Creme's latest

[semper]

http://espn.go.com/ncw/bracketology

I really don't like this at all. We should not have to go through Baylor, the best 2 seed, in my view, and through Stanford. We're in Lincoln, great. But Tenn should be on our side, and ND and Stanford on the other side. That would be SO much more interesting. Tenn is the weakest one seed and we should have a shot at polishing them off.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Once again, the alignment of Charlie's brackets mean nothing. He just stocks them, but as he notes at top, they are not reflective of FF pairings. UConn would get Baylor, but not necessarily Stanford.

 

[Phil]

I'm a supporter of Creme in general, but this is one small thing he could do, that is understandably confusing.

Am I missing something? If you can slot 64 teams, how hard can it be to think about the order of the top 4? Not zero, but not much.

 

[EricLA]

Totally agree. Move Baylor to Stanford's bracket and switch Duke to ours. Also no way should WVU be in ND's bracket - they are clearly the best 3 seed in the bunch. Move them to Tenenssee's bracket, put aTm in ours and move Nebraska's to ND's bracket.

I totally agree that UCONN and ND should have the easiest path to the final 4 while the weaker 1 seeds of Tennessee and Stanford should have to battle it out with the strongest 2,3 and 4 seeds.

 

[Phil]

If I'm reading the legend correctly, the only change in this update is the recognition that Penn won the IVY (and presumably, that knocked out someone.)

 

[DobbsRover2]

In the Duke-NC State and UTenn-Texas A&M cases he does have some 1-4-line teams from the same conference in the same region, but it doesn't look there's any good solutions for avoiding them and they wouldn't possibly meet before the E8 anyway. Still think if he's going to put in Florida as a #12 seed they don't deserve the bid and he should replace them with a team from the south of the state.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Totally agree. Move Baylor to Stanford's bracket and switch Duke to ours. Also no way should WVU be in ND's bracket - they are clearly the best 3 seed in the bunch. Move them to Tenenssee's bracket, put aTm in ours and move Nebraska's to ND's bracket.

I totally agree that UCONN and ND should have the easiest path to the final 4 while the weaker 1 seeds of Tennessee and Stanford should have to battle it out with the strongest 2,3 and 4 seeds.

Right on Eric.

 

[stwainfan]

Is there a title game that would have more coverage that a Tennessee vs UConn?

 

[EricLA]

Is there a title game that would have more coverage that a Tennessee vs UConn?

Yes. UCONN vs. ND. The 2 best teams in WCBB by a very wide margin. However, the largest and most vocal fan bases belong to UCONN and Tennessee so I can see why fans of both schools would want that. Still, Tennessee got a gift with the way the other top teams lost and being a 1 seed in L'ville is the absolute best case scenario for them. As much as UCONN fans complained about the possibility of UCONN in L'ville, we'd crush them by 25-30 in the NCAA's.

 

[ndmb]

http://espn.go.com/ncw/bracketology

I really don't like this at all. We should not have to go through Baylor, the best 2 seed, in my view, and through Stanford. We're in Lincoln, great. But Tenn should be on our side, and ND and Stanford on the other side. That would be SO much more interesting. Tenn is the weakest one seed and we should have a shot at polishing them off.

That might be the way it should be, and I think that everyone here (financial considerations aside) would prefer an S-curve. Having said that, geography trumps the S-curve.

Baylor is the best seed and as such, under the current rules, is entitled to the closest location, which is Lincoln. Having said all that, I don't like it anymore than you do.

 

[Phil]

Baylor is closer to Lincoln than to Louisville, but it is 700 miles versus 900 miles. If the committee accepts my proposal, which is to categorize distances as:

• Short drive 0-150 miles
• Long drive 151-300 miles
• Short flight 301-1200 miles
• Long flight >1200 miles

Then both Lincoln and Louisville would qualify as short flights and could be deemed the same, for geographical preferences reason, which would mean the committee could use competitive balance to determine how to assign to region, rather than being constrained. For that matter Notre Dame is under 1100 miles and not much further, and could qualify, depending where you set the cutoff between short and long flight.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Totally agree. Move Baylor to Stanford's bracket and switch Duke to ours. Also no way should WVU be in ND's bracket - they are clearly the best 3 seed in the bunch. Move them to Tenenssee's bracket, put aTm in ours and move Nebraska's to ND's bracket.

I totally agree that UCONN and ND should have the easiest path to the final 4 while the weaker 1 seeds of Tennessee and Stanford should have to battle it out with the strongest 2,3 and 4 seeds.

Eric, I'm not sure if it's even possible to move Nebraska to the South Bend bracket, as Nebraska is hosting the Lincoln bracket. When the schools signed these contracts to host the regionals, were they guaranteed to be placed that region (assuming they made the tournament)? And even if they weren't guaranteed, it still makes sense to have Nebraska placed in their own bracket.

 

[stwainfan]

Yes. UCONN vs. ND. The 2 best teams in WCBB by a very wide margin. However, the largest and most vocal fan bases belong to UCONN and Tennessee so I can see why fans of both schools would want that. Still, Tennessee got a gift with the way the other top teams lost and being a 1 seed in L'ville is the absolute best case scenario for them. As much as UCONN fans complained about the possibility of UCONN in L'ville, we'd crush them by 25-30 in the NCAA's.

I think when Tennessee is playing its best. They can play with ND. A great first half. Turnovers and missed free throws cost them. Since then Tennessee has improved. Look at Reynolds. I think she has the IT factor. She is fearless. Tennessee would not have won the SEC's without her.

 

[EricLA]

Eric, I'm not sure if it's even possible to move Nebraska to the South Bend bracket, as Nebraska is hosting the Lincoln bracket. When the schools signed these contracts to host the regionals, were they guaranteed to be placed that region (assuming they made the tournament)? And even if they weren't guaranteed, it still makes sense to have Nebraska placed in their own bracket.

Oh missed that. Well, it was an eye test, not logic apparently!

 

[Phil]

Eric, I'm not sure if it's even possible to move Nebraska to the South Bend bracket, as Nebraska is hosting the Lincoln bracket. When the schools signed these contracts to host the regionals, were they guaranteed to be placed that region (assuming they made the tournament)? And even if they weren't guaranteed, it still makes sense to have Nebraska placed in their own bracket.

Yes, it is guaranteed.

 

[DobbsRover2]

We and Creme also do not know how the committee will rate the teams, and it can't be assumed for instance that Baylor would be rated higher than Duke, which has both a higher Sagarin and RPI rating even if it is ranked now at #10. A few years back an 8th ranked Duke was selected as a #1 seed, so these placements can get a little screwy.

 

[easttexastrash]

Lincoln, isn't that what everyone has been asking for?

Does anyone really think Baylor is going to beat UCONN?

 

[easttexastrash]

Talk about getting screwed. Baylor would have to beat Nebraska on their home court and then UCONN.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I'm a supporter of Creme in general, but this is one small thing he could do, that is understandably confusing.

Am I missing something? If you can slot 64 teams, how hard can it be to think about the order of the top 4? Not zero, but not much.

Maybe ESPN's missing some money. They're using a JQuery script that might have been written a few years ago, and maybe they don't want to pay a coder to update the script to allow Charlie to move sections around as he wants. He can't just simply switch around columns in a spreadsheet or something. As web pages become more complex, they're often harder to make even minor corrections in.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Is there a title game that would have more coverage that a Tennessee vs UConn?

Yes, Notre Dame and UConn. Tennessee is anything but the crème of the crop. They've proven without a doubt that they are a good but not great team while UConn and ND are the only two major unbeaten teams to ever enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten in the same season. Duh!!!!!!!!!

 

[semper]

I do think that Baylor is the strongest 2 seed, and that UConn is the strongest 1 seed. So it's fair for Baylor to get a weaker 1 seed and for UConn to get a weaker 2. Putting us together as 1 and 2 is not right in my view. Then the two sides...UTenn should be on our side, as they are the weakest 1 and we are the strongest. Geography be dammed. That's how it should be. PLUS, if UTenn wins, a UCONN UTenn game would be superb. So ETT, I agree with you.

 

[easttexastrash]

I do think that Baylor is the strongest 2 seed, and that UConn is the strongest 1 seed. So it's fair for Baylor to get a weaker 1 seed and for UConn to get a weaker 2. Putting us together as 1 and 2 is not right in my view. Then the two sides...UTenn should be on our side, as they are the weakest 1 and we are the strongest. Geography be dammed. That's how it should be. PLUS, if UTenn wins, a UCONN UTenn game would be superb. So ETT, I agree with you.

SOMEONE AGREED WITH ME!!!!! I better stop while I'm ahead.

 

[semper]

I'll try to restrain myself.

 

[easttexastrash]

Yes, Notre Dame and UConn. Tennessee is anything but the crème of the crop. They've proven without a doubt that they are a good but not great team while UConn and ND are the only two major unbeaten teams to ever enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten in the same season. Duh!!!!!!!!!

I would MUCH rather see UCONN vs Tennessee. That game would draw much better ratings than UCONN vs Notre Dame. How long has it been since these two teams met? DUH!!!!!

 

[reno tony]

I would MUCH rather see UCONN vs Tennessee. That game would draw much better ratings than UCONN vs Notre Dame. How long has it been since these two teams met? DUH!!!!!

I would also like to see Baylor play Louisville as a rematch from last year. Not sure how they would do that since they could both be 2 seeds but I can hope.