Wallman said: So why was Notre Dame expected and not Oregon State?[/QUOTE]
Oregon State was a "dark horse" plain and simple. Other than Oregon State fans, supporters and the team itself, NO ONE outside of Beaver Nation picked the Beavers to make it to the final four at the beginning of the tournament. Why? because of their recent tournament performance history. When was the last time Oregon State made it to the final weekend??? When was the last time Notre Dame made it to the final weekend? There was a consistent pattern of recent behavior and achievement that Notre Dame had, that Oregon State did not.
On march 7, 2016, Notre Dame was ranked #2 in the nation in the AP poll. Oregon State was ranked #6. The consensus at that time was that the top 4 schools: UConn, Notre Dame, South Carolina & Baylor would all make it to the final four........without fail. No one anticipated any team beating them. Teams ranked 6-10: Maryland, Oregon State, Texas, Louisville, Ohio State and UCLA were not expected qualify for Indianapolis. Syracuse was at #14, and Washington was not in the top 25.
All of the professional experts (coaches) on radio and TV, pegged the top four teams to play that final weekend. That's the great thing about the NCAA tournament, anything can happen if you can get in. This past season, it did. I was very happy to see Oregon State knock off Baylor, although I must admit, I wanted UConn afforded the pleasure of sending the Bears home. That was a match-up that had been highly anticipated after the brackets were announced. Oregon State advancing meant that Baylor did not achieve their goal of making it to Indy.
Many fans across the country jumped on your bandwagon after that game, including some guy wearing a turban. The hardest games to win (per Geno Auriemma) are the regional final and the championship game. Build on your team's remarkable achievement this past season, make the tournament again this year, win your regional, then you can tell us about the expectations of your program, as your team heads to the final four in Dallas Texas. You will have our attention.