One of the biggest gripes against former CBS basketball analyst Billy Packer was that he didn't respect the mid-majors. He famously complained that there were too many mid-majors in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. That was the year that George Mason upset Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn to get to the Final Four.
This will be the first Packer-less tournament in decades as he retired after last year's Final Four. It's a shame for him because he would have loved the makeup of the brackets this time around. Going against the recent trends, it looks as if the major conferences will get most of the at-large bids, leaving the mid-majors out in the cold.
George Mason University's basketball team is known mostly for getting to the Final Four in 2006, but now it will be getting some attention for something else. At a George Mason game last weekend, a drag queen was chosen as the school's homecoming queen.
The Bracket Busters is a series that began in 2003 and was designed to pit mid-majors in inter-conference battles late in the regular season. With ESPN tied in, it brings national TV audiences to places they may normally not go.
It helps these teams immensely by getting them exposure, pumping up their RPI numbers and answers some of those questions about the strength of these mid-major conferences.
102 teams were named to be in this year's event ... which will take place on February 20-21.
The marquee name will be Davidson College, home of Stephen Curry and a Wildcats team that were a shot away from getting to the Final Four.
Other big time mid-majors include Butler, Drake, San Diego, Nevada, St. Mary's, Bucknell and George Mason.
Matchups will be set on February 9th. After the jump are the teams that are participating.
I've been trying to find the best way to "honor" Billy Packer by pointing out his most ... uh ... famous moments (ya know, saying there are too many mid-majors in the NCAA Tournament, saying "F** out" on the Charlie Rose Show, and saying the foul that broke Tyler Hansbrough's nose wasn't flagrant).
This cartoon above does it perfectly. It was created by Grey Blackwell, who does all sorts of cartoons for the News & Observer's web site, and hits on all three of those notes with high hilarity.
It's hard to believe that in the 90s, Providence was able to raid Xavier for their head coach (Pete Gille, anyone?). Can't picture that these days. Now, the Friars can't even entice an alum coaching at a mid-major to take their job.
Jim Larranaga (Providence, 1971) opted to remain at George Mason rather than take the job at his alma mater. Admittedly, Larranaga has been at GMU for 12 years and had that Final Four run that keeps him in regular demand in the DC area for lucrative speaking engagements.
Still, this was supposed to be a slam dunk of a hire. Someone who would also reenergize the fans. How demoralizing was being turned down by Larranaga? Providence Athletic Director Rob Driscoll felt the need to issue a press release on the rejection to reassure the fans and alum.
"We offered him a very substantial package but he was too comfortable in his current situation and opted to stay at George Mason. As a result, I will continue to have ongoing discussions with the other finalists in this search. I remain very optimistic that we will find a head coach who will embrace the rich tradition of Friar basketball and move the program forward."
I don't remember the last time a school issued a press release about being rejected.
Here's a reason why coaches shouldn't let cameras into the locker room before games.
When you're going up against the school that pretty much invented the pep-talk cottage industry, you've gotta come up with something better than crumpling up a piece of paper. A little too much comedy and way too much about what happened with a completely different team.
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association Record: 23-10 (12-6 CAA) RPI: 64 How They Got In: Automatic Bid Seed/Bracket: 12/East Mascot: Patriots. The school was named for George Mason, a Virginia statesman who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776. It detailed specific rights of citizens and Mason, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, pressed for a similar enumeration of rights in the Constitution. When there wasn't one, he refused to sign and lobbied for their inclusion. That led to the Bill of Rights, therefore Mason's namesake school are the Patriots.
Big Wins: Dayton, Kansas State, Virginia Commonwealth
Notable Loss: The loss to Georgia State in the second CAA game gave notice to the erratic season ahead for GMU.
Player You Should Know: You may remember Will Thomas from such NCAA tournaments as 2006 but he's an even better player now than he was during that Final Four run. He averages a double-double (and had another one in tonight's CAA final), shoots 63% from the floor and is always the best option for a Mason team that is scattershot from three.
Outlook: You shouldn't underestimate the experience that Thomas and Folarin Campbell bring to the table after their Final Four trip in 2006. But don't overestimate it either. Their experience didn't help them battle VCU for the league title nor did it help them handle the lesser lights of the CAA. Don't expect another magical run from the Patriots but, then, you didn't expect it the last time either.
There seems to be a larger than usual pool of teams across the college basketball landscape from the non-power conferences that could make their own case for an at-large bid. These are some of the conferences that have teams that could pop other teams bubbles if they don't win their conference tournament. Part 1 and Part 3.
Today has the Sun Belt, Atlantic Sun and Patriot League getting their conference tournaments started. Not as much attention will be paid to the Atlantic Sun and the Patriot League, but South Alabama in the Sun Belt will be watched closely.
There's a school of thought that holds Bracket Buster games in fairly low esteem. They don't do much to hurt or help a team's chances of getting into the tournament and make for better television than anything else. I can't argue with the latter. Today's the best day of college hoops all season, only in part because of Tennessee-Memphis, and I think it's one that could play a role on Selection Sunday.
Just ask George Mason how much winning your Bracket Buster game matters. If they didn't beat Wichita State in 2006, they probably don't make the tournament. If they don't make it, they don't get to the Final Four, obviously. I mention the Patriots because they played one of the marquee games this afternoon, not because they did anything to help their cause. After taking a 13-point lead into the break, GMU got rolled by Ohio and lost 69-57 in Athens. Leon Williams, the Bobcats beast, had his customary double-double but it was 18 in the second half from Bubba Walther and horrid shooting that really cost them.
Mid-major basketball fans are frothing at the bit for this weekend's Bracket Buster bonanza. A slew of games pitting the best teams from all over the country, highlighted by Drake and Butler hooking up in Indianapolis. That game should be a doozy but a good part of the fun of this weekend is usually seeing which teams might step up and get at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. I say usually because after this week it's hard to find many teams with chances that look good.
Sure, Drake would get a bid if they suffer an upset in the MVC tourney but there's no way another team from that conference is dancing without an automatic invite. Creighton lost twice this week, including a 87-59 thrashing at Bradley's hands on Saturday. Illinois State, meanwhile, fell at Indiana State. The Redbirds will be a popular choice in the 2008-09 preseason, see sophomore Osiris Eldridge's 34 points in the loss, but they won't factor in this year's postseason. And this year's favorite, Southern Illinois, followed up their win against Drake with their first road win at Wichita State. Too little, too late unless you're looking for the likeliest spoiler in the conference tournament.
NCAA Basketball 
One of the biggest gripes against former CBS basketball analyst Billy Packer was that he didn't respect the mid-majors. He famously complained that there were too many mid-majors in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. That was the year that George Mason upset Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn to get to the Final Four.
Update 2/2/09: The 
It's hard to believe that in the 90s, Providence was able to raid Xavier for their head coach (Pete Gille, anyone?). Can't picture that these days. Now, the Friars 
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association
There's a school of thought that holds Bracket Buster games in fairly low esteem. They don't do much to hurt or help a team's chances of getting into the tournament and make for better television than anything else. I can't argue with the latter. Today's the best day of college hoops all season, only in part because of Tennessee-Memphis, and I think it's one that could play a role on Selection Sunday. 
Mid-major basketball fans are frothing at the bit for this weekend's Bracket Buster bonanza. A slew of games pitting the best teams from all over the country, highlighted by Drake and Butler hooking up in Indianapolis. That game should be a doozy but a good part of the fun of this weekend is usually seeing which teams might step up and get at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. I say usually because after this week it's hard to find many teams with chances that look good. 
