Folks, I'm finding it therapeutic to divert my attention away from the Zags specifically to college hoops in general. Where do we fit into the overall picture?

Just went through all the conference standings and I counted 75 teams that could get in, give or take. Obviously we have to finish the year strong to get in. The balance in the NCAA is a double-edged sword: If we do get in and suddenly get hot, who knows. But there are also a lot of teams out there. Look at the Atlantic 10 and Conference USA. How many get in? The Colonial is trouble, especially with the recent heroics of George Mason and VCU. Do the big boys (Big East, ACC, Big12, and Big10) get in if they finish .500 or above in their leagues? Are we better than Kansas State, who is .500 in the Big12? Other teams to worry about are a couple mid-majors who may end up with comparable resumes as ours: Montana, Ohio, Wagner or LI, and Loyola(Md) or Iona, etc. If we keep sputtering, hello to our friends in the Pac10 and Mountain West. Are we better than New Mexico? (copied this from a post I made last night.)

Any thoughts on GU getting in? Obstacles, besides our poor play to us getting in? Is our national popularity and/or respect for our tradition starting to wane?

I'm really interested in what you think about other leagues. I personally think the biggest factor for the selection committee is what they think about the strength of the various leagues. It also affects SOS and RPI. One cannot talk about a team without referencing the league it plays in. For example, is the WCC on the level of the Pac12, or Mountain West? How does the WCC stack up with the Big Sky?- If they get 1 bid, should the WCC get 3? (Wyoming?)

Living East I look at the Atlantic 10. An entire league of traditional basketball programs. We know how tough St Joe's is. One could argue that they should get just one bid and maybe one could say that they should get 4-5 bids. The dominoes fall. Would we want to play Duquesne in Pittsburgh right now? When one is "on-the-bubble", teams all over the country become intertwined. What affects one, may affect all. Did anyone notice that Iona went to Manhattan and beat them by 22 last night? The second place finisher in the MAAC will have a mighty strong resume! Let er' fly! Have fun! Fore!