Regional Sites to be Announced @ 2pm

[ASweet3781]

This is b.s. This is precisely what Geno was talking about. Still, if that's the way they're going to play the game you have to question Uconn's decision to pass on bidding. They may come to regret it.

I agree with this. I thought at the time it could be a huge mistake if potential top ten teams bid and got it. I had no idea the committee was going to pick all 4 regional sites with ranked teams who will all likely be playing there.

A lot of flukey things have happened when we have played in South Bend in the regular season. Having to play the hardest game to win the Elite 8 there against the Irish could be the biggest potential stumbling block to a 9th National Title not including injury.

I'll be rooting for Notre Dame to have a 1 seed type of season. That maybe the only thing to prevent us from playing in South Bend. Imagine if your Duke or Tennessee? You have your best team in years and may have to beat Louisville or ND or Stanford on their home court to get to the Final 4?

 

[ASweet3781]

Doug Feinberg ‏@DougFeinberg 2h
For those interested since 2007-08; @StanfordWBB 92-2 at home; @ndwbb is 85-11. Louisville and Nebraska each have won 81 percent at home

 

[pap49cba]

It's crap like this that keeps women's bb from being taken seriously. Imagine if a men's team had to beat Duke or Kansas on its home court to win a regional and make the Final Four. Give me a break.

 

[UConnCat]

I agree with this. I thought at the time it could be a huge mistake if potential top ten teams bid and got it. I had no idea the committee was going to pick all 4 regional sites with ranked teams who will all likely be playing there.

A lot of flukey things have happened when we have played in South Bend in the regular season. Having to play the hardest game to win the Elite 8 there against the Irish could be the biggest potential stumbling block to a 9th National Title not including injury.

I agree this stinks and it'll probably be changed for 2015 and beyond. It's reality for 2014 so we'll have to see how things shake out seeding-wise. If UConn is the overall #1 seed as many expect and ND is a #2, I just don't think the Committee is going to increase the heat and the negative attention on this unfairness by sending UConn to play on the home court of it biggest rival. Some #1 seed has to go to Lincoln and I bet it'll be UConn.

 

[ASweet3781]

I agree this stinks and it'll probably be changed for 2015 and beyond. It's reality for 2014 so we'll have to see how things shake out seeding-wise. If UConn is the overall #1 seed as many expect and ND is a #2, I just don't think the Committee is going to increase the heat and the negative attention on this unfairness by sending UConn to play on the home court of it biggest rival. Some team has to go to Lincoln and I bet it'll be UConn.

There hasn't been an S Curve in WCBB for years. Doesn't matter if UConn is overall 1 seed. They care about location more than an S Curve or "fairness".

They also won't pass up the opportunity to have a UConn-ND matchup with none in the regular season.

 

[alexrgct]

Yay- UConn-Louisville IV in Louisville. Awesome.

Or UConn-Stanford II in Palo Alto. Less of a big deal perhaps, especially after what happened last time we played Maples, but still.

Or UConn-ND in South Bend. We'll have to know how good ND is or isn't before we receive this news.

Or UConn-Nebraska in Lincoln. Yes, please.

All told, this pretty much sucks.

 

[AllHusky529]

I hate to seem unsympathetic to our situation, but all summer we have debated margin of victory for our girls. We potentially have four All-Americans in our starting line-up...my belief is, if we really believe in our girls the way we say we do, we can beat ANYBODY ANYWHERE ANYTIME! Maybe this isn't a good thing for the sport, but it's what we've got. So, let the ladies lace 'em up and let's go win this thing! Go Huskies!

 

[UConnCat]

There hasn't been an S Curve in WCBB for years. Doesn't matter if UConn is overall 1 seed. They care about location more than an S Curve or "fairness".

They also won't pass up the opportunity to have a UConn-ND matchup with none in the regular season.

I understand there hasn't been an S curve in years, but the committee hasn't had teams host regionals in years either. What exactly is the point of location when you're already talking about a #1 seed traveling at least 800 miles? We're to believe that Tenn will go to Lincoln because it's only 900 miles away while Durham and Hartford are 1200 miles away?

The Committee chose to allow teams to host because it wants to see fans in the seats. I believe the Selection committee (and ESPN) would prefer to see ND and UConn play in the FF. Nebraska was chosen because it draws fans to its arena not because it draws eyeballs to TV sets.

Who knows? Maybe we'll see a Final Four of Stanford, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Louisville. Talk about just deserts.

 

[msf22b]

Never before has Lincoln NE been such a desirable place to be at the end of March.

Exactly 24 hours by car
I've made the drive many times.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Its not that far fetched to see a Final Four that contains ND, Louisville and Stanford. They're reasonably strong teams and have great home court advantages. Even with as strong as UConn is going to be this year, would not like to have to go through ND to get to the Final Four on their home court. Less concerned about the other teams hosting Regionals.

I understand there hasn't been an S curve in years, but the committee hasn't had teams host regionals in years either. What exactly is the point of location when you're already talking about a #1 seed traveling at least 800 miles? We're to believe that Tenn will go to Lincoln because it's only 900 miles away while Durham and Hartford are 1200 miles away?

The Committee chose to allow teams to host because it wants to see fans in the seats. I believe the Selection committee (and ESPN) would prefer to see ND and UConn play in the FF. Nebraska was chosen because it draws fans to its arena not because it draws eyeballs to TV sets.

Who knows? Maybe we'll see a Final Four of Stanford, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Louisville. Talk about just deserts.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Never before has Lincoln NE been such a desirable place to be at the end of March.

Clearly the best line of the day and perhaps the month.

Well done, my friend!

 

[ochoopsfan]

Nebraska has a new arena that opens on Nov 8th for both MBB and WBB.
Good support for basketball in Lincoln.
UConn should hope to go there or Stanford, neither of those possible host teams have a prayer in beating a healthy UConn.

 

[Phil]

Does that make South Bend, IN the East Regional?

No, they dropped the directional labels years ago.

 

[pap49cba]

I really hope Geno doesn't regret the position he took on this issue. (Which I TOTALLY agree with, btw.) Some strange (stuff) could go down this year on the way to the Final Four.

 

[triaddukefan]

Doug Feinberg ‏@DougFeinberg 1m
Stanford, Louisville, Nebraska and Notre Dame chosen to host women's basketball regionals
s.

 

[Phil]

I'm trying to figure out who is most unhappy about the choices. Duke is on my list. So is Maryland. What do you think is likely if you do as well as you expect (presumably, #1 seed)?

 

[Phil]

Who has more right to be unhappy.

A number 1 seed, say TN, or Duke, who has to play on the home court of Stanford or Louisville or ND,

or a #2 seed, who thinks they have a shot at knocking off a #1 seed, but not if theyat #1 seed is palying at home?

 

[triaddukefan]

I'm trying to figure out who is most unhappy about the choices. Duke is on my list. So is Maryland. What do you think is likely if you do as well as you expect (presumably, #1 seed)?

Duke, Maryland, TN, and Kentucky in my opinion have the most to be upset about. I dont think it matters where UCONN plays.

My dream scenario would be Duke, UCONN, ND, and Louisville all being #1 seeds...... and Duke would go to Palo Alto for the regional.

My worst fear is that Duke is a #1 seed and would have to play Louisville in a regional final. Do I think that Duke is a better team than Louisville? . Yes. Do I think Duke has better players, a deeper bench? Yes. But Duke has 5 talented seniors who have lost in the Regional Finals for three straight years. The pressure to at least get to a Final Four will be overwhelming. I'd feel alot more comfortable with the prospect of advancing out of Palo Alto or Lincoln, than I would the prospect of playing Louisville in front 15,000-22,000 fans at the KFC Center.

Based on what I think will happen.... I see UCONN, Duke, ND, and Stanford as the #1 seeds..... with Tennessee, Maryland, and maybe Kentucky and Louisville as the #2 seeds. If that plays out.... then I would predict Duke will be playing in Louisville with UCONN in Lincoln.

 

[pap49cba]

I will predict right now that ND and Stanford will be in the FF. Louisville is a strong probable and Neb a maybe. Maybe we should just skip the regular season and go straight to the tournament.

 

[Tonyc]

A couple of things I have to say about the sites. Theyre stupid. It was a dumb decision. Why? Because the 2 biggest draws are UConn and Tenn. Will this create more fans? We will wait and see. WCBB needs money to support their tournament. This is going to put them in a deep financial hole. Not a good business decision. IMO UConn will steam roll through the NCAAs. My only concern is their conference schedule is not very competitive which may not have them prepared at the level Geno would like them to be at . With that said they are just too good to lose unless their are major injuries.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

While power teams have not hosted in some years, who can forget Tennessee's oft repeated paths to the FF encompassed all in TBA? Not that I had a problem with it given the state of the game at that time. It was only a very brief time where teams were actually prohibited from playing at a home site regional - maybe 2 years???

I don't remember all this outrage when it was suggested and accepted that teams would be allowed to play at home this year, obviously I didn't catch Geno's complaint. But, I think we understand that this was a temporary measure - and does anyone doubt that attendance will be better than a neutral court somewhere?? If I recall correctly, they are looking at other arrangements going forward.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

If Notre Dame wins the ACC, they will be a #1 seed and won't be in the
same regional as UConn. If Notre Dame isn't good enough to win the
ACC, then they won't be good enough to beat UConn - even in South Bend.

 

[triaddukefan]

If Notre Dame wins the ACC, they will be a #1 seed and won't be in the
same regional as UConn. If Notre Dame isn't good enough to win the
ACC, then they won't be good enough to beat UConn - even in South Bend.

They could very well not win the ACC and still be a #1 seed this year...

 

[UConnCat]

I don't remember all this outrage when it was suggested and accepted that teams would be allowed to play at home this year, obviously I didn't catch Geno's complaint. But, I think we understand that this was a temporary measure - and does anyone doubt that attendance will be better than a neutral court somewhere?? If I recall correctly, they are looking at other arrangements going forward.

Not sure I understand your points. Are you suggesting the fans on this board are only outraged because UConn didn't bid and won't be hosting regional? If not, what difference does it make that fans chose to express their unhappiness with this plan when it's announced. Honestly, I don't know that fans realized or focused on what the NCAA intended to do w/r/t regional sites in the 2014 tournament until it became a reality today.

The NCAA should not sacrifice competitive fairness just for the optics of more fans in arenas, even if it's a stop-gap plan. That won't matter much to teams who believe they have a shot at the FF and are forced to play a S16 or E8 game on another team's home floor.

 

[UCONNfan1]

UCONN should never have "objected". You deal with the rules as they are. If UCONN didn't want to end up in Palo Alto or wherever in the 3rd and 4th rounds, they should have put their bid in. Honestly I don't see where it matters one way or the other. If you have 1 seeds of UCONN, Duke, ND and say Stanford, it's pretty easy to see where they'd all be sent... and what bracket they'd be in.

It makes no sense to me that any UCONN fans would be outraged, or even upset at this. UCONN didn't put a bid in. So the committee chose the best sites they could based on who made bids.