Someone wrote:
 
> 1)  Wouldn't it make the tourney a bit more
> interesting if even one of these independents had an at large bid into
the
> tourney (based on best record of the independents)
 
There was a bid for independent teams in the NCAA tournament between 1988
(when the tournament was expanded from 8 to 12 teams) amd 1992.  Here's how
the Indies did over this period:
 
1988 Merrimack def. Northeastern 3-5, 7-3; lost to LSSU 4-3, 0-5.
1989 St. Cloud State lost to LSSU 3-6, 2-4.
1990 UA-Anchorage lost to LSSU 2-6, 3-10.
1991 UA-Anchorage def. BC 3-2, 3-1; lost to NMU 5-8, 3-5.
1992 UA-Anchorage lost to LSSU 2-7.
 
Maybe they should have called this the "Lake State Advancement Rule".  :-)
 
The Indies were a #6 seed in each of these years.  Here's a comparison of
Indy #6 bids vs. non-Indy #6 bids over the period.  (Non-indy #6's: 88
Lowell; 89 Wisconsin; 90 BGSU; 91 Cornell; 92 Wisconsin.)
 
Indies: 7 series, 2-5; 13 games, 4-9.
Non-Indies: 8 series, 3-5; 14 games, 5-9.
 
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