I agree with a lot that has been posted thus far, and it's not a bash against AAMU, but an indictment of the quality of play in the entire SWAC. The SWAC's kids just simply are not prepared to play quality basketball against out of conference opponents, PERIOD! Anytime an entire conference has a losing record against OOC opponents, big school, or small school, that let's me know these kids are not getting quality coaching, or some of them just don't deserve to be playing basketball at the DI level.
Recruiting efforts have to be stepped up, and coaching searches have to be broadened, if the play of the SWAC is ever going to be competitive again. Because had it not been for conference play, no team would have a winning record.
I don't like the idea of having to play in a play in game, but at this point the quality of play in the conference says that our teams will continue to play there, unless something changes fast. Put all the consipiracy theories aside, because the MEAC teams don't play the play in game. The play in the SWAC sucks, and to A&M's defense, they just happen to be the best of the worst.
No champ from any SWAC school would've fared better than they did, because if that style of play was good enough to win the SWAC (mind you regular season, and tournament), then what does that say about the rest of conference? Thier play last night only illustrated how bad the conference as a whole is.
We could go on, and on about the tourny being moved, but the truth of the matter is, no matter where the tourny is held, the attendance will be low, because league wide the students, alums, fans, and sponsors have spoken, by not wanting to see piss poor ball. Hell, the CIAA tourny is being ranked right up there with the ACC, and Big East in terms of popularity, and with their ESPN, not ESPN U deal, that should make the SWAC feel small, seeing that they're a HBCU conference with little known schools, and they're D2.
When you see SU struggling to beat NAIA lil sister SUNO, losing to likes of West Alabama, UAPB scoring 25 points in an entire game, ASU scoring 10 points in an entire half, and GSU losing to a Georgetown team by dayum near 50 points, that didn't win another game the entire season, after beating them, and Alcorn losing to Siena in the play in game that also had a losing record, that should let everyone know this conference has a long way to go just to get back to respectability.
I looked at the game last night, and said if AAMU is the best the SWAC has to offer, then the SWAC has truly hit rock bottom. Again, this not a knock against AAMU because they won the conference fair, and sqaure, both regular season, and the tourney, and congratulations are in order for winning the conference championship, but until the conference starts taking basketball seriously, they may as well start negotiations with the city of Dayton to see if some sort of package deal can be made, because that's where the SWAC Champ will be for the foreseeable future.
NICE