(03-18-2018 09:21 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Retrievers did what a couple bluebloods could not tonight — COMPETE! You’ll never be forgotten, Maryland-Baltimore County.

Hopefully they can parlay it into a better league...no reason they can't play in a league like the A-10 if a slot comes available.

UMBC is further proof the selection committee had trouble seeding and selecting teams. They were a 14-seed or a very high 15-seed. Virginia still should have beaten them but they got a way better opponent than they should have in the first round.

(03-18-2018 09:38 PM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 09:21 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Retrievers did what a couple bluebloods could not tonight — COMPETE! You’ll never be forgotten, Maryland-Baltimore County.

Hopefully they can parlay it into a better league...no reason they can't play in a league like the A-10 if a slot comes available.

Baby steps, they could try to get in the MAAC or CAA.

(03-18-2018 09:39 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 09:38 PM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 09:21 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Retrievers did what a couple bluebloods could not tonight — COMPETE! You’ll never be forgotten, Maryland-Baltimore County.

Hopefully they can parlay it into a better league...no reason they can't play in a league like the A-10 if a slot comes available.

Baby steps, they could try to get in the MAAC or CAA.

Yeah forgot about the MAAC...that would be a good situation too.

Funny how Bruce Weber managed to get into Sweet 16 again. Good for him.

(03-18-2018 07:21 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  MWC proves better than the AAC in Basketball. Nice job Nevada, congrats! Future ringer Gonzaga still going, current AAC ringer Wichita State out.

Oh please, stop it. To save the long winded conversation, for starters, didn't Houston beat San Diego State? So save it, it was a draw. That is without me bringing up the more damning evidence.

(03-18-2018 07:30 PM)ODUgradstudent Wrote:  I was really hoping that Cincinnati would win for some G4 representation in the sweet 16, but Nevada showed the quality of the P6 teams, they’re never really out of it.

More like Cincinnati choked.

(03-18-2018 09:38 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  UMBC is further proof the selection committee had trouble seeding and selecting teams. They were a 14-seed or a very high 15-seed. Virginia still should have beaten them but they got a way better opponent than they should have in the first round.

no they didn't.

UMBC was #111 in RPI- 1-3 0-2 5-3 15-2 vs 4 quads 210 non con RPI

15s
Georgia St 120 in RPI- 0-0 1-1 8-4 13-5 vs 4 quads 166 non con RPI
CS Fullerton 131 in RPI- 0-2 2-2 7-5 9-2 vs 4 quads 141 non con RPI
Lipscomb 101 in RPI- 0-4 1-0 5-2 14-3 vs 4 quads 24 non con RPI
Iona 107 in RPI- 0-3 1-2 5-4 14-4 vs 4 quads 110 non con RPI
other 16 non PIG team was
Penn 115 in RPI- 0-1 0-3 6-3 17-1 vs 4 quads 167 non con RPI

The problem that I have is why didn't Virginia get as the #1 overall seed the worst possible team? Why did Xavier get Texas Southern instead?

Congrats Syracuse on playing a great game.

(03-18-2018 07:41 PM)RandomFan Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 07:36 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Auburn is getting eviscerated by Clemson...LOL. What a weird year. We've had two days with almost no upsets whatsoever, and two days where almost every time you turn around there's a huge shock

That South bracket is an absolute mess. One of Loyola or Nevada is going to play for a chance to go to the Final Four.

According to a graphic on the UMBC/K-State game, it's first year in history that a region won't have any of its top 4 teams in the Sweet Sixteen.

Though that's misleading. It's not like there's a world of difference between the 4 and 5 seeds. Had Buffalo or Davidson snuck through, look out.

(03-18-2018 09:52 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 09:38 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  UMBC is further proof the selection committee had trouble seeding and selecting teams. They were a 14-seed or a very high 15-seed. Virginia still should have beaten them but they got a way better opponent than they should have in the first round.

no they didn't.

UMBC was #111 in RPI- 1-3 0-2 5-3 15-2 vs 4 quads 210 non con RPI

15s
Georgia St 120 in RPI- 0-0 1-1 8-4 13-5 vs 4 quads 166 non con RPI
CS Fullerton 131 in RPI- 0-2 2-2 7-5 9-2 vs 4 quads 141 non con RPI
Lipscomb 101 in RPI- 0-4 1-0 5-2 14-3 vs 4 quads 24 non con RPI
Iona 107 in RPI- 0-3 1-2 5-4 14-4 vs 4 quads 110 non con RPI
other 16 non PIG team was
Penn 115 in RPI- 0-1 0-3 6-3 17-1 vs 4 quads 167 non con RPI

The problem that I have is why didn't Virginia get as the #1 overall seed the worst possible team? Why did Xavier get Texas Southern instead?

You don't go by RPI alone. Heck, they beat an RPI top 50-75 team to get in on their home floor. As I said, Lipscomb and especially Fullerton were better candidates.

They better be glad they didn't get TSU, TSU is better than UMBC, even if not on paper.

(03-18-2018 09:32 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 06:29 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Interesting stat in a graphic just shown: The last 6 teams in the tournament to win an overtime game lost their next game, and Nevada, who won its first game in OT on Friday, is losing to Cincinnati by a very big margin.

Overtime periods should be shorter than 5 minutes. Make them either 2 or 3 minutes. The 5-minute overtime is a rule carried over from the pre-shot clock era. Don't need 5 minutes for overtime when you have a shot clock.

Normally I'm okay with changing archaic rules but this is fine. That said, OT periods could get shorter as you move forward. All you need is two minutes each after the first one. End the game already. But 5 minutes allows a team to build a lead and for another to come back.

5 is fine for the first one though. The one I don't get is soccer and why it's not sudden death.

Some soccer tournaments used to have sudden death in OT (aka "golden goal") but I don't know of any tournament that uses it any more. Almost doesn't matter because very few OT goals are scored, which is another reason why 30 minutes of OT after a 90 minute game is far too much -- that is the equivalent of playing a 13-minute OT in college basketball, which no one would ever want to see.

(03-18-2018 09:38 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  UMBC is further proof the selection committee had trouble seeding and selecting teams. They were a 14-seed or a very high 15-seed. Virginia still should have beaten them but they got a way better opponent than they should have in the first round.

Also, Virginia just lost a key player. They need a game to make the adjustment. This game just caught them off guard.

Sucks if you got tickets to the San Diego games today as a general fan. Both games have been very uncompetitive.

So, this what one half of the NCAA bracket looks like. One of these 8 teams will be playing for a National Title:

9 Kansas State vs 5 Kentucky
11 Loyola Chicago vs 7 Nevada

9 Florida State vs 4 Gonzaga
7 Texas A&M vs 3 Michigan

Kentucky and Michigan are the only blue bloods on this side. If they lose, we'd be guaranteed a surprise finalist


Other side has gone more to chalk outside of Syracuse

(03-18-2018 10:49 PM)RandomFan Wrote:  Sucks if you got tickets to the San Diego games today as a general fan. Both games have been very uncompetitive.

Yeah, some of the pods got amazing deals, others got little.

I'm not sure that Charlotte pod really looked that exciting beforehand with a 1 and a 2 seed both in it, but they ended up getting to see a 9 seed and a 7 seed survive and the first ever 16 over 1 upset.

Nashville got little on Friday, but got two different double digit second half comebacks today to watch a 9 and 7 go through

Detroit got two great games today that came down to the final minute.

San Diego got screwed. But they got a couple good games Friday at least.

combined pre tourney remaining seed lists by region-
South 124 31.0 avg
West 86 21.5 avg
East 39 9.8 avg
MW 72 18.0 avg

(03-18-2018 10:50 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  So, this what one half of the NCAA bracket looks like. One of these 8 teams will be playing for a National Title:

9 Kansas State vs 5 Kentucky
11 Loyola Chicago vs 7 Nevada

9 Florida State vs 4 Xavier
7 Texas A&M vs 3 Michigan

Kentucky and Michigan are the only blue bloods on this side. If they lose, we'd be guaranteed a surprise finalist


Other side has gone more to chalk outside of Syracuse

I'm sure Xavier would like another shot at FSU, but unfortunately for them, Gonzaga is the 4 seed.

(03-18-2018 10:40 PM)ArQ Wrote:  

(03-18-2018 09:38 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  UMBC is further proof the selection committee had trouble seeding and selecting teams. They were a 14-seed or a very high 15-seed. Virginia still should have beaten them but they got a way better opponent than they should have in the first round.

Also, Virginia just lost a key player. They need a game to make the adjustment. This game just caught them off guard.

That too. Still, even if it's a good 16-seed, it's still a 16-seed. They certainly shouldn't have lost by 20. UMBC is the team you work your kinks out against. Losing was one thing but getting blown out was inexcusable.

(03-18-2018 09:52 PM)stever20 Wrote:  The problem that I have is why didn't Virginia get as the #1 overall seed the worst possible team? Why did Xavier get Texas Southern instead?

This is a flaw in the logic of the 16-line play-in's. It's built for the four worst teams, but it gives its winners a momentum push and exposure to the tournament format (television, timekeeping/stoppages, large venue, etc.). Sure, their first games can be draining, and then the winners have to travel to another city to play less than 48 hours later...it's still an edge over the likes of the other two who come out totally fresh. Guess that doesn't matter, though?

As to not "burden" the top #1, it's a level of risk the committee chooses not to force Virginia to assume. I don't know if UMBC could have beaten a different #1 if they didn't get UVA, or if TSU could have done what UMBC did, but playing these games kind of propel those 16's out of a proverbial doghouse. I agree, I think UVA should have the lowest-ranked 16. That should have been TSU. But, it should have been TSU without them getting a warmup. Warmed up TSU certainly gave Xavier a fight. Then again, so did the other non-play-in participant against their respective 1, Penn. And, of course, UMBC. Only Radford looked like the usual "scrub."

I still hate the 16-line play-in's. Really hate them. AQ's shouldn't be playing into any of this. Leave that all to the at-large's who can't clinch **** on their own merit. Don't care whether these really bad conferences should be lucky to get such an honor to compete, however unlikely to succeed, for a championship; it's a needless gimmick. I don't care if the pool looks indistinguishable from 16 to 14 or 13...heck, it's the top four lines that should be protected the first weekend. THAT'S the prevailing logic...or so it was.