Even Bilas says Vols got jobbed

WOW. I could not believe this when I read it. Thanks to reader Bradley for the heads-up. I don’t like Bilas and this doesn’t change that . . . but it does surprise me. He’s been saying Kansas should be a 1-seed over us for a couple of weeks now. These are Bilas’s words about the Vols being thrown into UNC’s bracket despite their resume:

Major beef: The team that really got robbed by the committee was not Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Illinois State or Dayton. The real victim of this year’s committee was Tennessee. The Vols played by the committee’s rules. Tennessee finished No. 1 in the RPI, which the committee has relied upon for years. The Vols played a brutal nonconference schedule that included wins at Xavier, at Memphis, at Western Kentucky, Gonzaga, West Virginia, Temple, Texas and Ohio State. The Vols were 12-4 against the NCAA tournament field, by far the best among NCAA teams, and Tennessee’s numbers were far better than those of Kansas. Now, if you struggle with putting Tennessee as a No. 1 seed over Kansas, fine. But don’t put the Vols in the same region with the overall No. 1 team, and do it in that team’s backyard! Bruce Pearl has done a magnificent job with this team, played all comers and beat more top-quality teams than anyone, and, most important, played by the committee’s rules … and the committee robbed him. That was ridiculous. The committee sends a lot of messages, and they are mixed messages. What should Tennessee take from the message sent this year? Play and beat everyone, and then get jobbed? Nice.

Unfortunately, Jay, this is too little, too late. You were leading the charge to get Tennessee discredited before the selection, and now that you succeeded, you’re trying to play kissyface by saying we got screwed? Either do it when it matters or STFU, Bilas. We all know these things already.

Jay Bilas still can’t find his butt with two hands, a map, and a flashlight

Apparently on Mike and Mike this morning, Jay Bilas was on and said “UNC, UCLA, Kansas, and Memphis are easily the best teams in America and should get the number ones. If Texas does well in the Big 12, they could sneak in for one.”

Regarding Tennessee he said if they win the SEC tournament “they could get a 1.”

Nevermind that Tennessee’s resume is rivaled only by UNC’s, or that we beat Memphis on their home floor and lost only road/neutral games to tourney teams and have at least nine wins against tourney teams.

Bilas really has a beef with Tennessee for some reason. Somehow we have not convinced him that we can actually play a little basketball with the big boys. Personally I think he is a fool, and BruceBall needs to prove that is the case, starting tomorrow.

3:15 until the SEC tourney tips off. Grab an early lunch and come back to chat.

Jay Bilas can bite my crank

“The fact that Tennessee is no. 1 in the RPI proves how outdated the RPI is and it should no longer be used as consideration for seeding purposes.”

Thanks to BNAVol on Hoopsville for the heads-up. So I guess the RPI is fine when Duke or UNC is at the top, right Jay?

Those of us who love college basketball knew the RPI was a joke and had major limitations a long time ago. For you to say that Tennessee’s ranking is what makes that obvious is insulting . . . and shows either a tremendous lack of intelligence or, more likely, a tremendous amount of bias.

ESPN has, as a whole, been very good to Bruce Pearl and the UT basketball program. I don’t think that network is out to get us as some do. But I do think there are particular talking heads that do a good job showing their asses on national TV. Bilas, in my mind, wasn’t one of those except is regular gushing over Duke and UNC. But this takes it to another level.

Bilas had already said that we only looked good “because the SEC is down.” Less than a day later, he comes out with the RPI remark. Got an agenda, Bilas? Tell us how you really feel. Did Bruce steal your lunch money? Did he say something bad about your mommy? What gives, Jay? What’s your problem?

Reason #1,435 for the mute button on the remote.