First 2009 March Madness thread

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by philcski

This is true. However, at the time, Xavier was FAR FROM a tournament lock. They were 10-9 at one point in the season before going on a tear starting with beating their crosstown rivals Cincinnati, but despite that huge win their profile was shaky because of some bad losses and a very moderate record. They HAD to win that game or sweat out the bubble to even get in the tournament at 20-11. I watched almost every St. Joe's game that year and they hardly even showed up for the game.

I stand by my statement that the A-10 is notorious for having their top seeds flame out when they are locks. I would do it too to get multiple bids.

Of course Xavier was not a lock in '04, in fact they probably weren't in at all if they didn't win the A10 tourney that year...I think that played more a role in their beating St Joe's than St Joes losing on purpose.