Big Dance

[MikeMaloy15]

... and you can dance to it.

[MikeMaloy15]

I remember the previous time they tweaked the way the numbers are calculated, while increasing the number of conference games for the power conferences. People here were in fairly unanimous agreement that we were moving to a situation in which power teams would very nearly clinch postseason spots before the season started, merely by who they were playing and not whether they actually won the games.

And so this year a 1-12 Q1 got in. Had that team gone 2-11 it presumably wouldn't even have had to worry this weekend, and would have complained if not given a 5 or 6 seed. The fact that the team in question was UNC makes it so flamboyant that we sort of lose sight of the fact that the measuring stick itself is what is corrupt. It's how you get from that 1-12 to acorn's list of calculators that actually had UNC making it.

They can say Q1 record is only one metric, but in the past it has been the sole argument needed to keep out teams that haven't got long histories and therefore don't goose ratings. Last night, right after the UNC AD and his flunky "explained" it, they went to a commercial and the first image shown was the UNC ram. You kind of had to point and laugh, however ruefully.

Jay Bilas' comment was that we spend too much time talking about which teams are ranked 30-35. The fact that he was not immediately hit by lightning has me trending agnostic.

[Bill Cobb]

Dayton was 3-3 in Quad 1 games.

[stan]

The overall lack of quality thought is always a concern. Take the notion that injuries should be considered. This is an absolutely horrible idea. It works against everything team sports stand for.

Even worse, it has nothing to do with what a team actually did. It's pure speculation.

In essence -- "We played make believe games in our heads and you lost. So, you're out."

[jamesdhogan]

Just wait till this supposed meritocracy eliminates the auto-bid.

[TOK]

My day started at 5 AM Bangkok time on Friday (4 PM Thursday in NC). After spending the day at the trade show Friday, proceeded to the airport for the first of three flights, the two over the water flights in middle seats back in economy on Korea Air, which resulted in my arriving home in NC at 3:30 PM Saturday (2:30 AM Sunday in Bangkok). Shortly after arriving at home, I see articles saying W&M won three straight at the CAA tournament and made the Big Dance for the first time ever. Bleary eyed I could have sworn that the Tribe got bounced in the quarterfinals the prior weekend. Oh, it's the women's team that won and is going dancing with a losing record overall.

[MikeMaloy15]

I get the feeling that the actual thinking is along the lines of, "Hey, the ACC has only 3 teams. Gotta have more. I don't care if they were the Warm Weather MAC this year. Gotta share the revenue among the P5s and throw them a $$$ bone in a year in which the SEC gets 14 in." The "additional metrics" merely provide extra items from which to cherry pick to justify to the rubes a result deemed satisfactory at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the Five Families.

"You don't like it, don't watch. We're not worried about ratings unless the UNCs aren't in. Now we've got half the country rooting for UNC's 'vindication' and half rooting for them to 'get their just desserts.' Ratings gold."

The similarity to pro rasslin' is a feature, not a bug.

The legitimacy bone thrown to us is that these decisions are made at approximately team 35-40 instead of at a more critical spot.

From a programming and revenue sharing POV, it's absolutely the right thing to do.

I'm not sure I buy the "if Memphis lost, UNC would have been out" story. We'll never know, but I can visualize the alternative universe in which that actually happened and the committee explained how that's why San Diego State, former "last in" for the committee, joined WVU on the sidelines and UNC got the final spot. I mean, outside fanatically devoted but sparsely populated and poor Almost Heaven, and a tiny slice of border town California, no one cares about those schools.

[bagelcat]

Very well stated by MikeMaloy15.

When 14 out of 16 teams from the SEC make the tournament my feeeling is that something is rotten in the state where the Committee met. Not good for college basketball, in my opinion. Texas doesn't seem to me to be an NCAA worthy team, either, though they do have seven Q1 wins by virtue of playing in the SEC. They got in by beating Tex A&M in their conf. tourney. More Q1 wins by beating up on each other. So that's huge, except when it doesn't matter (UNC).

Expanding the field to 68 was a sop to the big conferences so they could get four more teams in. It watered down the tournament, and now you have power conf. teams that haven't proven themselves to be impressive getting in. No doubt this "controversy" will be part of the excuse to raise the number to 72 or 76. If Davidson ever makes the tourney again, I'll be a smidge less excited if there are 75 other invitees.

So, yes, you can justify UNC getting in as one of 68 teams. They sure as hell wouldn't have gotten in if there were 64. Nor would three other teams that we could do without. Of course, if San Diego State beats UNC, I'm an Aztec for life.

Bubba Cunningham might be smart to stay outside the environs of Morgantown, WVa. Otherwise, he could end up inside a couch.

[MikeMaloy15]

Agree about Texas. They're just a less flamboyant choice because they're considered a football school and aren't the first mascot to show up in this year's commercial we're about to see over a thousand times if we're not quicker with the remote.

[loosha's lad]

The probability of multiple HoF posts occurring on this thread is looking very strong in the early going.

[JerseyLawyer]

I have loved college basketball my whole life. Other than following Davidson, I'm about to check out. Everyone who is not a Top 50 football school is now (as my girlfriend says) DRT = Dead Right There. The Big East. The A-10. All DRT. I have no interest in watching Missouri/Texas Tech in the Tournament, especially when you see that all the little guys are matched up against Big Football. I'm so depressed. . .

[Wildcat92]

Anyone else remember Curry's Junior year? When we lost to No. 2 Duke, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 13 Purdue and No. 21 Butler and had two in conference losses while Curry was on the shelf with an ankle injury?

not enough, we were told. you have to win those tough OOC games or they don't matter.

All we needed to do was be UNC.

[MikeMaloy15]

Yes, and three of the four on the road (it's fair to say Indy was a road game for us against Purdue). At worst, it was 2 road, 1 neutral and 1 home, with the home game only existing because of that mid-major thing arranged by/for espn.

[Dr. Bliss]

Five A10 teams in the NIT and one in the big one should make Bernadette smile. What is the money situation for a conference from the NIT?

The A10 is the SEC of the NIT.

[loosha's lad]

Yes, and three of the four on the road (it's fair to say Indy was a road game for us against Purdue). At worst, it was 2 road, 1 neutral and 1 home, with the home game only existing because of that mid-major thing arranged by/for espn.

That's another hilarious part of the equation, isn't it? "Neutral" locations that are 15 miles from the campus of a gigantic opponent, and 1500 miles from Davidson.