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The Niagara University Basketball press release said it plain as day: "The Purple Eagles...will open the 2009-10 campaign...against Southeastern Conference (SEC) powerhouse Auburn...on Nov. 13."


If you are college basketball fan, you probably see the humor in that statement.



Wait, you don't see it? You don't see the hype that goes beyond laughable to anyone who understands college basketball outside of the Niagara Frontier and Western New York Region?

"against Southeastern Conference (SEC) powerhouse Auburn."

One esteemed and well known college basketball pundit had the best response when he saw this line tonight: Niagara is playing football now?

Niagara used to have a club football program that fell apart when a chlorine gas leak from the DuPont Corporation flowed over and into the stadium during a 1983 game. That was a long time ago.

What was written in this release is another example of a seemingly pompous attitude that has taken over the Niagara basketball program in the past 3-4 years, the same attitude that declared their victory over Big East weakling South Florida last year "an upset." Somehow, the school has got it into their heads that just because a school plays in a major (read BCS) conference, that school is by default a "powerhouse" and a victory over over that school an "upset."

(Disclaimer: I graduated from Niagara in 1984)

So perhaps it is time to set the record straight. The SEC is a college football powerhouse that is very deep in talent. This is not the case in basketball (please no flames).

But Auburn a SEC Basketball Powerhouse? Let's look at where Auburn has ranked in the SEC since the 1989-1990 season.

Conference Wins				Conference Losses
Kentucky		252		Auburn		209
Florida		195		Ole Miss		204
Alabama		177		Georgia		189
Mississippi State		176		Vanderbilt		177
Tennessee		168		LSU		175
LSU		167		Tennessee		174
Vanderbilt		165		South Carolina		172
Georgia		153		Mississippi State		166
Arkansas		151		Alabama		158
Ole Miss		138		Florida		147
Auburn		133		Arkansas		137
South Carolina		116		Kentucky		90

Overall Wins				Overall Losses
Kentucky		535		Auburn		298
Florida		442		Ole Miss		297
Mississippi State		401		Georgia		294
Alabama		400		Tennessee		280
Vanderbilt		393		LSU		272
LSU		375		Vanderbilt		271
Arkansas		368		South Carolina		266
Tennessee		368		Alabama		264
Georgia		348		Mississippi State		255
Auburn		340		Florida		240
Ole Miss		336		Arkansas		214
South Carolina		292		Kentucky		179

Conference Winning Percentage					Overall Winning Percentage
Kentucky		0.737			Kentucky		0.749
Florida		0.57			Florida		0.648
Alabama		0.528			Arkansas		0.632
Arkansas		0.524			Mississippi State		0.611
Mississippi State		0.515			Alabama		0.602
Tennessee		0.491			Vanderbilt		0.592
LSU		0.488			LSU		0.58
Vanderbilt		0.482			Tennessee		0.568
Georgia		0.447			Georgia		0.542
Ole Miss		0.404			Auburn		0.533
South Carolina		0.403			Ole Miss		0.531
Auburn		0.389			South Carolina		0.523

'nuf said?