coolhandgopher
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This is copied from Andy Katz's blog yesterday, I'd like to see either of these teams make the trip to Williams Arena, I'm not holding my breath though. Katz also goes on to state that the Anaheim Classic is shaping up to be the best Thanksgiving weekend tournament:
Mississippi State is desperately looking for a power six conference school to come to Starkville for the start of a home-and-home. The Bulldogs, who could be a top 15 team come the fall if everyone is eligible (i.e., Renardo Sidney), already have a challenging schedule for what should be a highly ranked team. The Bulldogs will play UCLA in the Wooden Classic in Anaheim, Calif.; drew upstart Richmond in the South Padre Invitational in Texas (Missouri and Old Dominion are also in the field); play downtrodden DePaul in the SEC-Big East Invitational in Tampa, Fla.; play St. Bonaventure at home; and travel to Houston, San Diego and Western Kentucky. I would question if any top 15 team will play true road games like those three next season.
• Siena, which should be the favorite in the MAAC once again and a Top 25 team, can't get quality nonconference games. Siena is in the Philadelphia Classic with Temple and St. John's and plays Saint Joseph's, Albany and Northeastern at home, Northern Iowa on the road, at Tennessee State as well as a BracketBuster road game. But none of those games will jump up and grab the attention of the selection committee, unlike a year ago when the Saints were in the loaded Old Spice Classic in Orlando and also played one-way guaranteed games at Pitt and Kansas.
Siena would have had a hard time getting an at-large bid had it not won the MAAC tournament because it lost all five of those games. But at least the Saints played them. If Siena doesn't win the MAAC tournament this season, then the case will be much harder to make. The Saints still have three games left to schedule, and are willing to take a guarantee on the road. They need it to be a marquee team. That is getting harder for them to do after Siena beat Vanderbilt and Ohio State in successive NCAA tournament first-round appearances.
The top Thanksgiving event will likely be the 76 Classic in Anaheim. All eight teams in the field could be in the NCAA tournament. There are Top 25 locks in West Virginia, Butler and Minnesota, a borderline Top 25 team in Clemson, a likely Top 25 team at some point in the season in UCLA, and possible NCAA teams in Texas A&M, Portland (second-best in the WCC) and Long Beach State (a Big West contender).
Mississippi State is desperately looking for a power six conference school to come to Starkville for the start of a home-and-home. The Bulldogs, who could be a top 15 team come the fall if everyone is eligible (i.e., Renardo Sidney), already have a challenging schedule for what should be a highly ranked team. The Bulldogs will play UCLA in the Wooden Classic in Anaheim, Calif.; drew upstart Richmond in the South Padre Invitational in Texas (Missouri and Old Dominion are also in the field); play downtrodden DePaul in the SEC-Big East Invitational in Tampa, Fla.; play St. Bonaventure at home; and travel to Houston, San Diego and Western Kentucky. I would question if any top 15 team will play true road games like those three next season.
• Siena, which should be the favorite in the MAAC once again and a Top 25 team, can't get quality nonconference games. Siena is in the Philadelphia Classic with Temple and St. John's and plays Saint Joseph's, Albany and Northeastern at home, Northern Iowa on the road, at Tennessee State as well as a BracketBuster road game. But none of those games will jump up and grab the attention of the selection committee, unlike a year ago when the Saints were in the loaded Old Spice Classic in Orlando and also played one-way guaranteed games at Pitt and Kansas.
Siena would have had a hard time getting an at-large bid had it not won the MAAC tournament because it lost all five of those games. But at least the Saints played them. If Siena doesn't win the MAAC tournament this season, then the case will be much harder to make. The Saints still have three games left to schedule, and are willing to take a guarantee on the road. They need it to be a marquee team. That is getting harder for them to do after Siena beat Vanderbilt and Ohio State in successive NCAA tournament first-round appearances.
The top Thanksgiving event will likely be the 76 Classic in Anaheim. All eight teams in the field could be in the NCAA tournament. There are Top 25 locks in West Virginia, Butler and Minnesota, a borderline Top 25 team in Clemson, a likely Top 25 team at some point in the season in UCLA, and possible NCAA teams in Texas A&M, Portland (second-best in the WCC) and Long Beach State (a Big West contender).
