Missouri State fans remember 2006 all too well. That was the season the Bears became the team with the highest RPI at 21 to not be invited to NCAA Tournament.
After their loss to Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Tournament Championship game, Bears fans might be seeing deja vu.
And ESPN's Bracketology specialist Joe Lunardi isn't helping things.
Lunardi went on ESPN on Sunday night and said that he has Missouri State as one of the last four out, citing a down year in the Missouri Valley. He questioned the Bears best wins on the season coming over Wichita State, a team that is no longer under consideration for the NCAA Tournament after failing to make the MVC Championship game.
Lunardi believes the league is down and even though Missouri State had a great season, it likely will cost the Bears a spot in the Big Dance once again.
This is devastating for Missouri State, who doesn't have any games left on their schedule to try and impress the committee while other bubble teams get to play in their conference games next week.
While Lunardi isn't the say all, as he is wrong on occasion, it still has to be a tough pill to swallow for Bears team that played so well all season.
After Sunday's loss, Bears coach Cuonzo Martin was already pleading his case for his school.
"I'm not bellyaching over this," Martin said. "This is a tough league and one of the top conferences in the country. We're 15-3 in a tough, physical league and that speaks for itself. We're 25-8 and just the work we put in. I'm wondering is there a set criteria for getting in?"
Coach Martin knows that this is going to be a long week in Springfield and for Bears fans everywhere.
Sources:
After their loss to Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Tournament Championship game, Bears fans might be seeing deja vu.
And ESPN's Bracketology specialist Joe Lunardi isn't helping things.
Lunardi went on ESPN on Sunday night and said that he has Missouri State as one of the last four out, citing a down year in the Missouri Valley. He questioned the Bears best wins on the season coming over Wichita State, a team that is no longer under consideration for the NCAA Tournament after failing to make the MVC Championship game.
Lunardi believes the league is down and even though Missouri State had a great season, it likely will cost the Bears a spot in the Big Dance once again.
This is devastating for Missouri State, who doesn't have any games left on their schedule to try and impress the committee while other bubble teams get to play in their conference games next week.
While Lunardi isn't the say all, as he is wrong on occasion, it still has to be a tough pill to swallow for Bears team that played so well all season.
After Sunday's loss, Bears coach Cuonzo Martin was already pleading his case for his school.
"I'm not bellyaching over this," Martin said. "This is a tough league and one of the top conferences in the country. We're 15-3 in a tough, physical league and that speaks for itself. We're 25-8 and just the work we put in. I'm wondering is there a set criteria for getting in?"
Coach Martin knows that this is going to be a long week in Springfield and for Bears fans everywhere.
Sources:
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