ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has been projecting the March Madness field, officially, since 1995, according to his bio. He is credited with coining the term...
, said a few weeks ago, when SMU’s status was still a matter of discussion. “I have to remind them, and myself, how many times the committee demonstrates head-to-head results doesn’t matter very much.Lunardi, at the time, was speaking specifically about the reasoning for SMU being behind Memphis, whom the Mustangs had beat twice, but Lunardi’s advice rings true for other themes of the selection process. That includes the perception of the American Athletic Conference overall.
“I’ve coached in, I can’t tell you how many leagues: the Big 12, the SEC, Big Ten, Mountain West, Southland, Missouri Valley, American — I’ve got a great grasp of this,” Jankovich said. “I really do, and I’ve got a really good feel for the difference of teams, and I’m here to tell you it’s not that far. If you’re No. 41 in the NET, versus the 86th on the NET, that came is going be this close. I think a full season in a great league, teams should be rewarded for that.
Still, while two bids is on the low side for the conference, history shows us it’s not surprising. Three of the last six tournaments have only had two AAC teams. Four bids was the highest, and it happened twice. Only twice in that stretch was there a Power Five conference with less bids than the AAC.
There’s also a perceived strength of schedule problem for AAC teams. Memphis had the conference’s highest strength of schedule, according to KenPom, at 60th in the country. Houston had the 93rd toughest schedule, and SMU had the 103rd.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
2022 NCAA women’s basketball tournament bracketFor the first time, the women’s tournament will have 68 teams. The field was announced on Sunday night with 32 teams already in the field courtesy of automatic bids from winning conference tournaments.
Read more »
BYU women’s basketball to face Villanova in first round of NCAA TournamentThe BYU women's basketball team will face Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after earning the No. 6 seed.
Read more »
These are the 2022 Associated Press men's basketball All-America teamsThe Associated Press All-America men’s basketball team with statistics through regular-season and conference tournaments:
Read more »
These are the 2022 Associated Press men's basketball All-America teamsThe Associated Press All-America men’s basketball team with statistics through regular-season and conference tournaments:
Read more »
Here's the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament BracketThe 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket has been revealed. Here's the full bracket for the 68-team tournament.
Read more »
Texas A&M fans feel snubbed out of chance to dance at NCAA tournamentMarch Madness is putting an emphasis on the “mad” this year for Aggie fans.
Read more »