ESPN's Bubble Watch for 1-25-08

[QUOTE=Over40NINER;288469]We would have been in the NCAA is '76 if there were 64 teams in the dance back then.[/QUOTE]

'75 too.

'75 too.
I've always heard about '77 and '76, but don't know anything about '75. Obviously Kinch wasn't here yet. Was Maxwell dominating that year? Who did we beat? Us young guys missed all that (I came along in the early 80's). Any memorable games that year?

Can the A-10 get 5 teams in, or the better question might be will the Committee let five A-10 teams in? A top 40 RPI is no guarantee. I don’t think there is any way they will let 6 A-10 teams in. Billy Packer will commit suicide if they let that many A-10 teams in the Dance. The good news is that the Committee members from BCS conferences is in the minority this year (4). Hopefully the A-10 will get a fair shake.

[B][U]In[/U][/B]
Xavier

[B][U]In, barring implosion[/U][/B]
Rhode Island
UMass

[B][U]Who knows[/U][/B]
Dayton

[B][U]Work left to do[/U][/B]
St. Joe’s
Duquesne
Charlotte
Temple

[URL=http://www.bracketography.com/selection-committee/][B][U]2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Selection Committee[/U][/B][/URL]

[QUOTE=9erken;289758]I’ve always heard about '77 and '76, but don’t know anything about '75. Obviously Kinch wasn’t here yet. Was Maxwell dominating that year? Who did we beat? Us young guys missed all that (I came along in the early 80’s). Any memorable games that year?[/QUOTE]
The '75 team was very good. So was the '74 team. Some think the '75 team was as good as any we’ve ever had, but a few factors kept us out of post season.

One of those factors was playing NC State in Raleigh on their Senior Day. David Thomson was one of the seniors and they had just won the national championship the previous year. We got our butts kicked.

The main thing that hurt us was the fact there were plenty of Independents back then and they only took a few Independents because of the small size of the field. We were an unknown and the loss to State pretty much sealed our fate.

You asked about Kinch. He was not on the '75 or the '76 team. It was our trip to the Garden in '76 that enabled us to sign Kinch.

The '75 team would try to outrun anyone they played and were usually very successful at it. It seems we topped 100 more times than not. We would press most of the game and keep players coming in off the bench. Maxwell was good but not quite the superstar he became the following 2 years. The Mine Shaft was often full (and loud) and we only had 6000 students then.

That was a fun era to watch Niner basketball because we really had no expectations. We knew we were good, but I don’t think anyone realized exactly how good we were.

The entire NIT was played at MSG in '76. I followed the Niners there and saw us whup up on UNC-R and then lose a close one to the Kentucky Wildcats in the final game. Seems like there were a dozen local papers in NYC then, and ALL of them went crazy over “Cornbread”. Maxwell had a routine of practicing his free throws without the ball before the actual FT attempts, and he had plenty. Seems like he made them all, too. He was named MVP of the tourney…pretty good for a member of the non-winning team. Cornbread “owned” New York during the entire tourney. The Garden was PACKED, too. The NIT still seemed to mean something.

[QUOTE=719er;289797]The entire NIT was played at MSG in '76. I followed the Niners there and saw us whup up on UNC-R and then lose a close one to the Kentucky Wildcats in the final game. Seems like there were a dozen local papers in NYC then, and ALL of them went crazy over “Cornbread”. Maxwell had a routine of practicing his free throws without the ball before the actual FT attempts, and he had plenty. Seems like he made them all, too. He was named MVP of the tourney…pretty good for a member of the non-winning team. Cornbread “owned” New York during the entire tourney. The Garden was PACKED, too. The NIT still seemed to mean something.[/QUOTE]

Here is the box score and story from that game:

[URL=http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/Games/19760321UNC-Charlotte.html][B][U][COLOR=DarkGreen]1976 NIT Final[/COLOR][/U][/B][/URL]

[QUOTE]We brought the defeat on ourselves," said Maxwell, a junior. “We missed shots and made bad passes at the end. I think in a way we played scared in the final minutes. We didn’t do the things we normally do. Everybody was just hoping the clock would run out with us ahead.”[/QUOTE]

There used to be a picture on the web that showed Maxwell having his picture taken after he had received the NIT MVP trophy. You can see in the picture that he could have cared less about winning that trophy after we lost.

[QUOTE=719er;289797]The NIT still seemed to mean something.[/QUOTE]
Yes, it did. The NCAA had 32 teams and the NIT had 16, so you were actually watching the best in men’s college hoops.

Here’s further evidence that there’s just way too many RPI/bracketology gurus out there:

http://tcaa.puretecmo.com/nit06.html

I actually like this site just 'cause it’s kind of goofy. In the A-10, teams #1-3 make the NCAAs (Xavier, Rhode Island, Dayton), teams #4-5 make the NIT as a 1-seed (St. Joe’s & UMass), team #6 makes the NIT as a 2-seed (Duquesne) and teams #7-8 make the postseason CBI Tournament (Charlotte & Temple).

I actually don’t have a major problem with that. It just means Charlotte should finish higher than 7th or 8th in the conference if we want to put ourselves in a nice position for the postseason (I think we knew that already). Having 2 conference mates barely miss the NCAA Tournament and land 1-seeds in the NIT would really suck if it happens, but it wouldn’t surprise me judging by the way the selection committee has operated in recent seasons.

one game at a time!

I think the ESPN write is pretty much right on. Thoses losses to Monmouth and Hofstra hurt more then some want to admit. Of course if we finish strong we can get past them. If we’re on the bubble those losses will hurt however.

[QUOTE=switchfoot;290655]I think the ESPN write is pretty much right on. Thoses losses to Monmouth and Hofstra hurt more then some want to admit. Of course if we finish strong we can get past them. If we’re on the bubble those losses will hurt however.[/QUOTE]

They will look at the fact that we got Gerrity in the Spring, and how we finished strong. A good strong finish should be enough for them to overlook (but I think we at least have to finsh top 4 in the A10).