I think we got an unlucky draw

[tetoncat]

I think they will always be "unlucky" draws, unless we get to a point where the Big Sky can earn some respect nationally. The Big Sky Summit League challenge is a great start, but Big Sky teams top to bottom need to perform better in these games. South Dakota State has the benefit of some solid in- conference matchups, along with some historical success in the tournament. It probably takes several years in a row of strong tournament performances, along with in conference competition stepping up, to get to the 10-11 seed conversation.

MSU also needs to get to the point where it can schedule more games and win some games against power conference opponents. SDSU beat three NCAA Tournament teams in non-conference play (Creighton, Oregon, Ball State), beat another Big 10 team in Wisconsin, and also played Texas, Duke, and Georgia Tech. MSU's only games against NCAA teams were against Utah (L) and FGCU (W). It's easy to see where the improvement still needs to happen although SDSU probably has an easier job of scheduling geographically speaking.

Re SDSU success against “up conference” teams, we’ve noted their non-conference schedule success and wins in the NCAA tourney….but that pales in comparison to their WNIT performance where they stand at 13 wins vs 4 losses against a plethora of Power Conference schools. They were the WNIT Champions in 2022. Their history has earned them the right to be mentioned in discussions as higher seeds. The Lady Bobcats can get there…..continuing to strengthen early season schedules will help as others have noted.

Does strengthening the schedule help if you don't win those games? The perception of a weak conference seems to make you go nearly undefeated. Playing 3 or 4 more power 4 games and losing them seems like it would have moved Cats to 14 or 15 this year.

Well I guess we could schedule with that thought…….the “fear of losing” ruining our chances of getting a better seed or lowering our seed. A real possibility. On the other hand you can see that the best seed we are ever going to get is probably a 13 seed with a 30-3 record that is the best in the entire history of the Big Sky. IMO we should look at something different if we want to be recognized at a higher level and expect a higher seed. Or we should all just accept that “hey this is our limit…accept it”.

I also believe that “steel sharpens steel”. If we want to play at that level then we need to play teams at that level. If we want to recruit at a higher level, playing at a higher level against higher level opponents gets you that exposure. Success isn’t happening overnight but it will come. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Bobcat team this year could have won a couple games against up conference opponents….and I believe those games on the resume may have helped with the seeding.

I’ve enjoyed following the SDSU teams for a number of years because I have friends there, travel there on occasion, and those native SD folks enticed me with friendly “competitive” banter. But let’s look back….SDSU stepped up to D1 from being highly successful DII in 2004. They couldn’t even participate in the D1 tourney for several years. So what did they do….well they went out and played 6 to 7 upper level opponents every year! 2004-2005 proceeded to beat Kentucky, Okla St, Alabama and lose to OSU, USC, Purdue. 2005-2006 defeat Nebraska, Colo St, Wisconsin, Alabama and lose to Marquette and Colorado. 2006-2007 beat USC, Virginia, Kansas, Colorado, Alabama and lose to Marquette, Baylor, Ark St, Missouri.

Do you think they feared losing to upper conference level opponents while making the D1 transition? Do you think this may have been a major stepping stone to becoming one of the best mid-major WBB teams in the country? Do you think it made them understand what they needed to do to compete at the next level? Do you think they better understood the type of player they needed to bring in to consistently win at the D1 level?

Just some observations from an old curmudgeon who loves our Lady Bobcat team and has the highest respect for what Coach Bin and our staff has done sustaining a successful program to be proud of!

Cats lost to Utah, an 8 seed and were physically dominated. Schedule is great bit need the team to do it also. Loved this year's team but roster is still a ways from competing up consistently.