NorfolkNeb
Active Member
Do you folks remember when the A.P. poll (before there even was a USA/Coaches poll) only ranked 20 teams in fb/bb instead of 25? How long has that been? 20 years? or less? Anyway, in basketball (based on what's important to fans in this age) it might make more sense to rank a top-24 or a top-28, instead.
NCAA seeding is the be-all,end-all, in basketball now. The difference between a 4-seed and a 6-seed is huge. #7 seeds play a #10 in the first round and get a top-eight nationally ranked team in the regional finals. The difference between 8 & 9 seeds is insiginficant. It's a toss-up game in the first round, and they're a sacrificial lamb in the regional finals.
3/6 matchups are lots of fun to watch in the regional finals, because they are both AP rated teams & they can carry their momentum into the sweet-16 against a team that might not have arguabally deserved a 2 seed. But a team with a 4 seed is typically screwed. They face a dead-even #5 opponent (with incentive) in the regionals, only to be slotted against a team seeded to go to the Final-4 in the first fournd of the Sweet-16. Many years, I'd almost rather have a 6-seed than a 4.
Based on yesterdays games, here is how I'd seed this year's tournament. Remember, your exact number out of the AP or Coaches poll is probably not as important as which slice of four-rateds you fall into.
#1: Ohio State, Kansas, Pitt, BYU.
#2: Duke, Texas, Notre Dame, St. Johns.
#3: Purdue, Wisconsin, San Diego St., Syracuse.
#4: North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, West Virginia.
#5: UNLV, Arizona, UCLA, Utah State.
#6: UConn, Kansas State, Temple, Villanova.
#7: Cincinnatti, Louisville, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
Thanks for reading! norfolkneb
NCAA seeding is the be-all,end-all, in basketball now. The difference between a 4-seed and a 6-seed is huge. #7 seeds play a #10 in the first round and get a top-eight nationally ranked team in the regional finals. The difference between 8 & 9 seeds is insiginficant. It's a toss-up game in the first round, and they're a sacrificial lamb in the regional finals.
3/6 matchups are lots of fun to watch in the regional finals, because they are both AP rated teams & they can carry their momentum into the sweet-16 against a team that might not have arguabally deserved a 2 seed. But a team with a 4 seed is typically screwed. They face a dead-even #5 opponent (with incentive) in the regionals, only to be slotted against a team seeded to go to the Final-4 in the first fournd of the Sweet-16. Many years, I'd almost rather have a 6-seed than a 4.
Based on yesterdays games, here is how I'd seed this year's tournament. Remember, your exact number out of the AP or Coaches poll is probably not as important as which slice of four-rateds you fall into.
#1: Ohio State, Kansas, Pitt, BYU.
#2: Duke, Texas, Notre Dame, St. Johns.
#3: Purdue, Wisconsin, San Diego St., Syracuse.
#4: North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, West Virginia.
#5: UNLV, Arizona, UCLA, Utah State.
#6: UConn, Kansas State, Temple, Villanova.
#7: Cincinnatti, Louisville, Tennessee, Texas A&M.
Thanks for reading! norfolkneb
