ESPN is melting down...

[olivecourt]

My god, is anyone watching this? I'm loving it.

They are savaging the committee for taking UAB and VCU, and I have to say, I agree. Why those teams and not Harvard or St. Mary's, let alone Colorado or VaTech?

It's good TV however you feel. I think Jay Bilas is going to light himself on fire.

 

[pin2win]

Jay is losing his mind right now!!

 

[chitown]

Bilas was livid!

 

[atxhawk]

Yet on CBS they were quite calm about it.

 

[olivecourt]

Yet on CBS they were quite calm about it.

Kind of makes you wonder which network has the 10-year contract with the NCAA, doesn't it?

It's hard for me to get too fired up about a mediocre team like Colorado getting left out. But I do understand the frustration with the lack of transparency in the process. CBS interviewed Gene Smith after the teams were announced, and when confronted about bubble teams, he mumbled something about "style of play" and stared off into the distance. This is how you run a billion dollar event?

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

VCU getting in was a huge travesty. Huge!!! I have no idea how in the WORLD that happened. Seriously that is bad..

UAB didn't deserve bid- What's funny is they are in the same seed as there Conference Champs in Memphis. They both got a 12 seed. Explain that???

Oh one last one. Cincinnati a #6 seed. For real?????

 

[JonDMiller]

ESPN's post bracket show is about as predictable and over the top as Oprah's Favorite Things episodes.

 

[twinlaker]

With Dickie V on it, you just know it will be over the top!

 

[storminspank]

Ah man, New Mexico didn't get into the Dance.

 

[hawkeye12345]

Ah man, New Mexico didn't get into the Dance.

Another March situation.

 

[iowamike21]

To control the annual meltdown, there is really only ONE thing to do:

It’s been discussed before, but why not have a TRUE national basketball tournament? Replace ALL the conference tournaments with on-campus NCAA tourney games involving EVERY D-1 team in the country.

There are about 300 teams, I think, so why not match the ACC and SEC? The Big Ten and the Big XII? The Pac-12 and the WAC, and so on?

After one round, you’re down to 150 teams. The second round, to 75. Then you’re about where we start now, only EVERY team had a shot at the national title. No more clueless committee choosing some and leaving others out. Northwestern, which in 80 minutes against No. 1 Ohio State is 1 point worse than the Buckeyes, would be in. And so would Iowa and Iowa State, UNI and Drake, Indiana and Providence, Wake Forest and Harvard.

Teams would be matched (seeded) based on conference finish, just as is done now with conference tournaments, only they’d play teams from other conferences. Teams that lose in the first two rounds would then be available for selection by the NIT, the CBI and the other post-season tournament.

Now if you want a true national champion, if you want to eliminate the politics and the guess-work, if you want to pacify Jay Bilas and pals at ESPN -- but most of all, if you want to be FAIR to the teams, THIS is the way to do it. It's not difficult. Which is why it will never happen…but it should.

 

[hawkIhoops]

Too many meaningless games that would be so sparsely attended they would make Tropicana Field look packed. It's really not that hard to get this right. The committtee could easily add another 4 slots, as it always seems there are 4 legit teams that get screwed every year. Each 1 seed could get a bye and instead of 1 vs. 16 (not compelling matchups) and you could add more play in games. In most cases #1 seeds have won, or gotten to the finals, in their conference championships, so letting them have a couple extra days off is just like getting home field in the playoffs for the best record.

So if VT, Colorado, St. Mary's and Alabama think they got screwed, then they can go head-to-head and play to get in. St. Mary's is not a good team and has no beef with getting passed by. Weak non conference schedule and they got destroyed by a pretty average Gonzaga and I believe Utah State slapped them around at home.

 

[HawkeyeShane]

Too many meaningless games that would be so sparsely attended they would make Tropicana Field look packed. It's really not that hard to get this right. The committtee could easily add another 4 slots, as it always seems there are 4 legit teams that get screwed every year. Each 1 seed could get a bye and instead of 1 vs. 16 (not compelling matchups) and you could add more play in games. In most cases #1 seeds have won, or gotten to the finals, in their conference championships, so letting them have a couple extra days off is just like getting home field in the playoffs for the best record.

So if VT, Colorado, St. Mary's and Alabama think they got screwed, then they can go head-to-head and play to get in. St. Mary's is not a good team and has no beef with getting passed by. Weak non conference schedule and they got destroyed by a pretty average Gonzaga and I believe Utah State slapped them around at home.

The problem you'd run into with expansion is that you're only moving the line of what a "legit team" is...and we'd still be having arguments about who got in and who got left out, no matter how many teams are in the tourney.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Ah man, New Mexico didn't get into the Dance.

A few questions pal:

Which former Iowa coach was at one time the winningest coach in Big Ten Tournament history?

How many wins does Iowa have in the Big Ten Tournament bince that former great quit coaching at Iowa?

NCAA Tournament appearances?

 

[storminspank]

A few questions pal:

Which former Iowa coach was at one time the winningest coach in Big Ten Tournament history?

How many wins does Iowa have in the Big Ten Tournament bince that former great quit coaching at Iowa?

NCAA Tournament appearances?

Craig Neal.

 

[cibula11]

How does this turn into an Alford thread? Oh man, I said it......crap!

 

[okeefe4prez]

How does this turn into an Alford thread? Oh man, I said it......crap!

Some of us are old enough to remember the glory of the Alford years. Haters, like Spank, were jealous of Alford because he had nice hair and a cool wife and they hate him because the guys on message boards think it's "cool" to bash him.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

The problem you'd run into with expansion is that you're only moving the line of what a "legit team" is...and we'd still be having arguments about who got in and who got left out, no matter how many teams are in the tourney.

Agreed. No real legit title contenders ever miss the tournament. Teams like Colorado and Va Tech have spent the whole season proving they are extremely average teams, they aren't going to suddenly reel off 6 wins in a row. This isn't like the BCS where you can go undefeated and not get a chance for a title. We're talking about teams that are 37th-40th best at large teams, if they don't get in, it's their own fault.

 

[cibula11]

Some of us are old enough to remember the glory of the Alford years. Haters, like Spank, were jealous of Alford because he had nice hair and a cool wife and they hate him because the guys on message boards think it's "cool" to bash him.

"cool" would NOT be how I describe his hair or his wife.

 

[sioux34]

Some of us are old enough to remember the glory of the Alford years. Haters, like Spank, were jealous of Alford because he had nice hair and a cool wife and they hate him because the guys on message boards think it's "cool" to bash him.

I have heard Tanya referred to as a lot of things, but I am sure this is the first time I have ever seen cool used to describe her.