Who cares? The best four teams in the country are in the Final Four. No one can argue that these four teams deserve to be there. Just because a cinderella didn't complete a run doesn't mean anything. These were the best teams. They beat everyone else. End of story.
Well, based on the ratings and over 250 views here apparently quite a few people care and would prefer to see more of these match-ups. I agree, in the end "it is what it is" and the 4 best teams are where they should be -- in The Final 4. But, I think most people would prefer to watch games with a little more intrigue.
sorry....what I meant to say was of the bubble teams that got bids, only 2 were mid-majors...
and if you don't believe there is an anti-mid attitude among the elite in the NCAA and in the media, then you are entitled to your opinion,
but......please allow us to have our opinion which appears to be self-evident, that such a bias clearly exists.
and then don't let the facts that I have been presenting in the other thread get in the way about how the refs being hired appear to have a suspicious "regional" bias....ahem....
:-o
First of all, tell me where I said ANYTHING in my post about whether I feel there is an "anti-mid" attitude. All I stated were the FACTS, and you still don't have your story straight because UAB remains nowhere to be found in my bracket. I'm going to go ahead and assume you mean South Alabama.
I do think there is some bias towards the major conference, but this year I only saw it in the seedings (Butler got screwed big time and the amount of mid vs. mid matchups was ridiculous). If you wanted to make an argument about selection, the last two years with Missouri St. are examples to point to, but I just don't see it this year.
On the mid-major side, USA and St. Joe's got in. I'd say Dayton, ISU, and maybe VCU are the mids I would consider bubble teams left out. Two in, three out. Seems reasonable to me. The ones left out had major flaws in their resumes, and the two that got in didn't look particularly good in first-round exits.
For the majors, I'd say the bubble teams in were Villanova, Kentucky, and Arizona. Ohio State, Arizona State, and Virginia Tech are probably the only three left out you could make any kind of case for. Three in, three out. Again, seems reasonable. 'Nova clearly justified their selection, and Kentucky and Arizona also took their opponents to the wire, more than USA or St. Joe's can say.
Yup, looks biased to me. Don't facts suck? :roll:
Some of you seem to be missing a fundamental idea:
The idea of this tournament is not necessarily to make the most money.
THE POINT OF IT IS TO DETERMINE A NATIONAL CHAMPION. Decisions about the tournament and the field should be made with this in mind. Not what's best for the ratings. And if we the fans don't like it, too bad. The national championship isn't a popularity contest.
Now, as far as mid majors getting their fair shot at the title....that's another story![]()
Pfunk let me be the first to say that this is about the best analysis of the selections that I have seen yet. I agree with every example you gave.....If I were to pick a mid that should have been in it was VCU (won their conference I believe). My major that got screwed was ASU (only because Arizona was chsen ahead of them, though I'm not sure either ASU or Arizona should have been in).
funk, name for me the 15 or 17 best RPI teams who have been left out of the NCAA over the past 3 years......
Let's just pick the past 3 years since that's the era I have been arguing the mid-major bias as proven to Barry Hinson a couple years ago...
Now, recall the RPI was the invention of the NCAA in order to be sure the best teams got in...right?
Since I strongly suspect you don't know, I will give you a big hint.
#21 - Missouri State-2006
#30 - Hofstra-2006
#30 - Air Force-2007
#32 - Dayton- 2008
#33 - Illinois State- 2008
#36 - Missouri State-2007
#38 - Bradley- 2007
#39 - Creighton-2006
#40 - Cincinnati-2006
#41 - Florida State- 2007
#42 - UMass- 2008
#43 - Miami-Ohio-2005
#43 - St. Joseph's-2006
#43 - Drexel- 2007
#45 - Wichita State-2005
#45 - Utah State- 2007
#46 - Buffalo-2005
OK...whattya think............? Feel free to correct any errors...but......
all but two are mid-majors....just chance, you say.........?
Yeah...........right....no bias here??
Case pretty much closed I say