The TCU men's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the preseason Mountain West Conference basketball poll. It finished fifth.
Should the Frogs have defeated No. 23 San Diego State on Saturday night in the regular-season finale? No. Yes. No. SDSU won 98-92 in OT. Even though Daniel-Meyer Coliseum wasn't full, the place can still get loud and affect a game. The student section was maybe half full.
Jaamal Frankin went for 35 points for SDSU, but the more alarming stat was SDSU's 47-34 advantage on the glass.
Say this for this TCU, they don't quit. They have little inside presence, and yet found ways to score.
They were getting blown out and were down by 18 with about 15 minutes remaining in the second half.
Then they came back and actually had a 3-point lead with about 1:30 remaining.
The Frogs offense stalled the rest of the way, and SDSU tied it on an and-one with about 23 seconds remaining. Overtime didn't go so well.
The Frogs are 17-13, and will play Colorado State in the first round of the MWC tourney in Vegas on March 8.
Can they reach the NIT?
The Frogs rank somewhere in the 90s right now in most RPI rankings. If you take 68 teams to the NCAA tournament and then find another 32 for the NIT, TCU should receive a bid.
According to a couple of Rating Percentage Index rankings, the Frogs should make it to the second-tier tournament. TCU has wins against Colorado State, UNLV, Virginia, New Mexico and a close loss against SDSU. A second win against CSU would almost ensure a spot.
Will the Frogs host a postseason game? Doutbful. The NIT likes to select games based on the best chance for a good crowd.
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You missed one big issue. There will be MANY teams with a worse RPI that will make the tourney with auto-bids. There could also be teams with a worse RPI that win their conference reg. season title that do not win their Conf. Tourney and are automatically in the NIT. So in theory a top 75 RPI would be the only ones for sure in the NIT. Everyone 75-100 is on the bubble.
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