UWM knocks off UWGB in OT

[IWB]

UWM knocks off UWGB in OT, will UWGB get an at large bid?

[Markedman]

All the guru guys say no.....

[MU/Panther]

I'm hearing they will not.
What a roller-coaster of emotions for my wife and I today!

[Halo]

Nope. And BBFran and southwestern Wisconsin all thrilled. Congrats to UWM.

[MUAlphaBangura]

Don't feel confident at all that GB will get an at-large bid. I do feel they deserve one, especially with Sykes injury tonight. Guess now we have one more team we can speculate about MU facing in the NIT! :(

[Markedman]

Joe Lunardi ‏@ESPNLunardi 3m
Nope... “@tyHearty: @GottliebShow @SethDavisHoops @ESPNLunardi @GoodmanESPN does UW-GB even have a chance at an at-large birth? Thoughts?”

[TedBaxter]

I think MU will be playing at either GB or Indiana in the NIT.

[MUAlphaBangura]

I think MU will be playing at either GB or Indiana in the NIT.

Michael Hunt says we will be playing a home NIT game either Tuesday or Wednesday at the Al. Normally I would say that would be plenty of room, but if the opponent is IU or UW-GB, that may be a harder ticket to get.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Can't see an at-large bid. The killer is that GB had a decent profile to be on the bubble but couldn't afford another bad loss. Win the Horizon tourney and they had an at-large worthy résumé, lose a game and they look like a NIT team. That Virginia win is big, but their overall schedule is too weak to overcome all those sub-100 losses. Maybe if they'd lost to Cleveland State, but not UWM.

[TulsaWarrior]

Sykes was playing on one leg and was literally falling down at times. Their seven footer got pounded in the opening minutes and re-injured his shoulder and that impacted his shot. A tough loss and a ticket to the NIT. I'm not sure how fast either player recovers so a run in the NIT might be tough for the Nix. A Marquette/GB match up in Milwaukee would be fun especially if it was played at the Al.

[warriorfan4life]

Considering recent history, I think there is a decent chance they get in. The committee has always tried to get mid-major teams in the play-in games (VCU in 2011, Iona and BYU in 2012, Middle Tennessee and St. Mary's last year). The thing that is holding me back from saying they have an excellent chance is that their RPI is 60.

[mutpm]

I know they have the win over UVA, but they have 2 home losses to UWM. I find it very hard to believe GB gets an at-large bid. They are 61 in KenPom, 63 in Sagarin, and 61 on CBS RPI. Great season, but they are headed to the NIT.

[MUBB713]

NIT without question. I don't see an at large out of the horizon with butler now gone. It's more of a low major conference now. 7 losses? No way.

[TheSultan]

They aren't getting an at-large. Lunardi knows what he is talking about. He may get a couple wrong, but when he gets them wrong they are usually in his "first four out."

Bracket Matrix still has them on 80 brackets, but that's because they haven't adjusted yet to their loss. When it comes out, I doubt they will be listed on more than a dozen.

[MU/Panther]

NIT without question. I don't see an at large out of the horizon with butler now gone. It's more of a low major conference now. 7 losses? No way.
Low major, I hope you are joking. The HL ranks about 12 to 14 in most years. There are 32 conferences. GB has 6 loses not 7.

I hope you are not in the Mike Wickett camp calling the Big East a mid major. I hate labels on leagues!

[unclejohn]

I'd love to see GB in, and they are a good example of how hard it is for a non-major to make the tournament. It is hard for a team like that to get signature wins, as they play few games where they can. But regardless of how you describe it, the Horizon took a major hit with the loss of Butler, and GB benefited. I do not know if they would win the league if Butler were still in it. Nobody except Butler has earned an at-large bid from that conference for about fifteen years, and I do not see GB doing it, unfortunately. UWM did not manage to get one the year they beat out Butler for the league title and lost to them in the championship game. I think they beat Butler twice that year. With the loss of Butler and later Loyola, the conference has definitely declined. Replacing them with Oakland does not do much. Loyola supposedly got an invite to the Valley by demonstrating a commitment to upping their program. Perhaps that would have been enough to make them the new kings of the Horizon if they stayed. Perhaps GB can now take on that role. No doubt Brian has done a good job there. He got them into one post-season tournament already, which is an accomplishment. Now they have made two.

[TheSultan]

The MVC taking Loyola to me was a real head scratcher. "Commitment to upping their program?" They have to prove that first IMO. They haven't done anything remotely resembling making a commitment to their program in 30+ years. Every single member of the Horizon League has been in the NCAA tournament since Loyola was last there...with the exception of Youngstown State.

And this is where Milwaukee really screwed up. I think if they could have kept up their momentum, they are the ones that get that invite. As it stands, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Valpo were all better choices IMO.

[unclejohn]

Well the MVC did not share your opinion. The candidates reportedly were Loyola, UIC, UWM, and Missouri-Kansas City. Green Bay does not seem to have been considered. I suspect that the private status helped Loyola a bit, as they replaced Creighton, but the conference and Loyola both stressed Loyola's commitment to step up their program. They recently sunk some money into their on-campus arena. This year was not very successful, but it was widely reported in the local press that Loyola expected that and knew that they had to take steps to boost their program. I do not know exactly what those steps are, but they convinced the MVC that they are ready to take them. It was a lot more concrete than saying, "We are convinced we can get better." As for UWM, they moved their games back to their campus gym last year and although they keep talking about it, there are no current plans for an on-campus arena. And they have been through a procession of athletic directors, not the sort of thing that gives a conference confidence about the future.

Green Bay and Valpo are nice places, but really small. They are going to have a tough time in the long run competing with some good sized state universities like the ones in the MVC.

[TheSultan]

Didn't think about campus size. That's a good point. But I will believe it when I see it regarding Loyola.

[warriorfan4life]

The Valley should have taken Belmont. Sustained commitment to hoops, and nice market and support in Nashville.

[MU/Panther]

MVC likes the fact that it opens up Chicago for the other schools in the league.

[MU/Panther]

The Valley should have taken Belmont. Sustained commitment to hoops, and nice market and support in Nashville.
I'm hearing the HL is making a push for them.

[unclejohn]

I do not pretend to know what the numbers are, but would it make sense for Belmont? I do not know that the Horizon is much better than their current home, and the other schools are much further away. It would cost a bunch to offset the increased cost of travel, and I do not see the HL providing it.

[MU/Panther]

I do not pretend to know what the numbers are, but would it make sense for Belmont? I do not know that the Horizon is much better than their current home, and the other schools are much further away. It would cost a bunch to offset the increased cost of travel, and I do not see the HL providing it.I'm hearing they want in because of soccer. Belmont is in Nashville, so the cites of HL are more of a match.

[TheSultan]

Not only that, but they are the only private school in the Ohio Valley...and a lot of those public schools are pretty poor. They are also one of the only schools that doesn't play football.

That being said, one of the reasons they left the Atlantic Sun was to save on travel costs.

[TheSultan]

They aren't getting an at-large. Lunardi knows what he is talking about. He may get a couple wrong, but when he gets them wrong they are usually in his "first four out."

Bracket Matrix still has them on 80 brackets, but that's because they haven't adjusted yet to their loss. When it comes out, I doubt they will be listed on more than a dozen.


As of this afternoon UWGB is still on 46 brackets. Not sure how many of those have updated since last night, but that is still quite a few.

[MUMac]

If Sykes shot falls against UW, they have a heck of an argument. I believe they will be caught with two losses to UWM. If they lost the HL Tournament, but went undefeated or had one loss to Valpo in conference, they might make it. That 2nd loss to UWM will really hurt them, IMHO.

[warriorfan4life]

As of this afternoon UWGB is still on 46 brackets. Not sure how many of those have updated since last night, but that is still quite a few.

Recent history of the committee is in their favor, and I think some of the most-known bracketogolists (Lunardi, Palm etc.) are slow to pick up on recent trends. Green Bay's resume is not super, but that win over Virginia could easily carry the day for them.