just following some old friends and current foes.
#16 Indiana St.
#30 Dayton (who lost to NU...who lost to Chicago St. who we beat!!! just saying)
#49 St. Joes and that damn chicken mascot
#61 Drake,,,,man we had some battles with those guys
#68 Duquesne (Do-key-knee)
#72 George Mason (signed Dec. of Ind.....but now dead)
#73 St. Bonnies
#88 UMASS
#89 Richmond
#91 old foe and nemesis Wichita St.
#92 Evansville Geesh
#93 UIC and Marquis Kennedy
#96 VCU
So through the top 100 there are 8 Atlantic 10 teams, 2 Horizon league teams and 4 Valley teams

#102 SIU and Chris Mullins
#105 Davidson
#107 George Washington
#164 LaSalle
#169 THEE LOYOLA UNIVERSITY
#213 SLU
#217 Fordham
THE good news is Notre Dame is 221 and there are 362 teams so we are still in the top 1/2. Our two remaining non-cons Charleston Southern and Central Michigan are 347 and 319.

Love your wry, melancholy sense of humor, Nate. It really rings a bell with me. Maybe that's a core part of the Loyola Sports Aesthetic™ that binds us all together....

The NET is crap on its face, and nothing matters until we're halfway through conference play, because of dramatically unequal non-con schedules and the over-reaction to performance metrics as an addition to the NET formula.

PS. Didn't know you went to UCLA. I grew up 3 miles from there and took some summer classes at UCLA. Let's chat next time you're at a game.

MVC will be an interesting watch this year. Bradley raced out to a 6-0 start and their fans were pounding their chests, arguing they should be ranked (and laughing at Loyola's less-than-ideal start). Since then, they've dropped four straight--to Murray St., Indiana St., Akron & Cleveland State. Quite the fall from grace. Northern Iowa also came into the season as a favorite in the MVC (and whose fans have also spent quite a bit of time chastising and mocking Loyola). The Panthers are off to an 0-2 start in the MVC with a 20-point home blowout loss to Belmont and a 2-point loss to Evansville.

Indiana State looks to be the most complete team by far. They are 10-1 (2-0) and have been putting up big offensive numbers (83, 98, 90, 85 in their last four games). Drake will also be right there, still be led by Tucker Devries who can score with the best of them. Hope the Sycs keep it going. Always liked their program and fans. Josh Schertz is a hell of a coach and will likely (and unfortunately) be a high major coaching target.

He would be a good target to replace Drew! They gave us some good games when we were good and they were not.

so a few of us gathered at McDonigals where we used to hold watch parties for LU games...but it is closing...so we went for one last beer and to follow the LU - USF game on our phones....We got to discussing Coach Valentine's contract. No one was sure if this was the last of a 3 year deal or if he had one more left. We all did agree that if it was a 4 year deal it was unlikely that LU would buy him out if the buyout was anywhere near significant. Does anyone know for sure the years and details of the contract?

Loyola's NET rankings have gone up very slowly, despite having such a successful season. We are still behind teams we beat, like GM, DQ, UMass and St. Joe's. While we do not yet have a Q1 victory, not all of the A10 teams ahead of us do. So, without getting into all the stats that go into the rankings, it is hard for me to wrap my head around this.

And, unless Dayton continues to do well but gets upset in the A10 tourney, the league is destined to once again be a one team league in the NCAA field of 68.

What is a “Quad 1” game is going to fluctuate until the end of the year, but as it stands now Dayton, Richmond, VCU, and St Bonnie’s are all Quad 1 road games. George Mason and UMASS (and maybe St Joe’s) are within shouting distance of that category. If we keep winning, we’ll approach that as well given our schedule down the stretch. Davidson, with a NET of 120, is 10th best in the conference. By comparison, the 10th best NET in the MVC is UIC at 184…that’s a difference between an ok Quad 2 road game, and a bad Quad 3/4 road game.

What that all means is there are better odds for more “good wins” and fewer “bad losses”, which will put one or two more conference teams in a position to be in position to make an at-large argument if they are able to sneak up into the top 50 or so in NET. That’s still possible, depending on how the rest of the season plays out. It’s also still possible everyone has an absolute horrible loss to Lasalle or SLU and ends any discussion.

Dayton is in solid at large position with still a NET in the top 20, and some good out of conference wins.

If Dayton wins out and loses in the A-10 Finals, it should get an At-Large and that would give 2 teams. Otherwise, no chance for the A-10 to be more than a 1-bid league.

Same holds true for the Valley. Just sub Ind.St where Dayton is in the A-10.

Too bad, because I think 3 MVC teams and 3 A-10 teams could win a game or more in the tourney this year.

I wouldn’t say “no” chance. It’s going to depend on how the top 4/5 teams perform the last 3 weeks. And if they lose, who they lose to and how. Metrics on the margins can change in three weeks. Lunardi, for example, has Richmond listed as lurking for consideration of a bid. Anyone in the top 70-80 now can theoretically bump themselves into discussion.

Richmond has a Quad 1 win now with the Dayton victory at home. Rest of the resume is terrible. Lost to everyone in non-conf. I just don't see a path for any team other than Dayton to get an at large bid in the NCAA.

Same with the MVC. Now, I do think that if Dayton and IndST win out, they will both get at large bids if they lose in their respective tournaments.

But if Dayton loses at the Gentile that will hurt their chances of an at large more than it would help anyone else moving up in the standings. Ramblers had too poor of an opening to get a whiff of an at-large, even with winning out the rest of the regular season.

I don't think it's "fair" but these leagues are becoming 1 bid. And it sucks. As I said I think 6 teams could win a game in the tourney this year from A-10 and MVC and I for one would love to see them adjust these Net rankings to be a bit more reflective on where teams are at versus where they started.