But you won’t make the NCAAT just by playing in a tough conference. What matters is WHO you beat…and a team that lost to Bill & Mary along with a weak VT team isn’t likely to care much about SOS, conference SOS, or pretty much anything else come March.
I’d agree with the second part. The discussion for this NC State team is probably moot anyways.
On the former though, it’s hard to beat good teams when the conference is weak. Being RPI #4 (as of today), isn’t going to help our bubble teams on Selection Sunday. They’ll have fewer opportunities for quality wins (particularly on the road), and more opportunities for a bad loss.
The bigger point I’ve been driving at for years is the mentality that non-conference doesn’t matter. I’m so sick of watching fans say “all I care about is how NC State performs.” That’s just wrong. It’s not like us pulling for other teams non-conference makes any difference, but if we’re out there educating about what gets one into the tournament, it is important to understand how critical the non-conference is.
