The Top 16

[IrishTiger]

Did I specifically call you out? I think not.

Well i’m sorry if it wasn’t but when You say 2 or 3 ND fans. There are usually very few ND fans leaving comments.

 

[Zanzman]

I disagree. I believe they absolutely consider such things, as long as it falls within reasonable seeding guidelines. They want compelling matchups.

Then why haven’t they put Uconb and Tenn in the same bracket in all these years

 

[biobioprof]

Well, they were a #1 seed last week in the reveal, so they had to be in the top 4. Or am I confused as usual?

Creme isn’t the committee

This was the previous reveal

 

[jaydee602]

Creme isn’t the committee

This was the previous reveal

THANKS!

 

[j66kicker]

The 2 or 3 ND fanatics constantly trying to take over this forum with their drival.

I have no problem at all with our ND visitors - they make some very knowledgeable and insightful contributions. Just busting a little ‘cause it was kinda funny to hear the “unfair” thing coming from ND.

 

[Vowelguy]

I still don't understand this stuff.

It's not just wins. Or losses. It's the competition played. And then there is the eye test.

While this UConn team _can_ play very well, it is not a great team, as we have seen repeatedly in recent weeks.

 

[Centerstream]

I have no problem at all with our ND visitors - they make some very knowledgeable and insightful contributions. Just busting a little ‘cause it was kinda funny to hear the “unfair” thing coming from ND.

It's been a looooong season and I am getting testy again this season. I come here to read about our great Huskies and really get tired reading these "Seeding" threads. I should just Ignore them, it's so easy to do .

 

[wallman]

The truth is all the teams this year have had some lousy showings, so the eye test is overrated. ND did not match up with Uconn very well. They have no excuses for that game even though they will try to make them as they have in other years and they lost to 2 unranked teams when they played them. Louisville has also had a couple of stinkers. Baylor did not look good just tonight. Thats why I don't get the ESPN panel making excuses for these teams.

 

[Plebe]

The truth is all the teams this year have had some lousy showings, so the eye test is overrated. ND did not match up with Uconn very well. They have no excuses for that game even though they will try to make them as they have in other years and they lost to 2 unranked teams when they played them. Louisville has also had a couple of stinkers. Baylor did not look good just tonight. Thats why I don't get the ESPN panel making excuses for these teams.

I'm a little unclear. How were they making excuses for them?

 

[eebmg]

As of now, I think ND having to face OU in Portland is the toughest matchup by far. If ND wins the ACC over Louisville and everything else follows without any upsets, is it a simple matter of Louisville and ND just swapping positions as 2 / 3 and still heading to Portland??

 

[DEpup]

ND got the more difficult bracket in the latest reveal.

 

[Plebe]

I think #2 through #4 are very tricky to sort out. Creme currently has Louisville-UConn-ND. Given that ND was #6 as of Feb. 11, would Louisville's loss to Miami be enough to move ND all the way up past them to #2? I have my doubts, but it's possible.

Creme also has Marquette still as a #4 seed, but I really think they drop out of the top 16. Their losses to St. John's, Butler and Creighton really expose their lack of quality wins (best wins are over DePaul and SDSU). All of the other teams vying for the top 16 have better wins than that.

I like Iowa State's chances of still being in the top 16.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Interesting reveal, because by the S-curve logic, ND should get Albany and UConn should get Portland. So this is clearly to boost attendance/protect the Huskies.

OTOH, I think both Uconn and ND have the hardest draws, as it should be for #s 3 and 4, although having to play Oregon in Portland will basically be an away game for the Domers.

 

[Plebe]

Interesting reveal, because by the S-curve logic, ND should get Albany and UConn should get Portland. So this is clearly to boost attendance/protect the Huskies.

OTOH, I think both Uconn and ND have the hardest draws, as it should be for #s 3 and 4, although having to play Oregon in Portland will basically be an away game for the Domers.

There's nothing about "S-curve logic" that would dictate that ND should get Albany instead of Portland. Do you mean just because Portland is further away from South Bend than Albany? The committee sees it as a plane flight either way, a distinction without a difference.

Where the deviation from the S-curve did occur is in putting overall #5 seed Oregon in Portland vs. #3 ND instead of sending them to Albany vs. #4 UConn. Obviously that was done for geographical reasons.

 

[Orangutan]

The only way ND ends up as the #1 in Portland playing Oregon is if ND loses in the ACC tournament and Oregon also loses in the PAC 12 tournament. And even then Miss. State probably just ends up as a #1 unless somehow all 3 lose.

So that "unfair" scenario of ND playing a virtual road game in the elite 8 as a #1 seed is unlikely to come to pass.

It's just odd because there are 3 of the 6 elite teams with an obvious geographical pairing. Normally the committee would do everything possible to have ND in Chicago just as they are going to do everything possible to have Oregon in Portland and UConn in Albany.

Unfortunately for ND, the 300ish miles between Louisville and Chicago qualify as driving distance. And Louisville is in the same conference. So ND has another one of that elite 6 that they *must* finish ahead of in order to get to Chicago. Whereas Oregon and UConn were always going to be in Portland and Albany respectively regardless of being a 1 or 2.

Anyhow, ND's next goal is obviously to win the ACC tourney and they may have the opportunity for the full revenge tour (UNC, Miami, and Louisville) if seedings hold. The path is clear. It just puts a little extra stakes on the tourney.

And yeah, I live 20 minutes from Wintrust Arena and bought my tickets for the Chicago regional long ago, so you bet your bottom that seeing Louisville (a team I thoroughly sports-hate) on the 1-line instead of ND makes me queasy!

 

[TheFarmFan]

There's nothing about "S-curve logic" that would dictate that ND should get Albany instead of Portland. Do you mean just because Portland is further away from South Bend than Albany? The committee sees it as a plane flight either way, a distinction without a difference.

Where the deviation from the S-curve did occur is in putting overall #5 seed Oregon in Portland vs. #3 ND instead of sending them to Albany vs. #4 UConn. Obviously that was done for geographical reasons.

Plebe, according to Creme, that's exactly how it works. I'm quoting his ESPN article:

Albany is actually closer to South Bend than Portland, and Notre Dame would have been placed before UConn, the No. 4 overall team on the committee's board. Instead of sending the Huskies to Portland, however, the committee seems to be protecting the solid attendance that UConn provides in Albany. That is not a surprise but interesting to note.

And RE: Oregon, S-curve doesn't apply within each seed line, so among the #2 seeds, #5 gets best fit, then 6 and so on. Again, Creme:

the NCAA's rules pertaining to S-curve and geography dictate that the highest team left on the overall list is placed into its nearest geographical region, as long as it doesn't disrupt other bracketing principles.

So no, Oregon shouldn't go to Albany under the S-curve, they should go to their closest site, which is Portland. And that's why ND got boned despite being the three seed and Albany being closer to them than Portland. I'm fairly confident the Domers would prefer a shorter, 1-time zone trip to Albany than have to travel out west and play Oregon for what is effectively a home game for the Ducks.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It's not just wins. Or losses. It's the competition played. And then there is the eye test.

While this UConn team _can_ play very well, it is not a great team, as we have seen repeatedly in recent weeks.

The Committee, as they've demonstrated before, is simply not impressed with our resume.

We've gone a pedestrian 2-2 against the rest of the Top 16 and haven't looked particularly convincing in beating subpar opponents either.

I wouldn't be surprised if we end up on the #2 line even if we don't lose another game before the Tournament (not that it matters a ton if we end up with the favorable geographic draw in Albany anyway).

 

[FridaFriend]

The committee appears to believe that Notre Dame and Louisville are equal and are both #1 seeds. If one loses to the other in the ACC conference tournament championship game, both should still be #1 seeds. If Oregon wins the Pac12 tournament, they should be the fourth #1 seed, unless Baylor loses. Under those circumstances, Oregon is #1 at Portland, the ACC winner is in Chicago, and the ACC loser is #1 in Albany. UCONN is #2 in Albany and Mississippi State goes to Portland. How about that scenario?

 

[triaddukefan]

And yeah, I live 20 minutes from Wintrust Arena and bought my tickets for the Chicago regional long ago, so you bet your bottom that seeing Louisville (a team I thoroughly sports-hate) on the 1-line instead of ND makes me queasy!

You still going if ND heads to Portland?

 

[Orangutan]

You still going if ND heads to Portland?

I'll be at the Chicago regional one way or the other. Maybe cheering for ND. Maybe heckling Jeff Walz.

 

[triaddukefan]

I'll be at the Chicago regional one way or the other. Maybe cheering for ND. Maybe heckling Jeff Walz.

This wont make you feel any better, but Imma type it anyway There is usually an example of a team/school getting even more of a raw deal than the school you pull for. You're probably too young to remember the 2007-2008 season.... but the four #1 seeds were UConn, NC-CHeat, TN, and Maryland. The regionals were in Greensboro, New Orleans, OKC, and Spokane. NC-Cheat finished #2 in the AP poll.... had a record of 30-2, but lost earlier in the season to #1 ranked UCONN. Despite being 40 miles from Greensboro... NC got sent to New Orleans... while UCOnn played here in Greensboro. To make matters worse..... the #2 seed in New Orleans was................ LSU You KNOW the Tarheels were

The very next year... the regionals were in Raleigh. Maryland and Duke were both #1 seeds ... but Maryland edged Duke in the ACC Championship game in Overtime. Maryland was sent to Raleigh, Duke was sent to the California regional. I thought about buying tickets to Raleigh anyway... to cheer against Maryland... but decided against it. They ended up losing in the regional final... to your favorite coach

Anyway... all this fretting from ND fans is gonna be for naught. I cant see ND losing to Louisville on Sunday.....

 

[Reypl21]

I feel like Chicago's 1 seed will be decided in the ACC tourney. ND has the chance the play UNC, Miami, and Louisville if they manage to win all of the games. They have been playing pretty good. If they beat Louisville again there's no way the Irish are left out of Chicago. It is in their own hands. Louisville/Oregon or ND/Oregon are intriguing matchups.

UConns bracket is very tough at this reveal. I think a huge weakness y'all have is in the post position, and MSU and OrSt have some height. Of course you will only have to play one of those teams.. but Hof and Mompremier are also a premier front court. Hof is such an underrated player. She reminds me of Gustafson a little in that they read the D, plan their move, and take the shot before the defense can respond. They put the ball in the basket from positioning and quick thinking

 

[IrishTiger]

This wont make you feel any better, but Imma type it anyway There is usually an example of a team/school getting even more of a raw deal than the school you pull for. You're probably too young to remember the 2007-2008 season.... but the four #1 seeds were UConn, NC-CHeat, TN, and Maryland. The regionals were in Greensboro, New Orleans, OKC, and Spokane. NC-Cheat finished #2 in the AP poll.... had a record of 30-2, but lost earlier in the season to #1 ranked UCONN. Despite being 40 miles from Greensboro... NC got sent to New Orleans... while UCOnn played here in Greensboro. To make matters worse..... the #2 seed in New Orleans was...... LSU You KNOW the Tarheels were

The very next year... the regionals were in Raleigh. Maryland and Duke were both #1 seeds ... but Maryland edged Duke in the ACC Championship game in Overtime. Maryland was sent to Raleigh, Duke was sent to the California regional. I thought about buying tickets to Raleigh anyway... to cheer against Maryland... but decided against it. They ended up losing in the regional final... to your favorite coach

Anyway... all this fretting from ND fans is gonna be for naught. I cant see ND losing to Louisville on Sunday.....

You just jinxed us plus it’s not a given ND will get to the ACC Championship Game. @triaddukefan

 

[shinobimono]

You just jinxed us plus it’s not a given ND will get to the ACC Championship Game. @triaddukefan

I'd be very worried, Triad appears to be a master jinxer. He jinxes in a very subtle and unassuming way, but his jinxes are 100% effective, I haven't seen one fail yet.

 

[triaddukefan]

You just jinxed us plus it’s not a given ND will get to the ACC Championship Game. @triaddukefan

Well if its any consolation.... I'll be rooting against them Saturday.... there is NO way they are losing Friday