Why Is The Elite 8 Game The Hardest?

[RockyMTblue2]

Geno and CD have said this forever. There is a very good article from the men's side that helps me understand it a little better. Maybe you'll like it too.

Vahe Gregorian: Elite Eight is biggest nemesis for Kansas coach Bill Self

“This biggest thing is to just go play,” he said. “Don’t play the game like … you’ve got to win to go to the Final Four. Play the game like you’ve got to go compete because you have a chance to win a regional championship. Not look ahead.

“Look in the moment, and enjoy the moment.”

Because even a Hall of Fame-bound coach never knows when it will come again."

 

[Wbbfan1]

Most years in the Elite 8 Game, a team is playing against a Team that with one or two more wins could have been a #1 Seed.

This year two games where the #1 and #2 Seeds are meeting. UConn vs So Carolina and Notre Dame vs Oregon. The other match ups are Miss St vs UCLA (3 seed) and Louisville vs Oregon St (6 seed) While the #1 Seeds are favored, it wouldn't surprise me to see a couple of them lose their games. All four of the lower seeded team present problems for the #1 seeds and if any of the Top seeds have a bad shooting day or get into foul trouble, they will lose.

Not sure who has the most pressure in the UConn vs So Carolina Game.

UConn 10 Consecutive Final F4's. Players don't want to be the team that stops the streak and on top of that, incur their 1st loss of the Year.

So Carolina Not publicly said, but many think So Carolina got lucky to not have to face UConn for the National Championship. So Carolina wants to prove the National Championship was not a fluke and get back to the F4. Also So Carolina lost to UConn this year, in a game they had a poor start. A'ja also wants to prove that she is deserving of the POY over KLS.

 

[warbler1055]

Simply stated, it's the ticket for the FF!!!!!!

 

[iri10]

From here on out, likely every opponent that UConn would have to face is a "credible" threat. That is, maybe not the favorite, but fully capable of taking advantage if UConn's not playing well - not requiring a once-in-a-blue moon sort of game to do so. Maybe UCLA is sort of close to falling into that "we should win without trouble" category, but I also consider them the least likely to make the national championship game.

That's the way the field has laid itself out this year. In some years, even the E8 opponent is not a credible threat and UConn only has to get through two credible threats for a national championship. In some years it's just one.

 

[bleeckerhusky]

At least in Uconn's case, the data says that the Final 4 game, not the Elite 8 game is the hardest game to win. Here's the data from the 2017/18 Media Guide on the UconnHuskies website.

No NCAA________86 87 88
Round of 64____89 93
Round of 32____90 92
Sweet 16_______99 05
Elite 8________94 97 98 06 07
Final 4________91 96 01 08 11 12 17
Final__________95 00 02 03 04 09 10 13 14 15 16

The categories represent the highest round achieved by UConn, i.e., the round in which they lost except for the Final category in which they have never lost. So, the data says that Uconn lost 5 times in the Elite 8 game, but 7 times in the Final 4 game, with those losses coming to Virginia, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Stamford, Notre Dame, Notre Dame and Mississippi State.

There seems to be an anomaly in the Media Guide relative to what happened in the 90 Tournament. The Guide, in two places, states that UConn lost in the second round, but lists Clemson as the only Tournament game that was played. Going with the majority, I placed the 90 in the Round of 32.

Here's hoping that this year's team can add one more victory to the Final category.

 

[Fightin Choke]

At least in Uconn's case, the data says that the Final 4 game, not the Elite 8 game is the hardest game to win. Here's the data from the 2017/18 Media Guide on the UconnHuskies website.

No NCAA________86 87 88
Round of 64____89 93
Round of 32____90 92
Sweet 16_______99 05
Elite 8________94 97 98 06 07
Final 4________91 96 01 08 11 12 17
Final__________95 00 02 03 04 09 10 13 14 15 16

The categories represent the highest round achieved by UConn, i.e., the round in which they lost except for the Final category in which they have never lost. So, the data says that Uconn lost 5 times in the Elite 8 game, but 7 times in the Final 4 game, with those losses coming to Virginia, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Stamford, Notre Dame, Notre Dame and Mississippi State.

There seems to be an anomaly in the Media Guide relative to what happened in the 90 Tournament. The Guide, in two places, states that UConn lost in the second round, but lists Clemson as the only Tournament game that was played. Going with the majority, I placed the 90 in the Round of 32.

Here's hoping that this year's team can add one more victory to the Final category.

In the 1990 tournament, there were 48 teams. Clemson was a 5-seed and won their "play-in" game against 12-seed Manhattan to make the round of 32. There they defeated 4-seed UConn (61-59) before falling the next round to 1-seed Tennessee. (LINK)

 

[chuck.r]

There seems to be an anomaly in the Media Guide relative to what happened in the 90 Tournament. The Guide, in two places, states that UConn lost in the second round, but lists Clemson as the only Tournament game that was played. Going with the majority, I placed the 90 in the Round of 32.

Prior to 1993, the Women's tournament invited 48 teams, which meant 16 highest seeded teams had a bye to the 2nd round while 32 lower seeds had to play a 1st round game. UConn had a bye in 1990, and in 1991, when they reached the Final Four the 1st time, only having to play 3 games to reach.