Why UW-Green Bay Should Be Considered For An At-Large Bid

After a devastating overtime loss in the semi-finals of Horizon League Tournament, UW-Green Bay's chances of receiving an At-Large Bid into the NCAA Tournament had diminished. The Phoenix finished the season with a 24-6 overall record, including a key win against the ACC Regular Season Champions, Virginia. But is that win against Virginia enough? Well, lets go back to November 16th of last year, when Green Bay came inches away from going into overtime with Wisconsin, a team who had just beat currently-ranked #2 Florida. In that game, Horizon Conference Player of the Year Keifer Sykes dropped 32 points against the normally potent defense of Wisconsin. If the Phoenix can play this well against teams like Virginia and Wisconsin, I feel like they can compete with any team in the NCAA Tournament as long as they stay healthy.

                                                                       Keifer Sykes

In Horizon League play, Green Bay lost a total of three games, which could scare the selection committee because of the Horizon's mid-major teams. Out of those three loses, they lost once against Valparaiso and twice against the Horizon League Tournament Champions, UW-Milwaukee. Against Valparaiso, Green Bay's starting center Alec Brown, who's their second leading scorer and rebounder, sat out with an injured shoulder. Valparaiso dominated rebounding and controlled the paint the entire game while also shooting a stellar 59% from the court. There is no doubt that if Alec Brown plays that game, Green Bay wins. After splitting the regular season series against UW-Milwaukee, they faced off again in the semi-finals of the Horizon League Tournament. The game was effected immediately when star PG Keifer Sykes injured his ankle in the first half. He later returned to the game with a very noticeable limp that impacted his performance, but he rallied his team to bring the game into overtime. Once the game reached overtime, Milwaukee then pulled away with the lead and won to advance to the Horizon League Championship Game that they eventually won. All in all, Green Bay's two key losses were when the team wasn't at full-strength.

                                                                        Alec Brown

I feel like Green Bay deserves a spot more than a 7th or 8th place team in a power conference. I think that seeing these "cinderella" or "bracketbuster" teams make March Madness all that better with all of the excitement that the teams bring. Who can forget about Dunk City last year or George Mason's Final Four run in 2006? Scenarios like those are why mid-major teams should receive a spot in the tournament instead of a mediocre power-conference team. Ultimately, it's not me but rather the selection committee that chooses who makes the tournament and not, and I hope that the committee gives Green Bay a chance on Selection Sunday.