NCAA Talk Superthread

[greenminer]

move to non-UNT sports if needed, but I felt compelled to talk a bit about UAB - a former NT opponent.

I am going to root for them like I would any CUSA school in this postseason, but MAN! Houston looks like the worst possible draw.  Look at the resumes of all the 5 seeds and tell me what stands out.  HOUSTON.  They are T5 in both KenPom and NET.

Anyways, was hoping for a dedicated thread for action in the main NCAA bracket.  Maybe this thread is it.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Coach Andy Mac

[CMJ]

Yeah, let's make this the official tournament bracket thread.

[drex]

Why are we following a conference that we are leaving in our rear view mirror?

[MeanGreenTexan]

1 minute ago, drex said:

Why are we following a conference that we are leaving in our rear view mirror?

You know we still play in C-USA next year, right?
Also, the team representing C-USA in the tournament is joining us in the AAC, Fall 2023.

[GMG_Dallas]

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

You know we still play in C-USA next year, right?
Also, the team representing C-USA in the tournament is joining us in the AAC, Fall 2023.

This. UAB beating UH would actually benefit us now AND when we both move to the AAC since Houston is leaving our future conference. I'm rooting for UAB all the way.

Edited March 15, 2022 by GMG_Dallas

[Andrew]

20 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

This. UAB beating UH would actually benefit us now AND when we both move to the AAC since Houston is leaving our future conference. I'm rooting for UAB all the way.

True but the money stays in the conference correct? So we wouldn’t get the benefit. Technically Houston wins we get that money when we join. 

[Matt from A700]

Yeah, not much faith from me in UAB continuing the conference's upset tradition with the draw they got this year.

I filled out a couple of brackets and overall, even though there really hasn't been many a real dominant team this year, I couldn't see many upsets happening or many potential double-digit seeded Cinderellas. Maybe others feel differently.

[GMG_Dallas]

3 hours ago, Andrew said:

True but the money stays in the conference correct? So we wouldn’t get the benefit. Technically Houston wins we get that money when we join. 

Maybe but the goal should be for the AAC to remain respectable after UH and cincy leave for the sake of remaining a multi-bid conference. If UAB shows a little something, it could help maintain the AAC as a multi-bid conference when the changes go into affect in 2 years. The more teams that get into the tourney, the more opportunities for a deep run, the more tournament units that could be won long-term. Otherwise, after the UH payouts run-out in 6 years, you're stuck as a single bid conference with no money (CUSA).

Edited March 16, 2022 by GMG_Dallas

[greenminer]

30 minutes ago, Andrew said:

True but the money stays in the conference correct? So we wouldn’t get the benefit. Technically Houston wins we get that money when we join. 

I think the important long-term goal is want the media and potential viewership to respect the incoming teams, and not leave the AAC to follow UH and Co to their new conference.  Future TV contracts and the money that goes with it is tied to this stuff and we need to take advantage of every opportunity to earn the respect of these crowds.

[GMG_Dallas]

5 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I think the important long-term goal is want the media and potential viewership to respect the incoming teams, and not leave the AAC to follow UH and Co to their new conference.  Future TV contracts and the money that goes with it is tied to this stuff and we need to take advantage of every opportunity to earn the respect of these crowds.

What better way to show the media the incoming AAC teams are just as good than to have an incoming team beat the current conference champions and media darlings. This is a golden opportunity for the future of the AAC.

[CMJ]

Pulling for JJ & TX Southern against A&M Corpus.  Should be a good game.  I think the Tigers could give Kansas a game for a half if they get through tonight.

[GMG_Dallas]

16 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Pulling for JJ & TX Southern against A&M Corpus.  Should be a good game.  I think the Tigers could give Kansas a game for a half if they get through tonight.

JJ as in Johnny Jones, Texas Southern headcoach or JJ as in Jalen Jackson, former UNT guard who's now starting for Texas A&M Corpus Christi? I know who you're referring to. Just liking the UNT ties on both sides.

[Andrew]

40 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

What better way to show the media the incoming AAC teams are just as good than to have an incoming team beat the current conference champions and media darlings. This is a golden opportunity for the future of the AAC.

Very true. I am rooting for UAB obviously, but Houston or Memphis ends up going deep and we would benefit in a few years. 

[GMG_Dallas]

1 hour ago, Andrew said:

Very true. I am rooting for UAB obviously, but Houston or Memphis ends up going deep and we would benefit in a few years. 

Win-win situation.

[CMJ]

Very happy for Coach Jones.

[CMJ]

Notre Dame and Rutgers giving us a classic.

[CMJ]

Richmond with the first true upset of the day.  Michigan over CSU was by seeding, but given the Wolverines were top 10 in the preseason and play in the Big 10, I have a tough time considering them beating Colorado State an upset.

[Andrew]

8 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Richmond with the first true upset of the day.  Michigan over CSU was by seeding, but given the Wolverines were top 10 in the preseason and play in the Big 10, I have a tough time considering them beating Colorado State an upset.

And those refs were absolute garbage. Not like k had a dog in the race but holy smokes 2 missed foul calls that would have led to 4 free throws in the last few minutes. Refs screwed Iowa on this one.

 

[CMJ]

Gonzaga in a dogfight.

[akriesman]

50 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Richmond with the first true upset of the day.  Michigan over CSU was by seeding, but given the Wolverines were top 10 in the preseason and play in the Big 10, I have a tough time considering them beating Colorado State an upset.

Typical upset of another Big 10 team.   I get so sick of so many Big 10 teams getting at-large bids.

[CMJ]

2 minutes ago, akriesman said:

Typical upset of another Big 10 team.   I get so sick of so many Big 10 teams getting at-large bids.

Well, Iowa was the team that deserved to be in and they got bounced.  Michigan was the questionable one and they move on.

[CMJ]

NMSU and Connecticut giving a preview on how our game with UVA may look.  Eight minutes in and 11 total points.

[GMG_Dallas]

45 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Well, Iowa was the team that deserved to be in and they got bounced.  Michigan was the questionable one and they move on.

I guess my question would be, if we dont go based on record for at-large bids, how do we determine who is worthy vs who isn't? If anybody can beat anybody in these single elimination tournaments, why does a 17 win team get in over a nearly 25 win team?

Sure the 17 team win team just won, but a 25 win team from their same conference lost to a team who wouldn't have received an at-large if they didn't win their conference tournament. We get examples every year that conference strength means little so why keep putting value in it. Use their overall record for at-large bids until you get to the cut-off you would in the pros and move on. Opinions shouldn't determine who plays and who doesn't. 

[CMJ]

I really don't think you can go just by record either.  If that's the case everyone would load up on cupcakes in the OOC.

[greenminer]

41 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

We get examples every year that conference strength means little 

Conference strength means little?  Lots of upsets, but by and large we have a pretty good handle on which conferences are stronger and, thus, who has to play more top tier teams, vs. who gets to pad a few extra wins with Q3/4 foes.  You can't handle this like the pros.  There are, what? 300 teams in D1?

I think there is definitely a gray area, though, and we were in it this year with Indiana.  If you dig into their quad records, we actually did better than them (IU) in Quads 2 - 4.  There was lack of evidence that we could be better in Q1, doesn't mean they are better, but they got the nod because they had a TON more Q1 opportunities and stole a couple of those (for example, Purdue) that make them look good...even if they were flukes.  It's frustrating because we don't get those opportunities in CUSA to prove our worth.  Instead we get 5-10 additional Q3/Q4 wins that definitely do help our record.  I think the committee valued our consistency above those Q1 wins, but when we lost it by losing 2 of the last 3, they had to look the other way.  Even if our losses were flukes.

I maintain a couple things that the numbers don't show:

1) I think this year's version of Mean Green is a little stronger than last year

2) There's no way this IU team is at the level of last year's Purdue team.

The life of a Mid Major is HARD.

Edited March 18, 2022 by greenminer