"Worst at-large seed...ever"

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/53063/bracket-impressions-joe-lunardi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



ESPN's Joe Lunardi said it all:



"I'm guessing the somewhat surprising slot for the BYU-Iona winner (No. 14, West) might have something to do with BYU's "no Sunday play" rule. Either way, it is the worst at-large seed I can ever recall."

Other comments of Joe of interest:



•I can totally understand the choice of Iona and applaud it. My guess is Drexel was ultimately done in, as expected, by its weak schedule-strength numbers. We might never know which team was ultimately knocked out by St. Bonaventure's winning the Atlantic 10 championship.



•I thought for a moment that Colorado's relatively good seed (No. 11) might be a good sign for California or even Washington. Not so much. The Bears get an early-week trip to Dayton, and the Huskies become the first regular-season "big six" champion to miss the NCAA tournament.



It was the right thing to do to send Huskies to the NIT, and I'm glad to see the committee had the "where-with-all" to do it.

For those that also might have room to complain, I love a play-in game far better than the matchup that SDSU got vs North Carolina State. They beat UNC and Duke twice this season and came up 3 points from the finals of the ACC Tournament. Yeah, like I would enjoy them as my first round game in the NCAA. Usually when you get a #6 seed like SDSU, you get a more winnable 1st round. NCST has been on-fire.



Adding insult to injury, the NCAA supposedly were supposed to put a bit more regionality into their process. Besides BYU having to head all the way back to Dayton, SDSU was shipped back to Columbus, OH. It kind of sucks to be them for some reason.

I wish someone would explain to me the tournament these days. I don't understand how you can be a #12 & #14 seeds and be forced into a play-in game, while no #15 seeds are remanded to those games. That seems like a joke to me, to penalize teams that rank higher. Very confusing to me.

From ESPN's Andy Katz:



http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2012/story/_/id/7674666/2012-men-ncaa-tournament-st-bonaventure-bonnies-win-canceled-vote-final-spot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



"Another problem in bracketing was having to accommodate BYU in a Thursday-Saturday regional if the Cougars win the first round game in Dayton against Iona. BYU's policy against playing athletic events on Sundays forced the Cougars and Iona to No. 14 seeds -- the lowest at-large seed ever in the NCAA tournament, Worlock said."



Funny that standing for something gets you penalized.

Standing up for something you believe in has always required a cost, otherwise it wouldn't be a sacrifice.



I'll take the "BYU Bump" (2 seed drop) every year in order to not play on Sundays.

FYI

Iona College is in New Rochelle, NY (northeast of NYC). It is a 10 hour, 39 minute trip of 651 miles for them to travel to play us in Dayton. That's better than the last time we played back that way and had Xavier only 75 miles from their campus.



Marquette University is in Millwauke, WI and it is a 6 hour, 38 minute trip of 387 miles for them to travel to play in Louisville, KY. A little more than the average BYU fan trip to catch a BYU game in Vegas.

Anyone else surprised that USF didn't make the NIT or that Loyola Marymount didn't even makde the CBI, nor did Weber State?

EM_Puma wrote:
FYI

Iona College is in New Rochelle, NY (northeast of NYC). It is a 10 hour, 39 minute trip of 651 miles for them to travel to play us in Dayton. That's better than the last time we played back that way and had Xavier only 75 miles from their campus.

That hose job was saved for 7 seed Gonzaga. They get West Virginia in Pittsburgh. The 7 seed gets a 2200+ mile trip and the 10 seed travels 75 miles.



As for BYU, I was 50-50 about whether or not they would get in. We have pretty good losses but only one top 50 win. I'm happy they got the invite to keep the streak alive.



As for BYU's seeding, I won't complain. I didn't see they really making noise this year, so if anything it gives BYU a shot at a cheap tourney win.

EM_Puma wrote:
For those that also might have room to complain, I love a play-in game far better than the matchup that SDSU got vs North Carolina State. They beat UNC and Duke twice this season and came up 3 points from the finals of the ACC Tournament.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself. NC State won ZERO games against Carolina and Dook. In fact, they LOST 3 times to Carolina. However, they DID beat Duke in football by one point.

Lunardi was not saying we were the worst seed, I think he was saying that he's never seen an at-large bid go at 14 before. Now that the NCAA tournament has play-in games, there are more spots to fill. Typically the play-in games went to lesser league champions.



Or something like that.



What i don't get is how we were seeded 46 or 48 on the committees curve, which is an 11 or 12 seed. And then somehow through the gauntlet and curse of BYU seeding we end up a 14 in a play-in. now perhaps you can question the wisdom of where the committee ranked us in the first place since 11 or 12 seems awfully high for a team that lost to LMU at home. But does Sunday play REALLY drop us like 10 spots?



And don't blame Sunday play. There are several teams right ahead of us in a thur-sat bracket.

Metal Bubba wrote:

For those that also might have room to complain, I love a play-in game far better than the matchup that SDSU got vs North Carolina State. They beat UNC and Duke twice this season and came up 3 points from the finals of the ACC Tournament.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself. NC State won ZERO games against Carolina and Dook. In fact, they LOST 3 times to Carolina. However, they DID beat Duke in football by one point.

Yep, mixed the games I watched over the weekend. That was Florida State that had beaten UNC and Duke twice this season (including the tournament).

CougarClaw wrote:
Lunardi was not saying we were the worst seed, I think he was saying that he's never seen an at-large bid go at 14 before. Now that the NCAA tournament has play-in games, there are more spots to fill. Typically the play-in games went to lesser league champions.

Yes, that is exactly what he was saying, that he had never, and there hasn't, seen an at-large team that was seeded as far back at #14. If you are an at-large team, it is expected that you are usually no worse than a #12 or that bubble was super-soft. It wasn't that BYU or Iona were the worse seeding he's ever seen. The point is that BYU should not have been a #14, but once again, I'm simply happy to be in the tournament.

To be honest, I'm not upset about our seeding... which is the complete opposite of years past (A+M, UConn, Syracuse, Kstate etc. where we got jobbed)



1. We would not have gotten in based on our rpi or resume in 9/10 years

2. We would have gotten jobbed anyhow but with the play in game, we have a chance to win a game that we should win

3. If we can't beat Iona, then I think the committee was more than justified anyhow



I still don't know if a long run in the NIT wouldn't have done more for the young players and coaches, but as far as reputation goes, being in the dance and consecutively getting to the dance means a ton... so I'm torn. I'm just excited that we're less than 48 hours away from more BYU hoops.

This is great! Dayton is only 2 hours drive and when they win it's back home to Louisville!!! Only bad part is playing in the "YUM Center" home of the Lousyville Cardinals. I'll have to swallow my pride and go to the "Great and Spacious Building" to watch the Cougs!!!



Go Cougs!



L Hatton

Louisville, KY

Just make sure you hold onto the rod as you go down to your seats.