Okay, for starters, this is NOT meant to be an attack on Murray State, although I realize people will read it that way. I’m also not calling out any individuals, but just the college basketball media in general, and have reached out to some good writers that may be able to help. I DO like that people have noticed Murray State….finally! It wasn’t until about a week-and-a-half ago that I heard anyone in the main stream media say anything about them, which makes me question what took so long. I’m a puppet, so I’m allowed to be a cynic, and because of that I don’t think that most people in the media even thought about Murray State at all until they appeared in the Top 25. That suddenly made them a trendy team to like and advocate for, which is great, but it conveniently allows them to sound smart after the fact by acting as if they’ve liked Murray all along. Murray State suddenly became the media’s dark horse, which means they’re no longer a dark horse.
I have another reason for feeling this way. There are teams that we here at Hoops HD classify as “Under the Radar” teams that we believe are clearly better than Murray State, but yet have no one in the media writing about them or campaigning for htem. Again, this is NOT an attack on Murray, but rather an advocation for these other teams.
Let’s start with Wofford. Now, they won the automatic bid, so fortunately it’s not an issue. But, going into the SoCon Tournament, I did not hear one person in the media arguing that they belonged in without the automatic bid the way they were arguing for Murray State when the OVC started. I seriously doubt they’d be arguing for Wofford now had they not won the automatic bid. Wofford won more div1 games than Murray did, and they did it against a much tougher schedule. They won at NC State, at Chattanooga (who had just one other home loss), and at East Tennessee State and Mercer, who were two other teams that were tough to beat at home. Those four wins are a ton better than Murray State’s four best wins. Wofford had more div1 wins, better wins, and a tougher schedule, yet…not a word about them from the media, at least not nearly to the degree that the media has spoken up for Murray State.
How about Valparaiso?? They had as many div1 wins as Murray did, and also played a tougher schedule (albeit barely). They won at Eastern Kentucky, which is an OVC team that Murray didn’t have to play on the road and whom they needed overtime to beat at home after being down by 5pts with a minute to go in regulation. They also won at Cleveland State. Oh yeah, Valpo also beat Murray State on a neutral floor in Nashville. By 35 points. I’ve heard some argue that was early in the year before Murray had gelled. I might be able to see that point in some cases, but Murray returned four starters from a year go, so to just ignore that win by Valpo on the grounds that Murray was inexperienced at the time is ridiculous.
So, we’ve got a Wofford team that won more div1 games against a tougher schedule and had four pretty good wins (two of which were REALLY good wins), and we’ve got a Valpo team that won just as many div1 games as Murray, and beat Murray. No one is talking about them. But, fortunately they won the automatic bids. Now, here is a team that didn’t….
What about Iona?? They also played a tougher schedule than Murray State, and they also won more div1 games than Murray State. They finished first in their league, and they lost in the conference championship game to a team that they beat twice during the regular season. Why no argument or attention for Iona?? Iona won at Wake Forest, at Rider (who only had two other home losses), and at Manhattan (who had just one other home loss). Iona’s loss in the MAAC Championship game came to a good team that they beat twice during the year, including once on the road. Every single argument that’s being made for Murray State could be made, and should be made, even more strongly for Iona.
Murray State did not have to play Eastern Kentucky and Belmont on the road, whereas Iona, Valpo and Wofford all had to play the best teams in their leagues on the road. Murray State had just three road wins against teams with winning records. Much has been made about how tough it is for Murray State to schedule, and I get that. But, I also can’t help but notice that when monitoring basketballtravelers.com throughout the offseason, Murray had ten postings looking for games, and all but one of them was for a home and home to start at Murray State. Now, to be completely fair, that’s just what they posted. I have no idea how many ads of good teams that were looking for games that Murray State tried to answer and were told no, so if they did that (which it’s very possible that they did), then a thousand pardons. Also, I know Murray State has put together stronger schedules than this in the past, particularly in 2012 when they earned a #6 seed that they definitely deserved. But, when I see nine ads out of ten asking to start home-and-homes in Murray, I can’t help but think that at least in some cases, it wasn’t so much that teams didn’t want to play Murray State under any circumstances whatsoever; they just didn’t want to play them in home-and-homes starting at Murray. Wofford, and even conference mates Belmont and Eastern Kentucky were able to put together better schedules despite being on the same rung of the college basketball ladder that Murray State is, and yet, no one is arguing for them.
And, about Belmont, who by the way is in the same conference as Murray State….
No one argued for Belmont last year when they won the league, won at North Carolina, won at Middle Tennessee (who was good at home), and had their two worst losses come when they didn’t have two of their starters. Why the hell not?? Last year’s Belmont team did a lot more than this year’s Murray State team, and the main stream media was completely silent when it came to arguing about how they should be included (and they should have been!).
So, I’m glad that the media is arguing for Murray State. They should be. But, I’m frustrated that they don’t appear to have noticed them until they cracked the rankings, and that they haven’t noticed the other teams we’ve mentioned who are probably even more deserving than Murray State. The Racers definitely deserves the attention they’re getting, and the issues they face with the system being stacked against them are definitely real. But, the other teams we’ve pointed out deserve the media’s attention too, and they’re not getting it. So, I’m not looking for a fight, but I am asking for help. Give Iona, Wofford and Valpo some love!! Don’t just dismiss them for the exact same reasons you’re blaming everyone else for dismissing Murray State.
As far as the “eye test” goes, we’ve watched Murray State all year. We started talking about them before the season started. We watched the other teams as well, and we honestly feel that those teams are better even though no one in the media has said a word about them. We know scheduling is an issue. If you watch our preseason Under the Radar Podcast, go to about the 23:25 mark where we address Murray State…
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