Western Kentucky 77 UAB 69

Final

Jake Ohmer gets fouled on a 3 attempt with 3:49 to play down 67-65. UAB also whistled for a Technical. Ohmer makes 4/5 FT's to take lead and the Hilltoppers never look back.

Nice work Jake!!!

Caught parts of this one and was happy to see WK get the win.

IS WKU an NCAA tournament team even if they are not the C-USA automatic qualifier? Didn't they just get 2-3 players eligible?

IS WKU an NCAA tournament team even if they are not the C-USA automatic qualifier? Didn't they just get 2-3 players eligible?

I saw an article on Twitter just yesterday regarding this subject. The top 5 mid majors with a shot of landing an at large bid. I don't think they can afford many bad in conference losses.

I saw an article on Twitter just yesterday regarding this subject. The top 5 mid majors with a shot of landing an at large bid. I don't think they can afford many bad in conference losses.

Was WKU listed as one of them? (I don't have twitter.)

IS WKU an NCAA tournament team even if they are not the C-USA automatic qualifier? Didn't they just get 2-3 players eligible?

They did get 2 players eligible in the last couple weeks. I also saw that they could be a tourney team regardless of winning conference tourney. Probably need to make sure they win conference regular season title to be safe and a game or two in tourney. The wins vs Purdue and SMU plus the strong showing vs Villanova definitely help their case.

IS WKU an NCAA tournament team even if they are not the C-USA automatic qualifier? Didn't they just get 2-3 players eligible?

They have a shot, but I wouldn't bet on it.

They went 8-5 in OOC games, with a glaring loss to a bad Ohio team (#226 in RPI), and a not very good Wisconsin (#129). They have solid wins over RPI #10 Purdue, #56 SMU, and #69 Wright State which help balance it out.

Working in their favor, they're currently at #34 in the RPI, but that looks to only fall as they play more and more of the C-USA schedule.

The wins vs Purdue and SMU plus the strong showing vs Villanova definitely help their case.

The wins absolutely do. The loss to Villanova is not a positive. It won't hurt them, but it certainly doesn't help.

Joe Lunardi currently has WKU as conference champ and a 12 seed. Middle Tennessee in the last 4 in and an 11 seed.

If WKU ends the season with a Top 40 RPI, they'll be squarely on the bubble. Working against them is that they are likely to end the year with only 4 games vs the Top 50 (likely going 2-2), and only 9 vs the Top 100 (likely going 5-4). As a comparison, Michigan, who they will likely be on the bubble with, will have 15 games against the Top 100 (with 6 or 7 wins). Alabama, another team likely to be sitting on the bubble with them, will have over 20 Top 100 games (and over 10 wins).

WKU has to split with Middle Tennessee, and has to avoid losing on the road at UTEP, UTSA, North Texas, or Rice. Those would be really bad losses to endure -- as well as any non-MTSU home game.

Working in WKU's favor is also that they play the top 5 teams in CUSA twice each. They had the hardest conference slate in CUSA. With UAB, ODU, MTSU, and possibly Marshall all being top 100, that is a total of 8 in conference Top 100 RPI games.

Comparing the post above mentioning Alabama and Michigan State, WKU with a possible 5-4 vs Top 100 is worse than Michigan State being 6-15? I know people joke about the "not enough quality losses" thing, but shew there is a great example. Same with Alabama, who you mention is likely .500 vs Top 100. I don't think anyone should care how many Top 100 teams someone plays total. Should be about winning the ones you play.

I'm not arguing WKU should get an at large, because it is too early to tell. They are currently 34 in RPI with an expected RPI of 38.7 at the end of the season. That doesn't factor in two or three games in the conference tournament against likely Top 100 teams. I believe WKU can afford to lose on the road to MTSU and UAB later in conference play, lose the CCG, and still get an at large if they take care of business outside of that. However, life on the road is tough, and it is likely there will be a slip up or two along the way.

Random question for those who know more about the selection process than I do: Does the committee take into account outside factors? WKU has been on a stampede since getting their two 4* players eligible the last two weeks. They still managed a Purdue and SMU and Wright State win with only 7 players eligible. I'd wager that if WKU had the other two players available, WKU could be sitting pretty with only one or two losses total.

Looking forward to the game tomorrow night vs MTSU. The sell-out crowd is going to be electrifying. Diddle Arena truly is a CBB gem.