Running NCAA men's tournament thread 2012

The 2012 tournament is so scintillating we are reduced to arguing w Zag about his bizarro ideas for making the tournament a best of three, or reliving the 2006 tournament.

 

If my teenagers can handle their emotions and the pressure better than yours, then my team is better. That's part of the game. So is the use of the 3-point shot.

 

To me, the 3-point line is an issue because of the variance you get in shooting from game to game. Part of that has to do with defense. But part of it is just the way the cookie crumbles. Even Ty Cobb had some 0-for-4 games, right?

 

I think we should get rid of the tournament.

I think a computer should determine who the two best teams are and then sometime late in April those two teams should play for the national title.

 

So I think that you can think that the tournament is not a perfect way of determining who the best team in the country is, but at the same time think that it's the best possible way of determining who the champion should be, when balancing effectiveness in achieving its stated goal, logistical concerns, and entertainment value.

 

National champion =/= best team. Had Butler, VCU or George Mason won the title, they'd be the rightful national champions, but at six-game run does not magically make you the No. 1 team in the country. There's a distinction there.

 

I am sure if zagoshe is upset, he has a valid reason.

 

I understand the complaint that "The best team doesn't always win."

But you can really argue that in any sport. Did anyone really think the New York Giants were the best team in the NFL last year? Probably not, but they won three playoff games and the Super Bowl and that's what matters.

 

You keep calling it a "complaint."

For most of us, that's not a "complaint." Just a fact of life we've accepted and can live with.

 

So Zag isn't complaining?

 

When you get down to it, the only major leagues that inarguably crown the best team as champion are most of your soccer leagues. Play everybody on the road, play everybody at home and the team with the most points at the end is the champion. Of course, you can't do that in college sports or the NFL, and there's no way anyone's giving up playoffs.

 

"For most of us ..."