Purple75 wrote:
A win there and then winning out, might even give us a shot at a NCAA Tournament slot even if we loss in the finals of the SLC
I would say zero shot of that happening. Not that they don't deserve it, and I would venture to say we've got one of the best 64 teams in the country, but the Southland is a one-bid league. The committee selects largely off RPI, and even winning out the Sugar Bears' RPI wouldn't be high enough to warrant an at-large bid. Four of the wins don't count to the selection committee, so even winning out puts us at 21-4 which is awesome and an incredible season, but not as good as a 16-13 season in the SEC in the eyes of those who put the tournament together. So goes life on the 'other' side of Division I.
I do think, though, that if the Sugar Bears aren't fortunate enough to follow up their Southland regular-season championship with a tournament championship and a spot in the NCAAs, that the WNIT looks like a real strong possibility. That'd be a pretty bigtime accomplishment for a Southland team, especially just in its 2nd full year of D-I. To make postseason both years is quite incredible.
All that's putting the cart before the horse, though. Lot of basketball between now and then ... but hopefully it involves two good halves in the same game more times than not. It's quite a rollercoaster ride they've been on the last six games – five halftime deficits overcome and the one time they led was against the 2nd best team in the league and that one went double overtime.
Pretty incredible team we've got assembled. I don't know if I've ever watched a team – men or women, boys or girls, at any level – win so many games in one stretch in the same dramatic fashion. It's great they have the resolve and confidence to keep coming back – even in the most improbable scenarios like today at Arlington. At the same time, it's maddening that they can't come out and slap somebody around from the get-go.
But hey, it's conference season and every win in conference play is precious, no matter how you get 'em. Hopefully we've got about seven more to look forward to. Then on to Katy for a few more.