Fairness Questioned...WaPo

[Plebe]

Good gosh man.... for the third time this thread... there is a difference in playing first and second round games in Greensboro as opposed to having regionals.

I suggest you set it to music and put it on autoplay

 

[JordyG]

The thing is... anyone who lives in NC and follows College Basketball knows that if the early round games are held in NC or SC.... and UNC and Duke are in the same building... its a disadvantage for Duke. Duke fans would rather have Duke play early round games in Tampa or Portland Oregon than have to share a sub-regional location with the Tar heels anywhere in the Carolinas. But anyway... don't want to hi-jack this thread with MBB talk.... so I'll stop.

Clearly having the regionals in NC hurt Duke any number of times. But for other teams, such as Kentucky, having the regionals in Kentucky certainly helped them at times. So, also clearly, this is not a hard and fast rule for college teams.

 

[cordarone]

Old enough to remember how salty PSU fans were, having to play at Hartford as the one seed during Kelly Mazzante's (and Diana's) senior year. Back then it was the Big East conference that hosted the regional (?) as per Wikipedia.
Good times.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

When they explain all the away games won during undefeated seasons...then, I might listen.

 

[triaddukefan]

So you’re saying that Carolina fans prefer UNC to Duke substantially?

I'd say about 20-25 to 1. Makes for some interesting interactions.... at work, at family gatherings... outside of 24 hr diners at 3am

 

[Forego]

Enough already. Admit it. We can’t help it. UConn is bad for basketball.

 

[Waquoit]

Good gosh man.... for the third time this thread.

We heard you the first two times, ACC apologist. Yet here you are again.

 

[GoUconn7961]

UConn - the team everyone loves to hate. I don't even read these things anymore.

 

[HuskyNan]

Tell Nan.

JK.

?? Of course you’re welcome.

 

[Kat]

I'm just amazed to see an article about women's college basketball in WAPO.

 

[triaddukefan]

We heard you the first two times, ACC apologist. Yet here you are again.

Apparently yall didn't.. With the some of the nonsense spewed in here

 

[Jds]

Good gosh man.... for the third time this thread... there is a difference in playing first and second round games in Greensboro as opposed to having regionals. NC has had two men's regionals in the past 30 years. 1998 and 2008. One in Greensboro, one in Charlotte. Duke appeared in neither. The 1994 FInal Four was held in Charlotte.... Duke appeared in that one. The 1974 Final Four was in Greensboro... NC State cut down the nets.... ending UCLA's string of championships. One thing people have failed to mention... two of the three times that Duke MBB have played in NC since 2010.. 2012 in Greensboro, and 2014 in Raleigh, they have lost in the first round... some home court advantage.

There may be a difference between playing first and second round games in Greensboro as opposed to having regionals there but in the men's tournament the top 16 seeds do not host the first 2 rounds. So there is some unfairness there.

 

[CL82]

I'd say about 20-25 to 1. Makes for some interesting interactions.... at work, at family gatherings... outside of 24 hr diners at 3am

I didn’t know that.. I always figured it was a roughly 50-50 split, but I guess that makes sense.

 

[Linart]

What NC State fans said when they found out they were in Bridgeport with UConn:

 

[gold2323]

Call it tradition….respect….pecking order etc etc UCONN has certainly earned it through the years….that is why….financially motivated too as UCONN fans will flock to Bridgeport.

 

[BRS24]

Four of his last 4 articles were on the MBB tournament, and then, before that, NFL, NFL, NFL, etc, so I take his word as seriously as the ESPN dude last night trying to make a controversy out of nothing.

• first 14 predictions (including 2 pre-season), UConn was predicted in B'port as a 1, 3, and 4 seed
• next 3 in Spokane at #3
• next 4 back in B'port as a #2 & 3
• quick 1x seed in Wichita as a #3
• 7x in G'boro as a #2 & 3 seed
• then the last 6 back in B'port as a #2

So if folks are all of a sudden "experts" on NCAA WBB seeding criteria, they haven't been paying attention for the last 4+ months.

 

[msf22b]

Actually, anywhere UConn plays is unfair to the opposition.

Expertise not required.

 

[mbr33ct]

Actually, anywhere UConn plays is unfair to the opposition.

Expertise not required.

 

[Bigboote]

I'm just amazed to see an article about women's college basketball in WAPO.

Sally Jenkins is on the WaPo staff. They have good NCAAW and WNBA coverage, and frequent columns.

 

[Conndog]

We’ll, then the NCAA should make it a rule that schools are not able to play at closest venue to their campus.

 

[Dillon77]

"According to the NCAA’s own NET rankings, which replaced the RPI rating in 2020, Connecticut is the fourth-best team in the country. South Carolina is first, N.C. State is second and Stanford is third, so by that metric, Connecticut should have been no worse than the top No. 2 seed, which seemingly should have placed the Huskies in the same region as Louisville, which ranks fifth in the NET rankings. Of course there are other factors the committee takes into account in the final seeding, but the NET rankings were supposed to be “the primary sorting tool for evaluating teams,” according to the NCAA — and two of the top four teams are in the same region."

If Connecticut is one of the four best teams in the nation, with the second best likelihood of winning the entire tournament, why aren’t they a one seed? If they were the one seed in Bridgeport, no one has an issue.

I agree with this point of view.

But I came away with the impression that the author was wondering why two of the top four or five teams -- NC State and UConn -- were playing each other, period, based on their rankings. UConn -- as either the last #1 seed or the top #2 seed -- should be the playing the team that filled the other slot, probably Louisville.

If UConn was #1, stay in Bridgeport. If UConn was #2 (due to something other than the NET rankings, such as Louisville's win over UConn?), then go to where Louisville is.

At least that's the way I read it.....

Life is easier for the Irish: we're going to Norman to play UMASS. I hear Norman's pretty this time of year....

 

[CB360]

If you base the distance on the actual sizes of the states involved Ct vs SC/NC and distances having to travel 79.2 miles vs 183 miles, Percentage wise it 's pretty equal at a quick glance (NO scientific equations were used in this statement. Eyeballing it only )

 

[HuskyNan]

Who cares? Who cares about mileage? Who cares about this writer - who covers hockey - at the WaPo? Who cares people have their knickers in a twist over UConn potentially playing in Bridgeport?

NC State isn’t whining. (And good for them having confidence. They should; they’re a good team)
The Wolfpack fans aren’t whining.

The people that matter haven’t complained so who cares what the nattering nabobs of negativity say?

 

[LoboDays]

A 2 seed is playing on their own court. This could have been easily corrected. It should never have happened. If roles were reversed, the whining here would be deafening.