You have got to be kidding me

[hoopsfan22]

It's not so much anger at being a 2 seed, though it is disappointing, it's the reason that was given by the committee and the implications going forward. I wish people could see beyond the next three weekends. Essentially the committee is saying to UConn if you want a number one seed from now on you better go undefeated, because anyone in a P5 conference within two losses is going to leap frog you in seeding even if they have bad losses on their resume and you don't. We might as well play a weak OOC schedule, roll into the tourney 32-0 every year, and take our chances.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Gee, there sure is a lot of angst here. In summary...

Baylor, the clear #1 overall seed got sent as close as they could be to home and gets a Regional Final, if seeds hold, vs the clear weakest 2 seed in Iowa.

ND, the pretty clear overall #2, gets sent to the obvious and desireable Chicago regional to play the mostly clear 2nd weakest 2 seed in Stanford, if seeds hold.

Louisville, Mississippi State, UConn & Oregon, the #3-#6 overall seeds to most unbiased eyes (although not necessarily in that order), get distributed so the 1 seeds are traveling, but getting the advantage of playing a 4 seed in the SS. The 2 seeds, UConn and Oregon, are playing 3 seeds in the SS, but they're both close to home, giving them some advantage.

Seems to me the committee did an outstanding job.

Shoes, we normally agree on WBB topics but I think the committee did a terrible job. I realize they have constraints but UConn not being a number 1 seed really does not compute. I know Louisville beat UConn head to head but the ND game in the ACC Tournament was a beatdown. Louisville should be 6 overall team at best behind 1. Baylor, 2. UConn, 3. ND, 4. MSST, 5. Oregon, 6. Louisville.

 

[Plebe]

TBH, I don't understand why Huskies fans are so upset. The key thing was getting to stay in Albany, which you are.

I've realized over the course of this discussion that this has nothing to do with facts or logic or pragmatics. Some people want to feel outraged because it's their way of expressing their passion for their team.

As I was told, "Why not let people feel upset?" When people have already made up their minds to be upset, there's not much use trying to reason with them.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Isn't complaining about the bracket an annual event here?

 

[mbr33ct]

Isn't complaining about the bracket an annual event here?

...only until the games actually begin. Something to pass the time.

 

[Plebe]

...only until the games actually begin. Something to pass the time.

Ha Jay Bilas said exactly the same thing after the men's bracket was revealed. It's become a bona fide ritual and a sport of its own to complain about the bracket immediately upon its release. Then, as soon as the first ball gets tipped off, all of that magically dissipates.

 

[VaConnFan11]

I don't understand what all of the complaining is about. A month ago I stated that UConn's best case scenario to make the Final 4 was to have Louisville in their bracket. It happened! I doesn't matter who is 1 or 2.

What has happened now is that the team has put a lot of unneeded pressure on themselves, because if they lose to Louisville, they look like ______________ (You can fill in the blank with any appropriate word).

 

[Waquoit]

"No trait is more justified than revenge in the right time and place." Meir Kahane

Why quote such a despicable human being?

 

[heavyhusky]

Sweet Jesus.

This is so far off that I don’t think there’s a map to get you back to right.

They played three #1 seeds on the road....and they beat one of them. They also played Ohio State, Vandy, Old Miss, St. John’s, Purdue, DePaul, California, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Louisville.

They had one single opponent that was not from a power conference.

Can Louisville say that?

No. No one schedules OOC games like UConn does.

Fishy -- Are you aware that you are making a strong argument in favor of our #2 seed? UConn's non-conference SOS ranked 23rd, whereas that renowned powerhouse Drake had a NC SOS of 5. Here are some of the teams we played out of conference with their RPI ranking in parentheses:
Purdue (89); Ohio State (101); Saint John's (117); Oklahoma (153); Vanderbilt (209); and Ole Miss (239). In addition, we only played 12 games against Q1 and Q2 opponents compared to ND, Baylor, and Louisville that all had more than 20 games against teams in those categories.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I will take a bizarre and somewhat contrarian position here. The Committee & ESPN actually want UConn in the FF. They also want 2 marquee matchups: Baylor vs MS St & UConn vs ND. They can’t give UConn the overall #1 seed and a potential matchup with the easiest Elite 8 opponent, Iowa. If UConn had won at least one of their two road losses, it might have been a different story.

The problem was what to do with MS St. If UConn is the last 1 seed, then MS St, a bad matchup for the Huskies, is the 2 seed in Albany. If MS St wins, they potentially still get MS St vs Baylor, but no ND - UConn. If UConn wins, then we have an even worse matchup for the Huskies in the semifinals vs Baylor.

By sending MS St out west where they have a chance to beat an Oregon team that’s shown some vulnerability in the last month, they setup the potential matchups they and ESPN want in the FF, and they send Louisville to Albany, where they will be an underdog, assuming they get by a Scott Rueck coached OR St.

As a reminder, the last time Jeff Walz brought in a heavily favored Louisville team to the Albany Regional, the Cardinals lost to mid-major Dayton.

Interesting take on this @oldude .... I like it and it really makes sense... although nothing like what the head of the committee said to "defend" their decisions. BUT again, I like your take.

 

[Fishy]

Fishy -- Are you aware that you are making a strong argument in favor of our #2 seed? UConn's non-conference SOS ranked 23rd, whereas that renowned powerhouse Drake had a NC SOS of 5. Here are some of the teams we played out of conference with their RPI ranking in parentheses:
Purdue (89); Ohio State (101); Saint John's (117); Oklahoma (153); Vanderbilt (209); and Ole Miss (239). In addition, we only played 12 games against Q1 and Q2 opponents compared to ND, Baylor, and Louisville that all had more than 20 games against teams in those categories.

Dude....UConn went on the road and played three teams the committee felt were one seeds.

Show me one instance where Louisville actually played a challenging road game. If you say Central Michigan or Boise, I will ban you from this website until the day the sun swallows the earth.

 

[uconnfan68]

I didn't know that we were considered a mid-major when we won 4 of the last 6 NCs.

\s not a P5 = mid-major

 

[eebmg]

Isn't complaining about the bracket an annual event here?

During the Stewie years, did we even look at the bracket ?

 

[oldude]

During the Stewie years, did we even look at the bracket ?

No, but everyone else did to make sure they weren’t in ours.

 

[nwhoopfan]

During the Stewie years, did we even look at the bracket ?

Probably wasn't as much fretting back then.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Probably wasn't as much fretting back then.

The fretting back then was whether we would win by 30 or 50. I mean we were winning national championship games by 30 back in those days.

 

[nwhoopfan]

The fretting back then was whether we would win by 30 or 50. I mean we were winning national championship games by 30 back in those days.

Ah, the good old days, when there was no suspense or intrigue at all, when we all knew from the opening tip off of the season who would win the Title.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

No, this is not true. Louisville was the 3, UConn the 5. The committee chair explicitly said that UConn was the top #2 seed. The committee can and does deviate from the S-curve for geography reasons. In this case, that allowed UConn to stay in Albany rather than going to Portland.

and it allowed ORE to stay in Pac NW.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Ah, the good old days, when there was no suspense or intrigue at all, when we all knew from the opening tip off of the season who would win the Title.

You could look at it that way, or you could admire the way those teams played the game and hope your favorite team strives for that standard.

 

[Waquoit]

I honestly think the committee has been wanting to do this for years but couldn't get away with it. To show that UConn's not the boss of them.

 

[Vowelguy]

I honestly think the committee has been wanting to do this for years

The committee is an ever-changing group of people. They each serve 5-year terms, with turnover of 2 each year.

 

[j66kicker]

Ah, the good old days, when there was no suspense or intrigue at all, when we all knew from the opening tip off of the season who would win the Title.

YESSS!!! That's what I'm talkin' about!!

 

[Fightin Choke]

Dude....UConn went on the road and played three teams the committee felt were one seeds.

Show me one instance where Louisville actually played a challenging road game. If you say Central Michigan or Boise, I will ban you from this website until the day the sun swallows the earth.

Louisville played @Notre Dame and then played Notre Dame a second time at a neutral site in Greensboro, NC in the ACC Tournament.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Louisville played @Notre Dame and then played Notre Dame a second time at a neutral site in Greensboro, NC in the ACC Tournament.

Now that's funny...
I believe @Fishy was looking for a Challenging OOC Road Game... not a Conference (Regular Season or Tournament) game that they had no choice whether to play or not.

 

[IWearShoes]

Shoes, we normally agree on WBB topics but I think the committee did a terrible job. I realize they have constraints but UConn not being a number 1 seed really does not compute. I know Louisville beat UConn head to head but the ND game in the ACC Tournament was a beatdown. Louisville should be 6 overall team at best behind 1. Baylor, 2. UConn, 3. ND, 4. MSST, 5. Oregon, 6. Louisville.

I'll stick by what I said, but totally respect your opinion.