2024-25 College Basketball Thread

[Roscablo]

I saw this is only the sixth time the 1-4 seeds went undefeated in the first round. That's kind of a crazy stat.

 

[Shelbyville Manhattan]

Memphis (which has made three Final Four trips) has one move left on the chessboard as an athletic department. It needs the remaining ACC schools to hold together when Clemson, FSU and UNC bail out and then it needs to be invited in. If that doesn't happen they are cooked.

That's the life raft for Memphis and USF. But at least Memphis isn't trying to build a $350 million football stadium on spec to move to said conference.

 

[Della9250]

Which six teams should have gotten bids instead?

I would have chopped Texas, OU and North Carolina for Boise, West Virginia and Indiana. To be honest i would have wanted Irvine in there but that wasnt going to happen.

 

[poindexter]

Overall, that was pretty much a snoozer of a first round.

 

[Pilot]

Overall, that was pretty much a snoozer of a first round.

Yeah, very few upsets and no real big ones. There weren't even many close games.

And to think they want to expand to 14 or even 16 teams.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The test of an NCAA tournament game is how well if captures the attention and then enthusiasm of the neutral viewer, indeed, the viewer who may never have heard of one or both schools. By that standard, of the games I watched, only St. Mary's-Vandy and McNeese-Clemson were close to meeting that goal. Hell, the most engrossing game was the first one -- the Alabama St.-St, Francis play-in game.

 

[poindexter]

the Alabama St.-St, Francis play-in game.

Yes, a couple of the first four games were entertaining. Gave me good hopes for the first round.

Even some of the few close games were fools gold. Clemson - McNeese ended as a 2 point game, but Clemson had 13 points at the half, and McNeese St was never really in danger of losing.

 

[Chet Lemon]

Overall, that was pretty much a snoozer of a first round.

The best game was, what? Kansas-Arkansas? Now that two No. 1s have lost to 16s and mid-majors have made the Final Four, I don't get too juiced about early upsets any more. Give me a mid-major winning the whole thing.

 

[Neutral Corner]

The greatest conference in the history of college basketball is not showing out very well at this point. Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Mizzou, Vandy, Georgia all are toast after one game, and each of them lost to a non-power conference opponent.

Now, the other eight teams could end up doing very well, could win it all, could get three teams to the FF and five or six into the Sweet 16. No question the top of the league is top-notch, hell I picked Florida to win the whole thing. No one would have questioned eight or nine invites.

But there is no way it deserved 14 teams. Absolutely no way. But those six undeserved units, at about $350K each, will earn the SEC $2,100,000 this year, and $12.6 million over the life of the 6-year payout. The rich get richer, whether they deserve to or not.

This. So much this. The greed of the richest and most powerful of the HAVES are going to dilute the best tournament in sports to the point that the viewership drops. Bastards.

 

[dixiehack]

The question remains: Which six teams should have replaced them? Della came up with Texas and Oklahoma as ones to leave out, which wouldn't have hurt my feelings. Calling the other four losers unworthy (which is what @micropolitan guy implied with "six undeserved units") is willful ignorance.

 

[Roscablo]

Yeah, very few upsets and no real big ones. There weren't even many close games.

And to think they want to expand to 14 or even 16 teams.

I know there are some here who want to bash the SEC, but the NCAA did a miserable job with getting the last four, maybe last six in.

North Carolina, Xavier, Texas, San Diego State based on their recent play (why recent play isn't at least factored is beyond me) did not really belong. And their results mostly proved it.

Only the second time since the at-larges started going to the First Four did one not win a second game. West Virginia and Boise State especially deserved to be in over those. I know the bubble was garbage this year and that doesn't help, but you have this quad system and everything else and you take two teams that were a combined 2-21 in Q1 games. Makes no sense.

This could be an off year. Maybe NIL is impacting some of the fun early games, especially from non-majors. But they did a terrible job with the bottom of the bracket.

Who knows the fun they could have with an expanded bracket.

 

[John]

Georgia lost 13 games this season, all to teams that were seeded 10th or better in the tournament, including three games to 1 seeds, two to 2 seeds and one to a 4. The Bulldogs also had wins over a 1 seed, a 2 seed and a 3 seed. That doesn't change the fact that they laid a big egg against Gonzaga, but to me it would be hard to argue they didn't deserve a spot in the field.