So..... Is it the net that has caused bad matchups? Or just dumb luck?
Or... Is it just me? This year's tournament thus far has just seemed shockingly boring. Where are the nail biters? The last second game winning shots? Hell even close games at all are at an all time low it seems.
And I'll bet you read this title and thought I meant KU 😉
This has been one of the worse tournaments I can remember I terms of great games and upsets. College basketball was very top heavy this year and I think we are seeing that in the tournament.
Starting next week there should be some high level games with most of the top seeds advancing.
Agreed. No real upsets though some 16’s gave half a game to ACC #1’s.
A few good teams and a lot of mediocre teams. I hope Roy wins it all. Would rather have them than Doooooooooooooooooke.
How good is KUs schedule really? Only 2 wins against teams currently playing. Beat a bunch of first round losers to build the resume, but maybe more games against elite teams could help? IDK
@Crimsonorblue22 I forgot about MSU. Seems like a different season ago.
So 3 wins vs the sweet sixteen. Not great, not terrible.
14 of the 16 teams left are from the Power 5 and 1 of the non P5 teams is Gonzaga so basically15 of 16 from major conferences or traditional powers. 5 ACC, 4 SEC 3 B10, 1 B12, 1 P12, 1 AAC, and 1 WCC.
Also amazing is that Oregon is the only team in the Sweet 16 that could be considered a surprise team. All 12 top 3 seeds made and 2 of the 4 seeds made it. The 5 seed that made it was favored in its game against the 4 so not even an upset. The 12 seed is the only real surprise and that 12 seed was in the Final Four 2 years ago.
I know people love a good Cinderella story like Loyola Chicago last year, but this is how you see the highest quality basketball. Whoever wins this tournament will have earned it this year going through the best teams throughout the season to do so.
I'm not gonna take the time to look it up but I'm not sure I've ever seen the top 3 seeds from each region in the sweet 16. There is only only seed higher than a 5 left in Oregon's 12 seed. The East and the West are straight up with 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 match ups, and the Midwest is 1 vs 5 and 2 vs 3. If a guy went straight up off of seeds this year, he's prob kick but in his office pool. Maybe the NET is a good rating system and the seeds are just more accurate (hard to say after 1 year of it). The average of seeds added up in the final four is usually 11 or 12, this year could be a repeat of 2008 and see all #1 seeds make it. Which I doubt and that tournament had its upsets like Davidson to the E8. At this point I think UCI over KSU is prob the biggest upset of the year.
KU was the only higher ranked seed to lose in the round of 32. Ouch
As I halfheartedly looked at the brackets today, I see that EVERY 1, 2, 3 and 4 seed advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
Except KU and K-State.
REPRESENT
@nuleafjhawk you must be Marsha
“It’s March 24 and we’re still playing,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said, poking fun at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University, who each lost in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. “I’m pretty sure the other teams in Kansas are done playing … We’re the last ones playing.”
@Crimsonorblue22 Fightin words ma'am.
But I'm ......he's .........right - we're..........they're still playing.
There are a ton of flawed teams out there. That's been the problem all season. The NET is bad, but it also was a lousy year in terms of overall talent and depth across the country. Add on top of that several injuries to key players (Bol Bol, Azubuike, etc) and its easy to see why the tournament has fallen short. There wasn't a truly great team in the country. Just a lot of good teams with one or two huge flaws.
@nuleafjhawk NIT, first round exit last year
So far honestly the Duke/Ucf game was probably the most entertaining for me. Except for the ending of course
How to blow a 4 point lead, written by UCF basketball team. Now on sale.
dylans said:
KU was the only higher ranked seed to lose in the round of 32. Ouch
KU wasn't higher ranked though. KU was higher seeded, but not higher ranked. Auburn was 14th and KU 17th in the final poll of the year. Auburn was also the Vegas favorites in that game.
@Texas-Hawk-10 A 4 seed is better than a 5 seed. Only higher seed to lose in the round of 32 was Kansas, the rest was chalk.
I’m sticking to my tag line from here though.
I honestly wish we'd gotten the 4 seed in the South and switched with KSU. I'd like our chance against an Oregon and Virginia team to go further than we did. Auburn had a case for a 4 seed IMO with the way they finished the season in spanking Tennessee.
Random thought:
I hate Duke so bad I hope they take Montego Air flight 828 to their next destination.
@cragarhawk I did think you meant KU. And you would have been right. Odd thing, a tourney with lots of chalk, means the seeding was perhaps done more correctly (at least arguably). But the games have been really boring either way as you mentioned.