N C A A is Biased Against S M U

        I know you have heard this story from me before, but the actions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association this week simply endorses what I have said for many years. SMU is judged on a different level than other schools. Cheating will not be tolerated in amateur athletics and with that I totally agree...but SMU did nothing that Texas or Texas A&M (or many other schools) did back in the 1980's.... BUT the NCAA needed a small school to make an example of. They would never screw with the big state-supported schools and lose out on all the revenue they generate. So in 1986 they stripped SMU of their football team with the death penalty. It would be a move costing SMU an additional season in 1987, and ultimately the demise of the historic Southwest Conference. It would be 25 years before SMU had a football season worthy of being rewarded with a bowl game.
     Now the SMU basketball team is the recipient of the NCAA's wrath once again. Despite posting a record of 23 wins and 9 losses this season, the Mustangs were passed over for the 64 team field in the NCAA Tournament. Teams that did make the tournament DESPITE having the same record or worse than SMU are listed below.

                                 2014 NCAA Tournament
Eastern Regional:                          
Coastal Carolina 21-12
Memphis 23-9
North Carolina 23-9
Providence 23-11
Milwaukee 21-13 


Southern Regional:
Colorado 23-11
Tulsa 21-12
Dayton 21-10
Western Michigan 23-9
Stanford 21-12


Western Regional:
Oklahoma State 21-12
Weber State 19-11
Oklahoma 23-9
Nebraska 19-12
La Lafayette 23-11
Oregon 23-9
American Univ 20-12


Midwest Regional:
Kansas State 20-12
Texas 23-10
Wofford 20-12

     Remember too that SMU was the 23rd ranked team in the country and had defeated three (3) top ten teams this season. Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown was devastated by the news as over one thousand fans, players, coaches, and media watched the selection results over a giant screen at Moody Coliseum.

      It has been thirteen years since a nationally ranked team DID NOT make the NCAA Tournament.... So why now?  SMU will  play in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and has been placed in the number one overall ranking in their bracket. The headquarters of the NCAA is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and I wouldn't piss on it if it was on fire. They are simply a money-making organization and the welfare of college athletics are far from their aim.
      Coach Brown took the news optimistically and immediately looked ahead to the NIT games.

        The Mustangs will have the home court in their first round game of the NIT... and they have a record of 10-1 on the home floor.

UPDATE:  SMU won their first game of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Wednesday night, defeating the University of California at Irvine by the score of 68-54. The win by the tournament's number one ranked team moves the Ponies' record to 24-9 this season. It was also the first post-season win for coach Larry Brown in 26 years. SMU was led by Cannen Cunningham with 17 points.

      Ben Moore also added 11 points in the victory. SMU will take the weekend off before facing Louisiana State University in a second round game Monday night.

UPDATE:   SMU defeated Louisiana State 80-67 Monday night in a second round game of the NIT.

 The Mustangs displayed their 5th rated defense to smoother the Tigers in the second half while shooting 67% from the floor. SMU got 16 points each from Nick Russell and Nic Moore to improve their record to 25-9 this season and 10-1 when playing at home. They will now face the University of California Wednesday night in a third round contest. Cal defeated Arkansas to advance in the tournament. 

UPDATE:  SMU defeated the University of California 67-65 Wednesday night to punch their ticket to the Final Four of the National Invitational Tournament in New York City. Nic Moore hit a 3-point shot with 12 seconds to play to eliminate the Golden Bears.

 Markus Kennedy led SMU in scoring with 19 points and strong rebounding under the boards. The win was the 11th in 12 contests inside Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus, but now the Ponies are headed for Madison Square Garden in New York and the NCAA Final Four will be in Arlington, Texas. Who is smiling now NCAA? 

UPDATE:  SMU continued it's winning ways by downing Clemson 65-59 in Tuesday night's semi-final game of the National Invitational Tournament. 

The Tigers actually led by 12 at the half, but a strong defense by SMU in the second half ended their season. The Mustangs were led by Markus Kennedy, who had 21 points and 9 rebounds in the winning effort. SMU will play Minnesota on Thursday night for the NIT Championship. The Golden Gophers won over Florida State 65-62 in their semi-final game. 

UPDATE:   The Championship Game of the National Invitational Tournament lived up to advance billing as the lead changed hands 17 times in the game. Neither SMU or Minnesota ever got more than a four point lead over the other. With five seconds to play it was still not settled, but Minnesota prevails over the Mustangs 65-63 to win the NIT Title.

  
  SMU got 17 points from Nic Moore and Nick Russell added 15 more. The Ponies end their season with 27 wins and 10 losses. Congrats to the Golden Gophers on the win.