First 2009 March Madness thread

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by philcski

I think you're missing my point... there's a HUGE financial incentive for the league if the top seed is a lock for an at-large to lose in their conference tournament... and 95% of the time the seed hit doesn't matter... and the A-10 is notorious for having head-scratching results in their conference tournament, even if you don't think my '04 example makes sense.

On that sentiment, Gonzaga did a disservice to the WCC by steamrolling St. Mary's in the final the other day.

I get what you are saying and it makes sense from the perspective of the league that they would want that to happen. But not from the player perspective. You can't tell these players to go out and not give it their best for the benefit of the league. It just doesn't work that way. For one, I think you'd be surprised to learn that for a lot of big time schools, the number one goal of the season is to be the conference champion. Not saying that they don't want to win the national title but the conference championship is a much more realistic goal. These schools in your conference are who you are recruiting against and it's a big deal to be able to say that every year, you have a strong chance to be conference champion and be in the running for national champ. I don't think this can be underestimated. Take a situation like in the ACC with Duke, UNC, NC St, and Wake all being so close to each other. These players constantly see each other in the offseason. Bragging rights are huge and you have them when you are conference champ. Same thing up in the Big East where a lot of the prime players come from the area between NY and DC. Florida or Kansas can win the national championship but that conference championship is very important in the regional areas.

Stunning Big 12 report:

Texas ATM, up 50-29 at halftime,
lost to Texas Tech 88-83. A bench player
scored a Big 12 tournament record
43 points, including a stretch where
he scored 29 in a row. Turgeon
says his team just quit. And they
should not be thinking about any
tournaments right now.

If ATM does not get in because of
at large bids getting scarce, would
this surprise after a loss for a team
that was not a shoo-in?

Aggies proving what Aggies are.

[ateamstupid]

Stop it. A&M is in.

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Stop it. A&M is in.

You need to inform Mark Turgeon.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by pgardn

You need to inform Mark Turgeon.

All he said is they're not as comfortable as they would've been with a win last night. He says he still thinks they're in, and they are.

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

All he said is they're not as comfortable as they would've been with a win last night. He says he still thinks they're in, and they are.

Every place I look at has them in.
As is Oklahoma St.

But it does not mean I have to like it.
Dammit.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

All he said is they're not as comfortable as they would've been with a win last night. He says he still thinks they're in, and they are.

Agree... they are a 9-10 seed and comfortably in. Texas Tech isn't that bad of a loss that they would fall 8 spots on the bubble S-curve.

Today's news... Miami, OUT. Providence, OUT. VT, step in the right direction but not there yet. One more win would probably do it. They are only 18-13 but they have taken some brutally tough losses and that must be factored in IMO.

Originally Posted by philcski

Agree... they are a 9-10 seed and comfortably in. Texas Tech isn't that bad of a loss that they would fall 8 spots on the bubble S-curve.

Today's news... Miami, OUT. Providence, OUT. VT, step in the right direction but not there yet. One more win would probably do it. They are only 18-13 but they have taken some brutally tough losses and that must be factored in IMO.

It may not be a bad loss but the way they lost
is inexcusable. And most of the places I look
agree with the 9 or 10 seed.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by philcski

Agree... they are a 9-10 seed and comfortably in. Texas Tech isn't that bad of a loss that they would fall 8 spots on the bubble S-curve.

Today's news... Miami, OUT. Providence, OUT. VT, step in the right direction but not there yet. One more win would probably do it. They are only 18-13 but they have taken some brutally tough losses and that must be factored in IMO.

Minnesota has to be in now, and Michigan is up 16 early. If they hold on, they're in too.