Should we go there? | The Boneyard

Should we go there?

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ConnMotors

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Should we go there or something close to that? This was from the ESPN young studio announcer at the half of the Michigan - Louisville game. She was getting ready to imply the fact that UConn was playing in Bridgeport and that NC State had a huge disadvantage. I was watching the game with a friend and I brought this us a few times during the game with her. When are they going to say that UConn is playing at home. Granted they did have the advantage. And, I'm sorry that NC State got burned. But in the end if you have the better team you will prevail. Did the committee screw up? Maybe! Or they should have thrown the S Curve the other way and sent NC State to Wichita instead.
 
It was a tough situation for NC State. I don't pretend to know in any detail how the NCAA Tourny sausage is made. There has to be a way to avoid making the number one seed play in such non-neutral circumstances.

That said, if the goal was to sell out an arena, putting UConn in Bridgeport was a lock.
 
hoopsfan22 said:
Maybe deep down the committee knew UConn was the 4th #1 seed, but making them so with five losses would have enraged a lot of people.
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I thought the debate was over Baylor/Louisville as the fourth #1 seed. In the end, the committee chose Louisville, and were proven correct.
 
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I also think people fail to understand just how many UConn fans there are around the country. If the game had been anywhere in or near Texas I would have gone in a heartbeat, so most games probably feel like "home" games to the team.
 
Let's not pretend a healthy UConn team has the #1 seed in Bridgeport locked up months ago anyways. Things played out how they were supposed to. If NC State wanted to play in Greensboro they should have won more games. They played in tough road games this season; they were more than capable...

You didn't see a team like Creighton crying when they had to go play at Iowa City when they knocked off Iowa last week. It's only because UConn is involved that people make a big deal about this. If Stanford lost to Texas in San Antonio does anyone even bat an eye? On the men's side, Villanova had to play Houston in San Antonio and never heard anyone complain. They took care of business. NC State didn't. Their fans and the media can continue to cry their eyes out, meanwhile who's playing in Minny this weekend?
 
Ask Wes Moore if he'd like for UConn and N.C. State to switch places in the college sports world. See how fast he turns down that regional final home court advantage.
 
No one came out of the stands to help UCONN win. It's great to have the home crowd on your side and I'm sure it gets the adrenaline flowing, but a team can also fold under the pressure of having to live up to the expectations of the home crowd. I think it works both ways, at least to some degree. Paige will be playing before an amped-up crowd of home-town fans and family in Minnesota next weekend. Are the "talking heads" going to complain about that too? There are haters in the WCBB world who will always take issue with any perceived advantage that might fall UCONN's way, the legacy of success I suppose.
 
Waquoit said:
Again, it's amazing that people are still trying to make hay about this. John Wooden played region finals on his campus.
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Kind of an ancient history example... that's around 50 years ago :eek:. Can't we expect a vastly more sophisticated seeding plan in 2022?

No way to know if it determined the outcome of this game, but NC State EARNED that #1 and should not have been playing so close to the #2 seed's campus (if UConn were the 12th seed it may not have been such an issue). I'm sure the committee could offer justification, and I'm not up for the work it would take to find an alternative seeding plan, just saying that this is a circumstance that really needs to be avoided as a priority in the planning of the tourney.
 
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That was Monica “I can’t stand UCONN” McNutt who tried to get that conversation going. The other two commentators backed off.
McNutt won’t be happy until Geno retires and every D1 women’s team is coached by a female.
 
The mistake made by the committee was the seedings. Louisville should not have kept the one seed, and the very least should have been the 4th one seed, moving NC state up.
UCONN because of the injuries should have been a one seed when all their players returned, but we never got the proper credit.
Bridgeport should have been Louisville and UConn.
 
Lynx23 said:
No one came out of the stands to help UCONN win. It's great to have the home crowd on your side and I'm sure it gets the adrenaline flowing, but a team can also fold under the pressure of having to live up to the expectations of the home crowd. I think it works both ways, at least to some degree. Paige will be playing before an amped-up crowd of home-town fans and family in Minnesota next weekend. Are the "talking heads" going to complain about that too? There are haters in the WCBB world who will always take issue with any perceived advantage that might fall UCONN's way, the legacy of success I suppose.
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Not a Husky hater by any stretch. It just didn't seem appropriate to seed that way. Picture us as the #1 seed having to travel to Greensboro or Winston-Salem where #2 seed NC State is in the bracket and the stands are packed with their fans. Follow through the scenario to a double OT loss for UConn. You think everyone here would serenely say "oh well, that's the way it goes, no big advantage..." Would you? I know I would be a bit butt-sore about it. Just trying to be fair-minded here.
 
psconn said:
It was a tough situation for NC State. I don't pretend to know in any detail how the NCAA Tourny sausage is made. There has to be a way to avoid making the number one seed play in such non-neutral circumstances.

That said, if the goal was to sell out an arena, putting UConn in Bridgeport was a lock.
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They weren't "the number one seed. If they had been "the" number one, they would have been "at home" in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
my2cents said:
The mistake made by the committee was the seedings. Louisville should not have kept the one seed, and the very least should have been the 4th one seed, moving NC state up.
UCONN because of the injuries should have been a one seed when all their players returned, but we never got the proper credit.
Bridgeport should have been Louisville and UConn.
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Louisville was the fourth one seed. NC State was third and UConn was sixth. Baylor was fifth and would have played Louisville.
 
sarals24 said:
I also think people fail to understand just how many UConn fans there are around the country. If the game had been anywhere in or near Texas I would have gone in a heartbeat, so most games probably feel like "home" games to the team.
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There's a reason they say whenever UConn travels a Circus breaks out. ;)

Barnum And Bailey Circus GIF
 
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visitingcock said:
They weren't "the number one seed. If they had been "the" number one, they would have been "at home" in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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Should have said "a" number one seed. No offense intended :confused:. For the purpose of the example, that's a distinction without a difference. I don't know what the fix would be, but that was a tough, and likely avoidable, draw for NC State. Just trying to be fair-minded.
 
Aluminny69 said:
I thought the debate was over Baylor/Louisville as the fourth #1 seed. In the end, the committee chose Louisville, and were proven correct.
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But would Louisville have advanced if NC state was in Wichita and Louisville in Bridgeport? I guess we’ll never know, but based on what I’ve seen, their higher ranking hurt NC State and I’d wager NC state would have advanced out if Wichita.
 
I think the Bridgeport fire marshal has some splaining to do ... the Bridgeport Arena's own web site says in basketball configuration the capacity is up to 9,000 attendance while for concerts it is 10,000 - last night's reported attendance per ESPN was 10,119 so 1,119 above max attendance for basketball and 119 above max attendance for any event! And ... that is why the NCAA has so often accepted bids from Bridgeport - it is no college team's home court and it consistently outdraws other regionals. For example this year:
Greensboro: 6,579
Wichita: 4,695
Spokane: 7,739
 
The committee sat in the room and had to ask themselves a crucial question. What would UConn's record be if Paige hadn't gotten hurt? The answer they came up with was, Uconn would EASILY be 29-1. With the defending National Player of the Year back in action this team is clearly and obviously one of the best 3 teams in the nation. While they truly deserve a one seed, let's compromise. We throw NC State a bone by pretending they are a one seed, but in reality they are really the two seed behind UConn.

Then a neat and amazing thing happens - you play the games and the committee says to itself, we got right!

Let's see how vociferous in their rage all these pundits (well, maybe all is too strong. Just McNutt?) are next year when South Carolina is the host of the only regional in the East in Greeneville SC.
 
The driving distance between Greensboro and Raleigh is about 80 miles. Practically on top of each other. Unless you're suggesting the #1 overall seed get pushed to a different region (again)?

It's a problem for NC State regardless of their seed, unless they place so high they push SC to a different region. Same problem for any two teams in such close proximity.
 
Now will our opponents say that Paige has an unfair advantage because she grew up 10 miles from the tournament site in Minnesota? Does she have to recuse herself and not play? The tournament has two sites next year and one of them is in North Carolina. Will all of the North Carolina schools be happy or will they be sad? They need to get over it and realize that half of your games are on someone else's court. Next year they will be doing cartwheels to play close to home.
 
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I am so tired of talking about this. Was there an advantage, yes there was, but it wasn't UConn fault. Fans of other teams and media people always find a reason to disrespect UConn. If your team is good enough, they will win anywhere they play, regardless of the competition. McNutt is an a------e, she doesn't deserve to be in the studio, although they did take the hosting job away from her. The studio crew are a joke, McNutt, SEC commentator Vargus, and, well, whoever that other person is. UConn is women's basketball at it best and they deserve to be in the final 4 with SC, Stanford, and Louisville. NC State is a great team, and they both played one of the best games ever, but the haters that have to persist on bringing up the location does not help the image of WBB. Until there are more fans of the game, this thing will happen. Right now, this is the state off WBB, so get over it, because this just takes away from the skill of these players and teams. Another dumb thing would be if supposedly UConn has an advantage because Paige is from Minnesota. Believe it, some mindless fan will bring it up, and in todays social media awareness it will happen. Lord help us.
 
This is a non issue. What was NCS's excuse against Notre Dame? No home advantage there and without a last second mistake by ND, NSC wouldn't have been in the finals. You play the game and all then teams are good at this point.

Let's hope this is the last thread on this.
 
Yea...UCONN or any team never wins on the road. I heard none of this when SC played UNC in Greensville....and they were a #1 seed.
 
They can say whatever they want. It just shows their ignorance. Arenas bid to host the tournament - men's or women's. Bridgeport won the bid. It doesn't matter which teams are nearby. If Fairfield were the #1 seed, they'd play in Bridgeport. Would anyone be complaining then? The committee has a process by which it assigns seeds to the closest site. Since USC was the first #1 seed, they go to Greensboro by default. Bridgeport was the next closest site for NC State. Same holds true for the #2 seeds. UConn as the first #2 seed go to the closest site. Would they be complaining if the site were Boston rather than Bridgeport? Same distance but another state.

Sheesh! You don't hear this kind of rubbish when Puke gets assigned to Greensboro in the men's tournament.
 
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