Espn Bracketology 3/14

[jfmu]

has us still as a 7 seed but playing in Minneapolis against dayton. the #2 seed is MSU and if we beat msu we would play the winner of lsu/sdsu or wake/binghampton

[VwArrior1]

It has us in Minneapolis with as a 7 seed with a first round matchup against Dayton. Also a second round matchup with Michigan State most likely. 

[schubert33]

Will be hard enough to get passed Dayton!!

[robmufan]

I would be ok with that!

[5YearsatMU]

Jerry Palm has us in MN as a 6 playing St. Mary's, with Missouri being the 3. 

[muguru]

Except MU can't play Dayton in the first round.

[reinko]

Except MU can't play Dayton in the first round.

Rule that bans playing teams you already faced throughout the season, even if it is a non-conference game??

[dwaderoy2004]

they try to avoid it.  however, with the big east, big ten, acc and possibly the big 12 all getting at least 7 schools in, that rule may get thrown out the window.  they certainly don;t want schools from the same conference meeting until at least the sweet 16.

[5YearsatMU]

Not sure if meeting Dayton is against the rules?  I found this:

1. The top priority for the committee is to balance the bracket in each region across the country.

2. The teams seeded 64 and 65 will compete in an opening-round game the week of the first round. The winner of the opening-round game will play as a No. 16 seed in the first round at a Friday-Sunday first-round site to be determined by the committee during selection weekend.

3. The committee will assign all four teams in each 'pod' (seeds 1, 16, 8, 9), (4, 13, 5, 12), (2, 15, 7, 10), (3, 14, 6, 11) to the same first-/second-round site. There will be two 'pods' at each first-/second-round site. The first-/second-round sites that feed into a regional site may be in different geographic areas from the regional. Also, the two 'pods' at a first-/second-round site may feed into different regional sites.

4. Sixteen levels are established (i.e., the seeds, 1 through 16) in the bracket that transcend each of the four regions, permitting evaluation of four teams simultaneously on the same level.

5. Each region is divided into four sections with four levels in each, permitting the evaluation of four different sections within each region against the complementing sections in every other region.

6. All seeds on each line (No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, etc.) should be as equal as possible.

7. If two teams from the same natural region are in contention for the same bracket position, the team ranked higher in the seed list shall remain in its natural region.

8. A team will not be permitted to play in any arena in which it has played more than three regular-season games, not including conference post-season tournaments.

9. A host institution's team shall not be permitted to play at the site where the institution is hosting. However, the team may play on the same days when the institution is hosting.

10. Each of the first three teams selected from a conference shall be placed in different regions.

11. No more than one team from a conference may be seeded in the same grouping of four (in line Nos. 1-4 and 13-16) in a region. (Note: The only possible exception would occur if a conference has five or more teams seeded in line Nos. 1-4. The other principles herein would apply in the exception case.)

12. In lines No. 5-12, two teams from the same conference may be placed in the same group of four.

13. Conference teams shall not meet each other prior to the regional final unless a ninth team is selected from a conference. Two teams from the same conference within the same region, therefore, shall not be seeded together in either of the following groups: Nos. 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 16; or Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 and 15.

14. There shall not be more than two teams from a conference in one region unless a ninth team is selected from a conference.

15. Teams will remain in or as close to their areas of natural interest as possible.

16. To ensure equitable competitive opportunities, the committee shall not place teams seeded on the first five lines at a potential "home-crowd disadvantage" in the first round.

17. An institution may be moved one bracket line from its true seed line (e.g., from a No. 13 seed to a No. 12 seed) when it is placed in the bracket if necessary to meet the principles.

18. If the committee is unable to reconcile the bracket after exhausting all possible options, it has the flexibility to waive principle No. 13 to permit two teams from the same conference to meet each other after the first round, if the conference has more than five participants.

Additional Considerations

1. A team moved out of its natural area will be placed in the next closest region when possible.

2. If possible, rematches of regular-season games should be avoided in the first and second rounds.

3. If possible, rematches of previous years' tournament games should be avoided in the first and second rounds.

4. The committee will examine the previous five tournament brackets to determine the number of times a particular team or conference has been moved out of its natural region. The committee shall attempt to avoid moving a team or conference out of its natural region or geographic area an inordinate number of times.

[TJ]

Not sure if meeting Dayton is against the rules?  I found this:

Additional Considerations

1. A team moved out of its natural area will be placed in the next closest region when possible.

2. If possible, rematches of regular-season games should be avoided in the first and second rounds.

3. If possible, rematches of previous years' tournament games should be avoided in the first and second rounds.

4. The committee will examine the previous five tournament brackets to determine the number of times a particular team or conference has been moved out of its natural region. The committee shall attempt to avoid moving a team or conference out of its natural region or geographic area an inordinate number of times.

#2 applies - so we shouldn't get Dayton, but it's not expressly forbidden.

#4 could be applied to us and maybe help us out some after three trips in a row to San Diego, Winston-Salem, and Anaheim.

[muwarrior87]

key word in #4 is shall. Doesn't mean it has to be done even if it should be done.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

I dunno, seeing how the bubble is breaking down and knowing how the committee likes to reward bubble teams that make good conference tourney runs with high seeds, I'm starting to think we might end up sliding down to an 8. 

Examples:  Pitt, 2008 (probable 8 prior to winning BET, gets a 4 seed)
Syracuse, 2006 (out of field prior to winning BET, gets 5 seed)
Maryland, 2004 (out of field prior to winning ACC tourney, gets 4 seed at 19-11)

This year's cases for reward:  Temple (A10), USC (Pac-10), Florida State (if they win the ACC tmrw).

[nyg]

Florida State for sure gets a better seed.  if Temple and USC get lower seeds, something is wrong. 

[Marquette84]

I dunno, seeing how the bubble is breaking down and knowing how the committee likes to reward bubble teams that make good conference tourney runs with high seeds, I'm starting to think we might end up sliding down to an 8. 

Examples:  Pitt, 2008 (probable 8 prior to winning BET, gets a 4 seed)
Syracuse, 2006 (out of field prior to winning BET, gets 5 seed)
Maryland, 2004 (out of field prior to winning ACC tourney, gets 4 seed at 19-11)

So the committee likes to reward teams that make good conference tourney runs?   How do you explain the following:

Temple:   2008 won the A-10 tournament and was "rewarded" with a 12 seed
Georgia:  2008 was out of the running but won the SEC tourney, landed a 14 seed.
Creighton: 2007 MVC tournament champ, gets a 10 seed at 22-10
Xavier:  2006 won the A10 and got a 14 seed.

There is no consistent reward for teams that win their conference tournament.  Some get high bids, some get low bids.