Why are teams from the same conference meeting before the Elite 8? In some cases, before the Sweet 16? They don't stagger the brackets anymore?

(03-25-2019 08:25 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Why are teams from the same conference meeting before the Elite 8? In some cases, before the Sweet 16? They don't stagger the brackets anymore?

No. They quit about 6 or 7 years ago when they decided they could put 9 teams from a conference in the tourney. I thought they still kept them separate until the sweet 16, but obviously not (MSU-MN).

They used to not worry about it at all. One year UK had to play Alabama for the 4th time in the sweet 16 and then LSU for the 4th time in the regional finals (and lost after beating them 3 times previously). Shortly after that they started making sure you couldn't meet until the regional finals.

They could separate Minnesota from MSU but then they’d lose a lot of ticket sales removing the Gophers from Des Moines.