Joe Lunardi Team Quotations

I think the winner of this game clearly establishes itself as No. 2 in the Valley. To me, Northern Iowa is the best team and I think that will be clear at the end of the race.

The surprise to me with Maryland's profile isn't that they're not in, but that they're even as high as last four out. The bubble is really bad and most years I think they'd be eight or 10 spots lower than they are. Most years we're not talking about five or six from the Missouri Valley or two or three from the Colonial or eight or nine Big East teams. There's not a team on the bubble that doesn't have serious flaws.

They have plenty of road chances, but there's no reason to think they're suddenly going to become a good road team without their best player. No one would bet on it unless you're a blinded Terrapin fan.