Postseason

[Phoenix]

Well..we're not getting into the postseason tournament we all wanted. But the team had a great regular season an effectively guaranteed themselves a spot in postseason play. We obviously won't know for at least another week which one it will be..but I thought it worth starting the discussion. My thoughts:

 

NIT - Unlikely..but certainly the top preference. I think a championship game loss would've earned us an at-large bid. Even a semifinal loss could have put us in a decent spot. But obviously the quarterfinal loss really hurts those chances. RPI dropped from the mid-high 80s to the low-mid 110s. We'll need very few auto-bids grabbed up in order to have any shot. Bucknell, Belmont and North Florida have already lost as #1 seeds. I'm sure UAlbany wait until next Sunday when the NIT bids are handed out before making any decisions.

 

CIT - Benson has said they have already reached out to him. We played in the tournament in 2012 and lost while hosting Manhattan. It's all mid-major teams. The pro would be that they usually are pretty good about considering geography. A con is that the opponent likely wouldn't generate the level of excitement as a high-major opponent. The tournament started 8 years ago and includes 32 teams. First round is played March 14-16..Championship is played March 29. Semifinals and championship is broadcast by the CBS Sports Network.

 

CBI - Benson has said they have already reached out to him. 16 team tournament that includes mostly mid-majors and some high-majors. Siena won this tournament in 2014. Stony Brook and Vermont both played in it last year..with Vermont advancing to the semifinals. Championship game is a best of three format broadcast on ESPNU. Pro would be that we'd be more likely to get a recognizable opponent. Con would be that geography isn't always paramount (Vermont played at Santa Clara in 2013). First round is March 15-16..Championship is March 28-April 1.

 

Vegas16 - New tournament. Will be interesting to see what level of team this attracts. All games are played at Mandalay Bay in Vegas. Games are packed in..first round is March 26 and 27, quarters are March 28, semis are March 29 and the championship is March 30. CBS Sports Network will televise the quarters, semis and final. Really no indication yet whether they will focus on 'name' teams simply to draw fans..or if it will end up drawing the best teams that don't make the NCAA/NIT..or if it will focus on west coast teams because of the Vegas location..etc. One potential con for us might be the length of time in between games. It would be three and a half weeks between March 2 and March 26/27.

 

If the team ends up in the CIT or CBI..I think I'd be surprised if we host a game. While those tournaments obviously give preference to teams that are willing to pay (ala Siena in the 2014 CBI)..the athletic department's revenue focus would suggest to me that it would be unlikely. Fortunately I don't think our spot in a tournament is dependent upon us 'paying' for one. A recent post on the TU blog put the cost to host a CBI game at $40k and a CIT game at $28,500.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Phoenix

[UA'08]

I believe the MAAC helped Siena pay for those CBI home games. Since NIT is all but gone, I'd like to see Vegas, CBI, then CIT. The Vegas tournament is intriguing because it's new and I'd wonder if they'd pay for travel.

[bob87]

I would put CBI last because it takes losing teams which don't belong as "at larges" in postseason

[B9j2j6s]

Women taking care of business against Vermont

[MRSGDG]

When do they announce the other post season tournaments? A few days after NCAA is announced?

[UAalum72]

When do they announce the other post season tournaments? A few days after NCAA is announced?

Actually within hours of the NCAA. The NIT and CBI are announced later Sunday night, and probably the CIT as well. The Vegas 16 doesn't start until March 26 so they have a little more time to see who's left.

Edited March 6, 2016 by UAalum72

[Clickclack]

Siena eats it in the maac semi finals... Maybe both will go to one of the lesser tournaments and get matched up.

[Eli]

Siena eats it in the maac semi finals... Maybe both will go to one of the lesser tournaments and get matched up.

Part of me is happy that they can't gloat much for our demise. Would have hated having them go deep or win their conference and then rub it in our faces for a year. Our loss was more surprising, but I'm glad they faceplanted too.

[godanesgo99]

I'm mixed on the Siena loss. I know the rivalry is heated, and their fans piss me off. For that reason I too am glad that they lost. That said, come post season I do root for their team simply because I like watching more meaningful local ball.

 

How great would it be for both teams to end up in the same post season tournament and get a chance at a rematch. I guess that's what I am rooting for now.

[danstep]

I don't expect UA to play in the Vegas tourney...Coach B mentioned on his Saturday AM show with Wyland that the date the tourney starts isn't to his liking..given they'd have to practice 3 more weeks after the season ended and his concern was understandably motivation and the time away from competition

[UA'08]

Is it a team vote or the coach's decision, whether they want to continue playing? Might sound silly, but no one likes to practice, and next week is starts spring break. I can easily see motivation being a problem no matter what tournament they play in.

[Eli]

I'm mixed on the Siena loss. I know the rivalry is heated, and their fans piss me off. For that reason I too am glad that they lost. That said, come post season I do root for their team simply because I like watching more meaningful local ball.

 

How great would it be for both teams to end up in the same post season tournament and get a chance at a rematch. I guess that's what I am rooting for now.

 

$iena fans don't want to play us. All of them are posting that they want nothing to do with the tourney we are in. Not sure why...lol.

[godanesgo99]

It's really because they got a lucky win against UA earlier in the year. Their bigs had an easy time with Peters and Charles out sick. I know Charles never returned, but the team wasn't used to playing without him at that time. I would expect the results to be different today. I would have to assume that any tourney that would allow Siena to pay to host games at TUC would bend over backwards to get a scheduled UA vs. Siena game in Albany.

Edited March 7, 2016 by godanesgo99

[bob87]

I'm mixed on the Siena loss. I know the rivalry is heated, and their fans piss me off. For that reason I too am glad that they lost. That said, come post season I do root for their team simply because I like watching more meaningful local ball.

 

How great would it be for both teams to end up in the same post season tournament and get a chance at a rematch. I guess that's what I am rooting for now.

 

Never "mixed" on LCC losses. It is always good when they lose as I don't have to be anywhere near their misbehaving fans unlike the Iona fans who apparently had to deal with that last night

[Dane Pound]

Selling tickets seems like the main priority for these post-season tournaments and Albany-Siena would certainly do that. A CBI or CIT game at Sefcu Arena would certainly generate interest.