Selection Sunday-NCAA tournament thread

This is not a thing. College basketball teams are not consistent.

 

Your first and second sentences clash. Did George Mason not affect the tournament's ability to crown a champion? If so, how can you know any other bubble team that missed couldn't have gone on a George Mason-like run?

 

Bilas has been completely insufferable the last two days. Yesterday, he was beside himself about Gonzaga's No. 1 seed. Like it was some major shock. And like they didn't pound Oklahoma by 25 points and K-State by 16. Then, this morning, it was onto righteous indignance that Virginia didn't get in and (Name Your At-Large Mid-Major Here). Never mind that loss to Delaware. Never mind that loss to ODU. I mean, they beat Dook, for Christ's sake! Dook!

As far as Bilas is concerned, the NCAA Tournament already took place. Miami won it.

 

And USC, Florida State, Purdue...

VCU would have been out in a 64-team tournament.

 

I certainly understand why some are questioning whether Gonzaga should be a No. 1 seed. I think Miami was more deserving.

I remember the Zags crushing Oklahoma pretty early in the season, but they also lost to a pretty middle of the road Illinois team, but beat K-State and Oklahoma State. When you play against inferior competition, people are going to question your credentials, even if it's through no fault of their own...

 

Never mind those losses to Arkansas State and Florida International. They won a bunch of games in the Sun Belt, for Christ's sake!

MTSU beat exactly two tournament teams this year. Of those teams, Western Kentucky (whom they beat twice) wouldn't have gotten in without winning their conference tournament, and Ole Miss needed a run in the SEC tournament to get in.

Yes, Virginia beat Duke. They also beat UNC, NC State, Wisconsin (on the road), Tennessee and Maryland (twice). By my count, that's six more quality wins than MTSU had. But actually judging teams on who they beat would be unfair to the little guys, so the Blue Raiders are headed for a first-round beatdown, if they get that far.

 

ESPN should convene a roundtable with Bilas and Herbstreit: "The Big Guys Get Screwed Again"

 

The problem is that Bilas is the Boy Who Cried Wolf at this point. It's hard for me to even listen to his arguments, because year after year, point after point, they amount to one thing: BCS schools rule, non-AQ schools drool. Rinse and repeat.

 

People need to realize that it's not in the tournament's best interest to have the best 68 teams in the country in the field.

They need a nice mix of top teams, potential Cinderellas and mid-major teams capable of making a nice run.

If Kentucky had made it in and rolled off three or four wins, few would have cared... If a mid-major does it, especially as a double-digit seed, it's huge.

There's part of me that wants the play-in games to be all at-large teams playing for the last four spots and it would be great to watch Virginia play Kentucky to get in as a No. 12 seed, but it's better when it's a school like Middle Tennessee or St. Mary's vying for that spot.

 

That I can agree with 100 percent, even if he's beating my alma mater's drum this time around.

 

I find it hysterical that not only does Kentucky not make it to the Big Dance, but that it has to go on the road and play in a jr. high like gym. Now, if only Bobby Morris can beat the Big Blue Bastards.

 

It's refreshing to see the NCAA Selection Committee is actually starting to practice what it has always preached, about placing a high value on road wins, and actually rewarding some non-AQ conference schools at the expense of the big boys who never leave their home reans to play an OOC road game. Two or three years ago Virginia and Tennessee are in, no qauestions asked.

As for Virginia, it played OOC home games against Fairfield, Delaware, Seattle, Lamar, North Texas, UW Green Bay, Mississippi Valley, Morgan State, and Wofford. Had it played at VCU and Richmond (for example) instead, and won once or twice, maybe it's in. But UVA did lose at GMU and did lose at ODU, so it probably would have lost at VCU and at Richmond too.

UVa hasn't been the best program in the commonwealth for quite some time, but doesn't want to admit it. VCU would have destroyed them this season.