Selection Sunday Discussion 2015

[a3uge]

Subject: I'm done with college basketball

D-O-N-E
35 minutes ago via Mobile

http://maryland.247sports.com/Board/67/Contents/Im-done-with-college-basketball-36206845

Should be fun reading their board this week. These are the same guys that stormed the court after beating Wisconsin while they were second in the conference.

More good discussion:



http://maryland.247sports.com/Board/67/Contents/Fourth-Seeded-Maryland-to-Face-Valparaiso-in-NCAA-First-Round-36206568

[WiscoCrusader]

Funny... I was just thinking the same damn thing.  I'm done with this arbitrary process.  What can we do aside from running the table to get a seed 12 or better?
 
RPIs of 13 seeds:  Valpo 50, Harvard 54, E. Wash 78, Irvine 90!

So if we are the top 13 seed (as Bracketmatrix predicted) then why are we playing arguably the best 4 seed?

Ridiculous.  This feels like Michigan State at Michigan all over again.  At least we're not playing in Baltimore.

[ValpoHoops]

So if we are the top 13 seed (as Bracketmatrix predicted) then why are we playing arguably the best 4 seed?

Geography. The committee principles state that it should be the first concern.

And, before someone roasts the committee for that decision, its the schools (AD's, presidents, coaches) who decide what the committee should be using.

[WiscoCrusader]

This is indefensible.  How can a 13 seed ever play the number 8 team in the country, regardless of geography?

[SanityLost17]

Geography rules.  All 5 Indiana schools in Kentucky's bracket.   

[a3uge]

This is indefensible.  How can a 13 seed ever play the number 8 team in the country, regardless of geography?

AP Ranks aren't used in selection process.

What gets me is that the committee rewards playing top 10 programs and getting blown out to boost SOS. Remarkably stupid.

Also the committee doesn't snake. Also stupid. But hey, Wyoming was close to Seattle, we're close to Columbus. Look what happened.

[justducky]

Of all the bb I have watched this week and this year Maryland is very near the bottom of my viewing time! So I once again have no clue.

As far as I am concerned we will know on Friday just how good the 15-16 team could be and win or lose we can schedule accordingly.

[atkins]

Could've been worse.  Maryland won't blow us out, but their guards are spectacular.  We should be able to keep it within 15 points.  I don't see us winning unless we shoot 70% all game.

[valpo4life]

I don't mind this really. I'd take Maryland over Louisville or UNC. Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography. Maryland doesn't have a dominant inside game like MSU did two years ago. Trimble is pretty comparable to Sykes when it comes to the defensive scheme you want to use against him. Wells is the guy we will have a hard time stopping. We were going to be an underdog regardless, so I'm happy to get to watch in person against a Big Ten team on a big time stage.

Also worth pointing out, we were rated as the highest 13 seed. So Wyoming and Buffalo winning took us off the 12 line we were all hoping for.

[mvandersee]

Saw this on Twitter, full seed listing. Valpo #51
http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2015/3/15/8220261/ncaa-tournament-2015-full-seed-list-dayton

[covufan]

Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography.

Huh?  Isn't Georgetown more west than Maryland?

[justducky]

How can a 13 seed ever play the number 8 team in the country, regardless of geography?

So how good are they? By Sagarine they are all the way down to 26 vs our 68 and by that methodology are only 5.67 point favorites. By KenPom they are only placed at 33 vs our 63. In a vacuum of knowledge about their team and players I think I like it just as well or better than any of the other 4's. Yes I know they are good but we could complain about any team in the 4 or 5 seed range.

[ValpoHoops]

Hoops.  Would love to see a table showing seeding versus RPI.

I have the table ready. Just need the NCAA's new RPI numbers following today's games. Will update either tonight or tomorrow, depending on when they are posted.

[vu72]

I don't mind this really. I'd take Maryland over Louisville or UNC. Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography. Maryland doesn't have a dominant inside game like MSU did two years ago. Trimble is pretty comparable to Sykes when it comes to the defensive scheme you want to use against him. Wells is the guy we will have a hard time stopping. We were going to be an underdog regardless, so I'm happy to get to watch in person against a Big Ten team on a big time stage.

Also worth pointing out, we were rated as the highest 13 seed. So Wyoming and Buffalo winning took us off the 12 line we were all hoping for.

That could be but have you checked out their roster? They list 7 players 6'9" or better.  Not sure who plays in their normal rotation but if they do rely on their guards it will be better for us as we do have very solid, quick guards. T Walker told one of the newspapers that he is fine. D Walker will most likely wear a mask.

[covufan]

This is indefensible.  How can a 13 seed ever play the number 8 team in the country, regardless of geography?

I think the real question here is how can a number 8 team become a 4 seed? 

The ratings people (Sagarin, TeamRankings, KenPom, etc) have Maryland lower than what the Tournament committee did, based on stats of the Maryland team.  The Maryland team does well in close games - they were 5 - 0 in games decided by 3 points or less.  We will need to hit our FTs!

[wh]

Crusaders Heading to Columbus, Play Maryland to Open 2015 NCAA Tournament
Sunday, March 15, 2015

http://www.valpoathletics.com/mbasketball/news/2014-15/14490/crusaders-heading-to-columbus-play-maryland-to-open-2015-ncaa-tournament/#.VQYXySmUDjQ

[valpo4life]

Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography.

Huh?  Isn't Georgetown more west than Maryland?

Geography as in Eastern Washington is much, much, much closer to Portland than we are

[ValpoHoops]

I think the real question here is how can a number 8 team become a 4 seed? 

Because the polls are the opinions of coaches that don't watch all the games and sportswriters that don't either.

[FWalum]

Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography.

Huh?  Isn't Georgetown more west than Maryland?

Slightly further West, but Maryland is probably closer to Columbus because of the campus proximity to 495.  The difference is probably 15 minutes of drive time.

[valpo4life]

I don't mind this really. I'd take Maryland over Louisville or UNC. Weren't going to get Georgetown due to geography. Maryland doesn't have a dominant inside game like MSU did two years ago. Trimble is pretty comparable to Sykes when it comes to the defensive scheme you want to use against him. Wells is the guy we will have a hard time stopping. We were going to be an underdog regardless, so I'm happy to get to watch in person against a Big Ten team on a big time stage.

Also worth pointing out, we were rated as the highest 13 seed. So Wyoming and Buffalo winning took us off the 12 line we were all hoping for.

That could be but have you checked out their roster? They list 7 players 6'9" or better.  Not sure who plays in their normal rotation but if they do rely on their guards it will be better for us as we do have very solid, quick guards. T Walker told one of the newspapers that he is fine. D Walker will most likely wear a mask.

I've watched them play a couple times. Top two scorers are both guards, the 3rd guy for them is Layman. At 6'8" he plays both inside and out. But most of the time I've watched he's been out on the wing playing well off the dribble, also can shoot the 3 pretty well.

Out of those 6'9" or taller guys, the highest scorer is Smotrycz at 4.6 per game and over half of his shots have come from 3. They don't have a big that would worry me trying to score with his back to the basket over Vashil. Rebound put backs could be an issue as Dodd is pretty physical and Cekovsky is well, 7 foot.

[valpopal]

Here is one of my photos showing the team and fans reacting to the announcement at the Selection Sunday party.

[talksalot]

Terp 14-15 stat-line...

http://www.umterps.com//ViewContent.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=29700&CONTENT_ID=1024404

They played at Nationwide Arena... and OSU blew them out by 24 on January 29th... they beat Oakland by 16.

7-man rotation (against IU the other day, anyway) -last column is minutes-
10 Jake Layman......... f  3-9    0-1    4-6    4  5  9   1  10  2  2  0  0  33  (6'9 205 Junior)
35 Damonte Dodd........ f  2-3    0-0    1-2    1  4  5   1   5  1  1  0  0  19 (6'11 245 Sophomore)
44 Dez Wells........... f  7-14   0-0    8-9    0  6  6   3  22  2  4  1  0  32  (6'5 215 Senior)
2  Melo Trimble........ g  5-9    2-3    5-7    0  1  1   3  17  3  1  0  2  35 (6'3 190 Freshman)
20 Richaud Pack........ g  1-2    1-2    0-0    1  2  3   2   3  3  1  0  1  32 (6'4 190 Senior)
1  Evan Smotrycz.......    1-2    1-2    5-6    2  2  4   3   8  1  1  2  0  22 (6'9 235 Senior)
11 Jared Nickens.......    3-10   2-6    2-3    1  0  1   1  10  0  0  0  1  17  (6'7 200 Freshman)

[Flinger29]

Terp fan here.  We got royally screwed and our fanbase is pretty salty right now.  We are a top 10 ranked team, 27-6  in a conference with 7 teams that made it, and we are a 4 seed?  Oklahoma gets a 3 seed with 10 losses and we were 2-0 vs the Big 12 with wins at Iowa St. and Oklahoma St.  Now they put us in Kentucky's region and we are matched up vs you guys who probably should be a 12 seed at worst judging by your RPI.  Would like to hear the justification for that.  Anyway....

We are basically a 2 man team right now.  Trimble, our point guard is very very good and Wells is a dominant scorer at the 3. He can score inside our outside. Very athletic.  Rest of the team is just ok except for Jake Layman who is a PF but plays more like a 3.  Our inside game on offense is pretty non existant, but Dodd is solid rim defender on defense.  We dont turn it over much, but we arent a great rebounding team either.  Dont foul us because we make our free throws.

Dont know much about you guys other than the game I saw u play in the conference final vs Wisconsin GB.   Either your defense is really good or they just couldnt shoot. It was pretty ugly from what I saw, but maybe thats your style.  Dont really know.   I am betting its a close game...and we should win....but we can be beat if u play good defense.

[ValpoHoops]

OK, these are the numbers before today's games. I don't think there would have been a ton of change, perhaps only to the teams who played.

There's a lot of info on here, so take your time.

RPI = RPI Rank (all teams, not just NCAA teams)
RPI Seed = Where teams would be seeded if tournament was based only on RPI
Actual Seed = Team's actual seed
Seed List = The Committee's final seed list
List Seed = Where the team would be seeded if the teams were perfectly bracketed by the list (which this year they were...the actual seeds are exact)

If the tournament had been seeded straight by RPI, we would have been an 11. Us and Wofford would have gone straight into a game against a 6 seed, while UCLA, OK State, Iowa and St. Johns would be in the First Four


(click to embiggen)

[vu72]

OSU blew them out by 24 on January 29th... they beat Oakland by 16.

I would expect there may be calls to Kampe as well as Jake Diebler for some scouting stuff!!