NCAA tournament 2011 — running thread

[LongTimeListener]

Can the committee now stop putting 11 teams from the Big East in the tourney? No .500 conference record, you're not in - and yes, I know UConn had a .500 conference record. Had the Huskies not loaded up on patsies to come to Storrs and maybe tried playing a mid-major on the road, they wouldn't have the record to get to the tourney.

Oh, and this is bracket justice. My men's pools are all a wreck.
My women's bracket I hit 29 of 32 and have every Sweet 16 still playing.

You're incorrect. UConn played in Hawaii -- no control over the outcomes there.

Not playing a mid-major on the road is a common trait among the majors.

It's just like football: The big schools can get a sellout at home if it schedules an eighth grade JV team, so why go on the road for a mid-major?

Are you saying UConn has a duty to prop up the mid-majors? Because by most measures they fare pretty well in then caliber of competition. They are 10th in pomeroy's SOS rankings and their non-con road/neutral opponents included Michigan state, Kentucky, texas and wichita state. He'll, even Vermont and Harvard were acceptably competitive opponents.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Odd little factual tidbit: there have been zero teams from Richmond, Virginia reaching the sweet 16 for 23 years. Until this year when TWO teams from Richmond reach it in the same year. What are the odds of that?

Also interesting that UR and VCU combined for only three total votes in the final regular-season AP poll (UR 0, VCU 3) and none in the final ESPN regular-season poll, even though UR finished at 24-7 and VCU was 23-10 and playing in the CAA championship.

Yet both are in the Sweet 16.

And the easiest way to help the mid-majors in RPI is to reduce the value of home wins, and increase the value of road wins.

 

[suburbia]

The NCAA Tournament has a funny way of allowing teams that underachieved during the regular season a chance to redeem themselves and of exposing teams that overachieved during the regular season.

 

[I Should Coco]

Don't look now, but maybe Notre Dame has a rally up its sleeve.

Of course, that could just be my bracket talking ...

 

[HanSenSE]

Can the committee now stop putting 11 teams from the Big East in the tourney? No .500 conference record, you're not in - and yes, I know UConn had a .500 conference record. Had the Huskies not loaded up on patsies to come to Storrs and maybe tried playing a mid-major on the road, they wouldn't have the record to get to the tourney.

Oh, and this is bracket justice. My men's pools are all a wreck.
My women's bracket I hit 29 of 32 and have every Sweet 16 still playing.

You're incorrect. UConn played in Hawaii -- no control over the outcomes there.

Not playing a mid-major on the road is a common trait among the majors.

It's just like football: The big schools can get a sellout at home if it schedules an eighth grade JV team, so why go on the road for a mid-major?

Are you saying UConn has a duty to prop up the mid-majors? Because by most measures they fare pretty well in then caliber of competition. They are 10th in pomeroy's SOS rankings and their non-con road/neutral opponents included Michigan state, Kentucky, texas and wichita state. He'll, even Vermont and Harvard were acceptably competitive opponents.

No, not saying that at all. Just injecting a little economic reality into the conversation. The majors get the gate, but it's a two-edged sword, since they don't know how to play a game like that on the road, or even a neutral court. Yet, they go visit Podunk Tech and they've got a target on them as soon as it's wheels down.

 

[MileHigh]

Nice football game going on.

 

[mb]

I realize I'm probably really late on the uptake, but the only 2 Big East teams left got there by ... beating other Big East teams? Wow.

 

[Rhody31]

Can the committee now stop putting 11 teams from the Big East in the tourney? No .500 conference record, you're not in - and yes, I know UConn had a .500 conference record. Had the Huskies not loaded up on patsies to come to Storrs and maybe tried playing a mid-major on the road, they wouldn't have the record to get to the tourney.

Oh, and this is bracket justice. My men's pools are all a wreck.
My women's bracket I hit 29 of 32 and have every Sweet 16 still playing.

You're incorrect. UConn played in Hawaii -- no control over the outcomes there.

Not playing a mid-major on the road is a common trait among the majors.

It's just like football: The big schools can get a sellout at home if it schedules an eighth grade JV team, so why go on the road for a mid-major?

Are you saying UConn has a duty to prop up the mid-majors? Because by most measures they fare pretty well in then caliber of competition. They are 10th in pomeroy's SOS rankings and their non-con road/neutral opponents included Michigan state, Kentucky, texas and wichita state. He'll, even Vermont and Harvard were acceptably competitive opponents.

I hate SOS because there's inherent bias in it. The reason why the Big East SOS numbers are solid is because of conference play, which we learn every March is bullshirt because the Big East throws up on itself in the tourney.
Their road/neutral court schedule was impressive, but their home NCS was weak.
UConn deserves to be in because they won their conference tourney; that doesn't make them a good team or worth a three seed. If a mid-major team won 22 regular-season games, went .500 in conference play, would they be a three seed?

 

[hondo]

Does any team throw more skip passes than FSU?

 

[mb]

All that talk about how it would be harder to win the Big East tournament than it would the NCAA tournament hasn't exactly held up, huh? Only heard that about a thousand times during the 18 days ESPN was showing that tournament.

 

[suburbia]

FSU has left the door open by missing two one-and-ones. Irish back within 12 with more than 8 1/2 minutes left.

 

[NickMordo]

Pathetic that a Big East team is full-court pressing with 10+ minutes to play in the game. Mike Brey is the Rick Barnes of the Big East -- never won jack.