Bracketology

[LVH]

I remember that St. Joe's backcourt. Jameer and Delonte and Coach Martelli. Didn't they almost go undefeated and then were upset in the Sweet 16 if recall? Man....what a backcourt though with those 2.

Undefeated regular season, lost to Xavier in the A10 quarterfinals. Still remember watching the end to that game in my 10th grade English class on a cloudy Thursday afternoon.

1 seed in NCAA tournament, beat Chris Paul's Wake Forest in Sweet 16 lost in Elite 8 to Oklahoma State. Also had a close 2nd round game against Bob Knight's Texas Tech team

 

[Pharm Frog]

Nice ending to the NEC championship. /s

 

[geefrogs]

Nice ending to the NEC championship. /s

Oof.

 

[LisaLT]

good game on with St. Mary's and Gonzaga

 

[geefrogs]

Nice ending to the NEC championship. /s

 

[geefrogs]

Nice ending to the NEC championship. /s

Peaceful ending. Glad it didn't escalate anymore. More of unruly fans than actual players fighting. Good idea to get the Wagner crowd outta there down 30.

 

[geefrogs]

Good finish on ESPN2 the Dakota War.

 

[geefrogs]

Probably need to review this silly rule.

 

[geefrogs]

There are ALOT of games today but most of them are mediocre first round match-ups. Go ahead and take a break today.

Only games worth keeping an eye on .

 

[LVH]

Probably need to review this silly rule.

Jacksonville State won the regular season outright, had a fat higher NET and Kenpom rating than Bellarmine, and swept Bellarmine 2-0 in the regular season including a 15 point win at Bellarmine

I've long been an advocate of leagues giving out automatic bids to the regular season Champ because I think 2 months matters more than 3 days

 

[geefrogs]

Jacksonville State won the regular season outright, had a fat higher NET and Kenpom rating than Bellarmine, and swept Bellarmine 2-0 in the regular season including a 15 point win at Bellarmine

I've long been an advocate of leagues giving out automatic bids to the regular season Champ because I think 2 months matters more than 3 days

I see your point, makes sense. This is more just about only being in Division 1 for 2 years doesnt allow you to play in the NCAA tourney? Seems arbitrary.

You could also say maybe because Jacksonville State knew they were already going dancing before this game they kind of hit the brakes and on the other side Bellarmine knew this is our last game of the year, lets go crazy and thats how they pulled off the win.

I do still like the auto-bid going to the tourney winner. There is something to be said for rising to the occasion and playing your best basketball leading into the tourney. The smaller conferences, fair or not, know the name of the game. We gotta win our tourney to most likely get the bid but, alot of these conference tourneys now reward regular season success with a bye, or double-bye. Its not perfect and probably just about money in the end but it usually works itself out in the end.

I would also add that this is the exception, not the rule. The regular season does matter in the selection process for the majority of the field. There are a handful of small, lesser-known conferences where the tourney ultimately decides their fate. And they don't seem to be bothered by it.

 

[Wexahu]

Jacksonville State won the regular season outright, had a fat higher NET and Kenpom rating than Bellarmine, and swept Bellarmine 2-0 in the regular season including a 15 point win at Bellarmine

I've long been an advocate of leagues giving out automatic bids to the regular season Champ because I think 2 months matters more than 3 days

It should, but it doesn't in college basketball, and everyone seems to love it. Oh well.

 

[geefrogs]

Another fun finish from yesterday

 

[LVH]

I see your point, makes sense. This is more just about only being in Division 1 for 2 years doesnt allow you to play in the NCAA tourney? Seems arbitrary.

You could also say maybe because Jacksonville State knew they were already going dancing before this game they kind of hit the brakes and on the other side Bellarmine knew this is our last game of the year, lets go crazy and thats how they pulled off the win.

I do still like the auto-bid going to the tourney winner. There is something to be said for rising to the occasion and playing your best basketball leading into the tourney. The smaller conferences, fair or not, know the name of the game. We gotta win our tourney to most likely get the bid but, alot of these conference tourneys now reward regular season success with a bye, or double-bye. Its not perfect and probably just about money in the end but it usually works itself out in the end.

I would also add that this is the exception, not the rule. The regular season does matter in the selection process for the majority of the field. There are a handful of small, lesser-known conferences where the tourney ultimately decides their fate. And they don't seem to be bothered by it.

I think single bid conference tournaments make good drama, and there are many years where the best team is NOT the 1 seed(example: Oakland was the best team in the Horizon this year, but due to COVID cancellations, wound up as the 5th seed), or where there is a 3 way tie and its a good way to play it out.

I religiously watch single bid conference tournaments, but mostly root for the regular season champ(or the best team in the league) to win it, and I guess thats what makes it entertaining for me.

In the CAA, Towson won the league outright, and had a Kenpom/NET rating 100 spots higher than any other team in the CAA. But because they had a bad shooting night against Delaware, they lost and the 5th place team in the league is now going instead.

The problem is that you can tell via body language and facial expressions that all the pressure is on the regular season champ in these tournaments which makes it even harder. While the 5th place teams can do things like utilize junk defenses, throw up contested 3s every possession, and play really loose. You see that a lot in these tournaments - lower seeded teams take a bunch of high risk, high reward approaches that they normally wouldn't do in the regular season and it will pay off.

Longwood won the Big South and won the league by 5 games, but in the quarterfinal they were losing most of the game and at times their players looked like they wanted to cry. If not for 2 missed free throws at the end of regulation to force overtime, Longwood loses in the quarterfinals.

 

[geefrogs]

I think single bid conference tournaments make good drama, and there are many years where the best team is NOT the 1 seed(example: Oakland was the best team in the Horizon this year, but due to COVID cancellations, wound up as the 5th seed), or where there is a 3 way tie and its a good way to play it out.

I religiously watch single bid conference tournaments, but mostly root for the regular season champ(or the best team in the league) to win it, and I guess thats what makes it entertaining for me.

In the CAA, Towson won the league outright, and had a Kenpom/NET rating 100 spots higher than any other team in the CAA. But because they had a bad shooting night against Delaware, they lost and the 5th place team in the league is now going instead.

The problem is that you can tell via body language and facial expressions that all the pressure is on the regular season champ in these tournaments which makes it even harder. While the 5th place teams can do things like utilize junk defenses, throw up contested 3s every possession, and play really loose. You see that a lot in these tournaments - lower seeded teams take a bunch of high risk, high reward approaches that they normally wouldn't do in the regular season and it will pay off.

Longwood won the Big South and won the league by 5 games, but in the quarterfinal they were losing most of the game and at times their players looked like they wanted to cry. If not for 2 missed free throws at the end of regulation to force overtime, Longwood loses in the quarterfinals.

It's what makes the sport so much fun to watch! Who can handle the pressure, who can adapt, who can get hot when needed, who chokes it away. It's why we watch the games and spend too much time on forums debating it

 

[Wexahu]

It's what makes the sport so much fun to watch! Who can handle the pressure, who can adapt, who can get hot when needed, who chokes it away. It's why we watch the games and spend too much time on forums debating it

I can tell you are REALLY into this. Good for you. And I don't mean that sarcastically.

But how much were you into all these college basketball games in the 3 months from mid-November through mid-February. All these teams were playing multiple games a week all during that time, and ultimately the outcomes of the those games basically meant nothing in terms of competing for a national championship. Nothing. Zilch. I don't think it's like that in any other sport. They've turned the college basketball season into a gimmick. Been that way a long time. I get that a lot of people love it, but let's call it what it is. Little to do with competition and crowning the best team and almost everything to do with money, office pools, and a marketing campaign around March.

On a related subject, I can't think of many sports (any, really) where expanding the playoff fields increased overall interest in the sport, that's a myth.

 

[geefrogs]

I get that a lot of people love it.

Thats what we're doing here. That's literally what this thread is about.

I can't go there with you anymore. Please consider starting a new thread to invite this kind of dialogue.

 

[PurpleBlood87]

After watching the antics of Bryant's Peter Kiss, I hope they get drilled in their tournament opener.
Just my opinion.

 

[Wexahu]

After watching the antics of Bryant's Peter Kiss, I hope they get drilled in their tournament opener.
Just my opinion.

You'll likely get your wish. There's a bout a 99.5% chance they lose and a 90% chance they get drilled, depending on how you define that.

 

[Endless Purple]

I can tell you are REALLY into this. Good for you. And I don't mean that sarcastically.

I did not think that was allowed on this site.

I can tell you are REALLY into this. Good for you. And I don't mean that sarcastically.

But how much were you into all these college basketball games in the 3 months from mid-November through mid-February. All these teams were playing multiple games a week all during that time, and ultimately the outcomes of the those games basically meant nothing in terms of competing for a national championship. Nothing. Zilch. I don't think it's like that in any other sport. They've turned the college basketball season into a gimmick. Been that way a long time. I get that a lot of people love it, but let's call it what it is. Little to do with competition and crowning the best team and almost everything to do with money, office pools, and a marketing campaign around March.

On a related subject, I can't think of many sports (any, really) where expanding the playoff fields increased overall interest in the sport, that's a myth.

So if I understand, you are saying that not watching the regular season of these small conferences and then only watching their tournaments is a bad thing.

but

not watching the small conference regular season and not watching the conference tournaments is better...