Since the NCAA released their top-16, Marquette has solidified their hold on a 3-seed. The Golden Eagles haven't lost a game, while the teams behind them on the 4/5 lines have gone 14-14 with every team except Texas Tech taking a loss. With that in mind, it's a good time to look back at Marquette's chances to get a 2-seed. Currently in the mix for the 2-line with Marquette are Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, Michigan State, Kansas, Houston, & Purdue. So which teams can MU most likely get ahead of? Here's who we will be watching closely:
Continued: http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2019/02/marquette-2-seed-rooting-guide.html
Thanks for this detailed rooting guide.
Having read this, to me a 2-seed looks possible but not very likely at all.
I'd love to be wrong because I think there's a pretty big difference between 2 and 3 when it comes to the quality of the first- and second-round opponents.
Thanks for this detailed rooting guide.
Having read this, to me a 2-seed looks possible but not very likely at all.
I'd love to be wrong because I think there's a pretty big difference between 2 and 3 when it comes to the quality of the first- and second-round opponents.
Thanks for this detailed rooting guide.
Having read this, to me a 2-seed looks possible but not very likely at all.
I'd love to be wrong because I think there's a pretty big difference between 2 and 3 when it comes to the quality of the first- and second-round opponents.
I cautiously agree. That said, I think Michigan State & Tennessee both are likely to slide given their schedules. MSU is now without Nick Ward while Tennessee before the Kentucky game had played an easier conference schedule than Gonzaga.
If Michigan sweeps MSU & Tennessee drops 2, the door will be wide open and the only question will be who steps through. Houston's lack of Q1 chances makes it tough to see them moving up much.
More than anything, I think it comes to getting ahead of Kansas. If Texas Tech (Saturday) & KSU (Monday) can take down the Jayhawks, our chances improve exponentially.
| Sat Feb 23 Kansas @ TTech Sat Feb 23 Tennessee @ LSU Sun Feb 24 MSU @ Mich Mon Feb 25 Kansas vs. KSU Wed Feb 27 Tennessee @ Ole Miss Sat Mar 2 Purdue vs. Ohio St. Sat Mar 2 MSU @ IU Sat Mar 2 Tennessee vs. UK Sat Mar 2 Houston vs. UCF Sun Mar 3 Michigan @ Maryland Tue Mar 5 Purdue @ MN Tue Mar 5 Kansas @ OK Tue Mar 5 Tennessee vs. Miss St. Sat Mar 9 Kansas vs.Baylor Sat Mar 9 MSU vs. Michigan Sat Mar 9 Tennessee @ Auburn Sun Mar 10 Houston @ Cincinnati |
With MSU winning last night does it make more sense to root for MSU to sweep Michigan now?
Win out and win the BET and they'd have a hard time keeping us on the 3-line. That said, I still expect 2 more regular season losses, and we are historically crappy at the Garden.
I'm more concerned about dropping to a 4 than I am about rising to a 2.
I cautiously agree. That said, I think Michigan State & Tennessee both are likely to slide given their schedules. MSU is now without Nick Ward while Tennessee before the Kentucky game had played an easier conference schedule than Gonzaga.I'm curious to see how the committee handles KU's road record.
If Michigan sweeps MSU & Tennessee drops 2, the door will be wide open and the only question will be who steps through. Houston's lack of Q1 chances makes it tough to see them moving up much.
More than anything, I think it comes to getting ahead of Kansas. If Texas Tech (Saturday) & KSU (Monday) can take down the Jayhawks, our chances improve exponentially.
This might be a bit early, but come conference tourney week, what mid-majors should we be watching hoping for bid stealers?
Are VCU or Davidson good enough for an at-large? Meaning we'd root for someone like SLU or Richmond making the A10 a 3 bid league.
Same with ODU in CUSA, could Western KY or UAB winning the conference tourney make it a 2 bid league?
Buffalo should get an at-large even if they don't win their con tourney right?
We'd obviously root against Nevada anyways, but if someone other than them, Utah St, or SDSU win, how many bids would the MW get?
Same story with Wofford in the Southern, South Dakota St in the Summit, and New Mexico State in the Western. Any worthy of an at-large, or they all single bid conferences?
With MSU winning last night does it make more sense to root for MSU to sweep Michigan now?
Villanova is really all that stands in our way. I fully believe we win the 3 after so we could be entering the BET at 27-4 or 26-5 with a loss to nova. From there if we win the tournament at 29-5 or 30-4 either way they will get a 2 seed. No team in the history of the Big East that won the tournament and conference has ever been given less than a 2 seed. Keep in mind all the teams ahead of us unless they win there tournament will lose another game and that includes michigan, michigan st and purdue all of which are around our seed. Tennessee is going to falter a few more times as well.
Villanova is really all that stands in our way. I fully believe we win the 3 after so we could be entering the BET at 27-4 or 26-5 with a loss to nova. From there if we win the tournament at 29-5 or 30-4 either way they will get a 2 seed. No team in the history of the Big East that won the tournament and conference has ever been given less than a 2 seed. Keep in mind all the teams ahead of us unless they win there tournament will lose another game and that includes michigan, michigan st and purdue all of which are around our seed. Tennessee is going to falter a few more times as well.When's the last time the Big East was this weak?
One positive then to not being a 2 seed is the likelihood of being the strongest 3 seed which means we would avoid Duke,Kentucky,North Carolina, Gonzaga, virginia and michigan state. If we are are a 3 i would hope that the 2 would be Tennesee, Houston or Michigan. Since everyone is so close this year the difference between a 2 an 3 may be minimal
One positive then to not being a 2 seed is the likelihood of being the strongest 3 seed which means we would avoid Duke,Kentucky,North Carolina, Gonzaga, virginia and michigan state. If we are are a 3 i would hope that the 2 would be Tennesee, Houston or Michigan. Since everyone is so close this year the difference between a 2 an 3 may be minimal
One positive then to not being a 2 seed is the likelihood of being the strongest 3 seed which means we would avoid Duke,Kentucky,North Carolina, Gonzaga, virginia and michigan state. If we are are a 3 i would hope that the 2 would be Tennesee, Houston or Michigan. Since everyone is so close this year the difference between a 2 an 3 may be minimal
Villanova is really all that stands in our way. I fully believe we win the 3 after so we could be entering the BET at 27-4 or 26-5 with a loss to nova. From there if we win the tournament at 29-5 or 30-4 either way they will get a 2 seed. No team in the history of the Big East that won the tournament and conference has ever been given less than a 2 seed. Keep in mind all the teams ahead of us unless they win there tournament will lose another game and that includes michigan, michigan st and purdue all of which are around our seed. Tennessee is going to falter a few more times as well.
Conspiracy me says we end up in Duke's bracket no matter what.
Conspiracy Kentucky fan says the same thing about MU.
Now the hard part that would get the eyerolls- I know I may be in the minority here but in the above scenario with Marquette sweeping reg and conf tourney titles and getting a 2 seed, a potential loss in the 2v7 or 2v10 game pre sweet 16 would still make this year a complete success imo.
I know it’s horrible to even think about, I know it would suck arse, but I also know the NCAA tournament is amazing and crape happens. That nightmarish scenario aside the season would be one of the best in program history and that’s why this ride has been so awesome.
Root against UNC UK LSU and Virginia Tech today?
I would say so. You could cheer for Virginia Tech over Duke if you think its possible that Duke will have an end of season collapse without Zion, but I'm not seeing it so cheering against VT is probably safer.
You can also cheer for Indiana, Ohio State, and Buffalo for good measure.
At this point, I want Kentucky to stay ahead of Tennessee. Marquette isn't catching Kentucky, and I want Marquette to go to Des Moines. Kentucky going to Columbus makes the path to Des Moines much easier.
As much as I want the #2 seed...the most important thing to me right now is playing in Des Moines. If it's a #3 seed in Des Moines vs a #2 seed in Hartford...I think that's about the only scenario where I'd be okay with a #3 instead of a #2.
Why is this so important to you? Do you have family there you can crash with or something? Wouldn't a competitor care about opponent/path to the championship rather than personal expedience vis a vis travel?
As much as I want the #2 seed...the most important thing to me right now is playing in Des Moines. If it's a #3 seed in Des Moines vs a #2 seed in Hartford...I think that's about the only scenario where I'd be okay with a #3 instead of a #2.
Yeah, I don't think there's any amount of fan support that could be as close to valuable as playing lower seeds. We're not that important. Give me the higher seed over Des Moines every day.
Plus, if I understand the process correctly, getting a higher seed increases our chances of going to Des Moines
I think you are reading too much into guru's comment, EFR.
Des Moines is the best for Marquette in terms of proximity, which would hopefully mean more fan support. Recall that for MU's Final Four run, we played in Indianapolis and the Twin Cities for our first four games, and had good attendance at both locations.
However, I will say that it is tough to think of a scenario in which we could end up at a 2-seed in Hartford at this point of the season, so he presents a bit of a counterfactual.
Yeah, I don't think there's any amount of fan support that could be as close to valuable as playing lower seeds. We're not that important. Give me the higher seed over Des Moines every day.
Plus, if I understand the process correctly, getting a higher seed increases our chances of going to Des Moines
I really do wonder how seriously(if at all) MU would be considered for a 1 seed if they win out. Let's hope we have the chance to find out.
Its possible but still highly unlikely. The Big East is just to down this year even with a what would be 30-4 record. I do think we get a 2 seed in this scenario. This year there seems to be 12 teams that you could legit make a argument deserve to be on a 1 or 2 line. This just means you are going to see matchups that normally wouldn't occur until the final four happen in the elite 8 or maybe even the sweet 16. I could honestly see Purdue if they fall to a 4 seed knock out any of the 1 seeds same with Nova.
With VT upsetting Duke, I'm cheering real hard for FSU next Tuesday. I don't think VT is close to passing us but that's the kind of win that can make up some ground. The loss also opens the door for a late season Duke collapse. Not counting on it by any means but if they have a WTF loss like home vs Wake or Miami all of the sudden they could be passable.
Not worried about VaTech. But I do think we should start including Duke in Ye Olde 2-Seed Rooting Guide until Zion is 100% back.
With VT upsetting Duke, I'm cheering real hard for FSU next Tuesday. I don't think VT is close to passing us but that's the kind of win that can make up some ground. The loss also opens the door for a late season Duke collapse. Not counting on it by any means but if they have a WTF loss like home vs Wake or Miami all of the sudden they could be passable.
Pretty sure most brackets have FSU ahead of VT right now. FSU has a pretty easy schedule. THem winning isnt ideal either.
1 has to win.
That's a good point, kind of a brain dead moment from me. I got focused on VT because they were in the "other teams considered" on the bracket reveal and FSU wasn't. Definitely possible that FSU has played their way above VT at this point. In that case, I still think the home win for FSU is the better result. FSU beating VT at home...meh they were supposed to. VT winning on the road at FSU, that's a bigger win. But you're right, both are probably about equal so pick your poison.
Yeah FSU is probably slightly more ideal.
Kinda sucks. If we lose tomorrow we are actually in a bit of dangerous spot(even tho its not a bad loss). Teams like LSU, Houston, Purdue, TT keep winning too with Kansas, VT, FSU all lurking based off their schedules.
1 good loss and we might lose our 3 seed.
Tennessee down 1 just over a minute left.
Tennessee down 1 just over a minute left.