it deserves,” Eustachy put so eloquently.
Marshall has not been a part of the NCAA tournament since 1987 when it won the Southern Conference title. Herd fans believed that this might be the year Marshall returned to the tournament. That was not wishful thinking either.
The Herd finished the regular season with a 21-13 record, a RPI of 44, a strength of schedule of 14 and beat five other teams that are playing in the tournament, including Southern Miss twice. Marshall capped of the season with a magical run through the Conference USA Tournament upsetting Tulsa and Southern Miss before losing to Memphis in the finals. Don’t forget, Marshall also beat Cincinnati who played in the Big East Tournament finals and held Syracuse to just 62 points, well below the Orange’s season average.
However, when the brackets were announced Sunday night, Marshall was not mentioned.
All of the measurables were there. Marshall has the highest RPI of any team that didn’t get invited to the NCAA Tournament. Maybe The Herd didn’t pass the “eye test.” Selection committee members must have missed the win over Cincinnati, the game against Syracuse, and the entire C-USA tournament. Marshall’s resume was by no means perfect. However it was just as good or better than teams that were selected for the tournament ahead of them.
Marshall was invited to the NIT, but selected as a #5 seed, another clear lack of respect of C-USA basketball. Even though Marshall has a better RPI, strength of schedule and overall resume, it will go on the road again.
C-USA and Marshall don’t even command enough respect to have their first round game of the NIT televised. If you want to watch it you’ll have to log on to ESPN3.com. That’s right. It will be an Internet only broadcast.
Marshall will head to Middle Tennessee State with a big chip on its shoulder and will be looking for respect. And you’d better watch out when a team is out to find some respect.
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