Go Miners, Redux...

[silverbear]

Looks like our earlier debate about the Miners' chances of making the NCAA Tournament are now pretty much moot... they stand 26-7 right now, and are in the WAC championship finals... what sucks is that regular season champion Nevada got themselves upset in the first round of the tournament, so we won't get to see the rubber match between UTEP and Nevada (both teams won close games on the other team's court)...

Nope, it'll be the Miners against either Boise State or Fresno State, and they ought to win that one... but even if they don't, I remain convinced that a 26-8 record will earn them a trip to the NCAAs... that would mean 3 teams from the WAC in the big dance, which is kind of iffy most years, but the winner of the tourney will get an automatic bid, Nevada should get a bid by virtue of their record and their regular season championship, and I don't see any Division I team that racked up 26 wins being left out either...

But like I said, I expect the Miners to wind up 27-7, meaning I expect them to go on and win the tournament... given that this is their final year in the WAC (they move to Conference USA this summer), it will be especially sweet if they do win the tourney... they've been in the WAC for a looooong time, since before I went to school there in the fall of 1970...

 

[Tio]

Looks like our earlier debate about the Miners' chances of making the NCAA Tournament are now pretty much moot... they stand 26-7 right now, and are in the WAC championship finals... what sucks is that regular season champion Nevada got themselves upset in the first round of the tournament, so we won't get to see the rubber match between UTEP and Nevada (both teams won close games on the other team's court)...

Nope, it'll be the Miners against either Boise State or Fresno State, and they ought to win that one... but even if they don't, I remain convinced that a 26-8 record will earn them a trip to the NCAAs... that would mean 3 teams from the WAC in the big dance, which is kind of iffy most years, but the winner of the tourney will get an automatic bid, Nevada should get a bid by virtue of their record and their regular season championship, and I don't see any Division I team that racked up 26 wins being left out either...

But like I said, I expect the Miners to wind up 27-7, meaning I expect them to go on and win the tournament... given that this is their final year in the WAC (they move to Conference USA this summer), it will be especially sweet if they do win the tourney... they've been in the WAC for a looooong time, since before I went to school there in the fall of 1970...

What seed do you think we'll get if we win the wac. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that BOise beat nevada!



I can't believe

 

[silverbear]

What seed do you think we'll get if we win the wac. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that BOise beat nevada!

As you noted, Boise State upset Nevada, and tonight they upset Fresno State... both taut, one point victories... that makes the Miners a really good bet to win the tourney, since they've beaten Boise State by 14 twice, on the road, and in the Don Haskins Center a week ago...

But even if Boise State pulls the upset, consider this quote, pulled from the UTEP website:

Since the WAC’s inception in 1962, all 12 teams with 26 wins or more on selection Sunday have received bids to “The Big Dance.”

Like I said, the Miners are a lock... as to your question about seeding, I'm not real good at that kind of guesswork, but I'd say they'd be a 10 seed if the win the tourney, a 12 seed if they don't...

FWIW, the championship game will be telecast nationally on ESPN 2 later tonight, starting at 9PM EST... I'll be able to catch the first half before I have to leave for work, and you can bet I'll be taping the second half...

Omar Thomas was a BEAST tonight... he only had 2 points in the first half, but he had 29 in the second, including 14 of 14 from the free throw line... he was just too much for the Owls to handle inside, and he even stepped out and dropped in a coupla 18-20 footers...

 

[Tio]

As you noted, Boise State upset Nevada, and tonight they upset Fresno State... both taut, one point victories... that makes the Miners a really good bet to win the tourney, since they've beaten Boise State by 14 twice, on the road, and in the Don Haskins Center a week ago...

But even if Boise State pulls the upset, consider this quote, pulled from the UTEP website:

Agree compoletely. Any 26 win team should get in period.

Omar Thomas was a BEAST tonight... he only had 2 points in the first half, but he had 29 in the second, including 14 of 14 from the free throw line... he was just too much for the Owls to handle inside, and he even stepped out and dropped in a coupla 18-20 footers...

I will miss OT. He has a malik rose qaulity in that he plays a lot bigger than his size. But he is much better than malik, whoever takes him in round two (cmon lakers!) will not be dissapointed.








Fun fact for today, did you know andy reid was once an assistant coach at utep?

 

[silverbear]

Fun fact for today, did you know andy reid was once an assistant coach at utep?

You're KIDDING... I did not know that *delivered in my best Ed McMahon voice*...

Now I know where he got so fat-- eating at the La Paloma...

 

[silverbear]

So now, we don't have to worry about the NCAA giving the Miners the shaft...

It was a lot of fun for this ol' ex-Miner, watching that game... Fili Rivera was playing out of his gourd, and the commentators were gushing about him... I think the last time I saw a point guard that fast, it was TJ Ford, from Texas... if the kid ever learns how to knock down the 15-20 footer consistently, he's got NBA ability... I wouldn't be surprised if some team spent a 2nd round pick on him... I'd rather expect Omar Thomas to get drafted at some point, too...

I'd better enjoy it while I can, Conference USA is a little tougher nut to crack... Memphis is not Louisiana Tech, Louisville is not Tulsa... and though the Miners are only losing two seniors, those two are their best players-- Rivera and Thomas...

I do think the Miners will be competitive in football in that league next year...

It was a bittersweet evening for me, though, because the Miners have been part of the WAC for over 35 years, even back before I went there in the very early 70s... but the WAC was gutted when BYU, Utah, Colorado State and Wyoming bolted for the Mountain West conference a few years back... as a result, recruiting for any WAC team suffered, and there were fewer TV appearances for the conference... yes, sadly, the WAC has become a second-rate conference... this was only the 4th time I got to see the Miners play all year... hopefully, I'll get to see some more of them now that they've switched conferences, and hopefully, that will make recruiting a little easier for them...

Now I get the fun of waiting for Selection Sunday, to find out where the Miners are seeded, and who they'll be playing... I'm guessing around a 10th seed, but that is just a guess...

What fun...

 

[silverbear]

Now I get the fun of waiting for Selection Sunday, to find out where the Miners are seeded, and who they'll be playing... I'm guessing around a 10th seed, but that is just a guess...

And not a bad one, they ultimately wound up an 11 seed... a win in the first round over Utah will tie their team record for most victories in a single season...

It'll be a tough haul, Utah's pretty good, but if Rivera and Thomas are both clicking, the Miners can pull off the upset...