Leaderboard

These national guys crack me up with all this talk of mid- and low-majors, and whether they will get in ot not. The truth is that, until we actually determine the quality of the pool of at-large teams, there's no way to predict how ORU will compare. Suffice it to say that, IF we do not advance out of Sioux Falls, ORU needs the following things to happen to help it's cause: 1. Lock (or near lock) NCAA teams from mid-major and low-major conferences to WIN their tournaments, therefore not gobbling up an unexpected at-large bid for themselves. Teams in this category include: Wichita State OR Creighton from the Valley, Murray State of the OVC, St. Mary's OR Gonzaga from the WCC, and possibly Drexel from the CAA (not a lock, but anyone other than them and VCU and the Colonial could get three in), among others. I'm inclined to also throw Valpo on this list, despite their 21-10 record: I have a sick feeling that if everyone's-favorite Butler wins the Horizon tournament, they will still invite Valpo stricly on name-recognition and the Drew family story, but if someone like Cleveland State wins it, they're relegated to strictly a 1-bid league. 2. Marginal bubble mid-major league champions to LOSE early in their tournaments - even better if badly. Teams in this category include Davidson, Long Beach State, Akron, Middle Tennessee, Drexel and Valpo. A bad loss in the early rounds of their tournament should be enough to push their respective leagues into the "one bid" category, regardless of who wins it. Other league leaders cemented in that "better not lose" position incude the likes of Texas-Arlington in the Southland, UNC-Ashville of the Big South, and Belmont of the Atlantic Sun. 3. Same for marginal Power Six bubble teams, such as Northwestern, Texas, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, and Oregon - lose early, make your NIT plans, and get the heck off the bubble. 4. Finally, no upset tournament champions in a multiple-bid league. Someone like Tulsa winning C-USA could mean an additional bid for that league, if (for example) Memphis and Southern Miss still get in as currently projected. If all those things fall into place, ORU could be sitting there with sparkling credentials as the committee seeks to find value at the shallow end of the at-large pool.