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Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel: Ohio State got the worst NCAA draw

  • BigAppleBuckeye
    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/stewart_mandel/03/14/breaking.bracket/index.html?eref=sihp

    "Worst draw: Ohio State. Whichever team wins the game opposite theirs, Oklahoma State or Georgia Tech, won't be an easy out, but that will be heaven compared to their next two possible opponents: Georgetown and Kansas."

    I would have to agree with that ...
  • Prescott
    Winning the Big 10 tournament did nothing for OSU. I wonder Thad Matta thanked Gene Smith.
  • purple_rein
    I thought Cuse should have been a 1.

    OSU should have been the 6th ranked team behind Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, West Virginia, and Duke in that order.

    With the s-curve, that should have put us in Syracuse's region.
  • Prescott
    .Cuse shouldnt be a #1.
    Why is that?? Their resume looks to me like it is #1 worthy. Yea, the lost to Louisville in the last game being played at Freedom Hall. I think they get a pass for that. Yea, they lost to Georgetown in the BE tournament. Guess what, Georgetown is pretty good and Syracuse beat them twice. Syracuse's only loss that could be considered BAD is the loss at home to Louisville and I'm not sure that is a bad loss.
  • charliehustle14
    Such a terrible draw for OSU, and Kansas too.

    Congratulations, for being the best team in the nation, we'll throw you in a bracket with the likes of OSU, Georgetown, Maryland, Michigan State, Tennessee, and James Anderson.
  • cview
    purple_rein wrote: I thought Cuse should have been a 1.

    OSU should have been the 6th ranked team behind Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, West Virginia, and Duke in that order.

    With the s-curve, that should have put us in Syracuse's region.
    Yes, Cuse should have been a one.

    They only rank the top 4.

    There is no S curve.
  • se-alum
    Correct, there is no s-curve, because that would just be too tough for the committee. Basically, all they have to do is seed the teams, then throw them in a bracket close to home with no regards as to whether it's fair or not.


    :huh:
  • ohiobucks1
    Whats the point of even seeding the 4, 1 seeds if there is no S curve?
  • karen lotz
    cview wrote:
    purple_rein wrote: I thought Cuse should have been a 1.

    OSU should have been the 6th ranked team behind Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, West Virginia, and Duke in that order.

    With the s-curve, that should have put us in Syracuse's region.
    Yes, Cuse should have been a one.

    They only rank the top 4.

    There is no S curve.
    Not true about the S curve. The committee chairman said on Mike and Mike yesterday that they do rank all lines and try to follow that as much as possible but they also have other factors to consider. The biggest factor he talked about was having teams playing close to home.
  • karen lotz
  • killer_ewok
    ccrunner609 wrote: Like I said and some of you arent agreeing.......Cuse shouldnt be a #1.
    Actually it's more like most (if not all) of us aren't agreeing with you.
  • cview
    karen lotz wrote:
    cview wrote:
    purple_rein wrote: I thought Cuse should have been a 1.

    OSU should have been the 6th ranked team behind Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, West Virginia, and Duke in that order.

    With the s-curve, that should have put us in Syracuse's region.
    Yes, Cuse should have been a one.

    They only rank the top 4.

    There is no S curve.
    Not true about the S curve. The committee chairman said on Mike and Mike yesterday that they do rank all lines and try to follow that as much as possible but they also have other factors to consider. The biggest factor he talked about was having teams playing close to home.
    The other factor they consider is $$$, which (as sad as it may be) trumps every other factor there might be. Higher seeds = bigger schools with generally a bigger fanbase = bigger fanbase traveling to a venue close to home = more $$$. Obviously, distance correlates negatively with the # of fans a school brings.

    They said that the order went Kansas --> Kentucky --> Duke --> Syracuse. They also stated they seriously considered WVU as a one. Which, if they followed the S curve, would have placed WVU with Syracuse. They also stated that the Onuaku injury caused Syracuse to slide a little; if they are paying attention to injuries as they made clear, then Ohio State would have received somewhat of a pass for the losses suffered without Evan Turner. They would have been the 6th overall and sent to Duke's region.

    Maybe they put the teams in some form of S curve once they get past the very high seeds.
  • karen lotz
    did you listen to the chairman of the selection committee? He said Syracuse went west in large part because syracuse is a host site for games and can't play there. WVU stayed east because of the procedures that are set to try to split up conference teams. Higher seeds are given as much consideration as possible as far as where they play, which is why WVU is in the east.


    Golic asked "So after the 1s, there is no 5, 6, 7, 8..." Chairman replied "Oh yeah, we do. The first consideration is to assign regionally to the extent possible."
  • Mulva
    ohiobucks1 wrote: Whats the point of even seeding the 4, 1 seeds if there is no S curve?
    My thoughts as well.
  • karen lotz
    Mulva wrote:
    ohiobucks1 wrote: Whats the point of even seeding the 4, 1 seeds if there is no S curve?
    My thoughts as well.
    There is an S curve. There are other factors taken into consideration when slotting teams.
  • Prescott
    WVU stayed east because of the procedures that are set to try to split up conference teams.
    Why didn't they flip flo[ WVU and Villanova? If WVU was considered for the #1 seed, why place them with the 2nd #1 ?
  • karen lotz
    Prescott wrote:
    WVU stayed east because of the procedures that are set to try to split up conference teams.
    Why didn't they flip flo[ WVU and Villanova? If WVU was considered for the #1 seed, why place them with the 2nd #1 ?
    They are in the east regional so they can play closer to home. Listen to the Mike and Mike interview in the link a few posts up in this thread.
  • hoops23
    Because the committee are basically a bunch of idiots.

    I agree with Bob Knight that there needs to be more "basketball" people making decisions...
  • Prescott
    They are in the east regional so they can play closer to home.
    I know the rationale. I also Matta disagrees with that rationale and Huggins ins't happy either.

    It sounds good, but it doesn't hold much water, IMO.
  • karen lotz
    I'm not saying I agree either, just saying that is what the Chairman said...
  • ytownfootball
    LTrain23 wrote: Because the committee are basically a bunch of idiots.

    I agree with Bob Knight that there needs to be more "basketball" people making decisions...
    This is how I feel also, but it won't happen. They don't want the general population to know how much they coddle teams based on ratings (read Duke) rather than having earned where they are placed. They can't control the "Bobby Knights" of the world and they won't take the risk.
  • thedynasty1998
    Bob Knight is a moron. Yea, let's get Dean Smith in there, like that's what he wants to do.

    I think OSU got screwed a little bit, but guess what, it's a tournament. The last team standing plays for the National Championship. You have to beat good teams. All the complaining is really getting old. I guess it's just something to talk about though.
  • Prescott
    Bob Knight is a moron.
    Dean Smith might be a reach, but it wouldn't hurt to have some basketball people in the room as consultants. Seeding is almost as important as getting invited and everything should be done to make the brackets as fair and balanced as possible.
  • thedynasty1998
    No matter how much anyone thinks the seedings are fair, there will be someone that has a problem with it.

    They picked the best 64 this year and usually do a good job. If you are the 65th best team and want to cry, then win some games.

    If you are a #1 and feel slighted, too bad, your goal is the National Championship so you will have to beat someone good along the way anyways.


    And as much as everyone hates the logic behind the locations and matchups due to the potential for revenue, face reality. It's what the NCAA and CBS wants. It's the guiding factor in most decisions in this country.
  • Prescott
    It's what the NCAA and CBS wants. It's the guiding factor in most decisions in this country.
    I can't argue with that!!!