Another depressing Selection Sunday goes by

[RF1]

Selection Sunday has truly become a depressing day for longtime Rhody hoops fans. This will be the 17th straight Selection Sunday with no URI in the tournament. Who would have thought back in 1999 when (URI won the A-10 Tournamnet and got a auto-bid) Rhode Island's name was announced for an NCAA 1st round game versus Charlotte in Milwaukee that we would then go so long before getting back? 1999 was the 3rd straight trip to the NCAA for our Rams and the future looked quite bright. Within weeks, Harrick was gone and Jerry D was named coach. We have never gotten back to the tournament since then even with the significant investment of the Ryan Center being made.

Later on today we will likely hear that St. Bonaventure has gotten an at large bid for its 3rd appearance in the tourney since Rhody last made it. SBU is a tiny (undergrad enrollment=1800/20% drop from just a few years ago) cash strapped school in a remote part of sparsely populated western NY. The fact that it plays in a 49 year old 5,500 seat (much of it bleachers) gym, its coach is among the lowest paid in the league, and it has the smallest athletic budget in the A-10 make it harder to understand and accept. As Bill Koch wrote today, every A-10 member but lowly Fordham and Duquesne has been to the NCAA since Rhody last appeared. That is a truly depressing fact.

As I watch the show tonight, my only option will be to follow the lyrics from a Prince song:

So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999

I long for the good old days. When will we ever see them again?

[section(105)]

....goona try to focus on which teams are coming to Providence, and not think about the drought....

[ATPTourFan]

When will we ever see them again?

Reasonable to believe in exactly one year.

[neil]

Thanks for the thread RF. This is not a very happy day for me. Granted, there are things that are far more important. But if I choose to sit on the couch and watch, I will do what I always have done for a decade and a half - find out where uconn and pc are located and hope they have an opponent that will beat them. Rooting against rather than rooting for. Living in the middle of the Nutmeg state, I have always disliked the Huskies more than PC., -certainly Calhoun pushed me to my limits. PC was easier because they didn't always make the tournament. It is hard to believe that an improbable shot gets them in to the dance. I refused to read my copy of the Courant this morning. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but as i've said before, it ain't easy being a ram fan.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Thanks for the thread RF. This is not a very happy day for me. Granted, there are things that are far more important. But if I choose to sit on the couch and watch, I will do what I always have done for a decade and a half - find out where uconn and pc are located and hope they have an opponent that will beat them. Rooting against rather than rooting for. Living in the middle of the Nutmeg state, I have always disliked the Huskies more than PC., -certainly Calhoun pushed me to my limits. PC was easier because they didn't always make the tournament. It is hard to believe that an improbable shot gets them in to the dance. I refused to read my copy of the Courant this morning. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but as i've said before, it ain't easy being a ram fan.

Moved to RI a few months ago from the middle of the nutmeg state myself (not using caps for 'nutmeg', because I think Malloy has a tax for that). I find it hard to hate college programs because of the player turnover... the Yankmes or the Dallas Cowboys...now that's some serious dislike...

[RF1]

When will we ever see them again?

Reasonable to believe in exactly one year.

It was reasonable as well to expect this was the year when November started. We see how that all played out. Nothing is guaranteed. A lot can always happen. It was injuries this past year. What happens if Hurley were to leave and we had some transfers and lost some commits? Does that make next year unreasonable? What if we get a new coach that needs time to adjust and grow into his role? It is not cast in stone we are in the tourney next year.

[ATPTourFan]

At this point, it is reasonable to expect a tournament berth next year on this Sunday evening.

[theblueram]

At this point, it is reasonable to expect a tournament berth next year on this Sunday evening.

didn't you say that last year? or maybe the year before?

[Ramblinrose]

URI suffered very bad luck this season, when it looked like we were headed there. But from 1999 on, URI can blame itself for the lack of dancing. The hiring of Jerry D., the hiring and subsequent 10-year contract that followed. That hamstrung us for ages.
The RC was and is a great place to see a game. But it just kept us on par with other programs.
We had fun making fun of the tired Dunk a while back, but no more. That arena looks great now. And a recruit will be more impressed by 12,000 there a night than the usual 4,000 half asleep at the RC most nights.
The reality is URI runs things on the cheap, and it is hard to be a program with a name when that's the case. That may be the reality Dan will face in the next few days.

[bigappleram]

in terms of the A10 Dan has enjoyed a program that does things on par more with the upper echelon of the conference versus the bottom.
while not VCU or Dayton, we are in that next group in terms of program support and potential.

[Seawrightspostgame]

Doesn't PC avg. in the 6-7k?

What is our seed this year? Whats our region? Or is it next year? This is all so confusing.

[ATPTourFan]

At this point, it is reasonable to expect a tournament berth next year on this Sunday evening.

didn't you say that last year? or maybe the year before?

I did a year ago this time, yes. Then we had many critical injuries.

I would rather be in the position where it is reasonable that we be selected a year from now.

[peeps4life]

Doesn't PC avg. in the 6-7k?

What is our seed this year? Whats our region? Or is it next year? This is all so confusing.

pc averaged 9700 a night and that was 11600 a night during conference play.

BTW... bonnie's got screwed

[NYGFan_Section208]

Doesn't PC avg. in the 6-7k?

What is our seed this year? Whats our region? Or is it next year? This is all so confusing.

pc averaged 9700 a night and that was 11600 a night during conference play.

BTW... bonnie's got screwed

PC offering any good deals on first/second round games at the dunk?
And why...is that place not called the 'hole'? Everyone knows that's what the center of a donut is...

[peeps4life]

Doesn't PC avg. in the 6-7k?

What is our seed this year? Whats our region? Or is it next year? This is all so confusing.

pc averaged 9700 a night and that was 11600 a night during conference play.

BTW... bonnie's got screwed

PC offering any good deals on first/second round games at the dunk?
And why...is that place not called the 'hole'? Everyone knows that's what the center of a donut is...

doubt it. presale was like a year ago. $270 for 3 sessions in the lower bowl.

[section(105)]

Got ours months and months ago; middle bowl.....looking toward to it

[RF1]

Seeing the brackets and seeding for A-10 teams shows just how hard it will be for URI to get to the NCAA. SBU got screwed with no bid and as usual A-10 teams once again got pretty lousy seeds (7,8, & 10). The NCAA exists for the power conferences. It is not enough that they get all the tv money. They get the NCAA bids and better seeds as well. The NCAA is even more corrupt than FIFA and the IOC.

[Ramblinrose]

TV runs the show. They select a lot of teams people want to watch on TV. SBU isn't one of them.

[rambone 78]

But Tulsa? Please.

The AAC is a crap BB conference. A few borderline tourney teams, and nothing else.

[Ramblinrose]

I'm sure there's a lot of politicking involved, too.

[rambone 78]

True, Rosie.

[PeterRamTime]

Wasn't surprised by the Bonnie snub. Tulsa had a pedestrian 20-11 record and had a more difficult schedule. But eye test you'd have to give it to the Bonnie's and they have around the same amount of quality wins. But the committee really likes the stronger schedule's.
How about Oregon State getting a 7 seed?? at 19-12???

[rambone 78]

And Texas gets a 6?

Shaka no dummy......

[NYGFan_Section208]

But Tulsa? Please.

The AAC is a crap BB conference. A few borderline tourney teams, and nothing else.

I disagree with the 'nothing else'....UConn will make a good run and if SMU hadn't been Larry'ed (but you get what you pay for there, so...), they might have, too. That UConn doing well will just make you po'd is just a side bonus...

[UCH21377]

There was a poster that had a signature line (maybe on the old Projo board) that said "Over ____ number have teams have been to the NCAA Tournament since we last went. When will we go?" Something like that. The number was up to 150+ five years ago. Has to be close to 200 teams now that have been to the NCAA's since we last went. It's pretty sad.