Selection Sunday-NCAA tournament thread

Moddy's on some next-level shit.

 

Their offense is predicated on illegal screens. In conference play it is allowed.

What can we use to replace RPI? It's obviously flawed.

 

Strength of schedule can be so misleading...

Obviously, the committee didn't put too much stock in the RPI, because then they would have been a No. 1 seed.

New Mexico's ranking at the end of the season meshed perfectly with where they ended up seeded in the tournament. I know hidsight is 20-20 after a huge upset, but I didn't remember hearing people complaining that New Mexico should not have been a No. 3 seed.

New Mexico's RPI was especially high in large part because the MWC probably had the best season as a conference than ever before. Has the MWC ever produced five tournament teams before? For a nine-team conference, especially one that isn't typically considered to be a major conference, that's a lot...

 

The MWC also appeared to make a naked RPI push this year by playing non-Division I opponents that wouldn't affect teams' RPI. Every MWC team played two lower-division opponents this year except UNLV (who played one) and New Mexico (who played none).

 

I won't lie. I'm one of those idiots who, if there's a tossup game, picks according to my fanboi tastes.

It worked 50/50 yesterday ... picked against Michigan, 'cause I hate the maize and blue, and picked against Steve Alford because, well, he's Steve Alford.

I'll take a 14-for-16 start any time.

 

I pick against my fanboi tastes. That, first of all, neutralizes bias. Second of all, it gives me something to feel good about no matter how the game turns out. Essentially, I use my bracket to hedge my emotional bets.

 

Why would you want to avoid bias? Are you covering the tournament?

 

Avoid bias in my pick.

 

New Mexico played nearly a perfect non-conference schedule this season...

Davidson, Valparaiso, South Dakota State, Cincinnati, New Mexico State (twice) and Saint Louis all made the NCAAs.

They also had wins over UConn and USC.

That's a pretty damn good non-conference schedule. I wonder how many other teams played seven non-conference games against teams that made the NCAAs?

 

That's not a bad way to do it.

And let's face it, a big reason we love to watch (and post about) the NCAA tourney is it's such a crapshoot, especially on the first weekend.

Example: There were a dozen things that could have clinched the game for Davidson yesterday, but not one of them happened.

And Gonzaga was a couple of missed shots away from losing as a No. 1 seed.

 

Zags go down Saturday night. Book it.

 

I don't think there is anything that can truly be labeled a shock outside of the 1-16 matchups. There's just too much talent in the basketball world.

In the case of Harvard, it's going to be very interesting to see what they can do with this and with Jeremy Lin's success. Kenyatta Smith was a top-100 recruit, but once he didn't get his preferred Pac-10 school he decided Harvard was a better route than finding a scholarship at some average academic and average athletic school in a place he didn't really want to be. My guess is Chambers probably made the same kind of call though he didn't have quite that recruiting profile.