The official tournament time thread

[Tekneek]

I must have missed something. Why are "South" region games being played in Colorado and California?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Lathum

The comitee always blows Izzo.

I have no idea how Wisconsin is a 3 and Michagan state a 5.

Schmidty will now yell at me.

MSU Basketball is UM Football. They're a program on the decline and this is coming from a die hard UM football fan. Unfortunatley Izzo is God to those people so they refuse to put any of their decline on him but did you know in the last three seasons Michigans basketball B10 road record is better then MSU's? Now how are they an elite program?

[digamma]

First round games are in pods to maximize fan attendance. Regions are named for the regional location.

[hoopsguy]

I'm wondering where Purdue gets seeded, because right now I'm having a hard time understanding the Big Ten seeds. I'll guess a 6 seed for Purdue.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

I must have missed something. Why are "South" region games being played in Colorado and California?

pod system...the regions only really come into play starting in the sweet 16.

[DeToxRox]

I love the Drake.

[Radii]

BYU isn't an easy out, I kinda like their matchup against UCLA(I don't think they win or anything, but I was pretty impressed with BYU earlier in the year).

[Radii]

Arizona is a 10? Thought they would be lower.

[Lathum]

ok.

I was wrong about Georgia

[DeToxRox]

Looks like THEEE Ohio State are the odd team out.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

I'm wondering where Purdue gets seeded, because right now I'm having a hard time understanding the Big Ten seeds. I'll guess a 6 seed for Purdue.

Good call. Unbelievable.

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. 14 seed after all for Georgia. Like others, I thought the committee would seed them no lower than a 13, despite their RPI and record.

[Lathum]

I can see Duke being gone the first weekend

[Izulde]

Duke in no way deserved a #2 seed this year.

[Radii]

Weakest Bracket: West
Strongest: Midwest

[Izulde]

Is Xavier really worth a 3 seed? I haven't seen them play at all or anything so I have no sense of them.

[RedKingGold]

W00T FOR VILLANOVA!

WOOT!

[DeToxRox]

I'm telling you right now Wisconsin is going to the Final Four. That team plays some lockdown D and they're physical.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I'm telling you right now Wisconsin is going to the Final Four. That team plays some lockdown D and they're physical.

I can definitely see that happening. They've got a fairly balanced offense as well for the points they do generate.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I'm telling you right now Wisconsin is going to the Final Four. That team plays some lockdown D and they're physical.

I cannot imagine them beating Georgetown or Kansas.

[korme]

Butler got hosed

[korme]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Is Xavier really worth a 3 seed? I haven't seen them play at all or anything so I have no sense of them.

Yes, unfortunately

[Lathum]

Va Tech got screwed

[ThunderingHERD]

Packer fighting for the ACC again.

[Radii]

billy packer is a moron. The ACC only deserved 4 bids and only 1 other team was on the bubble. Questioning how they only got 4 teams compared to conferences with clealry more teams w/ great tourney resumes is just dumb.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I don't see anyway the comittee puts them with the likes of cal state fullerton.

The good thing is we find out in 15 minutes

Shows how much you know. For a low mid major team that is in a conference abit behind the WCC, Horizon or Missouri Valley, CS Fullerton is pretty good. Wisconsin shouldn't sleep on them. Fullerton ended up seeded #3 in the Big West, but they actually tied for the Big West championship, a conference which in years past has produced tournament giant killers like Pacific and UCSB.

[Radii]

hahaha seth davis:

"Hard to go against North Carolina, but Tennessee has the hot hand"

Tennesee is hot? By what measure?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Although I'm frustrated with, and a bit disturbed by, Tennessee's play of late ... how in the hell do they end up behind Duke in the seeding?
How does Wisconsin end up behind Duke?

On a smaller note, I'm not sure how Pitt ends up behind Louisville

[henry296]

I ended up with 63/65 misisng on the two Philly teams having ASU and VATech in the field. Biggest miss with Butler and Indiana on seeding.

[Karlifornia]

ASU sweeps Zona and gets left out....huh.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

ASU sweeps Zona and gets left out....huh.

Arizona State should be hating on Georgia right now.

[LloydLungs]

Butler is definitely the most screwed team in the field, both in seeding and location.

Now we must endure hours of "they should expand the tournament" talk on ESPN. The tournament is already expanded, in the form of conference tournaments. The number of teams in the field is fine, outside of the retarded play-in game. Can we just talk matchups please?

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

ASU sweeps Zona and gets left out....huh.

Playing an SOS of 300 will do that to a team.

Though, I'm in favor of making it a requirement for an At-Large team to win at least half of it's regular season games to be eligible for the NCAA

[kingnebwsu]

Am I the only one who is happy with the entire selection? I don't think teams like UD, Ohio State, Arizona State, etc. deserved a spot in the field. This is the best job overall I can remember in recent times. I have a few issues with the seeding, but nothing too major. Hopefully the tournament is exciting this year. Can't wait til Thursday!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Playing an SOS of 300 will do that to a team.

Though, I'm in favor of making it a requirement for an At-Large team to win at least half of it's regular season games to be eligible for the NCAA

I didn't look too closely. Is there a sub-.500 at large team in the field?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Shows how much you know. For a low mid major team that is in a conference abit behind the WCC, Horizon or Missouri Valley, CS Fullerton is pretty good. Wisconsin shouldn't sleep on them. Fullerton ended up seeded #3 in the Big West, but they actually tied for the Big West championship, a conference which in years past has produced tournament giant killers like Pacific and UCSB.

so I got it wrong.

No need to be an ass

[cartman]

Argh! Horrible time for a power failure. Lost the power here right at the end of the North Carolina-Clemson game, and I missed the Texas-Kansas game. Just now got the power back, and saw the final score.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Stanford/Cornell= Brain Bowl 2008

Cornell fans can't do the "safety school" chant in this one...

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Lathum

so I got it wrong.

No need to be an ass

If you read that as being an ass, you need to turn on your ass-sensor. Since I wasn't intending to be an ass, you got a bad Internet read, I think.

I was just commenting that you may need to look up CS Fullerton more. Wisconsin's still going to win the game. They're probably seeded lower than they should have been, too.

The Big West champion has regularly been seeded #14 or higher (usually #13), even after UNLV left, and as I noted, have been known to pull off an upset every now and then. It's not one of the big mid majors, but it's a decent conference for what it is.

Fullerton features two key transfers, Josh Akognon (from Wazzu, a dead-eye shooter) and Scott Cutler (a wide body PF type who scores inside in bunches who came over from Kent State), and they have several other key players on a senior-heavy squad. If they get hot from outside, Wisconsin will have to be careful. That said, Wisconsin should win that game by 10 points if they come prepared, and more if Fullerton is off from outside.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Arizona State should be hating on Georgia right now.

I bet Dayton, Illinois State and perhaps others would have gotten in before Arizona State. We'll never know of course but they were throwing around an RPI in the 80s when they were discussing Arizona State today. Whether it *should* be a key factor or not is of course up for debate, but given what we know about selection proccesses, I'd say there's no way in hell Arizona State was getting in.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

If you read that as being an ass, you need to turn on your ass-sensor. Since I wasn't intending to be an ass, you got a bad Internet read, I think.

No matter the intent I think most people internet read "Shows how much you know." as the first line of a reply as being an ass I thought you were pretty pissed off!

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Radii

No matter the intent I think most people internet read "Shows how much you know." as the first line of a reply as being an ass I thought you were pretty pissed off!

exactly, I was a little surprised. I consider CR a friend.

I think he needs to be a little more liberal with his smileys

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Radii

I bet Dayton, Illinois State and perhaps others would have gotten in before Arizona State. We'll never know of course but they were throwing around an RPI in the 80s when they were discussing Arizona State today. Whether it *should* be a key factor or not is of course up for debate, but given what we know about selection proccesses, I'd say there's no way in hell Arizona State was getting in.

I don't think it's as clearcut as that, although I agree that Arizona State is not the only bubble team that has the "right" to hate on Georgia. UC San Diego and Temple probably deserve some hate from them, too. Who else? I forget what others might have deprived a spot from the bottom of the at-large pool.

ASU's RPI was brought down because of a bad OOC schedule and rightfully, but they did what they were supposed to with that schedule (winning them all), and they also beat Xavier, won several key Pac-10 games, including over current NCAA teams and finished 5th and .500 in the statistical top conference in the NCAA.

IMO, I would say that "no way in hell" is a good deal off the mark when describing ASU's chances.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Radii

No matter the intent I think most people internet read "Shows how much you know." as the first line of a reply as being an ass I thought you were pretty pissed off!

Heh, okay, if that's how I came off, not what I intended. My reply should have been read with as a semi-derisive "shows how much you know", but with smile on face saying it.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Lathum

exactly, I was a little surprised. I consider CR a friend.

I think he needs to be a little more liberal with his smileys

Yeah, sorry, Lathum, if my response didn't come out as I intended it. Ironically, I usually consider myself to be too liberal with my smilies, such that I feel I have to force myself to cut down.

[wbatl1]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Although I'm frustrated with, and a bit disturbed by, Tennessee's play of late ... how in the hell do they end up behind Duke in the seeding?
How does Wisconsin end up behind Duke?

On a smaller note, I'm not sure how Pitt ends up behind Louisville

Are you certain (have read) that they were behind Duke on the seeding? Because if the committee thought Duke as the worst 2-seed, but Tenn. was the second worst, they would have had to flip them do to the no-teams in the same conference highly ranked in the same bracket preference/hard rule, as the worst 2-seed was going to get UNC.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I didn't look too closely. Is there a sub-.500 at large team in the field?

I should have added in conference. A team like Arizona should have missed the tournament with a w/l of 8-10 in the PAC-10

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I should have added in conference. A team like Arizona should have missed the tournament with a w/l of 8-10 in the PAC-10

I have never agreed with that thinking. When comparing teams across different conferences, what's the point of mentioning in-conference schedules? Neither team plays the other team's complete conference schedule. What should be compared is wins and losses as a whole, strength of schedule, and other subjective reasoning may apply as well, so long as it is a contributing factor to answering the question, "Which is the better team?"

Arizona played the toughest schedule in the country, all games included, and won 19 games.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wbatl1

Are you certain (have read) that they were behind Duke on the seeding? Because if the committee thought Duke as the worst 2-seed, but Tenn. was the second worst, they would have had to flip them do to the no-teams in the same conference highly ranked in the same bracket preference/hard rule, as the worst 2-seed was going to get UNC.

I though the same-conference rule only applied to the first two rounds ... but then I go re-read the guidelines and find that you're right.

Each of the first three teams selected from a conference shall be placed in different regions.

No more than one team from a conference may be seeded in the same grouping of four (in line Nos. 1-4 and 13-16) in a region. (Note: The only possible exception would occur if a conference has five or more teams seeded in line Nos. 1-4. The other principles herein would apply in the exception case.)

In lines No. 5-12, two teams from the same conference may be placed in the same group of four. Conference teams shall not meet each other prior to the regional final unless a ninth team is selected from a conference. Two teams from the same conference within the same region, therefore, shall not be seeded together in either of the following groups: Nos. 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 16; or Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 and 15. If the committee is unable to
reconcile the bracket after exhausting all possible options, it has the flexibility to waive this principle to permit two teams from the same conference to meet each other after the first round, if the conference has more than five participants. There shall not be more than two teams from a conference in one region unless a ninth team is selected from a conference.

Hell, after reading that I'm not sure how they ever complete a f'n bracket.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I have never agreed with that thinking. When comparing teams across different conferences, what's the point of mentioning in-conference schedules? Neither team plays the other team's complete conference schedule. What should be compared is wins and losses as a whole, strength of schedule, and other subjective reasoning may apply as well, so long as it is a contributing factor to answering the question, "Which is the better team?"

Arizona played the toughest schedule in the country, all games included, and won 19 games.

If you can't go at least .500 during the conference regular season, you probably shouldn't be allowed to go to the dance. I'd be really interested to see the amount of teams that have won more then one game with a losing conference record