(11-27-2017 02:57 PM)stever20 Wrote: they don't go straight off of RPI. Looking at KP-
Iona was 79
Fresno was 105
That year Gonzaga was by their resume a 11 seed. They barely got in the tourney. Seton Hall was 24 in Ken Pom and 19 in RPI- so 6 seed is pretty much exactly what would be expected.
It's more a composite of different metrics; nothing firmly upheld, despite a lot of lip-service for the RPI. 7-10 is just a mash-up, and seedings are impacted by venue/location.
I just don't think we'll agree with the Gonzaga thing, and that's fine. When you compare their numbers to Tulsa, Temple, Michigan, Vandy, and UNI...maybe. Four of those five had no right even being in the tournament, though, other than having a ridiculous number of games against top-50 schools. I think you could have had them go either way, up or down a line, but, yeah, I think the name carried some weight.
UNI and Gonzaga clearly posed some challenges for the field; one a tested tournament program, and the other with a very strong start to the season (including a win against the runner up, UNC) before some injuries saw the team take a big nose-dive before coming back just in time to take care of the MVC the honest way...and, thus, putting Wichita on the bubble. That's why I think some respect could be made to the A10 auto-bid...if the name's right, like Dayton, VCU, or even if URI or Bonnie crapped it up but still won the auto-bid...there's risk there you won't dump onto a high seed. Fresno didn't have that going for them when they stole the MWC. Biased and subjective, sure...but the committee isn't objective.