Conference realignment discussion - v. 2015

[Hall2012]

If the Big East Conference were to go to 12 I think they'd add Saint Louis University and the University of Dayton or Saint Joseph's University.

SLU is a dumpster fire right now.

St. Joe's will never get into the BE.

Only because Villanova would likely veto, though somewhat foolishly in my opinion. Same with the Dayton-Xavier situation. Those rivalries are already huge and could become national must-see TV with Big East conference implications. I know there's a lot of interest in adding new media markets, but it could also be beneficial to double down on some of the ones the league already has. They already have 2 teams the NYC-metro area (I can't wait for both SHU and SJU to be good at the same time), and doing the same in Philadelphia and Cincinnati (is Dayton considered part of the same media market?) would give the league a stranglehold in those two markets.

I don't think it's a bad idea at all.

[marquette]

Since when has anyone even remotely suggested to remove a team from probation from the conferences stats? NEVER. You aren't punishing the conference, you are punishing the school..... Show me even 1 national columnist that says that SMU should be removed from the conference stats. I don't think you can find one. And yes, wins vs SMU are going to help UConn, Tulsa, and Temple- and quite possibly Cincy. It's not going to be tarnished in the committee's eyes at all because it's SMU. I know that ticks folks off here with that fact- but it is what the reality of the situation is.

*Sigh* I don't care enough to argue about this, and frankly it doesn't matter. Why do you care so much? You still haven't answered that question in any meaningful way.

[DudeAnon]

Coaching transitions aren't discussed here enough when it comes to this topic.

That article I copied in the new thread about the return of Catholic basketball - no disrespect to Butler; it had nice things to say about Butler in the BE - mentioned as much, noting how a B1G program could weather the problem of selecting a coach who doesn't work out better than smaller private schools who run into the same outcome.

SLU is a great example. Great school, great facilities and solid, non-redundant television market. But look at the free fall from Majerus to Crews.

Yes, we all run the same risk, but, except for DePaul and perhaps SHU if Williard doesn't turn it around this year or quickly, we're in good shape on the coaching front - - I"ll give JTIII one last pass on this topic.

What if two are added and their wheels fall off? Why do that?

Butler's actually a great example. If Miller hadn't had his mental health episode, and he had stuck around Butler a 2nd or 3rd year, the damage he could have done could have taken years to recover from. But normally a good program from like the Big Ten who hired a poor coach would when they got rid of him recover much quicker.....

Oh yes, the all powerful Big 10 programs: Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Illinois, Minnesota, Rutgers.

[billyjack]

One good development for Saint Louis is their billiken logo has improved:

[NJRedman]

SLU is absolute garbage again this year. I hope they dump Crews the minute they walk off the court at the A10 tournament.

It's too bad that Crews has tanked the program as badly as he has. Majerus had built a solid program that was a competitive top 30 team almost every year. I think they had advanced to the round of 32 three straight years before Crews did what he does best...completely wreck a college basketball program. SLU has great facilities and is an ideal market for a potential expansion team, but Crews has really put them behind the eight-ball with his inability to recruit and coach. He needs to be fired immediately, and hiring a solid coach who can turn that program around should be of utmost importance to that program.

I hope the administration knows they are a legit candidate for expansion and go after a good young coach.

[SCS]

I think I still think the old one is more lovable, and it mine as well be lovable if its gonna be a billiken.

[XtoDC]

What I'm saying about the AAC this year is it's winding up to be a pretty decent year- despite all those close losses. League will probably get for sure 2 teams, and a real shot at 3- with an outside shot at 4. There is nothing hypothetical about that at all....

And this crap about moving goalposts. In a sport that is judged subjectively, it happens. Take Seton Hall. They beat PC back on 1/16. Then it was a profound win. Now, it's a good win, but it's lost a lot of steam since then.... Seton Hall's goal posts HAVE moved in that time because PC has struggled since then. Folks want to act like if a team was great back on 1/16, the win should carry the same amount of weight that it would have back on 1/16. That just doesn't happen.

The hypotheticals in question were AAC winning games they didn't and removing SMU from conference RPI, which I can see the point of since they (1) Cheated to become as good as they, no different from using steroids, and (2) aren't eligible for the postseason. I have no interest in arguing AAC strength with you as I've stated numerous times. Simply not worth my time. My post was about irony.

Since when has anyone even remotely suggested to remove a team from probation from the conferences stats? NEVER. You aren't punishing the conference, you are punishing the school..... Show me even 1 national columnist that says that SMU should be removed from the conference stats. I don't think you can find one. And yes, wins vs SMU are going to help UConn, Tulsa, and Temple- and quite possibly Cincy. It's not going to be tarnished in the committee's eyes at all because it's SMU. I know that ticks folks off here with that fact- but it is what the reality of the situation is.

Removing a team on probation from the conference's stats is going to help a conference probably 8 times out of 10, so I don't know why in the rare occasions that it does happen people would root for that outcome. Who cares if it helps teams in the AAC anyways? Good for them if they get a bid or two and the Pac 10 doesn't, why should we care?

[Burrito]

Speaking of the Saint Louis Billikens, I didn't know the city's population has been dropping for a long time.

1950: 856,796
1970: 622,236
1990: 396,685
2014 (est): 317,419


Also saw that Memphis Tiger fans have started a GoFundMe page to buy out Josh Paster's contract. lol

http://www.commercialappeal.com/sports/ ... 61551.html

[CPJays]

Speaking of the Saint Louis Billikens, I didn't know the city's population has been dropping for a long time. less TV viewers

1950: 856,796
1970: 622,236
1990: 396,685
2014 (est): 317,419


Also saw that Memphis Tiger fans have started a GoFundMe pageto buy out Josh Paster. lol

http://www.commercialappeal.com/sports/ ... 61551.html

City pop is a misnomer compared to Metro pop. According to core city Omaha is bigger than STL.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

It's too bad that Crews has tanked the program as badly as he has.

Majerus had built a solid program that was a competitive top 30 team almost every year.

I think they had advanced to the round of 32 three straight years before Crews did what he does best...completely wreck a college basketball program.

Rick Majerus coached only one Saint Louis Billikens team that finished in the RPI Top 80. However, Majerus did build a solid program that lasted two years longer than he did.

Saint Louis - Final RPI Rankings (Head Coach)

2007-08 ==> 135 (Rick Majerus)
2008-09 ==> 130 (Rick Majerus)
2009-10 ==> 81 (Rick Majerus)
2010-11 ==> 184 (Rick Majerus)
2011-12 ==> 28 (Rick Majerus) ==> NCAA Tournament Round of 32

2012-13 ==> 17 (Jim Crews) ==> NCAA Tournament Round of 32
2013-14 ==> 24 (Jim Crews) ==> NCAA Tournament Round of 32
2014-15 ==> 273 (Jim Crews)