Interesting CBS Sports Question regarding the A-10

[lhsgolf19]

Should the A-10 go back to 16 League Games instead of 18?

The Atlantic 10 should consider going back to 16 conference games

This conference combined for 11 NCAA Tournament bids in 2013 and 2014, but only had three teams in the field of 68 last season.

The Atlantic 10 is not considered a power-five conference in college basketball, but is operating like a power-five conference in the sense that it decided to play 18 league games prior to the start of the 2015-15 season.

This could ultimately affect the amount of teams this league winds up having in the NCAA Tournament on an annual basis.

By playing two more games against conference opponents, teams in the Atlantic 10 are now facing two more difficult opportunities to gain wins and that is going limit how well represented this league is going to be in March.

If Rhode Island (23 wins in 2014-15) had two more wins a year ago, there's a strong chance it would have wound up in the field of 68 last March and the same thing could happen this season.

Dayton, VCU, George Washington, and Saint Joseph's are the four teams in the Atlantic 10 that are currently in the mix for at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament next month and there's a good chance that at least two of those teams are going to be sweating on the Selection Sunday.

How can the Atlantic 10 rectify this?

By eliminating two league games.

This conference is too good to be marginalized when things matter most -- March.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...tournament-run

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

	St Joseph's ST. JOSEPH'S Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851, Saint Joseph's University advances the professional and personal ambitions of men and women by providing a demanding, yet supportive educational experience. One of only 139 schools nationwide with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and AACSB business school accreditation, Saint Joseph's is home to 4,200 full-time undergraduates and 3,100 graduate, part-time and doctoral candidates. Located in urban Philadelphia, SJU is a fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Hawks. Athletic claim to fame is is the Hawk mascot, a university student on full scholarship who wears a Hawk uniform and flaps his wings continuously for an entire athletic event. School spirit slogan is "The Hawk Will Never Die."

	George Washington GEORGE WASHINGTON Students choose from two distinct GW campuses — Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon. Both are located in historic and prestigious Northwest Washington, DC residential neighborhoods. With 9,700 undergraduate students, GW was founded almost 200 years ago and is named after the first President of the United States. GW stands as one of the nation's premier academic institutions with dozens of famous political, social, science, liberal arts, medical and professional graduates to its credit. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Colonials.

[Whacker]

I'm not following their logic (if they are even using any) at all.

This appears to be the crux of their argument:

"By playing two more games against conference opponents, teams in the Atlantic 10 are now facing two more difficult opportunities to gain wins and that is going limit how well represented this league is going to be in March."

Are they saying they are more difficult because one of those has to be on the road? Are they saying two more buy-game wins would make a huge difference? You can't just cherry pick two random losses and replace them with non-conference wins.

The reason the A10 went to 18 conference games was precisely because the P5 expanded their conference games. That leaves a smaller pool of candidates with which to schedule quality home-and-home series for sure. It also makes it more expensive to schedule buy games because the demand went up (number of buy games becoming scarcer as non-conference games decrease). The A10 decided they were better off playing each other rather than trying to fill two more non-conf games.

Also, how does that argument hold up for VCU - currently undefeated in League play. They went 0-5 for quality wins in the non-con, but are making up for it with strong road wins vs Joe's, Richmond, Davidson. They've also avoided any bad losses.

Last year Rhody put together a very soft non-conf schedule seemingly banking on a rivalry game vs Providence and an in-season tourney. They went 1-3 in those games and came away 0 decent wins before League play.

In conference, 4 of their 5 losses were by 4 points or less. 5 of 6 if you count their conf tournament loss.

Maybe Rhody did need to win two more non-conference games to make the Dance last year, but those prospective wins were already on the schedule. They just failed to get them. Two more non-conference games in place of A10 games wouldn't have made any difference.

	Richmond UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Founded in 1830, the private liberal arts university in the Commonwealth boasts 2,800 students in 57 majors within its picturesque 350-acre campus. The Robins School of Business is one of the Top-20 business schools in the country. Nickname is the Spiders and are fellow A10 Conference members.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

[CE80]

Isn't the problem that most conferences (at least the P5) are going to 18 game conference seasons. Who are they going to be able to play in those 2 extra non-conference games?

[Flyer 86]

Originally Posted by Whacker I'm not following their logic (if they are even using any) at all. This appears to be the crux of their argument: "By playing two more games against conference opponents, teams in the Atlantic 10 are now facing two more difficult opportunities to gain wins and that is going limit how well represented this league is going to be in March." Are they saying they are more difficult because one of those has to be on the road? Are they saying two more buy-game wins would make a huge difference? You can't just cherry pick two random losses and replace them with non-conference wins. The reason the A10 went to 18 conference games was precisely because the P5 expanded their conference games. That leaves a smaller pool of candidates with which to schedule quality home-and-home series for sure. It also makes it more expensive to schedule buy games because the demand went up (number of buy games becoming scarcer as non-conference games decrease). The A10 decided they were better off playing each other rather than trying to fill two more non-conf games. Also, how does that argument hold up for VCU - currently undefeated in League play. They went 0-5 for quality wins in the non-con, but are making up for it with strong road wins vs Joe's, Richmond, Davidson. They've also avoided any bad losses. Last year Rhody put together a very soft non-conf schedule seemingly banking on a rivalry game vs Providence and an in-season tourney. They went 1-3 in those games and came away 0 decent wins before League play. In conference, 4 of their 5 losses were by 4 points or less. 5 of 6 if you count their conf tournament loss. Maybe Rhody did need to win two more non-conference games to make the Dance last year, but those prospective wins were already on the schedule. They just failed to get them. Two more non-conference games in place of A10 games wouldn't have made any difference.

True, what happened to Rhoda last year. But you can cherry pick two decent buy games, and hope you don't get as knocked in around in conference season.

I agree with original poster and article. Take two games out, let's play some peeps out of conference. It's ups the odds for A10 teams

	Richmond UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Founded in 1830, the private liberal arts university in the Commonwealth boasts 2,800 students in 57 majors within its picturesque 350-acre campus. The Robins School of Business is one of the Top-20 business schools in the country. Nickname is the Spiders and are fellow A10 Conference members.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

[Figgie123]

Agree with CE80 here. Everyone (not just P5) are moving to 18-game conference seasons. (MAAC I think is 20.)

But, my question is the "subject" of the following statement:

By playing two more games against conference opponents, teams in the Atlantic 10 are now facing two more difficult opportunities to gain wins and that is going to limit how well represented this league is going to be in March.

So, for the A10, 2 difficult opportunities limits the league being represented well.

Now, let's change the conference name.

By playing two more games against conference opponents, teams in the SEC are now facing two more difficult opportunities to gain wins and that is going to limit how well represented this league is going to be in March.

There is no way they would say this. Instead, they would say this:

By playing two more games against conference opponents, teams in the SEC are now facing two more difficult opportunities to gain wins and that is going to add to how well represented this league is going to be in March.

This is called "P5-Bias".

[rollo]