High major team or low major team? A team who loses a lot to good teams or a team who racks up wins against lesser competition? Should a team from a big conference with 12-plus losses get an at-large bid over a mid/low major team? Should a team get an at-large bid with a below .500 record? Personally, I believe the standard should be set at 20+ wins AND .500 or better in conference to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The always wonderful Joe Lunardi, bracketologist for ESPN, believes teams with a lot of losses and below .500 in conference shouldn't get in. So, with the help of the living legend Hovadipo at btownbanner.com, we will look at a set of standards we came up with and decide who is better; high or low?
TEAMS WE LOOKED AT:
High- Any 9 seed or lower that lost 12-plus games and/or below .500 in conference who played in the AAC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, Big East, SEC or Pac-12.
Low- Any team that was 9 seeded or lower, that didn't play in any of those conferences who got an at-large bid.
HIGH MAJORS
2019
9. Oklahoma 19-13(7-11): 1-1
9. Baylor 19-13(10-8): 1-1
10. Minnesota 21-13(9-11): 1-1
10. Florida 19-15(9-9): 1-1
10. Seton Hall 20-13(9-9): 0-1
11. St. Johns 21-12(8-10): 0-1
11. Ohio State 19-14(8-12): 1-1
2018
9. Alabama 19-15(8-10): 1-1
10. Texas 19-14(8-10): 0-1
10. Oklahoma 18-13(8-10): 0-1
10. Providence 21-13(10-8): 0-1
10. Butler 20-13(9-9): 1-1
11. Arizona State 20-11(8-10): 0-1
11. Syracuse 20-13(8-10): 3-1
2017
9. Vanderbilt 19-15(10-8): 0-1
9. Michigan State 19-14(10-8): 1-1
10. Marquette 19-12(10-8): 0-1
10. Oklahoma State 20-12(9-9): 0-1
11. Providence 20-12(10-8): 0-1
11. Xavier 21-13(9-9): 3-1
11. Kansas State 20-13(8-10): 1-1
11. Wake Forest 19-13(9-9): 0-1
2016
10. Syracuse 19-13(9-9): 4-1
11. Vanderbilt 19-13(11-7): 0-1
11. Michigan 22-12(10-8): 1-1
2015
9. Purdue 21-12(12-6): 0-1
9. Oklahoma State 18-13(8-10): 0-1
10. Indiana 20-13(9-9): 0-1
11. Texas 20-13(8-10): 0-1
11. Ole Miss 20-12(11-7): 1-1
11. UCLA 20-13(11-7): 2-1
2014
9. Oklahoma State 21-12(8-10): 0-1
9. Kansas State 20-12(10-8): 0-1
10. Stanford 21-12(10-8): 2-1
11. Nebraska 19-12(11-7): 0-1
11. Iowa 20-12(9-9): 0-1
11. Tennessee 21-12(11-7): 3-1
12. NC State 21-13(9-9): 1-1
12. Xavier 21-12(10-8): 0-1
2013
9. Villanova 20-13(10-8): 0-1
11. Minnesota 20-12(8-10): 1-1
2012
9. UConn 20-13(8-10): 0-1
10. West Virginia 19-13(9-9): 0-1
10. Purdue 21-12(10-8): 1-1
11. Texas 20-13(9-9): 0-1
11. NC State 22-12(9-7): 2-1
12. South Florida 20-13(12-6): 2-1
2011
9. Illinois 19-13(9-9): 1-1
9. Tennessee 19-14(8-8): 0-1
10. Michigan State 19-14(9-9): 0-1
10. Penn State 19-14(9-9): 0-1
11. Marquette 20-14(9-9): 2-1
11. USC 19-14(10-8): 0-1
2010
9. Louisville 20-12(11-7): 0-1
10. Georgia Tech 22-11(7-9): 1-1
10. Florida 21-12(9-7): 0-1
11. Minnesota 21-13(9-9): 0-1
2009
9. Tennessee 21-12(10-6): 0-1
10. Maryland 20-13(7-9): 1-1
10. Michigan 20-13(9-9): 1-1
12. Wisconsin 19-12(10-8): 1-1
12. Arizona 19-13(9-9): 2-1
2008
9. Oregon 18-13(9-9): 0-1
10. Arizona 19-14(8-10): 0-1
11. Kentucky 18-12(12-4): 0-1
12. Villanova 20-12(9-9): 2-1
2007
10. Georgia Tech 20-11(8-9): 0-1
10. Texas Tech 21-12(9-7): 0-1
11. Stanford 18-12(10-8): 0-1
12. Arkansas 21-13(7-9): 0-1
2006
10. Alabama 17-12(10-6): 1-1
2005
9. Iowa State 19-12(9-7): 1-1
10. NC State 21-14(7-9): 2-1
10. Iowa 21-11(7-9): 0-1
2003
9. NC State 18-12(9-7): 0-1
10. Alabama 17-11(7-9): 0-1
2001
9. Missouri 19-12(9-7): 1-1
2000
9. Missouri 18-12(10-6): 0-1
Record: 51-78(65.4%){My Standard: 27-47(57.4%)} ACC: 13-8(61.9%)
PAC-12: 6-8(42.9%
Big East: 10-15(40%)
SEC: 7-13(35%)
Big Ten: 9-17(34.6%)
Big 12: 5-15(25%)
S16: 10, E8: 2, F4: 1 MID/LOW MAJORS
2019
11. Belmont 26-5(16-2): 1-1
2018
11. St. Bonaventure 26-8(14-4): 1-1
2017
10. VCU 26-8(14-4): 0-1
2016
10. VCU 24-10(14-4): 1-1
11. Wichita State 24-8(16-2): 2-1
2015
10. Davidson 24-7(14-4): 0-1
11. BYU 25-9(13-5): 0-1
11. Boise State 25-8(14-4): 0-1
11. Dayton 25-8(13-5): 2-1
2014
9. George Washington 24-8(11-5): 0-1
10. BYU 23-11(13-5): 0-1
11. Dayton 23-10(10-6): 3-1
2013
9. Wichita State 26-8(12-6): 4-1
9. Temple 23-9(11-5): 1-1
11. Middle Tennessee 28-5(19-1): 0-1
11. Saint Marys 27-6(14-2): 1-1
13. Boise State 21-10(9-7): 0-1
13. La Salle 21-9(11-5): 3-1
2012
9. Southern Miss 25-8(11-5): 0-1
9. Saint Louis 25-7(12-4): 1-1
10. Xavier 21-12(10-6): 2-1
11. Colorado State 20-11(8-6): 0-1
14. BYU 25-8(12-4): 1-1
14. Iona 25-7(15-3): 0-1
2011
11. VCU 23-11(12-6): 5-1
12. UAB 22-8(12-4): 0-1
2010
12. Utah State 27-7(14-2): 0-1
12. UTEP 26-6(15-1): 0-1
2009
9. Butler 26-5(15-3): 0-1
11. Dayton 26-7(11-5): 1-1
2008
10. South Alabama 26-6(16-2): 0-1
10. Saint Marys 25-6(12-2): 0-1
11. Saint Josephs 21-12(9-7): 0-1
2007
9. Xavier 24-8(13-3): 1-1
12. Old Dominion 24-8(15-3): 0-1
2006
9. UAB 24-6(12-2): 0-1
10. Northern Iowa 23-9(11-7): 0-1
11. George Mason 25-7(15-3): 4-1
12. Utah State 23-8(11-5): 0-1
13. Bradley 20-10(11-7): 2-1
13. Air Force 24-6(12-4): 0-1
2005
9. Nevada 25-7(16-2): 1-1
10. Saint Marys 25-9(11-3): 0-1
11. UAB 22-11(10-6): 1-1
11. Northern Iowa 21-11(11-7): 0-1
2004
9. Charlotte 21-8(12-4): 0-1
9. UAB 20-9(12-4): 2-1
9. Southern Illinois 25-4(17-1): 0-1
10. Dayton 24-8(12-4): 0-1
11. Richmond 20-12(10-6): 0-1
11. Air Force 22-6(12-2): 0-1
12. BYU 19-8(10-4): 0-1
13. UTEP 22-7(13-5): 0-1
2003
9. Utah 24-7(11-3): 1-1
9. Gonzaga 23-8(12-2): 1-1
11. Southern Illinois 24-6(16-2): 0-1
12. Butler 25-5(14-2): 2-1
12. BYU 23-8(11-3): 0-1
2002
9. Charlotte 18-11(11-5): 0-1
10. Pepperdine 22-8(13-1): 0-1
11. Southern Illinois 26-7(14-4): 2-1
11. Wyoming 21-8(11-3): 1-1
12. Tulsa 26-6(15-3): 1-1
12. Utah 21-8(10-4): 0-1
2001
9. Saint Josephs 25-6(14-2): 1-1
9. Fresno State 25-6(13-3): 1-1
10. Creighton 24-7(14-4): 0-1
11. Xavier 21-7(12-4): 0-1
2000
9. DePaul 21-10(9-7): 0-1
9. Fresno State 24-9(11-3): 0-1
10. UNLV 20-9(10-4): 0-1
11. Pepperdine 24-8(12-2): 1-1
11. Dayton 22-8(11-5): 0-1
12. St. Bonaventure 21-9(10-4): 0-1
12. Indiana State 22-9(14-4): 0-1
Record: 51-75(68%)
CAA: 9-3(75%)
MVC: 10-10(50%)
Horizon: 2-2(50%)
OVC: 1-1(50%)
A-10: 17-20(45.9%)
WCC: 4-9(30.8%)
WAC: 3-7(30%)
C-USA: 3-9(25%)
MWC: 2-11(18-2%)
MAAC: 0-1(0%)
Sun Belt: 0-2(0%)
S16: 10, E8: 4, F4: 3
Turns out that these types of teams are pretty close. biggest difference is the amount of Cinder runs to the Final Four by George Mason, VCU and Wichita State. Should it be more even comparing knowing they perform about the same in March? Who would you choose? A high major or the mid/low major?