You are hereMajerus says MU turned down game with SLU
Majerus says MU turned down game with SLU
Rick Majerus
I see in this morning's St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Rick Majerus says he and Saint Louis University tried to schedule a basketball game with Missouri but were turned down. Again.
"We always begin with asking Missouri ... It would be good for basketball in Missouri. It would be very lucrative for Missouri and St. Louis. It would be a grand slam, it would touch all the bases."
Nice try, Rick. But the truth is what you should have said was:
"We always try to fool Missouri into thinking it would be good for them to play us. . . We know it wouldn't make any difference to the sport of basketball in the state of Missouri because SLU isn't really all that when it comes to hoops in the Show Me State. It might make Missouri a little money, but nowhere near as much money as it would make SLU. It would be a bloop single, a ground-rule double at best."
Here's why. Missouri has nothing to gain by playing SLU, or UMKC, or Missouri Southern, or Central Missouri or Missouri State.
Missouri is expected to beat all those teams most years.
If it does, then that's no big deal.
And if it loses one of those games, then oh goodness the sky is falling in Columbia.
Particularly in St. Louis, where certain radio heads live and die with their allegiance to SLU or their hatred for all things Mizzou, all you're doing is giving air time for people to go "Whoo! Hooo! Did you see what WE did to Ol' Mizzou?"
Further in the P-D piece Majerus noted that he had tried to schedule Georgetown and was turned down by the Hoyas as well.
Sorry Rick, the Hoyas already have a game scheduled in Missouri. With Missouri. In Kansas City. And while Missouri may or may not win that game, it is at least a game worth the risk of losing for the prospects that winning it, or simply playing it, might help Mizzou and Georgetown on NCAA Tournament resumes.
SLU, for Mizzou, just doesn't warrant that sort of risk or reward.
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I can understand why they wouldn't want to play the Bears. MSU beat them last time they played and have won 2 of the 4 games they have played throughout the years. The Bears are always a tough out. Just ask SLU. The only time they beat the Bears, time had expired and the refs used a t.v. replay of an unsynced clock to make the wrong call.
"We know it wouldn't make any difference to the sport of basketball in the state of Missouri because SLU isn't really all that when it comes to hoops in the Show Me State."
I still find it highly amusing that Mizzou fans and journalists act like they have accomplished something significant. SLU has just as many Final Fours as Mizzou. If SLU isn't "all that"....play them!! Show the recruits in St. Louis that Mizzou is a better choice for basketball.
As a fan of both schools - I have degrees from both, but live in STL- I cannot understand the constant refusal of the Tigers to play SLU. If the MU Ath. Dept and MBB coaches believe SLU is inferior then surely they don't fear a loss.
I believe the actual problem to be that Mike A. and the MBB coaching staff realize that SLU would be a formidable foe, at this point. Therefore, a loss that they fear so much would not have a negative impact on the Tiger's chances of getting into the NCAAs. I find it unbelievable that a Tiger loyalist would even admit to being afraid to schedule the Bills!
What we have here is a pure case of cowardly leadership. By the way, DeArmond should take off the Tiger tail and write like he was taught in J-School. (I assume he went to J_School?)
And it details why Missouri sees no reason to play SLU. No Tiger tail involved, but thanks for reading.
Every year KU plays lesser competition from around the area. Teams like Washburn, Emporia State, and UMKC are all on KUs schedule this year. The first two are exhibition, but if KU can play UMKC, why can't missouri play them, or play SLU?
"Missouri has nothing to gain by playing SLU, or UMKC, or Missouri Southern, or Central Missouri or Missouri State."
UMKC, Missouri Southern, UCM and (lets not forget) SEMO are in weak conferences. Meanwhile SLU is in the Atlantic 10, which finished in the Top 10 of the Sagarin ratings, a couple spots ahead of Missouri State's MVC. Are you saying a game and potential win vs. an A-10 or MVC team isn't worth the risk for Mizzou? Neither of those would be considered a 'bad' loss for them in terms of the all-important tourney resume.
Of course, the Tigers may have had their fill of cupcakes last year, after those exciting "contests" against men's basketball powerhouses UT-Martin, Texas Pan-American, Farleigh Dickinson and (wait for it, wait for it...) Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Bottom line is that SLU-Mizzou would draw better for the Tigers than any of their other non-conference games in the past few years besides the Illinois game, be it in Columbia or St. Louis.
Missouri has played UMKC and several D II schools in state over the past few years. The problem here is that SLU wants a home and home. Until we see KU travel to Wichita for a game the fan above has no room to take the high road in this situation.