Dude, this is my opinion and may not reflect others. 

I don't like picking on other posters, recognize that variety is often helpful, and enjoy reading others' posts (usually) as much as occasionally posting myself, but when you start multiple threads in a short span, this board starts becoming very tiring and cumbersome.  I've got a more than full-time job and a family.  Can we let discussion run its course on a few topics before starting new threads on every issue that pops into your head.  I'm trying to rid myself of my own ADD, but you're not making it any easier.   Thank you.

Merrick wrote:

Dude, this is my opinion and may not reflect others. 

I don't like picking on other posters, recognize that variety is often helpful, and enjoy reading others' posts (usually) as much as occasionally posting myself, but when you start multiple threads in a short span, this board starts becoming very tiring and cumbersome.  I've got a more than full-time job and a family.  Can we let discussion run its course on a few topics before starting new threads on every issue that pops into your head.  I'm trying to rid myself of my own ADD, but you're not making it any easier.   Thank you.

Well stated Merrick.  Far more diplomatic than myself but the sentiment is very much the same.  All of the new threads, all of the same points made again and again, the redundancy that can only be explained as a way to antagonize others.....it's all way too much.  I'd encourage others to make their views known either publicly or in private to Barry if you feel similarly.

If our league is being thrown to the side I probably will stop watching the NCAA tourney. Better things to do with my time if I have no interest  anymore in the teams involved.  March Madness will just become something to skip in the future. Others may feel the same way.

Alum '04 wrote:

The party ended in 2014 when the A-10 got six at large bids, the most in college basketball. The "power" schools noticed and got very upset about it, and it's been a steady decline ever since.

 
Minor correction - 5 at large bids, 6 total. And yes Coach K went berserk and called out the NCAA for giving us 5 at-large slots.  Which was awesome when Duke became the (then) first ever #2 seed to lose to a #15 (Mercer). And since God is merciful, he placed GW in Raleigh also, so we could witness the Duke-Mercer tilt amd “cheer” Coach K off the court.

Get ready for the talking heads to explain away College of Charleston if they happen to lose in the conference tournament tonight.  CofC is 30-3 but has a KenPom of 73 with 0 Q1 and 3 Q2 wins.  They beat Richmond, Davidson, and Va Tech this year.  Only OOC loss was to UNC on the road.

Meanwhile, Rothstein is out there saying this about Michigan.  

"If you're good enough to go to Illinois and you're good enough to go to Indiana and go to overtime, you're good enough to play in the NCAA Tournament. Gotta beat Rutgers."

Mind you, Michigan was not good enough to actually beat Illinois or Indiana, but apparently the standard is just playing two scheduled conference road games and passing the eye test.

Last edited by GW0509 (3/07/2023 8:06 am)

Talk about a problem that the NCAA has no real interest in solving.  What's changed is that in 2013-14, the A10 produced a string of upsets against P5/BE teams.  The better team's metrics became elevated as a result and then, unless conference play ended in a huge disappointment,  the A10 schools had done enough to receive their at-large bids. GW's 12-2 OOC record that season included wins over Miami, Creighton, Rutgers, Maryland and Georgia.  Three of those wins were on neutral courts and two were at home (Rutgers, Georgia).  The two losses were on a neutral court to Marquette and a road loss at Kansas State.

Unless something drastically changes, GW will likely never again play an OOC schedule along these lines.  The combination of fewer OOC games due to expanded comnference schedules among these major conferences and too many challenging, committed OOC games is to blame.  When a P5/BE team plays in its designated conference vs conference challenge game, its holiday tournament, and its 1-2 additional made for tv games, this may leave around 5 open spots on the schedule.  If Kansas is already playing in the State Farm Champions Classic, three times at Atlantis, in the B12/BE Battle, a geographic rival in Missouri, and a made for tv game against Indiana, why would you bother scheduling any team from the A10?  It just isn't necessary.

The NCAA does not care whether a midmajor made every attempt to play a more challenging schedule or actively sought to avoid playing a difficult one.  Mike Rhoades, VCU's head coach, recently commented that Jimmy Martelli, who is actively involved in scheduling for VCU,  has a ton of notes on all of the teams he tried to schedule games against who turned them down.  Not at all difficult to believe.  Unfairly, all the committee cares about is that VCU did not play too tough an OOC schedule.  This in part explains why there's discussion that they may not receive an at large if they fail to win in Brooklyn (a complete joke) or that they will be a 12 seed if they do win (I would not be too thrilled if I was the 5 and saw VCU was my first opponent).

As for the NCAA, let's use the Charleston-Wisconsin example.  I'm not sure that anyone with even a half-objective mind feels that Wisconsin deserves to go dancing ahead of Charleston.  Wisconsin has some solid wins but January 3rd was the last time the team had won two games in a row. (You read that correctly.)   Even if Charlston's schedule is a complete joke, there's no getting around 30-3.  (This is one of the more overlooked aspects of analyzing teams.  You may play in a small conference and have an easy schedule but there needs to be more to be said for going out and winning all of those games you're supposed to win.  This is basketball.  Teams have an off night here and there.  Key players get into foul trouble.  Injuries can be a factor.  There are lots of reasons why "better" teams lose games.)

And yet, Wisconsin is a national brand while Charlston is not.  Wisconsin fans will travel and buy up those tickets in far greater numbers than Charlston.  More eyeballs in Wisconsin and among their much larger alum base will be watching games on tv compared to what Charlston can bring to the table.  As far as CBS/Turner and the NCAA  are concerned, they would want the Badgers every time over the CoC.  If you're still skeptical, look up the tv ratings for when George Mason, VCU, Butler, and Loyola all reached the Final 4 and compare this to when the national brands are fighting it out on that last Saturday.  The only thing more certain than this country loving Cinderella stories in this tournament is that they want those stories to end prior to the Final 4.  I'll agree that this sounds counterintuitive, but this has been evident throughout the years.

Just bring a lawsuit against NCAA and have all the judges come from non Big schools.

No 30 win team has ever been left out, so we shall see if Lunardi's right, if they lose tonight. 

Even among us his TWO out of FOUR only non Power 5 at large bids, TWO are in his last 4 in.

Lets look at one of them

23-8.   NET #27   Quad 1  3-4.   Quad  2  8-2.   

VS his 5th seed (you can probably guess who the 5 seed is right???)

23-8    NET  #25  Quad 3-7   Quad 2  7-1

Even if you accept this rigged system, what is the possible justification for one school being last 4 in and one school being a 5 seed???

 

Last edited by The Dude (3/07/2023 4:33 pm)

The reason for this trend is pretty simple - money. The schools from the big conferences, especially the blue blood programs, have more fans to buy more tickets and watch more games. And as long as the tourney still has autobids, the networks will have their cinderellas. They don’t care if these are the best mid major teams or not. The networks want a few first round upsets, maybe one in the second round, and then only blue bloods or other major programs by the Elite 8. Schools like GW should focus on winning conference championships rather than worrying about at large bids. If we win our tournament, we are in. Its as simple as that, at least for me.

Alum1 wrote:

Which was awesome when Duke became the (then) first ever #2 seed to lose to a #15 (Mercer). And since God is merciful, he placed GW in Raleigh also, so we could witness the Duke-Mercer tilt amd “cheer” Coach K off the court.

Very memorable afternoon at the hotel bar in Raleigh: Watching Duke lose to Mercer almost the same moment we rallied our team out of the lobby and into their bus for the ride to the arena. <chef's kiss>