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JACKGUY
10-29-2003, 05:30 PM
I think the NCC will be balanced this year, however I'm very optimistic about the Jacks winning the conference and doing well in the post season tournament.
I'm making the following prediction of finnish

1) SDSU-Loaded with talent and experience
2) USD-Excellant tandem of Tommie King and Josh Mueller
3)Nebraska Omaha-Good nucleus of returning players and transfers. One of the best coaches in the league in McKenna
4) UND-Lots of new faces to blend together.
5) St Cloud- *lost some tough inside players and guard Witt.
6) NDSU-no Denver and lack of inside game

7) Mn State-Tough team to figure. Seemed to shore up weaknesses with a number of transfers
8) Augie-Tom Billeter has his hands full

BisonMav
10-29-2003, 06:12 PM
1) SDSU - Too much returning talent
2) SCSU - Alex Carlson will step up.
3) USD - NDSU beat them 3 times last year.
4) Nebraska Omaha
5) NDSU - Transfers add depth, still no Denver
6) UND - No Beaz, Rich Glas returns to average

BisonMav
01-12-2004, 04:58 PM
1) SDSU - Too much returning talent
2) SCSU - Alex Carlson will step up.
3) USD - NDSU beat them 3 times last year.
4) Nebraska Omaha
5) NDSU - Transfers add depth, still no Denver
6) UND - No Beaz, Rich Glas returns to average
After the first weekend of NCC play, I want to change my predictions.
1. SDSU(1-1) - Still the best in the conference.
2. UNO(2-0) - How long will they stay hot.
3. USD(0-2) - Bad start, but should come back
4. NDSU(2-0) - Team is meshing, could move into the top three with a win over UNO.
5. SCSU(1-1) - Still a good team.
6. Mankato(1-1) - Missing Kiekow.
7. Augustana(1-1) - Beat a tired USD
8. UND(0-2) - Beaz left a big hole.

BisonMav
01-18-2004, 10:04 PM
After the second weekend of NCC play, the Jacks gotta drop and work their way back up in the NCC.
1. NDSU(4-0) - I am a believer.
2. UNO(3-1) - Split in ND is always good.
3. SCSU(3-1) - Look to be #3 to me.
4. SDSU(1-3) - Need some home cooking
Mankato(3-1) - Time to go on the road
6. Augustana(1-3) - Still a tough game in Sioux Falls
7. UND(1-3) - Playing short handed.
8. USD(0-4) - In the words of Michael Ray Richardson "Ship be sinking".

silkamilkamonico
01-18-2004, 11:07 PM
After the second weekend of NCC play, the Jacks gotta drop and work their way back up in the NCC.
1. NDSU(4-0) - I am a believer.
2. UNO(3-1) - Split in ND is always good.
3. SCSU(3-1) - Look to be #3 to me.
4. SDSU(1-3) - Need some home cooking
* *Mankato(3-1) - *Time to go on the road
6. Augustana(1-3) - Still a tough game in Sioux Falls
7. UND(1-3) - Playing short handed.
8. USD(0-4) - In the words of Michael Ray Richardson "Ship be sinking".

~as for myself, Im going with NDSU finishing #1.....

as for the rest they are irrelevant.....cuz I dont know much about the other teams to make a prediction....


...what can I say....Im a homer.... ;)

89rabbit
01-19-2004, 01:01 AM
This coming weekend will go along ways in determining the NCC champion. So far the NCC has been a huge letdown for myself and my Rabbit brothers. To say the least. :( :-[ ??? We still are keeping the faith, although our faith has been severely tested. Bison congrats on your hot start. Looking forward to seeing you at Frost this coming weekend (thank God we don't have to come North yet. . .we have issues).

Go Jackrabbits!

mustangfan
01-19-2004, 01:39 AM
SDSU fans, don't worry. Your club will turn it around. NDSU, coach Miles and his staff, as expected, are getting it down. This weekend is huge, going on the road, but they are starting to get it down. Congrats.

SMSU, we're the ones that need some new luck. Injuries have devestated the team right now and 5 of the first 7 NSIC games on the road. Ouch right now! Hopefully it will get back on track

SDSUFAN
01-19-2004, 05:21 AM
Mustangfan:
We are getting killed in the Post position without Matt Jones, the other guys are not giving us much quality time. *This is going to be a big problem for the Jacks we have no defense of the perimeter and our inside guys are not helping out. *Right now it looks like a long season. Got any centers you would like to trade to SDSU? We could make it a deal that includes players to be named later. ;D ;D ;D :o

ndsubison
01-19-2004, 07:38 AM
It's finally coming together for Tim Miles & Co. What he did at SW State is about to come to fruition at NDSU. The rest of the league has officially been put on notice ;)

scsufan
01-19-2004, 06:50 PM
NDSUBISON, CONSIDER SCSU ON NOTICE!

I THOUGHT NDSU WAS AVERAGE WHEN I SAW THEM AT SCSU BUT WITH THE 4-0 START, I WOULD SAY THEY ARE FOR REAL. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SCSU/NDSU GAME IN FARGO TO BE FOR A CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP. THAT GAME IS THE LAST TIME WE TILL PLAY NDSU. (I THINK)

LOOKS LIKE YOUR LAST YEAR IN THE NCC IS GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING ONE.

bballfan
02-21-2004, 06:26 PM
I think that the NCC order now will probably be:

1. SDSU
2. UNO
3. NDSU
USD
St. Cloud
6. Mankato
7. UND
8. Augie

# 2 and 3 depend on tonights game between UNO and NDSU

BisonMav
02-21-2004, 10:18 PM
I think that the NCC order now will probably be:

1. SDSU
2. UNO
3. NDSU
USD
St. Cloud
6. Mankato
7. UND
8. Augie

# 2 and 3 depend on tonights game between UNO and NDSU
The other major factor is that SDSU plays UNO and USD on the road to finish the season.

bballfan
02-21-2004, 10:51 PM
Thats true, but with a win tonight they only need a split to stay in first place (with a tie), and host the NCC tournament.

BisonMav
02-21-2004, 11:13 PM
Thats true, but with a win tonight they only need a split to stay in first place (with a tie), and host the NCC tournament.
I was looking at the other side of the coin. If SDSU sweeps next weekend, USD and UNO will each have another loss. But yes every game is important down the stretch.

updm002
02-22-2004, 12:00 AM
SDSU has their work cut out for them. UNO has a lot of superior athletes and they know all they have to do is win their final 3 games (all at home) and they host the tournament. SDSU and NDSU better enjoy this last run bc they are in for a long painful ordeal moving to D1. I say that as a NDSU alumnus in Omaha who travels to KC a lot and has watched UMKC go from naia to D1 rather unsuccessfully over the last 15 years. SDSU and NDSU do have better fan bases than UMKC but they are in much much worse locations to recruit both players and conferences. That is especially true when recruiting the African American student athlete. The same propaganda that gene taylor and that alledged wife beater(fred Oien) talked up was the same garbage that UMKC was stating 15 years ago when they made the switch. Never worked out the way they said but then maybe they are on 50 year plan and it is still a work in progress.

filbert
02-22-2004, 12:30 AM
Hi, Updm002...

I don't think there's much comparison between NDSU/SDSU's D-I move and UMKC. For one thing, Kansas City is basically the home town of the Kansas Jayhawks, and Missouri and K-State also have big chunks of the fan base here. KU, Mizzou, and K-State get all the inches in the newspaper.

The move of the State schools is much more comparable to Northern Iowa's or the Montana schools' moves. There's no major college competition in their media markets for the Bison or the Jackrabbits like there was for UMKC. Sure there's the Gophers and Huskers, but that's not quite the same as trying to compete with KU's Allen Fieldhouse being a half hour down the road. This doesn't mean that it won't be difficult, but I think it will wind up being much easier than UMKC's transition.

As for the remainder of the conference season: UNO is a beatable team for SDSU, although I think they're top to bottom the most imposing competitor in the conference for the Jacks. UNO has excellent athetes. SDSU needs to tighten down on defense and hope the wild prayer shots they'll force UNO into don't go in like they did in Brookings.

I also think that NDSU might match up pretty well with them tonight. At least I hope so ;-) Go Bison! Beat UNO!

filbert
02-22-2004, 12:34 AM
I posted this this morning over on the SDSU board, regarding the North Central Men's Regional:

After exhaustive study of the RMAC, NSIC, and NCC, here's how things look from Lee's Summit:

#1: Metropolitan State (projected record 28-2). The Roadrunners get rewarded for playing in a conference with so many inferior teams. If they win out, make your travel plans for Denver. That’s not a given however, as they finish with a regular season home game with Nebraska Kearney. If they split that game and the expected rematch with the Lopers in the RMAC Tournament, it could cost Metro the #1 seed.

#2: South Dakota State (projected record 29-3). Jackrabbits need to win out, including the NCC Tournament, and have Metro and Kearney each stumble to earn the region’s top seed and host the Division II regional in their swan song in D-II. Winning out won’t be easy, as they finish the regular season on the road at Nebraska-Omaha and South Dakota, both teams which could easily upset the Rabbits.

#3: Nebraska-Kearney (projected record 26-4). See Metropolitan State. A split against Metro and a stumble by SDSU would let the Lopers host the North Central Regional for the second straight year.

#4: Northern State (projected record 25-5): Best of the NSIC. Again. It’s not clear if the Wolves can run with any of the top three teams in the region, however.

#5: South Dakota (projected 21-9): Coyotes can solidify their regional credentials with a win against SDSU in the Jackrabbits’ last ever visit to the DakotaDome. Otherwise they’ll need a strong showing in the NCC Tournament.

#6: Fort Lewis (projected 20-7): Skyhawks have two big problems: Metro and Kearney. Still, a strong finish and a reasonable showing in the RMAC tournament should get them in.

#7: Bemidji State (20-9): Similar to Fort Lewis…the Beavers might possibly afford to lose the NSIC championship game to Northern, but only if there are no upsets in the other conference tournaments. Otherwise they may have a problem.

#8: Colorado Christian (20-7): The Cougars also may not need to win their conference tournament, but with Ft. Lewis and Bemidji are on the bubble if a darkhorse wins a conference tournament.

Need to win their conference championship to get in (but finishing over .500)
Nebraska-Omaha (19-10)
Colorado State-Pueblo (19-8 )
Mesa State (19-9)
Ft. Hays State (17-11)
St. Cloud State (17-11)
Minnesota-Duluth (17-12)
Winona State (17-12)
Adams State (17-14)
Minnesota State-Mankato (16-12)
North Dakota State (16-13)
Wayne State (15-13)

Texas_Jacks_Fan
02-22-2004, 04:07 AM
UMKC is a terrible comparison to the State U's moving up. The Bison & Jacks are the flagship schools from their respective states. and as far as ability goes, I think the Jacks would win head to head with the Roos' this year. Recruiting wont be a problem. Ive seen UMKC play. (usually in front of about 900 fans.)

updm002
02-22-2004, 03:39 PM
CoCo CoField had 10 turnovers all by himself against UNO. NDSU didn't shoot well bc of UNO's suffocating defense. That should be the last time we have a meaningful bb game for a long time. If you are satisfied with the occasional upset of a mid major in bb than you will probably enjoy going D1. But if you want to play for national/conference titles then you will be disappointed in the sinkhole of D1.
Granted UMKC is not a good comparison but that is the only program I have witnessed up close make the move. They don't have nearly as good of a fan base but they have some things going for them that the Dakotas don't have
1. Desireable location - conferences wanted to get into a major media market. Also, it is cheap to get there with lots of direct flights from all over the country.
2. Racial /Ethnic Diversity - UMKC is much much more attractive to the minority athlete than the Dakotas. Schools have to be able to attract the black student athlete to compete at a decent level at D1 and I just can't see that happening. Dakotas are a nice placefor white people to live but nobody is going to confuse Fargo with Kansas City or many other bigger cities that have a strong black middle class
3. Wealth - UMKC doesn't have a strong fan base but draws about 2500 a game and sometimes more. They do have some very wealthy indiv. donors though who are very interested in their program. Lots more wealth down there than in the Dakotas which are 2 of our poorest states.
4 Conf Affliliation - Sure you can go out and create your own fb league but the Dakota location is isolated. Everything I have read about the MId Cont says they want to expand southward and the Big Sky already has made their feelings known. If what you end up doing is just create your own leagues out of a bunch of far flung D1 wannabes then was all the trouble worth it? I don't think so.
I know President's MIller and Chapman did everything short of jumping in front of a moving truck to try to convince other NCC schools to jump. The jury is out on who is right. But I like their positions better - let ndsu and sdsu be the guineau pigs and if things work out then consider it. I think ultimately the UND's and UNO's of the world will be right but we shall see.
My point was that while it isn't a great comparison UMKC has a lot of big advantages over the Dakotas and they have struggled mightily over the years in D1. Good luck and good bye to the Dakotas.

filbert
02-22-2004, 04:40 PM
I think we agree that the transition to D-I for NDSU and SDSU will be difficult, painful, and long. Where we disagree is that you seem to think it's impossible (or at minimum, not worth the effort). I on the other hand think it's mandatory in order for the two states to participate fully in the national scene.

SDSU's media market is borderline top 100 (the Sioux Falls Nielsen market is about 113, I believe, and covers most of the state). Salt Lake City is not known for racial diversity but both Utah and Brigham Young have done all right over the years. The relative wealth of the Dakotas is a significant issue, but Mississippi also rates right down there in per capita income, but has no trouble supporting three major college programs and a number of 1-AA programs. Conference affiliation and geographic isolation are also problems, but are not insurmountable. After all, Montana and Montana State are if anything more isolated, and both seem to be doing OK at the 1-AA level.

UMKC's home attendance average this year is 3,071, by the way.

BisonMav
02-22-2004, 04:44 PM
When was the last time NDSU played for a National Championship in Division II basketball? One trip to the NCAA's or going three deep in the NIT will bring more to NDSU than winning the Division II championship. The football program has not had a problem attracting diverse athletes. Stacy Robinson, Arden Beachy, Tyrone Braxton, Mike Favor, Lamar Gordon, Rod Malone, Allen Burrell, how many do I have to name. Basketball the same way, Jeff Askew, David Ryles, Sean Mahomes, Coco Cofield, Aaron Green, Myron Green, and so on. Men's Basketball will be the toughest sport to compete in, but the Women should be close next year. This is a good move for the future of NDSU. Maybe not next year or 5 year from now, but 10-20 years down the line this will look like a good move.

JBB
02-22-2004, 07:24 PM
The conference issue is very much unsettled but far from hopeless. There is every reason to believe it will work itself out in a very satisfactory manner.

In the past, when the move should have been made, we needed the NCC. The travel money wasnt there. Thats changed.

Take the time to look over the marketing research. Its clear untapped revenues are significant especially in the corporate sector. NDSU can now afford to go without the NCC. The benefits will be enormous to the University, Fargo and the region. With SDSU on board as our partner its a very attractive package. These are 2 prestigious State Universities with DI profiles. They do not look like D2 schools.

This national championship argument is thread bare, probably not as bad as kerry talking about WMDs but getting there. If all you want are national championships move down to the NAIA or DIII. If you want challenge and a chance to compete for a national audiance you go to DI. If you dont want anything you stay in D2.

D2 aint what it used to be. With the departure of UNC, SDSU and NDSU that is more true than ever before. Almost all of the great University programs that were once in D2 are now gone. Its true we are giving up a few traditional rivals (thier choice), but they will be replaced with many traditional rivals that left us behind years ago.

The best model for us are the Montana Schools. Our challenges are very similar to theirs. If your glass is half empty find any unfavorable comparison you want proving the move is a bad decision.

updm002
02-22-2004, 07:45 PM
I hope you are right about the transition. I think NDSU will thrive in 1aa fb (and I am excited about fb)but struggle mightily in a lot of the other sports. My knowledge of D1 transition issues is based on attending UMKC bb and following them for the last 15 years or so. I followed that transition closely and in my mind it really has never worked out like people thought. When I tell my friends who live in KC and attend more games than I do (I travel there for business and attend 4 or 5 a year) that NDSU/SDSU both strive to join your league there is always this stunned bewilderment. Like why any program would aspire to that crappy league. We are all bb junkies so we enjoy any level of bb but there aren't enough of us to make a success story in most cities. I hope sdsu/ndsu have success but I have my doubts. But it will be interesting watching it. I am in Omaha and most people I know in KC think the MId Continent will ultimately expand southward instead of northward. On the other hand I listened to a radio interview with UNO's A.D. Bob Dananhauer who explained why UNO wasn't going D1. But he also said that believed that both NDSU/SDSU will get into the Mid Continent eventually. I hope he is right. I also hope NDSU/SDSU have allotted tons of extra money for all the increased travel they will be doing in the next few years.

JBB
02-22-2004, 09:40 PM
I think there is a real chance for the Mid con too. If NDSU, SDSU and UNC all get in the league could have 2 divisions. The fact that the Mid Con will probably manage the new football league is also a big plus.

I know the MCn isnt the premier DI BB league in the country, but its a huge step up from where we are. I see MCn teams play every Sat. on ESPN. Its exciting to think that NDSU would be there in a couple of years. One of these days your going to see NDSU BB on sat. afternoon coming right out of Fargo.

We have already seen the first DI recruiting class in football. We got 10 guys that said they wouldnt have considered the BISON if we werent DI. I think that will happen in BB and other sports too. Once your in the game the players will come. There are a lot of great athletes out there sitting on the bench wishing they could get some playing time. Many of them will be willing to come to NDSU to get it.

The money will be there from many different sources. Its critical that interested alums step up. I have been a team maker for about 10 yrs and paid my first DI dues this season. I match my TM payment and gift to the athletic excellence fund with a gift to the business college building fund. Supporting the university is one of the best places for my charity dollars to go.

D
02-22-2004, 10:17 PM
I see MCn teams play every Sat. on ESPN. *Its exciting to think that NDSU would be there in a couple of years. *One of these days your going to see NDSU BB on sat. afternoon coming right out of Fargo.


Other then the conference tourney and the Bracket Buster tourney which was yesterday, when have Mid-Con teams played on ESPN? Fox has the Mid-Con rights and have broadcast maybe 5 so far, but there aren't Mid-Con games on ESPN with the exception to the ones I listed.

mustangfan
02-23-2004, 02:37 AM
I haven't seen many Mid-Con either. The Horizon League is on Fox on Saturdays. UW-Milwaukee, Wright State, Green Bay, etc.

I haven't seen Oakland, Cententary, Southern Utah in TV every.

First I want to say, NDSU and SDSU can go D1 and be fine. I think it's a good move, but to start talking about being on ESPN and making the NIT in a few years is big thinking. Again, look at the the teams I've just mentioned, have they made the NIT or been on ESPN? No, and maybe once ever.

I believe NDSU can be better than those schools, but it will take time.

updm002
02-23-2004, 03:15 AM
It sounds so easy to go D1 and after 3 or 4 years play in the NIT in New York and maybe win that. Then another five years later let's go on and make the Big Dance and what the heck let's make the Elite 8 while we are at it. Never did that in D2 but surely we can do itin D1. Come on - let's get real. Eventually we will probably find a rinky dink conference to join or make one up as we go along and we will pull a huge upset every few years like UMKC defeating Kansas St in bb this year. But if we end up being like Montana or Montana St it will probably take a generation to pull off.
Look at IUPFW (Ind Univ Ft Wayne) lack of success they are having after 3 or 4 years of transitioning to D1. Now they may eventually become the next powerhouse in college basketball but it is going to be a long hard road. And they should be able to recruit Chicago since they are reasonably close. NDSU gets to recruit Minot and jamestown.
Finally, yes MOntana is isolated but it is in the beautiful Rocky Mts and has incredible beauty which is a recruiting tool. Fargo is a nice place outside of winter but nobody is going to confuse it with America's garden spot.

IowaBison
02-23-2004, 03:31 AM
I don't think it would be appropriate to compare NDSU with any other school that's made the transition as far as basketball goes. Anyone who thinks we'll make the NIT in the next decade is more than a little optomistic.

That said there are so many variables that result in success other than having an established program with consistent results, in other words a little luck never hurt any program, I'll put some contrived subjective probabilities in parenthesis of these things happening in any given year.

...we have a surprisingly good coach(s) (.1)
...we recruit an amazing/overlooked player(s) (.05)
...we play in a surprisingly weak league and SDSU has a worse year than us (.1)

NDSU_grad
02-23-2004, 03:46 AM
I really don't know what you mean by "recuiting Minot and Jamestown." In football, our recruiting base will remain the same, with possibly a player or two from places like Florida and Texas. Coach Bohl proved that this year. As far as basketball, to the best of my knowledge Coco Cofield isn't from Grenora. And look at all the black players Billeter was able to convince to come here. I see no reason why we can't recruit these type of athletes now (in fact, with the DI label, it will probably be easier). And finally, let's not kid ourselves. Football drove this move. If we can attain the same level of men's basketball success in DI that we have now it has to be considered a success.

JBB
02-23-2004, 11:45 AM
Moving up doesnt make NDSU a championship BB program. Staying in D2 doesnt either. What are the predictions when NDSU would win the D2 national BB championship if we stayed down in D2? What about any other NCC program?

What are the predicitions NDSU BB will get better in DI meaning better players and more interesting competition? What about the rest of the NCC?

NDSU mens BB hasnt seen much tournament action. In the future we are playing for a spot in the NIT Or the NCAA. BSC teams have made it. I hope we make it more often then the D2 tournament.

Any rinky dink DI league is better than the rinky dink NCC that has an inflated image of itself. Ask anyone still in it. Im sure they will tell you its the best in D2. Im sure anyone in any DI league will say who cares, never heard of them. It will be a true statement.

89rabbit
02-23-2004, 02:56 PM
I haven't seen Oakland, Cententary, Southern Utah in TV every. *



I have, at least Oakland and Centenary. The Mid-Con is on Fox Sports Net just like the Horizon. I have also seen Chicago State, UMKC, Valpo, and Western Ill. I have not seen all the games so Southern Utah and Oral Roberts have prob. been on I just didn't see the game. ESPN has the rights to the Mid-Con. Conf. Tourney finals (Fox Sports Net has the preliminary rounds). Not to bad, it beats SDSU's appearances on KELO, and KSFY this year.

That being said one needs to ask themselves when was the last time my D-II Men's Basketball team was on ESPN or Fox Sports Net. For SDSU it was in 1985 when we played for the National Championship. That was along time ago and we are a Basketball power. 23 apperances in the NCAA D-II tourney 3 most all time. Just some food for thought.

Go State! D-I all the way!

89rabbit
02-23-2004, 03:35 PM
I hope you are right about the transition. *I think NDSU will thrive in 1aa fb (and I am excited about fb)but struggle mightily in a lot of the other sports. * My knowledge of D1 transition issues is based on attending UMKC bb and following them for the last 15 years or so. I followed that transition closely and in my mind it really has never worked out like people thought. *When I tell my friends who live in KC and attend more games than I do (I travel there for business and attend 4 or 5 a year) that NDSU/SDSU both strive to join your league there is always this stunned bewilderment. *Like why any program would aspire to that crappy league. *We are all bb junkies so we enjoy any level of bb but there aren't enough of us to make a success story in most cities. *I hope sdsu/ndsu *have success but I have my doubts. *But it will be interesting watching it. *I am in Omaha and most people I know in KC think the MId Continent will ultimately expand southward instead of northward. *On the other hand I listened to a radio interview with UNO's A.D. Bob Dananhauer who explained why UNO wasn't going D1. *But he also said that believed that both NDSU/SDSU will get into the Mid Continent eventually. *I hope he is right. I also hope NDSU/SDSU have allotted tons of extra money for all the increased travel they will be doing in the next few years.

updm002,

Were to start *??? *I guess we will start with my background. *I have lived in Kansas City since 1991, and I too have watched the Kangaroos (UMKC) struggle with their move up to D-I. *This is more a product of the fact that they have never been good at any level. *That and the fact that they are a commuter school. *From a state of Missouri prospective, they are the #5 school in the state. . . maybe. *They would be behind, Missouri (Big XII), St. Louis U (C-USA), Southwest Missouri St. (Missouri Valley), and SE Missouri (Ohio Valley). *To some here in the metro they fall behind D-II Rockhurst, their across the street neighbor. *That dosen't even take into account Kansas and Kansas St. which both have a ton more support in KC then does UMKC. *So to compare them to the Flag Ship Universities of North and South Dakota is ridiculous.

Next up, and I can't stress this enough, they have never been good at any level. *I don't think you can expect to move up and achieve success. *If you were not a power in Basketball at the D-II level, why would you be at the D-I. *NDSU is a football school (5/8 D-II National Championships) and will do just fine at the I-AA level. *I don't think SDSU is going to set the I-AA world on fire in football because we have not truly been a football power since the early 1960's (I hope I am wrong). *On the other hand SDSU is a basketball power. *1 National Championship, 1 Runner-UP, 23 NCAA D-II appearances (3rd most all time), and currently Ranked #3 in the nation with a 25-3 record. *Something UMKC never had.

Also, you need to listen to your UMKC friends a little less. *I have found that UMCKers are a little delusional. *They seem to think that because they are in a "Big Market" (were very few care about them) that they are on the verge of a Missouri Valley Conf. invite. *It isn't going to happen. *They can't even win the Mid-Con (they are 7-7 and in 6th place as of today). *So they tend to run down the Mid-Con. because they think they are too good for it. *::)

I'm not saying that the Mid-Con is the end all be all, but it is a pretty good Mid-Major Conf. *In terms of RPI here are how some of the Conf. that NDSU and SDSU are looking at getting into.

http://kenpom.com/rpi.php

Missouri Valley #12
Horizon #13
Mid-Con #18
Big Sky #22

That being said, I have seen a lot of Mid-Con basketball and I think SDSU and NDSU can compete and win TODAY! *So no need to worry. *I think or move to D-I will work out fine. *

One last thought. *I posted this on the Jackrabbit board but I think it pertains to this discussion. *Back in 1963 when SDSU won the D-II National Championship, some of the Schools that were also there included: *Fresno State (WAC), *Evansville (Missouri Valley), Southern Ill. (Missouri Valley), and Wittneburg. *Wittenberg moved down to D-III and they are the winningest team in D-III history. *That being said which schools have you heard of? *If you are like me it is D-Is Fresno State, Evansville, and Southern Ill. *So being the Big Fish in the Little Pond may not be all that it is cracked up to be. *More food for thought.

Go State!

JBB
02-23-2004, 04:27 PM
I watched the first half of the UMKC game on Saturday. I live in a small town in central MN. I dont even get the BISON/suck games here on radio or TV. Well, I can get the WDAY radio broadcast as long as the sun is up and Im on a hill.