BRACKETOLOGY: UCONN replaces Texas as a #1 seed

[Plebe]

The only poll ever worth paying attention to is the Coaches Poll.

I haven't found this to be the case at all. Over the years, in both women's and men's basketball, I've found the coaches' poll to be almost always worse than the AP poll (to the extent they differ in any meaningful way). It's obvious that more than a few of the coaches put barely any effort into their ballots.

Having said that, this year's AP and coaches' polls have so far been remarkably similar. So I'm not sure how either would be the only one that merits attention.

 

[UConnCat]

I'm trying to figure out when "bracketology" transitioned from being a late-season projection based on actual resuts to a whimsical dartboard guess at how everyone's season will go.

Evidently, ESPN made it a year-round clickbait staple because — as evidenced on this thread and many others — fans get VERY riled up over what amounts to a preseason (or way-too-early-in-the-season) ranking of 50-ish teams assembled into bracket format.

Every year Charlie does a really good job with his late-season bracketology projections. Even if he gets a few of the bracket placements wrong, he does a really good job of picking the field of 64 teams and the top 16 seeds, though the latter is much easier with the committee's reveals.

The preseason and early-season bracket projections do not serve Charlie well. He's like a utility or role player off the bench. The more playing time he gets the more his weaknesses are exposed.

 

[Blue Huskie]

Bracketology in November is insanity.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Charlie is waking up to reality. But he is still not a true believer.
"Whether UConn can handle its extremely challenging nonconference schedule is still to be determined, but the Huskies, despite their injuries, got a big win Monday."

Women's Bracketology: First look at 2026 has familiar teams on top line

South Carolina, UConn, UCLA and Texas are the No. 1 seeds in our first projection of the 2026 bracket.

www.espn.com

He should have had a foretaste of reality when Ohio sung some blues to Tennessee. Noticed the Kellie Harper discussion/debate thread is alive and well in Vol land too.

 

[Bone Dog]

I haven't found this to be the case at all. Over the years, in both women's and men's basketball, I've found the coaches' poll to be almost always worse than the AP poll (to the extent they differ in any meaningful way). It's obvious that more than a few of the coaches put barely any effort into their ballots.

Having said that, this year's AP and coaches' polls have so far been remarkably similar. So I'm not sure how either would be the only one that merits attention.

It's in the modality of the word "ever," which leaves open the possibility that it may never be worth paying attention to. When it's good, which is usually only around mid-season (not early on nor too close to the tournament), it reflects the way coaches fear other teams. That at least is a data point, unlike what the AP experts give us.

 

[Blueconn]

Yeah, once again we see the subtle ways ESPN diminishes UConn. In their article about how UConn and Iowa are replacing Tennessee and Texas, they replace the Tennessee player with Clark but leave the Texas player there rather than putting Azzi in the picture. They must be absolutely steaming at UConn’s ascendancy (once again) over their darling Tennessee (I could have told them that was fool’s gold) and Texas (a legitimate pick)! Wish I could have been a fly on their wall while Tennessee was being dismantled! I bet their faces were priceless!

Stay patient. Before the end of the year Azzi will rock the joint and every media platform will overexpose the brand…that’s their thing.

But Azzi Fudd is taking her first big steps right now…on the court. Savor the journey.

 

[Blond D.]

so, who is this Charlie guy and why does anyone care what he thinks???

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Iowa is a 1? Did he watch them play Drake?