Duke and UVA get easy draw

[canebreak]

If Lunardi is right, Duke and UVA have easy road to FF. Duke has Zaga as a 2 seed and Arkansas as a five. UVA has Kansas as a 2 and WVU as a 5.

We would have UW as 2 and UL as 5. That sucks. Two highly motivated teams. I think I would trade UVA or Duke to not play in YUM center. I really hate that we don't get in south every year.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

If Wisconsin wins the Big 10 tournament, regardless of what happens today at Ohio State, and yet still draws a 2 seed in Kentucky's region, I will fully buy into the anti-Calipari bias from the NCAA.


It would be a travesty of the greatest proportions.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

Lunar do is good at picking the teams, but not the seeding. I have no idea why anyone pays much attention to it.

 

[canebreak]

Are we playing UL not matter what? Just once I want Duke and UNC to meet. They are after all the greatest rivalry. Right? I don't think UL fans want to play us either. F the committee.

 

[jedwar]

After the top 5-6 seeds, it really drops off. Whoever gets Gonzaga and KU imo will have gotten a favorable 2 seed draw. But it really doesn't matter.

This season we have:
UK


UVA
Duke
Arizona
Wisconsin


Everyone else.

Big gaps in there folks.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Originally posted by canebreak:
If Lunardi is right, Duke and UVA have easy road to FF. Duke has Zaga as a 2 seed and Arkansas as a five. UVA has Kansas as a 2 and WVU as a 5.

We would have UW as 2 and UL as 5. That sucks. Two highly motivated teams. I think I would trade UVA or Duke to not play in YUM center. I really hate that we don't get in south every year.

UK plays in Louisville regardless of what region they are in.

And yes, those brackets are much easier than the one UK is projected to get.

Coach Cal knows they are going to screw us...he is calling the committee out ahead of time and I love it. I bet he talks crap about them after on the selection show special on ESPN as well.

 

[BoulderCat_rivals187983]

I just looked and it shows it hasn't been updated since yesterday. With KU and Wichita St losing I'd expect either Maryland or N Iowa as a 2 assuming they both win today. Maryland certainly should. Of course Maryland and Wisconsin will likely meet in the B10 title game. Does the "winner" get to be UK's 2 in Cleveland, and the loser go to LA? Who knows. So now even if UVa slips, and Wisconsin grabs a 1 then UK will probably get Maryland. I don't think they'd pair them with Duke, or UVa. Heck we could even get UVa as our 2.

 

[Tummygoat]

The Midwest area usually has the best teams from top to bottom. When the tournent is seeded geographically, the Midwest always becomes the toughest bracket, with the west the easiest. It's unfortunate for both UK and Wisconsin if we are stuck in the same bracket. Neither team wants to face before the Final Four as it's a touch matchup for both schools. UK should get the weakest 2 seed and Wisconsin should be in the weakest 1 seed, but the committee doesn't do that anymore.

 

[CoachR35]

Originally posted by BigBlueFanGA:
Lunar do is good at picking the teams, but not the seeding. I have no idea why anyone pays much attention to it.

As well as his selections are made as if the tournament were starting today, which it is not. I don't see UVA winning the ACC tourney. Therefore, I don't see them remaining a #1 seed. Duke is a different story. They could lose in the first round of the ACCT and still be a #1 seed. Not because they deserve it, but because logic and reality seem to not play a role with the selection committee where Duke is concerned.

 

[KYCAT78]

The ACC is not going to get 2 1 seeds. If KU loses in Big12 tournament they will drop to a 3. The 4 1 seeds will include Whisky if they win out.

 

[LowCountryCat]

Wisky wouldn't be as bad a matchup as you guys think. We already beat them last year, we're better this year, and they still have the same focal point of Kaminsky for Cal to coach against. Scouting will be easier.

 

[Dutycat]

NCAA and CBS literally can't afford for UK to Mi$$ the final four. I think, this year, we will be shocked how reasonable our bracket looks.

 

[TheDude73]

If UK doesn't get the weakest 2-seed (Gonzaga), then the bias is obvious. Especially if Duke gets them instead.

Additionally, UK shouldn't see any team they've already played this year until the Final Four. No reason to even set that up by having any team we've faced/beaten in our bracket. I know it's hard to avoid any rematch from the same year, but the overall #1 seed should get preference on making sure this doesn't happen.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Originally posted by Prime MF:

Wisky wouldn't be as bad a matchup as you guys think. We already beat them last year, we're better this year, and they still have the same focal point of Kaminsky for Cal to coach against. Scouting will be easier.

Oh I agree with this. My argument is IT SHOULD NOT happen in any logical sense before the Final Four.

And to the guy saying the ACC won't get two 1's...I Just honestly do not see how they don't at this point. Everyone that matters agrees that as long as both make it to the ACC Tourney final, they both get a 1 seed. Duke winning last night probably all but clinched a 1 for them, and as Lunardi just said on air, UVA is playing short handed and lost by 2 on the ROAD to a ranked team. They have 2 losses overall...and might have 3 total as of next week.

Now the one thing that could doom them...Wisconsin getting Jackson back for the Big Ten Tourney (while Anderson sits for UVA in theirs), and Wisconsin just dominates. That is very possible. Then you have a 3 loss Wisconsin that has 1 loss at full strength with their full team back heading into the dance, while you have a 3 loss UVA with 1 loss at full strength (coincidentally both to the same team in Duke so people should once again remember that when thinking there is ANY chance Duke is not a 1 at this point), without their full team for the start of the NCAA Tourney for sure. That could lead to UVA dropping to a 2 seed...I suppose.

I'm not really sure I prefer the cowardly UVA style in the Elite 8 over Wisconsin or Duke or whoever...I hate the way they play basketball. That said, they may very well get upset before then and that is much more likely than Wisconsin getting upset before the Elite 8 IMO.

 

[RacerX.ksr]

It must be fun to speculate about, but it really doesn't matter for us who we get, other than the story line.

 

[Bluest Member]

To me being in the Midwest bracket is not the tough matchups as much as the tough crowds,sure UKs fanbase travels well,but over the years I've seen Kentucky get screwed on getting fans in these Northern arenas too many times,the Selection Committee screwed the 2003 Cats who were undefeated in conference and SEC Tourney play by sticking them in the Midwest to face Wisconsin and Marquette in a hostile arena in Minneapolis.

The mileage or distance isnt as important as the fact that the South is more UK friendly nomatter where its at,even Houston would be better than Cleveland.

Kentucky belongs in the South,Duke belongs in the East,Arizona belongs in the West,and whether it's Villanova or Wisconsin they should get the Midwest.

This post was edited on 3/8 12:15 PM by Bluest Member

 

[KingOfBBN]

Lunardi didn't even get our region right in 2012.

Also, every single year...EVERY SINGLE YEAR, there is one incredibly easy and pathetic region and one brutal region. It never fails.Florida and Duke were consistently the beneficiary of the crap region for years.

 

[*dezyDECO*]

Originally posted by Dutycat:
NCAA and CBS literally can't afford for UK to Mi$$ the final four. I think, this year, we will be shocked how reasonable our bracket looks.

I hope you're right. I'll take a "reasonable" path, for a change. With UVA dropping another one... we have some more distance with our respective records... so, it should be glaring to everyone, if we don't get the deserved overall #1 most favored/beneficial matchups from the NCAA.

 

[Bluest Member]

Guess I should have said Duke or UVA in the EAst,

I believe Duke wins the ACC Tourney and bumps UVA out as a #1 seed

 

[mjj_2K]

Originally posted by Son_Of_Saul:

If Wisconsin wins the Big 10 tournament, regardless of what happens today at Ohio State, and yet still draws a 2 seed in Kentucky's region, I will fully buy into the anti-Calipari bias from the NCAA.


It would be a travesty of the greatest proportions.

Why would it have to do with anti-Cal bias? I agree that it shouldn't happen, but if it does, it has nothing to do with UK, and is instead the latest example of flawed bracketing principles.

Look at the 2012 through 2014 tournaments, because those are the only ones where the selection committee released a ranking of every team, 1-68. Then look at the Midwest Region for each of those years. Last year, you had the 3rd one seed, but then you had the 2nd 2 seed, the top 3, the top 4, the 2nd 5, then the top 7, 8, and 9. 2013 and 2012 weren't all that different. Add up the total rankings, and the Midwest probably comes out lowest each of those years, meaning it's the toughest region.

This is because the selection committee decided to stop differentiating between teams on the same seed line. As far as the bracketing was concerned, every 2 seed was alike, every 3 alike, every 4 alike, and so on, and having one in each region was balance enough.

Last year, the top 16 rated teams by the NCAA were, in order

1 seeds- Florida, Arizona, Wichita St, Virginia
2 seeds- Villanova, Michigan, Kansas, Wisconsin
3 seeds- Duke, Syracuse, Creighton, and Iowa St.
4 seeds- UL, Mich St, UCLA, Sand Diego St.

And the regionals were in NYC, Memphis, Indy, and Anaheim.

Here's how it looks like they went about making the top of the brackets.

Florida- Memphis closest
Arizona- Anaheim closest
WSU- Indy closest
Virginia had to go to NYC

then

Villanova- NYC closest
Michigan- Indy closest
Kansas- Memphis closest
Wisconsin had to go to Anaheim.

then

Duke- probably would have been NYC, but Virginia is there, so Indy
Syracuse- would have been NYC, but Villanova is there, so Memphis
Creighton- Anaheim or NYC, so Anaheim
Iowa State left with NYC

then

UL- Indy closest
Mich State- NYC closest besides Indy
UCLA -can't do Anaheim because of Arizona, so Memphis
San Diego State- Anaheim

IF (and it's definitely a big IF) they do it like that again this year, then yeah, UK is likely to get Wisconsin as its 2 (if Wisconsin is a 2)- and that will be right in line with what they did from 2012 through 2014 (and actually, back to at least 2010, but they didn't release team rankings before 2012, so we can't know for sure).

I suspect they won't do it like that this year, because they've started to receive a lot of (richly deserved) flack for the unbalanced regions. If they stick Wisconsin with UK, there will be a huge outcry, and actually, the bulk of it won't come from UK people, it will come from the Big 10. I think they'll avoid it, and pay more attention to balancing things at the top, instead of pretending that all teams on the same seed line are exactly equal. But if they don't, it doesn't have to be some conspiracy. It will just be a continuation of what they've been doing for at least 5 years now.

 

[MO_Blue]

I guess I'm more of a cynic than many on here.

I think the NCAA will do what i$ be$t for the NCAA. What i$ be$t for the NCAA is to have UK in the Final Four. The rating$ would be much higher.

 

[caneintally]

Originally posted by canebreak:
If Lunardi is right, Duke and UVA have easy road to FF. Duke has Zaga as a 2 seed and Arkansas as a five. UVA has Kansas as a 2 and WVU as a 5.

We would have UW as 2 and UL as 5. That sucks. Two highly motivated teams. I think I would trade UVA or Duke to not play in YUM center. I really hate that we don't get in south every year.

this whole premise is in error though as Lunardi is god awful at predicting where teams play and who they play . His only use is predicting who makes it in as usually gets that right except for 2-4 teams a year.

 

[*dezyDECO*]

Originally posted by MO_Blue:
I guess I'm more of a cynic than many on here.

I think the NCAA will do what i$ be$t for the NCAA. What i$ be$t for the NCAA is to have UK in the Final Four. The rating$ would be much higher.

I agree, but hate to think of it that way. If that's so, that'll get us to the title game... and then, with the ratings secured, Duke gets to flop their way to victory.

Yuck.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by Son_Of_Saul:

If Wisconsin wins the Big 10 tournament, regardless of what happens today at Ohio State, and yet still draws a 2 seed in Kentucky's region, I will fully buy into the anti-Calipari bias from the NCAA.


It would be a travesty of the greatest proportions.

Why would it have to do with anti-Cal bias? I agree that it shouldn't happen, but if it does, it has nothing to do with UK, and is instead the latest example of flawed bracketing principles.

Look at the 2012 through 2014 tournaments, because those are the only ones where the selection committee released a ranking of every team, 1-68. Then look at the Midwest Region for each of those years. Last year, you had the 3rd one seed, but then you had the 2nd 2 seed, the top 3, the top 4, the 2nd 5, then the top 7, 8, and 9. 2013 and 2012 weren't all that different. Add up the total rankings, and the Midwest probably comes out lowest each of those years, meaning it's the toughest region.

This is because the selection committee decided to stop differentiating between teams on the same seed line. As far as the bracketing was concerned, every 2 seed was alike, every 3 alike, every 4 alike, and so on, and having one in each region was balance enough.

Last year, the top 16 rated teams by the NCAA were, in order

1 seeds- Florida, Arizona, Wichita St, Virginia
2 seeds- Villanova, Michigan, Kansas, Wisconsin
3 seeds- Duke, Syracuse, Creighton, and Iowa St.
4 seeds- UL, Mich St, UCLA, Sand Diego St.

And the regionals were in NYC, Memphis, Indy, and Anaheim.

Here's how it looks like they went about making the top of the brackets.

Florida- Memphis closest
Arizona- Anaheim closest
WSU- Indy closest
Virginia had to go to NYC

then

Villanova- NYC closest
Michigan- Indy closest
Kansas- Memphis closest
Wisconsin had to go to Anaheim.

then

Duke- probably would have been NYC, but Virginia is there, so Indy
Syracuse- would have been NYC, but Villanova is there, so Memphis
Creighton- Anaheim or NYC, so Anaheim
Iowa State left with NYC

then

UL- Indy closest
Mich State- NYC closest besides Indy
UCLA -can't do Anaheim because of Arizona, so Memphis
San Diego State- Anaheim

IF (and it's definitely a big IF) they do it like that again this year, then yeah, UK is likely to get Wisconsin as its 2 (if Wisconsin is a 2)- and that will be right in line with what they did from 2012 through 2014 (and actually, back to at least 2010, but they didn't release team rankings before 2012, so we can't know for sure).

I suspect they won't do it like that this year, because they've started to receive a lot of (richly deserved) flack for the unbalanced regions. If they stick Wisconsin with UK, there will be a huge outcry, and actually, the bulk of it won't come from UK people, it will come from the Big 10. I think they'll avoid it, and pay more attention to balancing things at the top, instead of pretending that all teams on the same seed line are exactly equal. But if they don't, it doesn't have to be some conspiracy. It will just be a continuation of what they've been doing for at least 5 years now.

Good post. It really is absurd how they have been doing things. UK is not losing regardless unless UK beats itself...but I'd honestly feel bad for Wisconsin if that happens. There is zero reward to "rewarding" teams near the midwest this year. I think everyone can agree on that. UK is winning that region, so being sent there is no reward.

 

[tmuck]

Well it's gonna be Wisky as our 2 seed. The head of the selection committee was just on CBS, and Gottlieb asked

him the question. If UK is the overall #1 seed would the committee put the best 2 seed in UK's region. He said they go by

geography, not what would be the best matchups. He said they won't review procedures until the summer.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

I have zero worries about UL. Wisconsin is another story, but the committee has some explaining to do if we get them.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Originally posted by tmuck:
Well it's gonna be Wisky as our 2 seed. The head of the selection committee was just on CBS, and Gottlieb asked

him the question. If UK is the overall #1 seed would the committee put the best 2 seed in UK's region. He said they go by

geography, not what would be the best matchups. He said they won't review procedures until the summer.

Well, if that's the case, then I don't see any way it doesn't happen then. Maybe if UVA loses first round of ACC tournament and Wisconsin takes their #1. Unlikely. But we will see if they really are honest, because unless Duke is shipped out West, they should not be getting Gonzaga.

 

[RACdad]

I believe since they started using geographical location as an excuse it gives the committee a lot of chances to give teams favors such as Duke and Carolina. but it also gives them an excuse to set up rivalry such as Kentucky and Louisville

 

[mjj_2K]

Originally posted by SilentsAreGolden:

Originally posted by tmuck:
Well it's gonna be Wisky as our 2 seed. The head of the selection committee was just on CBS, and Gottlieb asked

him the question. If UK is the overall #1 seed would the committee put the best 2 seed in UK's region. He said they go by

geography, not what would be the best matchups. He said they won't review procedures until the summer.

Well, if that's the case, then I don't see any way it doesn't happen then. Maybe if UVA loses first round of ACC tournament and Wisconsin takes their #1. Unlikely. But we will see if they really are honest, because unless Duke is shipped out West, they should not be getting Gonzaga.

They will if they go to Houston as a 1 seed.

Let's say that the NCAA ends up ranking the teams like this:

UK, Virginia, Duke, Villanova, Wisconsin, Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas.

If they follow how they've done it recently (which apparently they are going to do, because they're stubborn idiots who can't see the issues with loading up one region- typically the Midwest- while using another region- always the West- as the dumping ground for the lowest team on each seed line), it's going to look like this:

Midwest- UK, Wisconsin
East- Virginia, Kansas
South- Duke, Gonzaga
West- Villanova, Arizona

 

[LadyCaytIL]

If Wisconsin wins out, they might just get UVA's 1 seed due to the questions about Anderson.

 

[mkasten25]

Originally posted by Wildcat-in-STL:
If Wisconsin wins out, they might just get UVA's 1 seed due to the questions about Anderson.

If they win out, they will have the same record as UVa (with a loss in the ACCt), with equivalent losses

Duke beat both on their home court
@UL is an equivalent loss to @Maryland (top 10/15)
Wisky lost to Rutgers, but that was 1/11, so out of the minds of the committee. If UVa makes the final of the ACCt, they deserve a 1 seed. But if Wisky runs the table, they'll get the 1 seed.


And then you can bank that Kansas will be our 2

 

[KingOfBBN]

So the reward for going undefeated is you get the toughest two seed and hardest bracket? Meanwhile there is a 1 seed that is going to get a 7 loss Kansas as their 2 seed or Gonzaga who is a non power conference 2 seed? How is that fair?

 

[caneintally]

Originally posted by Wildcat-in-STL:
If Wisconsin wins out, they might just get UVA's 1 seed due to the questions about Anderson.

Wisconsin will be a 1 as UVA is going to lose early in the ACCT . But even if Wisconsin was our 2 who cares it just gets the team with the best chance to beat us outta the way earlier and that is IF THEY EVEN GET THAT FAR.