Racers, Hilltoppers try to avoid bubble with conference crowns

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Western Kentucky and Murray State have spent the last four months working for the next four days.

Even though both schools dominated their respective conferences this season -- Western Kentucky (21-6) won the Sun Belt Conference's East Division by four games, while Murray State (22-6) won the Ohio Valley Conference by three games -- they know it's not enough to guarantee a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Unless the two schools manage to survive their conference tournaments and earn the automatic tournament bid that comes with it, they'll have to endure the uneasy wait until the 65-team field is announced on March 12.

Considering the OVC hasn't received an at-large berth in almost 20 years and the Sun Belt hasn't received one in 12, they know their spots on the tournament bubble are tenuous at best.

Western Kentucky heads to the Sun Belt Conference tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Sunday with dreams of dancing.

Murray State coach Mick Cronin knows how things work for midmajor conferences considered a "one-bid league."

Cronin would rather not leave Murray State's fate in the hands of the selection committee. The OVC hasn't received an at-large bid since 1987. And for a midmajor team to get the selection committee's attention, it needs to score a couple of key nonconference wins.

Cronin can't point to the fact the Racers were in every game they played, or that their two best nonconference games were an overtime loss at Cincinnati in November and an 11-point loss at Tennessee two weeks later. He knows the reality is the close losses carry more weight with the selection committee than the way the Racers steamrolled through the OVC.

After the two near-misses, Cronin remained hopeful the Racers could win enough games before the conference championship game that the sheer number of victories would force the selection committee's hand.

The way he figured it, if the Racers could get to 24 wins, they'd be firmly on the bubble. But an upset loss to Tennessee Tech two weeks ago snapped a 10-game winning streak and burst their bubble chances before they really began.

As it stands, the Racers head to Nashville tonight for a conference semifinal against Jacksonville State knowing the first 22 wins of the season won't matter if they don't get the next two.

"It's what makes it such a tough life as a basketball coach at this level," Cronin said. "You would like to think if you're sitting here on March 2 and your team has 22 wins, you're go to NCAA tournament. But that's not life at this level."