Robbie Avila's star power could push Indiana State off the NCAA men's tournament bubble

The full impact of Robbie Avila, the 6-10 center at Indiana State whose goggles have inspired catchy nicknames like Cream Abdul-Jabbar, could be clear on Selection Sunday.

Indiana State missed a chance to secure an automatic bid when it lost to Drake Sunday in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, and they'll be forced to watch from the sideline this week as their fate is determined.

But Bruce Rasmussen is among three former chairmen of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee who told USA TODAY Sports Avila could nudge Indiana State past other bubble teams.

The field of 68 teams, as selected by the committee, will be announced Sunday.

“He’s a HUGE factor in their being in the discussion,’’ Rasmussen, the former Creighton athletic director who chaired the men’s basketball committee in 2018, wrote of Avila and Indiana State in a text message.

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Short on athleticism but highly skilled, Avila leads the team in scoring (17.5 points per game) and is second both in rebounds (6.1 per game) and assists (3.8 per game). Indiana State ranks eighth nationally in scoring with 84.4 points per game.

“As a committee member, you’re going to be impressed watching the game film of Indiana State and watching (Avila play),’’ said Mark Hollis, the former Michigan State athletic director who was chairman of the men’s basketball committee in 2017.

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Hollis also said Avila has proven he has the “unique ability’’ to carry a team. “And something like that could sway a vote,’’ he added.

Craig Thompson, the former Mountain West commissioner who served a four-year term on the committee, said he agrees Avila could be a factor.

 “Some (committee members) might put more focus on, do they have a player that can carry them?’’ Thompson said. “In this case, yes, Indiana State does.’’  

The Robbie Avila primer

The goggle madness began Feb. 28.

That night against Evansville, Avila scored 35 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. The morning after the game, Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio tweeted out the nickname Cream Abdul-Jabbar.

“My phone was blowing up left and right,’’ Avila said.

In came NIL opportunities, interview requests and, on social media, more nicknames, including Larry Blurred (a nod to Indiana State legend Larry Bird) and Steph Blurry.

Now, about those googles.

Avila started wearing them in the second grade when he started playing football and the helmet wouldn't fit over his glasses. So his parents bought him prescription goggles, which he continued to wear while playing sports.

In high school, Avila said, he briefly tried contact lenses. His older brother, Juan Jr., intervened.

Recalled Robbie Avila, “He was the one that told me, ‘You’re not you without your goggles. You’re not even Robbie anymore. You can’t wear contacts. You’ve got to go back to the googles.''

So he did.

Blossoming on the basketball court, He blossomed in high school, has continued to develop at Indiana State and how has an assortment of moves and nicknames. In addition to Cream Abdul-Jabbar, there’s Larry Nerd, College Jokic, Steph Blurry, Robbie Bucket while some people still call him Goggles but with affection.

He takes no offense, especially considering an attorney who represents him says he's negotiating NIL deals with Oakley and Rec Specs thanks to the goggles.

“It’s kind of been part of my brand,’’ he said.

Larry Blurred conjures up past

Unlike Larry Blurred, Larry Bird needed no prescriptive lenses. He led Indiana State to the NCAA tournament championship game in 1979 before the Sycamores lost to Michigan State and Magic Johnson.

Since then, Indiana State has only three appearances in the tournament and won only one game. Unexpected is a fair description of the team’s recent history.

Josh Schertz had been a head coach only at Division II Lincoln Memorial before taking over at Indiana State before the 2020-21 season. Under his watch, the Sycamores finished 11-20 during his inaugural season, 23-13 the following season and the team is 26-8 this season and won the regular-season Missouri Valley Conference title.

The climb would not have been possible without Avila, who in part credits playing chess with his grandpa for increasing his basketball IQ.

“He used to whup me every single day when I was younger,’’ Avila said.

Avila said he eventually got good enough to beat his grandfather, and what he learned has improved in basketball IQ. Take the backdoor pass, for example.

“I can’t just throw it out there because the help guy might be pulled in,’’ he said. “So I might have to skip it to the corner. And just being able to read pretty much all five defenders on the court is something I’m able to do, kind of slow the game down a little bit kind of helps me.

“So my basketball IQ kind of makes up for my lack of athleticism, my speed and my jumping ability.’’

What happens next for Indiana State

Likely Wednesday, each of the committee members will submit two lists key to the selection process, said Tom Burnett, who in 2021-2022 served as chairman of the committee.

He said one list will be comprised of approximately 20-25 teams the respective committee member thinks should be in the field of 68 regardless of happens this week in the conference tournaments.

The second list consists of teams under consideration, Burnett said. Indiana State likely be on the lists of teams under consideration. As the week progresses, more teams are moved to the list of at-large schools from the list of schools under consideration, according to Burnett.

Those teams under consideration likely will be impacted by what former Mountain West commissioner calls “the dreaded bid stealers.’’ Those are teams that surprisingly secure an automatic bids by winning a conference tournament and are awarded at-large bids by perform well in the conference tournaments.

Meanwhile, Indiana State can only watch and hope other bubble teams perform poorly and there’s a shortage of bid stealers. Thompson estimates Indiana State is one of six to eight teams competing for the final four spots.

Indiana State's resume lacks Quad 1 wins

What could hurt Indiana State’s chances: The Sycamores are 1-5 in Quad 1 games, which carry the highest value among games. But they’re 4-1 in Quad 2 games, games of the second highest value of Quad 1 through 4 games.

Indiana State played only one ranked team, then-No. 24 Alabama on the road, and lost 102-80. But Avila was sidelined with a back injury.

“That is important,’’ Rasmussen of Avila’s absence might reduce the importance of the game.

Indiana State played only one other game against Power Five team, Michigan State, and lost 87-75 on the road. But even with Avila in foul trouble that day, the game was tied 66-66 with about eight minutes to play before Michigan State slowly pulled away.

Rasmussen said he considers a team’s record on the road and at neutral sites better indicators than Quad 1 and Quad 2 when determining team strength. Indiana State was 9-4 on the road and 6-1 at neutral sites.

Then there’s the overall record of 28-6.

“A 28-win team is going to have the attention of the room,’’ Burnett said.

As compelling as Indiana State and Avila might be, however, Burnett pointed out another storyline: Samford’s head coach, Bucky McMillian, was coaching high school four years ago. Now he’ll lead Samford to the NCAA men's tournament for the first time since 2000 after his team secured an automatic bid by winning the Southern Conference.

“We’ve got the luxury of so many great stories,’’ Burnett said.

But only one involving a celebrated pair of goggles.