Same here. Except I only got 5 LOL.John Scheyer has accomplished some things at this age (38, I think) which are pretty remarkable. Yes, it is Duke, but we have seen other really strong programs suffer when a legend leaves, and more often it seems it is the "guy after the guy" that replaces the legend who ends up restoring things.
But he is going to get major, major heat here, fair or not. Not just about the last play, because all little Boozer has to do is not try and make an unnecessary pass and that game is probably over. More for the second half blown lead after what happened last year with Houston in the final 4, when Duke had the ball up like 7 (or whatever it was) with a minute or so left and lost. After watching Duke completely destroy them in the first half, I thought my bet of Uconn ML and separately getting 5.5 was going to be "toast". Until it wasn't : )
This has been a crying matter for 2 weeks. St. John's happened to play several SEC teams in the OOC and lost to three of them. That squarely influenced how the committee evaluated seeding. They got a second weekend game in big east territory. The point on the S curve scale is to balance the regions so that the top 4 seeds weight are pretty equal to one another. Since the East had Duke as overall #1 seed they are getting the worst 2 seed, the best 3 seed and then the worst 4 seed. That would then make St. John's the strongest 5 seed. So you wanted them a 5 in another region or a 4 in another region?SEC - 10 teams
ACC - 8 teams
Not one in Final Four
St John's could have been there as well.
Not enough has been made of the Committee putting the 2 best teams in a conference in the same region.
Danny still standing and fighting. I am sure he will take up the Conference defense this week.
Name one other time in the last 40 years that the top 2 teams in a conference were in the same region.This has been a crying matter for 2 weeks. St. John's happened to play several SEC teams in the OOC and lost to three of them. That squarely influenced how the committee evaluated seeding. They got a second weekend game in big east territory. The point on the S curve scale is to balance the regions so that the top 4 seeds weight are pretty equal to one another. Since the East had Duke as overall #1 seed they are getting the worst 2 seed, the best 3 seed and then the worst 4 seed. That would then make St. John's the strongest 5 seed. So you wanted them a 5 in another region or a 4 in another region?
I feel for what we know now being the 4/5 in the South would have been a winnable path to play for a Final Four spot.
They had a great season, if any of their guards made 2-3 more 3s or they were able to play some D down the stretch it would have been an all big east regional final today.
Too many people insist upon the Big East having prestige as a high major. It is a hoops forward conference with mostly private/religious affiliated schools. St. John's and Nova were not protected seeds who cares what their first weekend travel was. Arkansas had to travel to Portland as a protected seed. UCLA had to travel to Philly.Name one other time in the last 40 years that the top 2 teams in a conference were in the same region.
Name one time in the last 40 years that the top 2 teams in a conference had to both play the overall number 1 seed before the Final Four.
Yes, St John's got a 2nd weekend game in DC after traveling the farthest of any team in the tourney. BTW, Nova had to travel the 2nd farthest.
You can believe there is a rational basis for this as you set forth above. I will believe forever that this would never happen to the SEC, BIG TEN OR BIG 12 top 2 finishers.
Showed a lot of class after the game on the floor acknowledging culture built by Geno, Calhoun, Ollie.Was hoping Hurley would give his usual props to how the big east ruggedness prepared them for these moments.
Maybe he did in the presser?
Too many people insist upon the Big East having prestige as a high major. It is a hoops forward conference with mostly private/religious affiliated schools. St. John's and Nova were not protected seeds who cares what their first weekend travel was. Arkansas had to travel to Portland as a protected seed. UCLA had to travel to Philly.
Don't forget the ACC in what you bet would never happen. I bet it would never happen that the best 2 ACC programs historically would never blow 19 point leads in the NCAA tournament.
| 1 | Southeastern Conference | +19.49 | |||
| 2 | Big Ten Conference | +18.57 | |||
| 3 | Big 12 Conference | +17.74 | |||
| 4 | Atlantic Coast Conference | +14.59 | |||
| 5 | Big East Conference | +13.85 |
| 6 | Mountain West Conference | +9.80 |
Duke really caved. A terrible, terrible loss. Barkley, Kenny Smith at half time felt the game was over and UCONN not athletic enough to make a run.Feel some empathy for the Duke players but not for Duke. Danny has a culture at UCONN. They just kept coming at Duke all 2nd half.
The Big East was a BCS league only because of the football affiliation. Once the AAC schools split from the reformed Big East as a cost of keeping the conference name, likeness, images, tie in to MSG and obviously not playing football as a FBS member, it was distinguished as a league of less prestige. Now that does not mean the top 3 and 4 teams can't be as competitive as the rest of the country and have great results in a singular year.If you want to defend the Committtee, you have every right. The Big East being relegated to a lesser status in your view, is the issue. The entire Quad system is set up for the football schools to dominate bids. The Big East has to schedule better and perform for sure in the OOC.
And I assume your answers to the questions I posed it has never happened.
Historical instances in which a 1 seed has faced the same conference in Sweet 16 and Elite 8 succession, starting with most recent:
2026 Duke - St. John's, Uconn
2025 Auburn - Michigan, Michigan State
2018 Kansas - Clemson, Duke
2018 Villanova - West Virginia, Texas Tech
2012 Syracuse - Wisconsin, Ohio State
2001 Duke - UCLA, USC
1993 Michigan - GW, Temple
1990 Uconn - Clemson, Duke
1986 Kentucky - Alabama, LSU
I don’t accept any of your premises on prestige. The Big East wins national championships - Lots of them.The Big East was a BCS league only because of the football affiliation. Once the AAC schools split from the reformed Big East as a cost of keeping the conference name, likeness, images, tie in to MSG and obviously not playing football as a FBS member, it was distinguished as a league of less prestige. Now that does not mean the top 3 and 4 teams can't be as competitive as the rest of the country and have great results in a singular year.
Yes the P4 consolidation of schools to increase membership stacks the deck.
Go take a ride and poll campuses/sports fans in the ACC, Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 on their thoughts on Big East hoops and the hierarchy and outlook of men's basketball. I promise you I am being tame in my comments.I don’t accept any of your premises on prestige. The Big East wins national championships - Lots of them.
Yes, you are buying what the football schools have put into place.
The top 2 teams in the conference is the issue, not whether 2 teams in the conferemce played a number 1.
Here is what Coach K thought the day after the draw. Starts at 4:45.
The big east for some time now is not a high major power conference, only in the group think of the population hereStill the 5th best conference this past year and rightly so as noted by Kempom. But the gap has closed and those forecasting the death of the Big East as a power conference will have to wait at least another year.
1 Southeastern Conference +19.49 2 Big Ten Conference +18.57 3 Big 12 Conference +17.74 4 Atlantic Coast Conference +14.59 5 Big East Conference +13.85
6 Mountain West Conference +9.80
10 overall, 9 since tournament expansion in 1985. UConn has half of themI don’t accept any of your premises on prestige. The Big East wins national championships - Lots of them.
Yes, you are buying what the football schools have put into place.
Caveat here is only 1 out of the 3 has seed/region territory protection4 regions, 3 BE teams, 2 at top 20 level.
The logistics were a little easier given the numbers. THAT is the difference. A minor tweak and this is never an issue.
What put st johns there is that they were the overall best non protected seedOops, not a good idea to have the 2 best teams of the fifth best conference (2 very good teams) in the same region. Lets make this minor tweak and fix it.
Whatever put SJ there could be changed and no one would ever know.
Does the committee do the seeding? Who goes to jail or loses their reputation if SJ is the 2nd highest? Do we suppose no seedings gave ever been tweaked?What put st johns there is that they were the overall best non protected seed
Does the committee do the seeding? Who goes to jail or loses their reputation if SJ is the 2nd highest? Do we suppose no seedings gave ever been tweaked?