Official Bracket Thread

[southie]

Do you know what the phrase "neutral site" means? Just asking. It doesn't seem like you do.

I think most people define "neutral site" as a game played at a venue that is not the home stadium of either team. You know that the men's tournament, I believe, expressly prohibits teams from playing on their home floor if it is a regional site?

Out of curiosity is it that you know the Committee's #1 priority was to seed #4 Kentucky in Lexington. Do you think that's a good idea? rewarding a #4 seed with home court through the Final Four?

Seriously? Of course I know what "neutral" site is SUPPOSED to mean. But, is it a "neutral" fan base in the stands when the UK women get to play in Rupp Arena in a regional? Was it a "neutral" fan base when the South Carolina men (as a #7 seed last season) got to play in Greenville, SC against #2 seed Duke in the round of 32? Or a "neutral" fan base when the UNC or Duke men get to play sub-regionals in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, or Winston-Salem just about every season?

I've gone on record many times saying it wasn't fair for Lexington to get 3 consecutive regionals, regardless of UK's eventual seed. It's a technicality that UK women play most of their games at Memorial Coliseum, and not Rupp Arena. That decision has ended up causing problems and controversy (IMO) during the last 3 tournament brackets.

 

[southie]

Thanks for your insight. But if we're being honest, SC should have been one of the best if not the best teams in the country if it weren't for injuries and players leaving. Gray and Davis themselves would've made SC top tier this year but to also lose Cuevas-Moore (a senior leader & program mainstay), Lindsay Spann (a sharp shooter who was shooting 50% from 3), and not getting Cooper eligible was a big bullet for us. So to only have 6 losses after that with only 3 upperclassmen on the roster is impressive to say the least. Some posters here just don't like to give credit when it's due but it's fine. SC will be fine and will only get better as a program.

You can't use excuses about players leaving SC based on how Dawn has brought in transfers year after year.

 

[southie]

Personally, I don't really care if we are a #2 seed or a #3 seed. There isn't really much difference. I'd much rather play close to home if you are giving choices.

Again, it's not that we are in Albany, NY this year. Or Stockton, California the year before, or South Dakota three years ago, or Stanford, CA four years ago.

It's being assigned to the least convenient regional in three of five years and being assigned to most convenient regional only once.

Guess what? Out of the 16 teams who advance to the regionals, it's only gonna be convenient for the fans of about 8 teams, and that is stretching it.

The difference is that Dawn is the most vocal with her complaints. The other head coaches know that it's futile, and just comes across as sour grapes.

For Texas, we've been sent to NY, CT, KY, and now MO over the last 4 seasons. Do you hear Coach Aston complaining to the media about it? UCLA has gone to CT, NY, and MO the last 3 seasons. Do you hear Coach Close complaining to the media about it?

Do you hear the head coaches of the men's programs complaining? There's a sub-regional in Charlotte, NC this week. #1 Virginia and #2 UNC get to play there; but, #2 Duke has to go to Pittsburgh because only 2 groups of 4 teams are sent to each of the 8 sub-regional sites. It's just how the chips fall sometimes.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Seriously? Of course I know what "neutral" site is SUPPOSED to mean. But, is it a "neutral" fan base when the UK women get to play in Rupp Arena in a regional? Was it a "neutral" fan base when the South Carolina men (as a #7 seed last season) got to play in Greenville, SC against #2 seed Duke in the round of 32? Or a "neutral" fan base when the UNC or Duke men get to play sub-regionals in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, or Winston-Salem just about every season?

I've gone on record many times saying it wasn't fair for Lexington to get 3 consecutive regionals, regardless of UK's eventual seed. It's a technicality that UK women play most of their games at Memorial Coliseum, and not Rupp Arena. That decision has ended up causing problems and controversy (IMO) during the last 3 tournament brackets.

Having been to all of our men's NCAAT games last season, there were many more Gamecock fans at the Elite 8 game at MSG (about 10,000) than there were for either game in Greenville. UNC fans had bought up many of the tickets for that sub-regional in anticipation of being located there. I'm not saying there weren't a good number of Gamecock fans in Greenville, but the Elite 8 game in NYC was a virtual home game. In understand your point, however.

 

[southie]

Having been to all of our men's NCAAT games last season, there were many more Gamecock fans at the Elite 8 game at MSG (about 10,000) than there were for either game in Greenville. UNC fans had bought up many of the tickets for that sub-regional in anticipation of being located there. I'm not saying there weren't a good number of Gamecock fans in Greenville, but the Elite 8 game in NYC was a virtual home game. In understand your point, however.

And, the location only makes a difference if the fans turn out in support of their team

Last season, I think the committee made a faux paus in keeping a #7 seed like the SC men's team so close to home; that's not supposed to happen in men's hoops as it puts the #2 seed at a disadvantage (even though Duke isn't that far away from Greenville). They are supposed to "protect" the Top 4 seeds in each region as much as possible. But, sometimes you catch a huge break. I don't recall if Coach K complained about that matchup in Greenville, but I wouldn't blame him if he did.

 

[DallasBUFan]

Thanks for your insight. But if we're being honest, SC should have been one of the best if not the best teams in the country if it weren't for injuries and players leaving. Gray and Davis themselves would've made SC top tier this year but to also lose Cuevas-Moore (a senior leader & program mainstay), Lindsay Spann (a sharp shooter who was shooting 50% from 3), and not getting Cooper eligible was a big bullet for us. So to only have 6 losses after that with only 3 upperclassmen on the roster is impressive to say the least. Some posters here just don't like to give credit when it's due but it's fine. SC will be fine and will only get better as a program.

If you get to say this then so do several other schools. They have all faced adversity and yall aren't the only ones. ND has 4 acl tears and only 7 scholarship players.

Baylor only had 10 to start and 7 of them are freshman and sophomores. They lost 3 starters and 4 total seniors, along with one who ended her career due to medical issues, one transferred to Miami, and another just quit basketball. That is a total of 7 players they lsot. 10 games in this year freshman tears acl, against Texas a starter broke her wrist. Now down to 8, oh and wait Sr pg 2nd leading scorer tears ACL. So BU like ND has 7 healthy and of those 7 1 is a first year starting senior and the other is the all American.

My point is BU could use some credit for only losing 1 game given our circumstances. However, they aren't going to give it to you. Every team goes through adversity. However, other teams have done for with less than yall did, like ND.

 

[SCspur]

Uconn lost the first 3 picks of the draft in 2016 and were 36-1 last year! So dont use Gray and Davis because you dont see this board saying only if Morgan stayed! This time of year injuries are a given and SC didnt lose half as much as Notre Dame did.

Even with injuries ND's entire starting 5 were McDAA's. SC has only one McDAA this year. Next year we will have 3. I never complained about this season because this has been a great coaching season for Dawn throwing her freshmen and sophomores in the fire and handled the pressure. They will be only better next year.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

UCONN v Louisville

 

[cbraarj]

Even with injuries ND's entire starting 5 were McDAA's. SC has only one McDAA this year. Next year we will have 3. I never complained about this season because this has been a great coaching season for Dawn throwing her freshmen and sophomores in the fire and handled the pressure. They will be only better next year.

What does a high school Mcd AAs have to do with Div.1 WCBB? Absolutely nothing! If Dawn is coaching so well. How come she didnt call a timeout 1until there was 1:51 until half time and down by 28 to Uconn! Must of been great coaching,LOL!

 

[eebmg]

What does a high school Mcd AAs have to do with Div.1 WCBB? Absolutely nothing! If Dawn is coaching so well. How come she didnt call a timeout 1until there was 1:51 until half time and down by 28 to Uconn! Must of been great coaching,LOL!

I think I had commented on this during the game. She was too busy enjoying UConn's style and level of play.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Seriously? Of course I know what "neutral" site is SUPPOSED to mean. But, is it a "neutral" fan base in the stands when the UK women get to play in Rupp Arena in a regional? Was it a "neutral" fan base when the South Carolina men (as a #7 seed last season) got to play in Greenville, SC against #2 seed Duke in the round of 32? Or a "neutral" fan base when the UNC or Duke men get to play sub-regionals in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, or Winston-Salem just about every season?

I've gone on record many times saying it wasn't fair for Lexington to get 3 consecutive regionals, regardless of UK's eventual seed. It's a technicality that UK women play most of their games at Memorial Coliseum, and not Rupp Arena. That decision has ended up causing problems and controversy (IMO) during the last 3 tournament brackets.

Dammit, I keep forgetting UK women don't play at Rupp.

I agree that USC got a beautiful drawn in the men's bracket last year. Poor Duke had to deal with both Carolinas pulling against them and they aren't a big crowd to begin with. hate that for them. Really do hate it.

Now, If that were to happen in SC's favor every year, I'd probably think it was either a little unfair or they just got us confused with North Carolina somehow.

 

[JSB60]

ND is in UConn’s half of the bracket because UConn is #1 overall and ND is #4. No conspiracy necessary.

ND is #4 according to the committee, #5 in the AP poll, and #6 according to the coaches.

 

[DefenseBB]

For the NCAA, it means a site that you have not played more than 3 home games. (I think it's 3.)

As I've said many times before, if you think bracketing teams is easy, I suggest you try it yourself. One of the reasons I enjoy it is that it's like a puzzle -- there are tons of moving parts, and every placement has a ripple effect through the bracket.

Saying the S curve doesn't matter is just silly. Of course it does. But it is not the sole criteria. And the committee is trying to balance multiple issues from the "Policies & Procedures." Those policies are set before each March. It is the committee's job to just try to hit as many of them as possible.

And by the way, there was NO way the committee was not going to put Kentucky in the Lexington regional. None.

VG-I am begging you, please stop using logic, rationale and common sense! It is a plain and simple conspiracy theory by the NCAA to make it as difficult as possible for team to win, team's fans to attend the games (despite no evidence that the fans have traveled in the past) and is skewed to make sure team wins it all, preferably through as much luck as possible as no skill or effort is truly required...

No matter how many times you say it, how many times others agree and acknowledge, there are those that simply will not understand or agree. This years bracket was pretty good with the only quibbles being the committees swapping Baylor as the #5 overall with #6 Oregon as the regional #2 to keep Oregon in Spokane and Baylor closer to home. That swap caused minor ripples with the other #2 seeds. Oregon should have gone to Lexington to face #3 Louisville, SC should have gone to KC to face #2 overall MSU and Texas should have gone to Albany.

These minor ripples for the #2 seeds are just that, minor. KC vs. Albany miles for SC or Texas? Texas has been in the East bracket 2 of the last 3 years while #2 SC has not. As the number one overall, UConn earned the right to play either the #7/#8 overall seed so it was only ever going to be Texas/SC for the east once the overall seeding. came out.

I know this won't help the SC public as they, just like Dawn, want to play the "woe is us" card, or the "we don't get any respect"....

 

[dogged1]

I'm twice retired, now I hope you're not implying that I stay that long in the bathroom, although my wife might tend to agree with you. Once I wake up, I stay up, it's a military thing I guess. I always watch the whole game when it comes to UConn, there is something about them that reminds me of my basic training. You drill and drill till you get it right, then you drill some more!

I'm jealous. I'm 68 and I would like to retire just once. Guess I got no one to blame but myself, coulda reupped as an E6 and walked away.

 

[cbraarj]

I think I had commented on this during the game. She was too busy enjoying UConn's style and level of play.

I dont do the game threads.

 

[MSGRET]

I'm jealous. I'm 68 and I would like to retire just once. Guess I got no one to blame but myself, coulda reupped as an E6 and walked away.

How many years did you have in? The main reason why I stayed in the Army was because my wife was German and we wanted to go back at least one more time before I got out. After we went back I already had 9 years in so we decided to make a career out of and stay for at least 20 years. I spent 15 1/2 years in Europe, 1 year Korea, and the rest in the U.S.. With all of those years in the U.S., I only spent a couple years assigned to any Forts. Fort Knox for basic, Fort Lee for AIT, Fort Bragg, where I was disqualified by Army Doctors from jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, and Fort Polk my last duty assignment before retirement. My other stateside assignments were the U.S. Army Recruiting Support Center at Camron Station in Alexandria, VA and Tank-Automotive Command, (TACOM) in Warren Michigan.

 

[Plebe]

ND is #4 according to the committee, #5 in the AP poll, and #6 according to the coaches.

The polls are irrelevant to tournament seeding.

 

[dogged1]

How many years did you have in? The main reason why I stayed in the Army was because my wife was German and we wanted to go back at least one more time before I got out. After we went back I already had 9 years in so we decided to make a career out of and stay for at least 20 years. I spent 15 1/2 years in Europe, 1 year Korea, and the rest in the U.S.. With all of those years in the U.S., I only spent a couple years assigned to any Forts. Fort Knox for basic, Fort Lee for AIT, Fort Bragg, where I was disqualified by Army Doctors from jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, and Fort Polk my last duty assignment before retirement. My other stateside assignments were the U.S. Army Recruiting Support Center at Camron Station in Alexandria, VA and Tank-Automotive Command, (TACOM) in Warren Michigan.

I probably had the softest, easiest duty of any draftee of the Vietnam Era. Basic at Fort Dix, then assignment to Fort Rucker, Al for MOS training of flight simulator specialist Six months of training and jumped up to E4. I was a quick learner back then and was assigned to the newest simulators. Got along well with my department NCOIC, he wanted me to reup and offered a lot. But my reason for leaving was nearly the same as yours for staying. My home town honey was calling my name, went home, back to school, (Uconn) and married her 2 years later.

Never really understood why I got that MOS school, I was the only draftee (US) out of 30 guys who all had to sign up for 4 years for that non combat specialty.

In retrospect, my 2 years in the Army were the best thing that could have happened to me. Went in as a lazy unfocused kid, came out with an internal sense of discipline that had been totally lacking.

 

[MSGRET]

I probably had the softest, easiest duty of any draftee of the Vietnam Era. Basic at Fort Dix, then assignment to Fort Rucker, Al for MOS training of flight simulator specialist Six months of training and jumped up to E4. I was a quick learner back then and was assigned to the newest simulators. Got along well with my department NCOIC, he wanted me to reup and offered a lot. But my reason for leaving was nearly the same as yours for staying. My home town honey was calling my name, went home, back to school, (Uconn) and married her 2 years later.

Never really understood why I got that MOS school, I was the only draftee (US) out of 30 guys who all had to sign up for 4 years for that non combat specialty.

In retrospect, my 2 years in the Army were the best thing that could have happened to me. Went in as a lazy unfocused kid, came out with an internal sense of discipline that had been totally lacking.

To this day I believe that everyone should serve at least 2 years in the military, because it makes you GROW UP and face reality.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

VG-I am begging you, please stop using logic, rationale and common sense! It is a plain and simple conspiracy theory by the NCAA to make it as difficult as possible for team to win, team's fans to attend the games (despite no evidence that the fans have traveled in the past) and is skewed to make sure team wins it all, preferably through as much luck as possible as no skill or effort is truly required...

No matter how many times you say it, how many times others agree and acknowledge, there are those that simply will not understand or agree. This years bracket was pretty good with the only quibbles being the committees swapping Baylor as the #5 overall with #6 Oregon as the regional #2 to keep Oregon in Spokane and Baylor closer to home. That swap caused minor ripples with the other #2 seeds. Oregon should have gone to Lexington to face #3 Louisville, SC should have gone to KC to face #2 overall MSU and Texas should have gone to Albany.

These minor ripples for the #2 seeds are just that, minor. KC vs. Albany miles for SC or Texas? Texas has been in the East bracket 2 of the last 3 years while #2 SC has not. As the number one overall, UConn earned the right to play either the #7/#8 overall seed so it was only ever going to be Texas/SC for the east once the overall seeding. came out.

I know this won't help the SC public as they, just like Dawn, want to play the "woe is us" card, or the "we don't get any respect"....

I know you are trying to be reasonable, but truly we're not really that upset we were sent to Albany.

We're irritated we've been sent across the country 4 of the last 5 years. It's fine though. Really. We'll go. It doesn't have to be a conspiracy against South Carolina. But there sure ain't one in favor of us. And I find that disappointing. We should have a conspiracy in our favor and that is all there is to it.

 

[stwainfan]

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

View attachment 29413

Is that a certain player from a team that Gamecock fans don't like?

 

[MainefanSC]

View attachment 29413

Call me dense but I have no idea what this is supposed to convey. Help me out here.

 

[eebmg]

View attachment 29413

Normal practice session for SEC play. I think Sophie can take her.

 

[stwainfan]

Is that a certain player from a team that Gamecock fans don't like?

That's Ronda Rousey.

 

[stwainfan]

Call me dense but I have no idea what this is supposed to convey. Help me out here.

That's a intense look. Just a thought I'd see the reaction.

 

[Centerstream]

To this day I believe that everyone should serve at least 2 years in the military, because it makes you GROW UP and face reality.

It certainly worked for me but I signed up for a 6 year enlistment (instead of going over to fight the Viet Cong).

Now back to the OP...

 

[DefenseBB]

So in looking at the bracket for the 10th time, a couple of quirks really are gnawing at me:
1. Why are they starting groups of 4 games all at the same time- 12 Noon, 5 PM, 11 AM and 3:30 PM? I mean, couldn't they stagger the games by 15 minutes so when the various games come down to the end, we would get to see the close finishes and then get back to the other games?
2. Why do they show the second game in the venue at 2 PM, 7 PM, 1 PM and 5:30 PM? The games usually take 2 hours and then the next teams are allowed 20 minute warmup and 10 minute break for regrouping and lineup announcements?
3. This means the split screen with one game being slightly larger than the other and with both games being hard to view!
It's not like the producers don't know how all this works and if you want to give the audience (however limited it may be) the best show product possible, why not create the excitement with staggering the games to allow the cutover option without missing the ending of the current game being shown?

I am going to their Career website now to apply for a Producer's role! I will also make sure the microphone volumes are high enough to allow for coherent listening, muffle the background noise and tell Adam, Rebecca and Kara to stay on task about the game at hand!

Heck, maybe I introduce a new media insert into the telecast with selected members texting comments from the BoneYard! And if @Dillon77 and @Orangutan keep being nice to me, I would include an occasional McGraw's Bench text every now and then...

 

[DefenseBB]

That's a intense look. Just a thought I'd see the reaction.

Send it to Holly so she can practice and give it to Anastasia Hayes when she commits one of 5-7 turnovers each game.

Seriously, how much confidence do you have going against Oregon State in the second game?

 

[stwainfan]

Send it to Holly so she can practice and give it to Anastasia Hayes when she commits one of 5-7 turnovers each game.

Seriously, how much confidence do you have going against Oregon State in the second game?

I feel good. This team beat some good teams.