UConn now ranked 5th in both NET & Massey, and 7th in both AP & Warren Nolan's ELO. ESPN's Michelle Voepel has UConn 7th & The Athletic's Chantelle Jennings 9th in their respective weekly rankings columns.
As I asserted in my initial 2/25 post within this thread (not the follow-up that still appears), I still think UConn ends up as the #2 seed in Wichita when the dust settles after conference tournament play.
Restating my argument: (1) The recent UConn bias allegation affecting media, recruiting, & national perception by a prominent WBB figure provided a spearhead for this notion that has gained traction apparent in follow-up such discussion, including on the #1 ranked team coach's podcast; (2) institutions like ESPN & the NCAA Committee are hyper-sensitive to such allegations & do not want to seem hamstrung by them, so my anticipation is that they are/will go out of their way to appear the opposite; (3) given player caliber/extent of UConn injuries & effect on its record, this is the year to have this UConn bias pendulum swing the other way to "disprove"; and (4) the most effective way of doing so is to remove UConn from the Bridgeport quadrant while still allowing the highest probability of having the 3 best teams on paper get to the Final Four (SC, Stanford, UConn). Since NC State has edged Louisville H2H & sits atop the ACC with a better overall record, I expect them to be the #1 seed in Bridgeport, sending Louisville to #1 in Wichita & a potential Elite 8 perennial titans season rematch.
Finally, three notable points in discussing anticipated Tournament draw:
1. ESPN owns & operates both the SEC & ACC Networks, so they have a vested interest in promoting both conferences. This may or may not influence Charlie Creme in putting 9 SEC teams & 8 ACC teams in his field. I personally think he is incrementally over-stating both at the expense of quality bubble teams in lesser conferences, e.g. Villanova;
2. Creme has not appeared to factor in Paige Bueckers absence nor return in his #3 UConn seeding in South Carolina's bracket. Yes, all teams have injuries, but this is the reigning NPOY & Top 5 player in ANY reasonable assessment. And UConn has suffered a litany of injuries on top of Paige, which has played into 4 of their losses. His oversight seems irresponsible, particularly given Committee seeding criteria clearly outlined within this thread;
3. Nolan's ELO rates UConn's old conference, the American AC, as better than the Big East, which seems counterintuitive & does not help the Huskies SOS optics. They are already fighting an uphill battle in this regard vis-a-vis elite Power 5 programs.
