Automatic Bids/Dookie Vitale Sucks :)

[Chris]

I used to not mind the fact that conference tournament winners received automatic bids to the NCAAs, but the Bearcats position as at least a somewhat "bubble" team (nobody has yet projected them out of the field) maybe changed my perspective.

It really doesn't seem fair that 3-4 days of a tournament on sometimes not neutral floors should result in a team getting a bid that wasn't going to. I wish Gonzaga was going to receive their bid due to winning the regular season conference championship, which is a more meaningful accomplishment over the longhaul of the season. However, the current format allowed San Diego to "steal" their bid. And I personally don't feel Gonzaga's resume passes muster this year, but I would be surprised if the committee leaves them out as they still like treating them as everyone's Cinderella or something.

Here are some words from the ESPN Bubble Watch page for Gonzaga that I find  interesting. Everyone really contradicts themselves when it comes to talking about "quality wins". Why do teams from better conferences have to actually win one or two of these types of games, rather than just play them and lose like this mid-major?

"Monday night's title game loss to San Diego was its third in the WCC, but shouldn't ruin the Zags' overall record, which is a little deceiving for a mid-major program after playing and losing to the likes of Kentucky, Georgia, Stanford, Saint Joseph's and Indiana during the non-conference. The committee should reward the Zags for the schedule, not punish 'em for losing to quality teams. We'll see if they do on Sunday."

Finally, here is a little Dick Vitale logic for your amusement straight from the end of the N.C. State game yesterday where they beat Georgia Tech to go 17-11:

Quote: "N.C. State has a terrible, I mean terrible out of conference performance and schedule"
Quote: "Their RPI is only about 62, which isn't good at all."
Final Quote: "I think that this 10th win in the ACC, we are talking the ACC baby, should get Herb Sendek's crew into the Dance."

What a moron and ACC flag waver that fool is :). I personally think the ACC sucks bad this year. They don't deserve a bid unless they pull off an upset of Wake Forest today at least. Bring on the Dookies baby! 

Chris