Chances of being in Chicago for NCAA?

[MUMountin]

I know this is looking ahead a bit, but what do people think are the chances of MU getting a protected seed in Chicago for the first rounds of the NCAAs?

Looking at the other teams that we may be competing against, I think they are pretty good, as Wisconsin and Kansas seem to be the only other top teams that Chicago would be the closest location.

I have to head to Chicago for an interview the weekend of the first rounds, so I am trying to decide if I should just buy my ticket for Thursday morning, just to make sure that I don't miss anything!

Any thoughts?

[NavinRJohnson]

We win enough games and get a top 4, I'd say Chicago is highly likley. Not sure how Ohio State factors into this, but they could possibly cause a problem for us. Columbus is hosting first round games as well. I am not sure if OSU could be placed there. If they can't, I assume either Chicago or Lexington would be  likley destinations for them. Then again if both OSU and Wisconsin get No. 1 seeds, I'm sure they would be at different sites.

Hard to ever predict what the committee will do, but given the relative lack of quality teams in the radius around Chicago, I'd say we have a good shot. I'd much rather be placed somewhere else early, so long as we are in the Midwest/St. Louis region. We can turn that place into a see of Red and Gold along with Wisconsin, ala Minneapolis in '03. That way we can get a re-match with the Badgers and take care of them when it really counts. Heck, maybe Kansas will be there too, and we can exact a little revenge against them as well for what they did to us that year. Then its on to Atlanta to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of our championship.

[michiganmufan]

50/50
I know, it sounds like a cop-out, but last year the number 3 (which I believe MU will be) seeds were:  Iowa - sent to Atlanta,  Florida - sent to Minneapolis, Gonzaga - sent to Oakland, North Carolina - sent to Washington DC.  Now why Iowa and Florida got jacked around geographically, while Gonzaga and North Carolina didn't, I don't know

[MUMountin]

Assuming that Ohio State is a top seed, I'm guessing they'll be in Lexington, which is half the distance for them than Chicago.  So, I don't think that they'd be a problem.

I guess the other team that could possibly give us trouble could be Butler--both Chicago and Columbus look to be about equidistant for them.  Although, I hope that we will most likely be seeded higher than them.

[NavinRJohnson]

50/50
I know, it sounds like a cop-out, but last year the number 3 (which I believe MU will be) seeds were:  Iowa - sent to Atlanta,  Florida - sent to Minneapolis, Gonzaga - sent to Oakland, North Carolina - sent to Washington DC.  Now why Iowa and Florida got jacked around geographically, while Gonzaga and North Carolina didn't, I don't know

Those were their regions - Florida played their first round games in Jacksonville, Iowa in Detroit, UNC in Dayton, and Gonzaga in Salt Lake City.

If those provide any indication, we'll be in Chicago if we are a 3. UNC could have conceivably been in Greensboro, but Duke was there as a number 1 seed, so that is pretty self explanatory. Question would be do they have any reason not to put UW and Marquette at the same site? I guess I don't see any reason that should be the case.

[marquette09]

All we got to do is win.  The more games we win the higher probability we play in chicago

[Dish]

If you do go, try not to buy your ticket for Thursday morning, as you'll most likely just be staring at the Jordan statue all day. The games in Chicago are Friday/Sunday.

[MUMountin]

Ahhh!  Excellent information!  This is why I come to this board!

Thanks!