Saw this morning that Brzoja (6th man of the year) is leaving Evansville to play pro in Europe.

_________________
MBB Scholarship Chart

1. Evansville got screwed not getting an NIT bid...Kenpom had them in the top 70 in their power rankings. Makes yo wonder how much power the MVC has with the powers that be.
2. Watching Wichita St. play last night and having seen LU battle them at Arch Madness just makes me think this year was a lost opportunity but also made me think that LU just had to 100% max out to compete this year that it was just not possible to do game in and game out. Nothing came easy.

nate - i think i read that the evansville players voted to not play. was that for the C-tournaments only? not sure if they were offered the NIT or not

_________________
MBB Scholarship Chart

From what I read on the Evansville message board, they were not invited to NIT. I believe the seniors were asked it they want to go to a tourney and they said NO. I think they figured they won it last year, so what do they have to prove.

From what I read on the Evansville message board, they were not invited to NIT. I believe the seniors were asked it they want to go to a tourney and they said NO. I think they figured they won it last year, so what do they have to prove.

Natey--Your point is well taken--But what EVER comes easily ?? Our team and Coach this year did NOT play or coach well over the entire year, which should have been done. They delivered as well as they could MOST of the time--but unlike last season, they did NOT produce to their capacity ALL the time, which should NOT have happened. Something was amiss--For this I must say Porter is at fault-- For a team that whipped Panthers TWICE and handled Blue Jays nicely and then flopped in Alaska and went miserable to start Valley, showed me they Lacked HEART over the long haul.
Bitterly disappointed with our team and coach as you can tell.
Changes MUST and should be made--

All along , we have been at a distinct disadvantage---We are jus NOT big enough--our Bigs appear to be an afterthought. The Coach was a good GUARD at Creighton , but as a guard he apparently thinks that guards can win it all every time. All I ever see in recruiting posts is guard guard guard !!! Almost every team we play is BIGGER than us and out board us !! Hello !!

Looks like same old same old next season UNLESS Adgei and Kirby blossom---

I agree I think the makeup of the team was an issue ....specifically not enough depth at the BIGS position. Did not see one team without any BIGS in the NCAAs except maybe Seton Hall but Gonzaga used their BIGS to just back them down and then out.
Thought Montel the 2nd half of the season was a monster warrior but needed help.

I was watching Yale play and made me wonder why we arent recruiting ever Ivy League kid. I think our academic standing and academic success with our athletes as well as the completed campus should make us a desirable destination for high academic athletes. We beat NU for ........sake.

Three Bradley freshmen are leaving also: Scottie James, Joel Okafor and Devante Cooper. Probably playing time.

Evansville missed out on the NIT, they were not snubbed. They had an RPI in the 90s. You have to remember that since the NCAA took over the NIT, they put in a rule that conference regular season winners who don't get NCAA at larges or win their tournament (like Belmont, Valpo, Monmouth, Akron, Texas Southern, UAB, Bucknell, New Mexico State, etc.-- there were a lot of them this year) get auto bids to the NIT. The number of NIT at large bids was lower this year, and Evansville's RPI was not good enough-- maybe if they had scheduled better. If WSU won the MVC tournament, UNI would have made the NIT.

I took a look at the CBI and CIT fields this year, and I expected them to be worse from all the teams that skip them because of cost or higher expectations. Louisiana Monroe (our CBI finals opponent last year) is in the CIT, along with New Hampshire, UC Irvine, Fordham, Boston U, Ball State, etc. Not terrible. The CBI has Siena, Ohio, Duquesne, Morehead State, Albany, Pepperdine. But there were NO Power Conference teams at all in the CBI (like Colorado last year).

Evansville can blame their lack of a noncon schedule on not getting an NIT bid. Before the season started their only hope of doing anything in the NIT/NCAA was to win the conference or the conference tournament. I feel bad for the players and fans, but this is on Marty and whoever else is involved in scheduling.

_________________
The Roundhouse

Definitely true, but I wonder if they tried and couldn't get games or simply didn't try. I've heard that Valpo called everyone and couldn't get a better schedule.

_________________
MBB Scholarship Chart