Elite 8 thread

CTF591011

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Silver lining is this obviously proves big east is up there and even better than corrupt SEC or ACC outside Duke and unc.

Maybe it was just my day again and wanting Tenesse to win and other BS, but seeing UConn win get that clutch three from Mullins and karaban earlier, I just feel if UConn was going to have the lucky voodoo, they could’ve gave us that win a couple weeks ago, that could’ve gotten us a last four in bid.
 
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hallwins

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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.
 

dehere23

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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 : )
 

hallwins

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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 : )
Same here. Except I only got 5 LOL.

Video of Scheyer shows him wanting Boozer to make the pass. Just hold the ball and get fouled.

By the same token, if it is a better pass, game is over.
 
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NYShoreGuy

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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.
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.
 

hallwins

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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.
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.
 
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NYShoreGuy

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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.
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.
 

hallwins

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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.


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.
 
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BrklynGrad

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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.
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.
Those guys might be OK bloviating about the pros, but networks should have more college guys in the studio. Entertaining for those who only watch the tournament, but too many yuks for the serious fan. Kellogg used to be more effective and serious.
 
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NYShoreGuy

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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
 

NYShoreGuy

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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.
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.
 

hallwins

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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

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.

 
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hallwins

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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.
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.
 

NYShoreGuy

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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.
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.
 

NYShoreGuy

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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.


Big Ten last year Auburn faced the top 2 teams just like Duke did.
 

NYShoreGuy

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Still 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.


The big east for some time now is not a high major power conference, only in the group think of the population here
 

NYShoreGuy

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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.
10 overall, 9 since tournament expansion in 1985. UConn has half of them
 

Seton75

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Oops, 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.
 
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NYShoreGuy

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Oops, 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.
What put st johns there is that they were the overall best non protected seed
 

NYShoreGuy

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Clearly there is nothing more I can unequivocally state with data and facts that will sway the minds that a selection committee that was diverse and had a mid major chair screwed the big east. I also feel too many folks here clamor for yesteryear and just can't set their sight lines to the fact that while the big east is intense, passionate and serious in hoops it just does not fit the definition of being a high major power conference.
Again, as I stated in a thread two or three weeks back, I digest I am not for everyone here.
There are still people here that harp on SHU being screwed in 2016 and being sent to Denver to face Gonzaga. What I know is this, it is a sunny late March day in the high 60s/low 70s and I am going for a nice walk.
 

Seton75

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While this did screw the BE, and many people have complaibed about it, i have the same ooinion if any other conference was at play.