(04-17-2024 11:30 AM)SICemDAWGS! Wrote:  

(04-16-2024 12:19 PM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  

(04-15-2024 12:49 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  

(04-15-2024 11:51 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Not shocked with CUSA’s “drop”, lost a Final Four team and two NIT finalists from the prior year. The league lost strength. Combine that with many of the traditionally stronger programs being predictably down this season and a poor OOC showing, and you’ve got a recipe for the worst-case scenario.

I’m also completely unconcerned about the health of CUSA in the long run. How often are NMSU and MTSU really going to be sub-200 teams, let alone near 300? Think it’s reasonable to expect leaps from Liberty and/or UTEP in the near-future as well. Delaware (and likely Missouri State) bring basketball pedigree. We should expect to be respectable nationally on the hardwood.

There have to be “bottom-feeder” programs of course, competition produces winners and losers. But top to bottom I like our collection of schools better than many of our peers in other mid-majors.

MT will be as long as our president is Sidney McPhee, until December 2026.

Point is, I highly doubt MTSU’s ten year avg is anywhere near 290.

Using the NET rankings from the 20-21 season through this past season:

Liberty 96.75
Louisiana Tech 110.75
Western Kentucky 129.75
Sam Houston 134.75
UTEP 169.5
NMSU 180.5
Delaware 186
Jacksonville St 190.25
Middle Tennessee 200.5
Kennesaw St 234
FIU 269.25

CUSA 172.91


Based off those numbers only Louisiana Tech and Delaware were able to outperform their 4 year average this past season. NMSU is the only huge outlier as it is their only season outside the top 190 in NET over that span. Only Liberty has been in the top 150 NET ever year. In addition to Liberty; Tech, WKU, SHSU, and UTEP are the only schools to be in the top 200 NET every season.

NMSU usually tracks between 75-150 in the NET/RPI/Kenpom. Two of the last four seasons were anomalies. In 2020-21, Covid restrictions affected NMSU more than most schools. NMSU never played a home game that season as the State of New Mexico was in total shutdown. And in 2022-23, the NMSU administration ended the season abruptly for well documented reasons, I will not revisit. Hooten struggled this season with a whole new team, but Aggie fans are hoping he will bring us back to the levels NMSU experienced under Theus, Menzies, Weir, and Jans.

Hope so NMSUPistolPete. CUSA has some basketball brands and would be nice to see you guys back to form.