Bracketology - Week 18 (merged)

[bballnut90]

Sign me up for #2 TCU is we are a #3. Frog legs are quite tasty from what I remember.

I think Duke would run TCU out of the gym. They’re so athletic.

 

[Stagnant]

1) UCLA
2) SoCar
3) USC
4) Texas
5) UConn
6) ND
7) NCSt
8) Duke
9) TCU
10) LSU
11) Okla
12) Ky
13) UNC
14) Ole Miss
15) Ohiost
16) Bay
17) Tenn


Spok1: 1 UCLA / 8 Duke / 10 LSU / 16 Bay
Birm4: 4 Tex / 5 UConn / 12 Ky / 13 UNC

Birm2: 2 SoCar / 7 NCSt / 9 TCU / 15 OhSt
Spok3: 3 USC / 6 ND / 11 Okla / 14 OlMs

Kentucky as the 3 seed in our region? Sign me up for that.

 

[Plebe]

I agree with this. Duke is playing great but when looking at their full body of work, losses to USF and Louisville are not good.

I think TCU is pretty clearly the last #2 seed though. They’ve dominated the Big 12 and have OOC wins over fellow 2 seeds Notre Dame and NC State. Their only losses at to South Carolina, OK State (projected 7 seed) and Kansas State (projected 5 seed). LSU has some nice wins but not as many as TCU, and their losses to Alabama and Ole Miss finishing the year push them to the 3 line IMO.

I don't think it's all that clear tbh. I can see the committee going either way between Duke or TCU for #8. It'll come down to which data points they choose to focus on. (And I do think both should be ahead of LSU.)

Duke does have worse losses than TCU, but Duke also played a much tougher nonconference schedule (#9 vs. #75 NC SOS) and even more importantly scheduled challenging true road games, whereas TCU played none. It's unimpressive when a team just hides out at home and the only traveling they do for the first two months of the season is a Caribbean holiday adventure.

Ultimately it's pretty inconsequential which is #8 and which is #9 because either way they should be placed in the same regional. Hopefully they get to settle it on the court in the Sweet 16.

 

[Vowelguy]

Ultimately it's pretty inconsequential which is #8 and which is #9 because either way they should be placed in the same regional.

Prob not.

If ucla is 1 and TCU/Duke is 2, then 3 almost has to be an SEC team.

Unless both 8 and 9 get moved to #2 SCs regional

 

[Plebe]

Prob not.

If ucla is 1 and TCU/Duke is 2, then 3 almost has to be an SEC team.

Unless both 8 and 9 get moved to #2 SCs regional

Yes, good point. With multiple SEC teams likely on the 3 line the whole thing gets messed up.

 

[BRS24]

Last update of week 18 by CC:

South Carolina began the day as the fourth No. 1 seed. Then, after dominating Texas and later watching USC fall to UCLA, the Gamecocks ended Sunday as the No. 1 overall seed, which is where they should be on Selection Sunday. After splitting two regular-season games with Texas and sharing the SEC regular-season crown, South Carolina left no doubt in Greenville, beating the Longhorns by 19 points. A stifling second-half defense helped the Bruins exact some revenge over USC in the Big Ten championship game, putting them as the No. 2 overall team. USC and Texas follow. TCU was the big winner of the day. By adding a Big 12 tournament title to their regular-season championship, the Horned Frogs moved to a No. 2 seed, edging Duke for that final spot on the 2-line.​

​

All the #1 seeds swapped, TCU and Duke swap 2 & 3.

 

[BRS24]

And a fast follow from HerHoopStats:

Difference between #1 seeds here in 1-3 regions.

 

[Phil]

Yes, good point. With multiple SEC teams likely on the 3 line the whole thing gets messed up.

Excellent point. I've hated realignment for multiple reasons and you've added one more. Many fans underestimate the challenges of putting together a bracket. It's far more complicated than simply ranking them all in placing them in an S surve. Amount other things they have some rules about teams from the same conference meeting each other too early. With the large number of teams from both the SEC and Big Ten, this is going to create some headaches. And those headaches have ripple effects. You move one team off the line because they are from the same conference and they meet too soon, but that movement by definition move someone else somewhere else and maybe that creates a problem.