Fairness Questioned...WaPo

[mbr33ct]

"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."


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....

Could you imagine if UConn was placed as a #1 seed. I would think the world would have had more "acida" (Italian) than Bridgeport.

Stay well in Norman.

 

[housekeys]

It's not fair, but it's NOT wrong. Next question.

BTW, is it fair that the 16 seeds should play the number 1 seeds? Why?

There is your answer to the WaPo article.

 

[Nyskier]

I suspect that the reason for greater UNC than Duke support in the Carolinas is that Duke is private and academically elite. They probably have greater support in the NE than in North Carolina.

 

[boontonbomber]

I expect more people are wondering how UConn got to be a #2 with their lack of quality wins.

 

[Veteran]

Everybody hates a winner.

The team is already highly motivated. This will only serve to ratchet up the intensity even more. Thanks for that, WaPo.

If you poke a hornet's nest, don't be surprised if you get stung. Just ask the Villanova players who chanted, "We want UConn".

 

[Bama fan]

UNC has played in a regional in Greensboro one time. Duke has never played in a men's regional here. The Duke women have played in Greensboro twice. Once in 1999 defeating TN to advance to the Final 4 for the first time. The other time in 2007... and I'm not gonna talk about what happened that time. NC State WBB played in the 2019 regional losing to Iowa. NC State MBB won the National Title in the 1974 Final 4 which was held in Greensboro. Wake Forest has never played a regional in Greensboro, neither has East Carolina or Charlotte.... or High Point.

So now you are going to let facts get in the way of a strongly held opinion? It's downright unAmerican. A guy in a beer joint my Dad loafed in was fond of saying' "Irregardless of the god damn facts". Never thought of it before, but he might have been a charter member of the Boneheads!

 

[HuskyNan]

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.

Who is playing on their own court?

 

[CTGirl15]

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.

It's not a UConn home court; UConn's home courts are Gampel Pavilion in Storrs and XL Center in Hartford. None of these UConn players have ever played in Bridgeport. The last time UConn did was in 2017 for the tournament.

 

[Kaizen]

I wonder why?

 

[HuskyNan]

I wonder why?

That’s from a UConn blog

 

[Phil]

It's not fair, but it's NOT wrong. Next question.

BTW, is it fair that the 16 seeds should play the number 1 seeds? Why?

There is your answer to the WaPo article.

That's why I have argued for a double bye system. In the first round, 16 seeds play 9. They are likely to lose but the game might not be over after five minutes, and in a few cases there may be an upset. Would make the tournament much more entertaining.

 

[HuskyNan]

The kids seem really broken up about being in Bridgeport. NC State has been a top 10 team most of the year (all of? Haven’t been paying attention). UConn has struggled to get where they are. Why do the Wolfpack care where they’re placed?

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I knew someone would say something like this. One key difference is those are first and second round games, not regionals. Greensboro has only hosted one men's regional, that was in 1998. Charlotte last had a regional in 2008. Duke has never played in a regional held in the state of NC.

Lots of 1st and 2nd round games, however.

 

[JJTB]

I was away and missed this….why is UConn 6th and Texas 7th when they beat Stanford early on and just beat Baylor?

 

[LwrcasefaN]

First, everyone wanted a piece of the injured Husky...now they don't. lol

 

[triaddukefan]

Lots of 1st and 2nd round games, however.

Yeah... but pretty much in all those cases you are talking about a 1 or 2 seed vs a 16/15 seed and then facing a 8/9 or 7/10 matchup in the 2nd round. When either Greensboro, Raleigh, or Charlotte is hosting a regional and Duke/UNC is the #2 facing off against a #1 seed in the regional final... then folks can complain.

 

[broooce]

Sites are determined many years ahead, and let's be honest it's not like Madison Square Garden, United Center or Crypto.com Arena are trying to get into the women's basketball regional tournament business. So secondary arenas like TotalMortgage Arena in Bridgeport are selected and the NCAA goes back to them because they do a good job. UConn earned its spot, the NCAA placing them in Bridgeport this year is good for the sport and in the end both the NC State and UConn coaches are reminding their players that things will be decided on the court. Chances are the NC State coaches will try to provide extra motivation for their players by telling them that they are the underdogs in this regional because they're playing in UConn's backyard.

BTW, here are future women's regional and FF sites:

Starting next year the NCAA is going from four to two regional venues:
2023 - Greenville, SC and Seattle, WA
2024 - Albany, NY and Portland, OR
2025 - Birmingham, AL and Spokane, WA
2026 - Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA

And Final Fours will be held in:
2023 - Dallas, TX
2024 - Cleveland, OH
2025 - Tampa, FL
2026 - Phoenix, AZ

 

[HuskyNan]

Sites are determined many years ahead, and let's be honest it's not like Madison Square Garden, United Center or Crypto.com Arena are trying to get into the women's basketball regional tournament business. So secondary arenas like TotalMortgage Arena in Bridgeport are selected and the NCAA goes back to them because they do a good job. UConn earned its spot, the NCAA placing them in Bridgeport this year is good for the sport and in the end both the NC State and UConn coaches are reminding their players that things will be decided on the court. Chances are the NC State coaches will try to provide extra motivation for their players by telling them that they are the underdogs in this regional because they're playing in UConn's backyard.

BTW, here are future women's regional and FF sites:

Starting next year the NCAA is going from four to two regional venues:
2023 - Greenville, SC and Seattle, WA
2024 - Albany, NY and Portland, OR
2025 - Birmingham, AL and Spokane, WA
2026 - Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA

And Final Fours will be held in:
2023 - Dallas, TX
2024 - Cleveland, OH
2025 - Tampa, FL
2026 - Phoenix, AZ

Oooh, Tampa . Maybe Phoenix, too, since I’ve got a brother out there

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Sites are determined many years ahead, and let's be honest it's not like Madison Square Garden, United Center or Crypto.com Arena are trying to get into the women's basketball regional tournament business. So secondary arenas like TotalMortgage Arena in Bridgeport are selected and the NCAA goes back to them because they do a good job. UConn earned its spot, the NCAA placing them in Bridgeport this year is good for the sport and in the end both the NC State and UConn coaches are reminding their players that things will be decided on the court. Chances are the NC State coaches will try to provide extra motivation for their players by telling them that they are the underdogs in this regional because they're playing in UConn's backyard.

BTW, here are future women's regional and FF sites:

Starting next year the NCAA is going from four to two regional venues:
2023 - Greenville, SC and Seattle, WA
2024 - Albany, NY and Portland, OR
2025 - Birmingham, AL and Spokane, WA
2026 - Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA

And Final Fours will be held in:
2023 - Dallas, TX
2024 - Cleveland, OH
2025 - Tampa, FL
2026 - Phoenix, AZ

I didn't know that; interesting.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

any UConn game played in the New England or Middle Atlantic states would be a home game............that's what happens when you are really, really good for a long time..........

Remember when Vivian Stringer put a lid on ticket sales to UConn fans at the RAC to prevent the Huskies from having a virtual home game at Rutgers' house?

 

[dabears17]

Sites are determined many years ahead, and let's be honest it's not like Madison Square Garden, United Center or Crypto.com Arena are trying to get into the women's basketball regional tournament business. So secondary arenas like TotalMortgage Arena in Bridgeport are selected and the NCAA goes back to them because they do a good job. UConn earned its spot, the NCAA placing them in Bridgeport this year is good for the sport and in the end both the NC State and UConn coaches are reminding their players that things will be decided on the court. Chances are the NC State coaches will try to provide extra motivation for their players by telling them that they are the underdogs in this regional because they're playing in UConn's backyard.

BTW, here are future women's regional and FF sites:

Starting next year the NCAA is going from four to two regional venues:
2023 - Greenville, SC and Seattle, WA
2024 - Albany, NY and Portland, OR
2025 - Birmingham, AL and Spokane, WA
2026 - Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA

And Final Fours will be held in:
2023 - Dallas, TX
2024 - Cleveland, OH
2025 - Tampa, FL
2026 - Phoenix, AZ

I can't find anything on the NCAA website that confirms it, but this article by Mechelle Voepel from November 2021 says starting in 2023 the opening rounds will be at a neutral site to be determined. Maybe they will go back to 8 neutral sites similarly to how they did in 2005-2008 (but schools could host on their home floor if they won the bid in 2005-2008)?

NCAA announces expansion of women's college basketball tournament to 68 teams

abcnews.go.com

Those 4 years the places UConn played were:
2005- Storrs, Regionals in Kansas City, FF in Indianapolis. Lost to Stanford in Sweet 16.
2006- University Park, PA, Regionals in Bridgeport, FF in Boston. Lost to Duke in Elite 8.
2007- Hartford, Regionals in Hartford, FF in Cleveland. Lost to LSU in Elite 8.
2008- Bridgeport, Regionals in Greensboro, FF in Tampa. Lost to Stanford in Final Four.

Currently teams can't play on a court they played more than 3 games in the regular season during the NCAA tournament. So maybe Uconn will be playing the first two rounds in Bridgeport or Albany starting next year. Are there enough hotel rooms near the Mohegan Sun Arena to host 8 teams?

 

[dabears17]

I can't find anything on the NCAA website that confirms it, but this article by Mechelle Voepel from November 2021 says starting in 2023 the opening rounds will be at a neutral site to be determined. Maybe they will go back to 8 neutral sites similarly to how they did in 2005-2008 (but schools could host on their home floor if they won the bid in 2005-2008)?

NCAA announces expansion of women's college basketball tournament to 68 teams

abcnews.go.com

Those 4 years the places UConn played were:
2005- Storrs, Regionals in Kansas City, FF in Indianapolis. Lost to Stanford in Sweet 16.
2006- University Park, PA, Regionals in Bridgeport, FF in Boston. Lost to Duke in Elite 8.
2007- Hartford, Regionals in Fresno CA, FF in Cleveland. Lost to LSU in Elite 8.
2008- Bridgeport, Regionals in Greensboro, FF in Tampa. Lost to Stanford in Final Four.

Currently teams can't play on a court they played more than 3 games in the regular season during the NCAA tournament. So maybe Uconn will be playing the first two rounds in Bridgeport or Albany starting next year. Are there enough hotel rooms near the Mohegan Sun Arena to host 8 teams?

Corrected 2007 regional to Fresno. Brain said Fresno, fingers typed Hartford.

 

[Javafan]

f all signs point to UConn being one of the top 4 teams, why didn't they get a #1 seed.

You are exactly on the point! If the article said "UConn being one of the top 4 teams" why didn't they get #1 seed? If UConn got 1(one) of the 4 number one seeds, it certainly belongs to Bridgeport Region, right? Put any one of 2nd seeds, do we care?

 

[MD#12Fan]

There’s got to be some fancy statistic to make a case for feeling sorry for Carolina teams regard in no where they play their post season basketball.
Let’s talk about the location of the ACC tournament. Favor Carolina teams a tad? Hmmm.
Being a UMD grad, think that ever occurred to us.
Oh yeah, that’s right, MD has a heritage and tradition of top notch basketball too.

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.

 

[KingKong139]

It's not fair, but it's NOT wrong. Next question.

BTW, is it fair that the 16 seeds should play the number 1 seeds? Why?

There is your answer to the WaPo article.

Thank you! This is the answer, sports aren’t always fair but that doesn’t mean it’s an issue.