re: Is Avery on the hot seat if Bama misses the tournament?

Avery has a better record in each of his first three seasons than Pearl's first three at Auburn. Avery has not had a losing season. Pearl had back-to-back losing seasons in his first two years at Auburn.

he will get 5 years the same as Grant

No, because I think Bama makes the NCAA Tournament... even with a loss Saturday.

Here is how Bama's resume stacks up:

QUADRANT 1: 5-6
QUADRANT 2: 6-6
QUADRANT 3: 4-1
QUADRANT 4: 2-0

The only really bad loss was against Minnesota which is a Quadrant 3 loss. Bama has 5 Quadrant 1 wins and 11 combined Quadrant 1 & 2 wins.... I think that will compare favorably to a lot of other bubble teams.

Things to watch out for:

Several of Bama's opponents are on the cusp of falling into lower Quadrants.

*Memphis sits at #96 in the RPI. If Memphis slides below #100 RPI, that win drops from a Q2 win to a Q3 win.

*UCF sits at #69 in the RPI. If UFC (who's lost 2 straight games) were to slide below #75, this loss drops from a Q2 loss to a Q3 loss and that actually could severely hurt the resume. It would be a second ugly loss.

*Mississippi State sits at #68 in the RPI. If State were to fall below #75 in the RPI, then Bama goes from having a Q1 loss at State and a Q2 win at home vs. State to a Q2 loss and a Q3 win.

*Georgia sits at #70 in the RPI. If we fall below #75 in th RPI, then Bama goes from having a Q1 loss to Georgia to a Q3 loss

If all of these teams were to fall down a Quadrant, Bama could be in trouble.... especially UCF because that would give Bama a second Q2 loss.

But I think as it stands right now, Bama could lose Saturday, lose another game in St. Louis, and they'll still be playing in Dayton. I just think with wins over Auburn, Tennessee, Rhode Island, and Oklahoma, its going to be difficult for any other Bubble Team's resume to top them.

We're not making the tournament at 17-15 (8-11) with 6 straight losses and a RPI around 60-65, Quad wins or not.

And we shouldn't.

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We're not making the tournament at 17-15 (8-11) with 6 straight losses and a RPI around 60-65, Quad wins or not.

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I think there are only like 4 teams in the history of the tournament that have gained an at large bid with more than 2 games under .500 in conference.

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We're not making the tournament at 17-15 (8-11) with 6 straight losses and a RPI around 60-65, Quad wins or not.

And we shouldn't.

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I understand Bama fans hedging their expectations, but most any bubble team can point to their resume and see flaws. Bama's is no different than the other teams who sit right on the bubble. If you take Lunardi's updated Bracketology, of the last 8 teams in the field along with the first 4 teams out, here are how they stack up in various categories:

Quadrant 1 Wins:
6- Texas
5- Alabama
5- Baylor
4- USC
3- Providence
3- Washington
3- St. Bonaventure
3- Arizona State
2- Louisville
2- UCLA
2- Syracuse
1- Nebraska

Bad Losses (Quadrant 3 & 4):
0- Texas
0- Louisville
0- Baylor
1- Alabama
1- Arizona State
1- UCLA
1- Nebraska
1- Washington
1- USC
2- St. Bonavenutre
3- Providence

HORRIBLE Losses (Quadrant 4 only)
0- All of the above teams except for the ones below
1- USC
1- St. Bonaventure
1- Providence

Bama's resume is probably the best of the above with the exception of Texas IMO.... and that's why Lunardi still has Bama in the field and not even playing in Dayton.

I do believe a loss Saturday may knock Bama a tier below and force them to play in Dayton.... but I don't think an SEC Tournament loss will hurt. Unless you win your Conference Tourney, everyone has a Conference Tourney loss.

I think Bama will sweat it, but they are in.

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I think there are only like 4 teams in the history of the tournament that have gained an at large bid with more than 2 games under .500 in conference.

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It actually happens quite often... not usually for SEC teams but it happens to teams in the stronger BBall conferences every year.

Here's the deal. The SEC is stronger than normal... everyone knows that. Finishing a game below .500 at 7-9 when the SEC is as strong as it is this year is not a resume buster.

Not only that, but Bama has wins over BOTH the two strongest SEC teams: Auburn and Tennessee.

Bama played a very strong OOC schedule, beating Rhode Island and Oklahoma.

And on top of all of that, Bama doesn't have many horrible losses.... only the loss to Minnesota would go down as a bad one.

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It actually happens quite often

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3 games or more under .500 in conference? I believe that ESPN put up that graphic the other day and it was only a few teams, maybe it was 4 games under .500 in conference. Either way, it isn't easy to do.

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I understand Bama fans hedging their expectations

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Oh we're not hedging anything. Hedging implies balancing the positive with some negative. There is no positive here.

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One got paid a lot more money to suck.

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I can honestly say that if it isn't negatively effecting some other program I could give two shites how much a coach makes.