From Here to Futility: Clubs Familiar With March Madness Becoming Sadness

The "Road to the Final Four" is a highway already lined with daydreamers and potholes. Cleveland State, Iona, Oral Roberts and UNC Greensboro were burned before, but assured themselves of participating in this year's NCAA playoffs by winning their postseason conference tourneys. It defies logic why so many mid-majors have been consigned to NIT participation at the expense of power-league members with non-winning conference records. Belmont, which lost to #6 seed Maryland by two points two years ago, was shunned this season despite being the only school in the country with as many victories as unbeaten Gonzaga (26). Adding insult to injury, Belmont wasn't even invited to participate in the NIT's 16-team field. It's as absurd as believing FBI probe involving Louisville, Oklahoma State and Southern California didn't impact their at-large status three seasons ago.

Rather than automatically focusing on underachieving middle-of-the-pack power-alliance affiliates with losing league records, shouldn't teams capturing undisputed regular-season crowns in a Division I conference warrant more extensive consideration as at-large entrants to the NCAA playoffs? Season-long excellence needs to count more than always paying homage to mediocre members of a power league.

Davidson had two of 11 teams from mid-major conferences - Lafayette '78, American '81, Temple '82, William & Mary '83, Coppin State '94, Davidson '96, Austin Peay '04, Davidson '05, Norfolk State '13, Murray State '15 and North Carolina Central '15 - going undefeated in league round-robin regular-season competition but not participating in the NCAA playoffs after losing by a single-digit margin in their conference tournament since at-large bids were issued to schools other than conference champions in 1975.

Saint Mary's is a classic example depicting why many mid-level schools have an inferiority complex. The Gaels three years ago, UNC Greensboro two seasons ago and Coastal Carolina in 2010-11 are the three teams to win 28 games and still be shunned by the committee. Utah State was shunned in 2003-04 despite winning nearly 90% of its games (25-3 record). Would Stephen F. Austin had been shunned last year with 30 wins if it lost in Southland Conference Tournament title tilt? SFA (.871 in 2012-13) is also the only shunned school with a higher winning percentage than Belmont (.867).

Prior to joining the Big East Conference, Creighton's splendid season 10 years ago was downplayed. Know-it-all national media types and committee members may haughtily belittle mid-major achievements because they're from the other side of the tracks, but following is an alarmingly long track record listing chronologically eligible teams winning more than 25 games yet failing to earn invitations to the NCAA playoffs since the field expanded to at least 64 in 1985:

NOTE: Cleveland State (defeated Indiana and Wake Forest), College of Charleston (Maryland), Colorado State (Colorado, Florida and Missouri), Creighton (Alabama, Florida, Louisville and Texas), Davidson (Georgetown, St. John's and Wisconsin), Illinois State (Alabama, Southern California and Tennessee), Louisiana-Lafayette (Oklahoma and Texas), Louisiana Tech (Ohio State and Pittsburgh), ORU (Louisville and Syracuse), Saint Mary's (Villanova), SIU (Arizona, Georgia, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech), Stephen F. Austin (West Virginia), UAB (Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan State, Missouri, Virginia and Washington), Valparaiso (Florida State and Mississippi) and Vermont (Syracuse) collectively won NCAA playoff games in other years against 32 different power conference members.