This column appears in the Daily Journal March 15th edition. Give you opinion below.

TAMPA, Fla. - Rick Stansbury knows his opinion doesn't matter to the bracketologists or the NCAA tournament selection committee. But he gave it anyway.

After Mississippi State's 67-57 win over LSU on Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals, Stansbury made his case for the Bulldogs' inclusion in the Big Dance, regardless of today's outcome against Tennessee in the title game.

But LSU and Tennessee are the only NCAA locks, according to the experts.

State is 22-12 overall, which arguably puts it on the bubble.

Here's how Stansbury broke it down:

"We're 7-1 against the East, we're 9-7 coming into this (tournament). Being 9-7, two of those games were double-overtime losses, where we would've had have the second-best record in the league, and one of them was to LSU. Four road wins, 4-4 on the road in the SEC, and you've gone to the finals of the SEC Tournament.

"So you start breaking that down, who becomes the third and fourth team to get in? You guys make the case, as long as you make the right one."

Hey, you did such a fine job, coach, I'll leave that to you. Me, I'm no expert, but the way this team is playing, I could make a dang good argument for them.

The national media can't seem to get over MSU's low RPI and lack of quality wins, not to mention that late-season slide that saw it lose five of six. The selection committee puts a good bit of emphasis on a team's last 10 games; MSU is 6-4 in that department.

But the Bulldogs have won five in a row and beat the SEC's only ranked team on Saturday - LSU was No. 16 in the latest Associated Press rankings. Their bench has come alive and makes them perhaps the deepest, most well-rounded team in the league right now.

"I think we're playing well enough to deserve a shot at the dance," sophomore Phil Turner said. He added that the Bulldogs aren't thinking about getting an at-large berth.

"We're not looking for anybody to give us anything. We came down here to win, I think that's the attitude of the whole team."

The big picture

Realistically, winning today is the only way for State to earn an NCAA berth. I know the selection committee doesn't consult Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm and all those other bracketologists, but those guys know what they're talking about.

And you have to look at the big picture. As LSU coach Trent Johnson said when asked about his team's seeding possibilities, "Three days, two days, is that more important than 21/2 months, two months?"

However, Johnson threw his support behind MSU's cause. "My feeling about Mississippi State is, the West is pretty strong, wouldn't you think?"

The Eastern Division has certainly garnered the most attention this season, but three of the four semifinalists this weekend were West teams. That's one more point Stansbury could've made.

Like he said, though, his opinion matters not. He and the Bulldogs will just have to make their case today on the floor.

Brad Locke (brad.locke@djournal.com) covers Mississippi State for the Daily Journal and blogs daily at djbulldogs.wordpress.com.