Eye on College B-Ball Podcast: NCAA Tourney Edition (don't feel sorry for SMC)

[CDC84]

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/cbssportscom-eye-on-college-basketball-podcast

The non-iTunes version.

[kdaleb]

Is there a way to imbed a tweet on this board? Parrish tweeted out an outline of the podcast. That entire 12:10-29:33 segment revolves around St Mary's active attempts to avoid tough out of conference games.

Gary Parrish

Verified account

@GaryParrishCBS
44m44 minutes ago
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Here’s a @SoundCloud link to the #EyeOnCBB podcast.

OPEN: The selection committee did a nice job.

12:10: Don’t feel sorry for Saint Mary’s.

29:33: Both Hurley brothers made it!

33:52: Midwest

40:56: East

49:14: South

1:04:12: West

LISTEN:

[adoptedzag]

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/cbs...ast/e/52473188

The non-iTunes version.

Just finished listening to it (the parts that I cared about, anyway). They spend almost half an hour bagging on SMC. Then I go to SMC's board and see that they pulled out of the Diamondhead classic. What the (*&^ are they thinking in Moraga?!

[CDC84]

Who is in the Diamondhead Classic next year? That's a tournament where the organizers pay for team expenses.

Is Randy trying to prove some point? I used to think it was a Stu Morrill kind of thing where "we won't play at your place if you don't play at ours." But as we have seen SMC turned down home and homes against Nevada and Rhode Island. Heck, teams they can beat. Are they looking for home and homes against Duke, Purdue, Texas Tech, Tennessee and Arizona?? It's not going to happen.

[adoptedzag]

Who is in the Diamondhead Classic next year? That's a tournament where the organizers pay for team expenses.

Is Randy trying to prove some point? I used to think it was a Stu Morrill kind of thing where "we won't play at your place if you don't play at ours." But as we have seen SMC turned down home and homes against Nevada and Rhode Island. Heck, teams they can beat. Are they looking for home and homes against Duke, Purdue, Texas Tech, Tennessee and Arizona?? It's not going to happen.

It's a solid field, reminds me of the events like the Alaska tournament that we used to go to:

http://espnevents.com/diamond-head-classic/press/bucknell-joins-2018-hawaiian-airlines-diamond-head-classic-field/

The 10th annual Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic now features Bucknell (Patriot League), Charlotte (Conference USA), Colorado (Pac-12), Indiana State (Missouri Valley), Rhode Island (A-10), TCU (Big 12), UNLV (Mountain West) and tournament host school Hawai’i (Big West).

[CDC84]

BTW - Parrish picked the Zags to go to the final four. Not a very confident pick, though.

[ZagNative]

That was a highly entertaining podcast. Thanks for posting.

[CDC84]

Gary is consistently wrong about one thing though. Joe Rahon was the 2nd best player on SMC's team last year. I don't know why he keeps forgetting him. He was brilliant in the Arizona loss. He is the best guy to play the pick and roll stuff they run with Landale because unlike Naar, Joe is a big, strong and powerful guard who can finish near the rim. Gonzaga exploited the lack of Rahon's presence in their dominant win at Saint Mary's. SMC returned an inferior team. Still doesn't excuse them for not scheduling because they were still a NCAA tourney quality team.

[CDC84]

The 10th annual Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic now features Bucknell (Patriot League), Charlotte (Conference USA), Colorado (Pac-12), Indiana State (Missouri Valley), Rhode Island (A-10), TCU (Big 12), UNLV (Mountain West) and tournament host school Hawai’i (Big West).

I could see Randy turning this down. Only 2 BCS teams, and only one of them was a tourney team, and TCU is not a traditional basketball power. Not saying it's the right thing to do.

The only thing that I will say about SMC is that they won 84.8% of their games this season. TSN has definitive proof over the past 20 seasons that teams with a winning % of .801% or better perform superbly in the NCAA tournament. Especially the non-BCS teams. In other words, you cannot fake 28 wins, even if your schedule stinks.

That's the thing that is so frustrating about this. If SMC could beat New Mexico State at McKeon, who is being picked by Parrish to make the sweet 16, they could have surely beaten Rhode Island in Moraga. Rhode Island was willing to play in Moraga THIS season. That win alone would've put them in.

[TacomaZAG]

Who is in the Diamondhead Classic next year? That's a tournament where the organizers pay for team expenses.

Is Randy trying to prove some point? I used to think it was a Stu Morrill kind of thing where "we won't play at your place if you don't play at ours." But as we have seen SMC turned down home and homes against Nevada and Rhode Island. Heck, teams they can beat. Are they looking for home and homes against Duke, Purdue, Texas Tech, Tennessee and Arizona?? It's not going to happen.

It might happen....................eventually.

Looking at the ZAGS history on this issue, they FINALLY got a home/home with UNC after decades of going on the road without a return trip scheduled, after 20+ years of consecutive NCAA Tourney appearances, 20+ straight WCC conference finals, and a couple of home/home games with other big name programs. The only actual home/home games with the "big boys" that I can remember are the Michigan State visit to the Kennel a few years ago, due to the two coaches being friends and Coaches vs. Cancer participants, and Arizona (as I recall). Calipari sat in a stool in the Kennel next to Few and said Kentucky would never come to the Kennel. But.........they came to the Spokane Arena, so I guess that could be termed a home/close to home. That's two or three home/home games after 20+ years of unparalleled success.

The point is that SMC is going to have to go on the road for many years, and do pretty well at it, to even have a chance for a home/home with any of the "big boys". And, realistically, their only chance is a home/close to home until they replace that "band box" with a real arena. Plus, they need to consistently get into the NCAA Tourney in order to attract anyone to even listen. SMC is at the beginning of a 20+ year journey to national relevance, not in the middle or at the end of it. Until they realize that and take the appropriate steps, nothing will change, and it shouldn't.

Go ZAGS

[BavarianZag]

The point is that SMC is going to have to go on the road for many years, and do pretty well at it, to even have a chance for a home/home with any of the "big boys". And, realistically, their only chance is a home/close to home until they replace that "band box" with a real arena. Plus, they need to consistently get into the NCAA Tourney in order to attract anyone to even listen. SMC is at the beginning of a 20+ year journey to national relevance, not in the middle or at the end of it. Until they realize that and take the appropriate steps, nothing will change, and it shouldn't.

Go ZAGS

^^^ this x100

Too many of us on this board are too apologetic of SMC, IMHO. Several have expressed that they're just like we were at the beginning of our run and we should appreciate them for where they are. The one glaring (and defining) difference is that we stood by the mantra of playing anyone "any where and any time". That IS the Zag brand. That IS the essence of what many of us long time fans appreciate most about the Zag program. The little engine that could....and did. SMC is not that and will likely never be that. It is clear that they took a different path. Their path doesn't deserve this basketball fan's respect (at least at this point in time). I am happy they were left out- not because I think the kids don't deserve it- because I don't think their program earned it.

[DZ]

SMC was the third team out. It makes me wonder if they were "in" even had they beaten BYU.

That BYU loss HAD to hurt, even if they weren't in anyway.

Still, one looks at Oklahoma being "in" and Syracuse, and it's hard to make a case for them, too.

At this point, after this many lessons in the same scenario, it's hard not to think that Randy likes his $600,000 year and low stress lifestyle and isn't willing to really put it at risk. He can coach there the rest of his life, make the tourney every 3-4 years and be quite happy.

I'm sure he's a competitor and that's not quite it, but it appears to be it.

[TacomaZAG]

SMC was the third team out. It makes me wonder if they were "in" even had they beaten BYU.

That BYU loss HAD to hurt, even if they weren't in anyway.

Still, one looks at Oklahoma being "in" and Syracuse, and it's hard to make a case for them, too.

At this point, after this many lessons in the same scenario, it's hard not to think that Randy likes his $600,000 year and low stress lifestyle and isn't willing to really put it at risk. He can coach there the rest of his life, make the tourney every 3-4 years and be quite happy.

I'm sure he's a competitor and that's not quite it, but it appears to be it.

Good call Dix...............

IMHO, OK got in based on a single player rep and the Orange got in due to program reputation. Neither of those teams deserved to be in over USC. No idea how ASU got in over USC, especially since they are both Pac-12 schools.

While the BYU loss hurt SMC, I think what really kept them out was the "hairball" they coughed up against San Fran. With their horrible OOC schedule, even one loss to anyone in the WCC not named BYU or GU is the "kiss of death" for their NCAA Tourney hopes.

A bad conference loss for GU hurts their seeding, while a bad conference loss for SMC slams the door, barring their entrance into the Dance.

Go ZAGS

[strikenowhere]

To me, the craziest thing is that a 15 loss???? Alabama team got in. 15 losses is ridiculous no matter how you swing it. Its all well and good that they had a lot of Q1 games, but when you lose that many games and still get in what does that say about how little losses count? Does that mean that a sub-.500 team, as long as they cobbled together enough Q1 wins, could get in the tournament? Its just ridiculous. Plus, I've never seen so many double-digit loss teams in the tournament in general....how does North Carolina get a 2-seed with 10 losses?

[hooter73]

For years GU has wanted SMC to do well because it would help us. We are finally at the point where we are over it, they are never going to change and the "rivalry" was more in peoples minds. Look at the record of how many times SMC has actually won against GU. Winning one game out of ten does not exemplify a rivalry to me. SMC has consistently shown that they do not want to really improve their program, so screw it, lets go to our new conference where programs will care and try.