Does the NCAA tournament determine the best team?

[ChicosBailBonds]

I've always said no.  It CAN, but it doesn't always.  Not with a one and done crapshoot. 

[MUSF]

No, but over time the best programs make final fours and win national championships.  Still a good measure of program success if not a clear determinant of the best bball team each season.

[NavinRJohnson]

I've always said no.  It CAN, but it doesn't always.  Not with a one and done crapshoot. 

The. Wouldn't the answer be both yes, and no?

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

The. Wouldn't the answer be both yes, and no?

Sounds like we need another thread to find out.

[g0lden3agle]

This is entering Ners level of (obsession+creating new threads) on one topic.

[MUfan12]

This is entering Ners level of (obsession+creating new threads) on one topic.

"Does the NCAA Tournament throw the best team under the bus?"

[tower912]

Sometimes.     It always identifies the team who can win 6 straight under pressure. 

[MuMark]

It determines the National Champion....which is all anyone cares about.......

Ditto for the Super Bowl, World Series, College Football Playoff and NBA Championship.

[MU82]

"Does the NCAA Tournament throw the best team under the bus?"

No, but it plays mind games.

[Johnny B]

Uconn was not the best team last year.

[Lennys Tap]

Who cares? Some years there's a clear "best team" (this year's Kentucky). Other years there's great debate after the regular season as to who was the "best". The purpose of the postseason (in any sport) is to crown a champion, not determine who was the best team a month or several months ago. Champions who win their titles on the court, the ice, the diamond, the gridiron, etc., make all the childish debating a moot point. A National Championship, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, World Series dwarfs the regular season. Nobody wants to hear from some whiner about how they were really the "best" even though they lost when it mattered most. Childish.

[GGGG]

The goal isn't to be the best team.  The goal is to win a championship.  Sometimes those align.  Oftentimes they don't.

[Lennys Tap]

Uconn was not the best team last year.

Yeah, but they're the champs. What else matters? And who was the "best"? Florida? Arizona? Wisconsin? Kentucky? Nobody knows, nobody cares.

[Pakuni]

Do the Kid's Choice Awards determine the best cartoon?

[GooooMarquette]

Marquette wasn't the best team in 1977.

We might have been in 1971, 1972 or 1978.

[rocky_warrior]

Yes.  The list of past champions sure reads like a list of the best teams over history...

http://www.ncaa.com/history/basketball-men/d1

[MU82]

To me, the champion is the best team each year - period.

And it's all about me!

[Nukem2]

Marquette wasn't the best team in 1977.

We might have been in 1971, 1972 or 1978.

MU and UNC were 1 or 2 in the pre-season wire service and magazine polls.  MU was derailed by Al's resignation announcement in December, 1976.  So much pressure along with the decision to start Bill Neary.  Worked out well in the end as Al started to use Toone and Dudleey more (see Kansas state, Cincinnati and UNC games).  In the end, I think it ended up being the best team.

[chapman]

The best team is defined as the one that wins the NCAA tournament, so yes.    


If you use a different definition of "best team", probably not.  If there's a way to determine the best team that gets better consensus, is practical to implement, makes a ton of money, and is still gosh darn fun, I'm all ears.   

[Jay Bee]

In '77 it did.

It *can*. The NCAA tournament determines the team that did the best in the tournament (e.g., as measured by not losing - which can be dependent on seeding/when and who you played/etc.). It's far from a "crapshoot," but there are always many possibilities.

I don't believe there are NCAA champions who didn't play some very strong games during the tournament.

But this is a topic for dumb sports talk shows. It does nothing for me except pass a little time while I'm eating and doing something else (wink wink).

[forgetful]

It determines the National Champion....which is all anyone cares about.......

Ditto for the Super Bowl, World Series, College Football Playoff and NBA Championship.

This.  The regular season is to identify top teams.  The championships are to define who is the best when it matters.  All championships are equivalent in that matter

[MUSF]

Yes.  The list of past champions sure reads like a list of the best teams over history...

http://www.ncaa.com/history/basketball-men/d1

That was exactly my point.  It may not determine the best team each and every year, but over time the best programs win championships.  

If Kentucky loses in the tourney this year, I will still believe they were the best team this year.  That stated, History also tells us that if a team other than the Wildcats wins the trophy, it will probably be one of the top programs each year, e.g. Duke, Arizona, etc.

[Eldon]

No, but over time the best programs make final fours and win national championships.  Still a good measure of program success if not a clear determinant of the best bball team each season.

Couldn't have said it better myself

[MuMark]

That was exactly my point.  It may not determine the best team each and every year, but over time the best programs win championships.  

If Kentucky loses in the tourney this year, I will still believe they were the best team this year.  That stated, History also tells us that if a team other than the Wildcats wins the trophy, it will probably be one of the top programs each year, e.g. Duke, Arizona, etc.

If Kentucky doesn't win the NC few will care that they were undefeated in the regular season....like Wichita State last year.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Marquette wasn't the best team in 1977.

We might have been in 1971, 1972 or 1978.

Shhhh, a lot of people say heresay to that.....even though Al agrees.


Thank you for the input.  I'm surprised that 25% think it determines the best team.  If Kentucky does not win this year, I wonder if those 25% would change their vote.  Anything can happen.  The tournament determines a champion, sometimes it crowns the best team as the champion and both scenarios happen, but the championship itself doesn't mean that is the best team, IMO (and Al's).