From Here to Futility: Murray State Denied Despite 25-Game Win Streak

The "Road to the Final Four" is a highway lined with daydreamers and potholes. But it defies logic why 27-5 Murray State (Ohio Valley) was consigned to NIT participation after the Racers lost in their conference tournament final in the closing seconds. What do you want to bet that committee personnel knew that Murray is among 80 different mid-majors beating power-league members seeded at least five slots better?

Rather than automatically focusing on underachieving middle-of-the-pack power alliance affiliates, shouldn't a team assembling a 25-game winning streak warrant more extensive consideration as an at-large entrant to the NCAA playoffs? Why didn't Murray's excellence have more impact than Indiana losing twice in Big Ten play against rivals losing against Gardner-Webb, North Florida and Texas Southern? What about underachieving LSU, which succumbed in SEC competition against lesser lights Auburn (which lost to Coastal Carolina), Mississippi State (lost to Arkansas State and USC Upstate) and Missouri (lost to UMKC)? The luster of UCLA's name must have carried the day despite setbacks against Arizona State (lost to Lehigh) and California (lost to Cal State-Bakersfield).

Season-long excellence needs to count more than always paying homage to middle-of-the-pack members of a power league. Actually, we got a pretty clear picture this season that the power conferences really weren't all that powerful. We'll see if anyone paid attention to the following big boys losing at home to a wealth of mid-major institutions before defeating some of their elite brethren in league competition: Arizona State (lost to Lehigh/beat Arizona and UCLA in conference play), Auburn (Coastal Carolina/Georgia, LSU twice and Texas A&M), California (Cal State-Bakersfield/UCLA), Clemson (Winthrop/North Carolina State), DePaul (Lehigh/St. John's and Xavier), Florida State (Northeastern/Miami and Pittsburgh), Georgia Tech (USC Upstate/Miami), Indiana (Eastern Washington/Maryland and Ohio State), Kansas State (Texas Southern/Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma twice and Oklahoma State), Marquette (Nebraska-Omaha/Providence), Miami (Eastern Kentucky and Green Bay/Duke, North Carolina State and Pittsburgh), Michigan (Eastern Michigan and NJIT/Illinois twice and Ohio State), Michigan State (Texas Southern/Illinois, Indiana twice, Iowa, Ohio State and Purdue), Ole Miss (Charleston Southern/Arkansas), Mississippi State (Arkansas State and USC Upstate/LSU), Missouri (UMKC/LSU), Nebraska (Incarnate Word/Illinois and Michigan State), North Carolina State (Wofford/Duke, Louisville, North Carolina and Pittsburgh), Northwestern (Central Michigan/Indiana and Iowa), Providence (Brown/Butler, Georgetown twice, St. John's and Xavier), Purdue (North Florida and Gardner-Webb/Illinois, Indiana twice, Iowa and Ohio State), Rutgers (Saint Francis PA and Saint Peter's/Wisconsin), South Carolina (Akron/Georgia twice and Mississippi), USC (Portland State and Army/Washington), Virginia Tech (Appalachian State and Radford/Pittsburgh), Wake Forest (Iona and Delaware State/Miami, North Carolina State and Pittsburgh), Washington (Stony Brook/Oregon and Utah) and Washington State (Idaho/Oregon, Stanford and Washington). What would the margin of defeat have been if the condescending power-league members boasted the intestinal fortitude to meet the mid-level opponents on the road?

Davidson had two of 11 teams from mid-major conferences - Lafayette '78, American '81, Temple '82, William & Mary '83, Coppin State '94, Davidson '96, Austin Peay '04, Davidson '05, Norfolk State '13, Murray State '15 and North Carolina Central '15 - going undefeated in league round-robin regular-season competition but not participating in the NCAA playoffs after losing by a single-digit margin in their conference tournament since at-large bids were issued to schools other than conference champions in 1975.

Stephen F. Austin, rejected for the second time in six years in 2013 despite a sterling 27-4 worksheet, is a classic example depicting why many mid-level schools have an inferiority complex. Utah State was shunned in 2003-04 despite winning nearly 90% of its games (25-3 record). Murray State, ranked 25th in the nation before bowing to Belmont (88-87), became one of 18 schools in the last nine seasons denied an at-large bid despite posting in excess of 25 victories.

Prior to joining the Big East Conference, Creighton's splendid season six years ago was downplayed. Jay Bilas and other know-it-all national media types embracing Bilasophy may haughtily belittle mid-major achievements because they're from the other side of the tracks, but following is an alarmingly long track record listing chronologically eligible teams winning more than 25 games yet failing to earn invitations to the NCAA playoffs since the field expanded to at least 64 in 1985:

NOTE: Cleveland State (defeated Indiana and Wake Forest), College of Charleston (Maryland), Colorado State (Colorado, Florida and Missouri), Creighton (Alabama, Florida, Louisville and Texas), Davidson (Georgetown, St. John's and Wisconsin), Louisiana Tech (Ohio State and Pittsburgh), ORU (Louisville and Syracuse), Saint Mary's (Villanova) and SIU (Arizona, Georgia, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech) collectively won NCAA playoff games in other years against 20 different power conference members.