ESPN bracketology

[valpo84]

It was VCU as an at-large seeded 11th in 2010-11 that came out of those PIGs in Dayton to make to Final Four! That is a winnable game against usually a Power 5 that has holes in its game. VCU beat USC.

[valpo84]

Grantland with an article on developing the mock selection committee bracket. Here's an interesting paragraph:

4. The committee members insist they don't care about story lines.

During the bracketing process, it was brought to my attention that we'd given Baylor a 4-seed and Valparaiso a 13-seed, meaning a potential brother vs. brother head-coaching matchup between Scott and Bryce Drew was possible. Mandel and I were cochairs of the mock committee and had yet to make any executive decisions, so I decided to put my foot down and make the Drew vs. Drew game happen, even though it meant sending Valpo to Jacksonville for its first game when a spot was open in Louisville. The NCAA officials laughed and said this would never happen in real life. I kept a straight face and told them that maybe it should.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ncaa-basketball-power-rankings-march-madness-tournament-selection-sunday-kentucky-wildcats-wisconsin-badgers-duke-blue-devils-villanova-wildcats-virginia-cavaliers-gonzaga-bulldogs-dick-vitale-arizona/

[covufan]

Grantland with an article on developing the mock selection committee bracket. Here's an interesting paragraph:

4. The committee members insist they don't care about story lines.

During the bracketing process, it was brought to my attention that we'd given Baylor a 4-seed and Valparaiso a 13-seed, meaning a potential brother vs. brother head-coaching matchup between Scott and Bryce Drew was possible. Mandel and I were cochairs of the mock committee and had yet to make any executive decisions, so I decided to put my foot down and make the Drew vs. Drew game happen, even though it meant sending Valpo to Jacksonville for its first game when a spot was open in Louisville. The NCAA officials laughed and said this would never happen in real life. I kept a straight face and told them that maybe it should.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ncaa-basketball-power-rankings-march-madness-tournament-selection-sunday-kentucky-wildcats-wisconsin-badgers-duke-blue-devils-villanova-wildcats-virginia-cavaliers-gonzaga-bulldogs-dick-vitale-arizona/

With all of the talk about a 12 seed, I could see this pairing in the second round.  Baylor is a legit 4 seed.

[SanityLost17]

I am going to take this article to mean that we should stop worrying about the possibility of a 11, 12, 13, or 14 seed.  It would appear that the seed we SHOULD get makes less of a difference as to what works best geographically. 

I wonder if our location in the Midwest is an advantage or a disadvantage to this new reality?  A reality that i do not think the committee was as concerned about 15 years ago.   

[justducky]

With all of the talk about a 12 seed, I could see this pairing in the second round.  Baylor is a legit 4 seed.

Maybe my memory is wrong but wouldn't a VU 12 and a Baylor 4 mean that they couldn't meet unless it was for final four rights or do you mean that Baylor will be at least a 4 and maybe a 3?

[valpo4life]

With all of the talk about a 12 seed, I could see this pairing in the second round.  Baylor is a legit 4 seed.

Maybe my memory is wrong but wouldn't a VU 12 and a Baylor 4 mean that they couldn't meet unless it was for final four rights or do you mean that Baylor will be at least a 4 and maybe a 3?

5-12 winner plays 4-13 winner. So that would possibly happen 2nd round.

[wh]

In regard to moving teams up or down to better support geographic proximity, my guess is that the selection committee would be more likely to let us keep our rightful seed if it were an 11 or 12 as opposed to a 13 or higher. Does anyone know if my guess is accurate?

[usc4valpo]

"It was VCU as an at-large seeded 11th in 2010-11 that came out of those PIGs in Dayton to make to Final Four! That is a winnable game against usually a Power 5 that has holes in its game. VCU beat USC."
[/size]
[/size]Thanks for reminding me Valpo84 (actually, the year I also graduated)

[bbtds]

Grantland with an article on developing the mock selection committee bracket. Here's an interesting paragraph:

4. The committee members insist they don't care about story lines.

During the bracketing process, it was brought to my attention that we'd given Baylor a 4-seed and Valparaiso a 13-seed, meaning a potential brother vs. brother head-coaching matchup between Scott and Bryce Drew was possible. Mandel and I were cochairs of the mock committee and had yet to make any executive decisions, so I decided to put my foot down and make the Drew vs. Drew game happen, even though it meant sending Valpo to Jacksonville for its first game when a spot was open in Louisville. The NCAA officials laughed and said this would never happen in real life. I kept a straight face and told them that maybe it should.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ncaa-basketball-power-rankings-march-madness-tournament-selection-sunday-kentucky-wildcats-wisconsin-badgers-duke-blue-devils-villanova-wildcats-virginia-cavaliers-gonzaga-bulldogs-dick-vitale-arizona/

I wonder how much they would pay Homer to do color for a Baylor/Valpo match-up? He certainly would have great knowledge about both teams. Maybe it would keep Homer busy enough so he wouldn't agonize over the game. Janet and other members of the Drew family would have to fret through it. I remember Tom Crean and the Harbaugh family at the Super Bowl when the Brothers Harbaugh battled for the greatest trophy in football. They knew when it was over it was going to be elation and misery no matter who won.

[valporun]

I don't think Homer would want to broadcast the game between Baylor and Valpo only because he wouldn't do it for professional reasons. I mean he was tepid about doing commentary for the non-conference Illinois games he worked because of the potential for Illinois to face Baylor later in the season, but Coach Groce welcomed him to the State Farm Center professionally. I just don't see Homer doing commentary for a game between Baylor and Valpo as long as Scott and Bryce are on either bench.

I think the "geographic" determinations for some games came post-9/11 because the NCAA didn't want to keep fans from traveling to watch their team because of fears about flying to locations across the country. That was a part of the determination for Valpo going to St. Louis to play Kentucky in 2002. After that, I'm guessing it was during the economic mess of 2008, when people were losing money so badly that they couldn't spend lots of money to attend games, stay in hotels, and eat as much as they could in previous years.

[justducky]

5-12 winner plays 4-13 winner.

My mistake  I had the 12-5 playing the 14-3.

[classof2014]

Looking at last year's bracket not sure if geography is that big of a deal.

In the first round:

Colorado vs Pittsburgh in Orlando
VCU vs SFA in San Diego
New Mexico vs Stanford in St. Louis
Cincinnati vs Harvard in Spokane
Michigan St vs Delaware in Spokane
North Carolina vs Providence in San Antonio
Iowa State vs NC Central in San Antonio
Oklahoma vs North Dakota St in Spokane
San Diego St vs New Mexico in Spokane
Oregon vs BYU in Milwaukee
Louisville vs Manhattan in Orlando
Texas vs Arizona State in Milwaukee

This shows that the NCAA committee really doesn't take geography into account too much. Some teams get to be near campus while some teams need to travel quite a ways. If you look at other 12 seeds from last year.

VCU (5) vs SFA (12) was in San Diego --- Nowhere near either school
Cincinnati (5) vs Harvard (12) in Spokane --- Nowhere near either school
Oklahoma (5) vs North Dakota St (12) in Spokane --- Nowhere near either school
St. Louis (5) vs North Carolina St (12) in Orlando --- Not terribly far from Orlando

To me it doesn't matter. They try to keep a team nearby, mostly the big name schools.

Florida (1) was in Orlando
UCLA (4) was in San Diego
Syracuse (3) was in Buffalo
Kansas (2) was in St. Louis
Virginia (1) was in Raleigh
Arizona (1) was in San Diego
Baylor (6) was in San Antonio
Wisconsin (2) was in Milwaukee
Wichita St (1) was in St. Louis
Duke (3) was in Raleigh


It seems tat they try to keep the 1 seeds within the region then the twos and threes maybe get to be in a nearby region. But looking at last years bracket. There were still plenty of first round matchups between two schools that both had to travel quite a ways to get to the city they were playing in.

[talksalot]

I had not seen this posted... for those making travel plans after the pairings are announced on Sunday the 15th...

Thursday March 19th if we are assigned to:
Louisville
Pittsburgh
Jacksonville
Portland (OR)

Friday March 20 if we are assigned to:
Columbus
Charlotte, NC
Omaha
Seattle


and for those who are liking our chances NEXT year... planning ahead is never a bad idea:
2016 sites:  (Chicago gets the Midwest Regional at the UC Next Season)
March 17, 19   Providence, R.I.   Dunkin Donuts Center
March 17, 19   Des Moines, Iowa   Wells Fargo Arena
March 17, 19   Raleigh, N.C.   PNC Arena
March 17, 19   Denver   Pepsi Center
March 18, 20   Brooklyn, N.Y.   Barclays Center
March 18, 20   St. Louis   Scottrade Center
March 18, 20   Oklahoma City   Chesapeake Energy Arena      <<<<#####>>>>
March 18, 20   Spokane, Wash.   Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena

But the real reason for this post... is the 2018 sites that have been announced... along with the Host Schools....

March 15, 17   Duquesne      Pittsburgh   CONSOL Energy Center
March 15, 17   Wichita State   Wichita, Kan.   Intrust Bank Arena
March 15, 17   Big 12         Dallas   American Airlines Center
March 15, 17   Boise State   Boise, Idaho   Taco Bell Arena
March 16, 18   UNC Charlotte   Charlotte, N.C.   Time Warner Cable Arena
March 16, 18   Detroit, Mercy   Detroit   New Detroit Arena
March 16, 18   Ohio Valley   Nashville, Tenn.   Bridgestone Arena
March 16, 18   San Diego State   San Diego   Viejas Arena

[a3uge]

Looking at last year's bracket not sure if geography is that big of a deal.

In the first round:

Colorado vs Pittsburgh in Orlando
VCU vs SFA in San Diego
New Mexico vs Stanford in St. Louis
Cincinnati vs Harvard in Spokane
Michigan St vs Delaware in Spokane
North Carolina vs Providence in San Antonio
Iowa State vs NC Central in San Antonio
Oklahoma vs North Dakota St in Spokane
San Diego St vs New Mexico in Spokane
Oregon vs BYU in Milwaukee
Louisville vs Manhattan in Orlando
Texas vs Arizona State in Milwaukee

This shows that the NCAA committee really doesn't take geography into account too much. Some teams get to be near campus while some teams need to travel quite a ways. If you look at other 12 seeds from last year.

VCU (5) vs SFA (12) was in San Diego --- Nowhere near either school
Cincinnati (5) vs Harvard (12) in Spokane --- Nowhere near either school
Oklahoma (5) vs North Dakota St (12) in Spokane --- Nowhere near either school
St. Louis (5) vs North Carolina St (12) in Orlando --- Not terribly far from Orlando

To me it doesn't matter. They try to keep a team nearby, mostly the big name schools.

Florida (1) was in Orlando
UCLA (4) was in San Diego
Syracuse (3) was in Buffalo
Kansas (2) was in St. Louis
Virginia (1) was in Raleigh
Arizona (1) was in San Diego
Baylor (6) was in San Antonio
Wisconsin (2) was in Milwaukee
Wichita St (1) was in St. Louis
Duke (3) was in Raleigh


It seems tat they try to keep the 1 seeds within the region then the twos and threes maybe get to be in a nearby region. But looking at last years bracket. There were still plenty of first round matchups between two schools that both had to travel quite a ways to get to the city they were playing in.

I'm fairly certain there's a rule that 12 seeds and higher can't play within 50 miles of their campus - this is why UWM played in Buffalo instead of Milwaukee. I think they try to give them the second closest place if possible, but everything is such a cluster****.

There's no doubt that not everyone is flexed for geography, and it's seemingly random, but a lot of teams are placed into their Sweet 16 area instead of opening round area. I never understood why games in Florida feed into the "Midwest" Regional. Last year Wisconsin played in Milwaukee, then flew to California for the Sweet 16. Figuring out what the selection committee is doing is a very futile task. My theory is they all just get absolutely wasted and can't coherently come up with the best plan.

[agibson]

But the real reason for this post... is the 2018 sites that have been announced... along with the Host Schools....

"New Detroit Arena"

Do we know details?

[Kyle321n]

But the real reason for this post... is the 2018 sites that have been announced... along with the Host Schools....

"New Detroit Arena"

Do we know details?

The Red Wings are building a new arena and there's talks that the Pistons could abandon the Palace in Auburn Hills for it as well. I'm guessing that's where they would host the game. It's funny because 5 of those arenas are host to more Hockey games than Basketball games. But I like the fact they are picking 15k-20k seat venues for first round games over the gigantic stadiums that are half full

[valpo84]

As the NCAA has been trying to squeeze more and more $$ out of ticket sales, the venues have had to be scaled back because of attendance. I am still receiving ticket offers for some of the arenas in the Midwest subregionals and for the Regional in Cleveland. I already hold some tixs for the Cleveland Midwest Regional, but the cost of good tixs from the NCAA (not brokers) has become ridiculous. Remember when the whole first round weekend of games was about $90. That won't get you one session of good seats today. Hence, there is a reason to seed teams close to home to fill those arenas. The rule on seedings used to be you could not be seeded at a site where you had played 3 or more games. Teams would try to play games at certain venues to learn the floors and sightlines during the season. So, a Duke, UNC etc like playing a game at United Center or MSG, Greensboro or Charlotte Arena (TWC?) so they have had experience there either for ACC or NCAA tourneys.

[talksalot]

So, a Duke, UNC etc like playing a game at United Center

Which further's our opportunities for next season to get a game against a power-conference team at the UC...since they are hosting the MW Regional.

[bbtds]

The Red Wings are building a new arena and there's talks that the Pistons could abandon the Palace in Auburn Hills for it as well.

It wouldn't be just the Red Wings and possibly the Pistons that would build that new arena in downtown Detroit. Yes, the cash strapped city of Detroit is contributing to this arena. I'm not sure of all the details but the funds were already set aside for this project before the city of Detroit filed for protection from their creditors. It didn't sit well with many that the city would contribute to the arena even though they were defaulting on loaned money. Those who are involved from the city of Detroit feel it's vitally important that the Red Wings stay in the city for the downtown to have a chance to make it back. 

[historyman]

This shows that the NCAA committee really doesn't take geography into account too much.

As soon as Spokane was chosen as a site it was evident that the NCAA doesn't take geography into account too much. How many schools are close or remotely close to Spokane? They had to bring schools from far away into Spokane.

[StlVUFan]

Friday March 20 if we are assigned to:
Columbus

Please.  PLEASE.  PLEASE!!!!  I'll be in Dayton for the First Four.  Would love the short trip.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

How many schools are close or remotely close to Spokane?

um...Gonzaga comes to mind.

they're pretty good.  you guys.

[historyman]

one school. Any others?

[oklahomamick]

Eastern Washington state is just outside of Spokane.  Washington state is in Pullman 1 hour away.

[talksalot]

and Univ of Idaho is about 90 minutes away... it's only 6 hours over to Montana State... and 4 hours to Washington U, Seattle U, ...  so ok, ok... point taken.