I love this time of the year.
When late February gives way to early March, and those days of cold weather give way to – well, more cold weather – hoopheads like me are reminded of our sole purpose on this Earth.
Things just seem nicer all-around. Food tastes better, the sun shines brighter, Billy Packer seems almost tolerable.
Conference tournaments begin and end, and finally, 65 teams are plucked from the 336 Division I teams eligible for postseason play. Thus giving way to my second Christmas, otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament.
Oh, happy day.
It’s the shear non-political course of the process that I love: No points systems, no voting. You win, you advance. You lose, you go home.
Man, I love democracy.
And at this point, Topper and Lady Topper fans should too, because winning and advancing is the only way either team will get into the NCAA tournament.
In a mid-major conference like the Sun Belt, receiving an at-large bid is an extreme rarity. But even if that were a possibility this season, neither team has built up a strong enough non-conference resume to make a case for a bid. Winning a tournament championship is the only way into the ‘Big Dance’ for both squads.
You can throw all the regular season conference accolades out the door. Because this season, the focus for a Sun Belt team trying to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney is the non-conference slate, and for both teams, that cupboard is bare.
The Lady Toppers played three top-25 ranked opponents this season. In those games, they went 0-3, with their average margin of defeat being 23 points.
Their lone victory over a team in a high-major conference is 14-14 Kentucky, and of the Lady Toppers seven non-conference wins, just one of them (Evansville, 19-8 with two games remaining) has a shot at a 20-win season.
The Lady Toppers current Ratings Percentage Index ranking is 35. That’s good, but consider that in 2006, they had an RPI of 18, got to the Sun Belt tournament championship game and were still left out of the NCAAs. So a solid RPI may not mean much, but if Western wins it all, it’ll be a moot point.
Switching gears to the men’s side, Western currently owns an RPI of 50, and defeated two teams from high-major conferences. Problem is, those teams were Big 12 underachiever Nebraska, and Big Ten doormat Michigan. Nebraska’s RPI of 99 is the highest of any team the Toppers beat this season.
Western lost by a combined nine points to Gonzaga and Tennessee, the two ranked programs they faced this season. But come Selection Sunday, the tournament selection committee doesn’t look for ‘good losses’ when filling in the field of 65.
It’s a harsh reality, but it’s not one that can’t become an opportunity for both teams. Win, and you’re in.
The point is, neither team wants to hold their breath for an automatic bid, because it probably won’t happen if it comes down to it. Both team’s goal is to hoist the Sun Belt tournament championship trophy on March 11.
It’s a good thing too, because that’s probably the only way both teams will be able to punch their tickets to the ‘Big Dance.’
Reach David Harten at sports@chherald.com.
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