2025-26 College Hoops Thread

[The Sultan]

But they did beat UCONN 2/3 and won 19 of their last 20. 

I think they are way better than a typical 5 seed and that Kansas and Duke should be worried.

But that doesn't mean they don't deserve the seed they received. Teams aren't seeded based on how they have done over the last 20.

[willie warrior]

I wish I loved anything as much as Dayton, supposed Big East deserving team, loves not winning their mid conference championship

Dayton owns Shakas ass.

[Billy Hoyle]

But they did beat UCONN 2/3 and won 19 of their last 20. 

Apparently performance in the last 10 games no longer matters.

[The Sultan]

Apparently performance in the last 10 games no longer matters.

And hasn't for years.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

The consensus seems to be that St.J got hosed.  There is also no explanation why they and UCONN are in the same region. 

Consensus amongst whom?  Bracket Matrix had St. John's as a 5 seed.  A dreadful BE and a lack of marquee non-conference wins left St. John's with a thin resumé.  The 5 seed was deserved.

As for your second point, it's very easy to see why the bracket placement has UConn and SJU in the same region.  It's simple geography, as both were placed in their closest regional site.

Since UConn is a 2 and SJU is a 5, there is no rule against placing them in the same site. Let's look at the bracketing principles to explain.

1) The top 4 teams from a conference should be placed in separate regions, but only if those teams are a 4 seed or better.

If SJU was a 4 seed instead of a 5, they would have been placed in a different region than UConn.  But since they're a 5 seed, there is no problem.

2) Two teams that play each other 3 times during the should avoid each other until the Regional Final.

Here are two examples which would have placed UConn and SJU in separate regions. 

If UConn was a 1 seed, then 5 seed SJU would have to be placed in a different region to avoid a potential Sweet 16 matchup.

With UConn earning a 2 seed, if SJU would have been a 6 seed they would have been placed in a different region.  Again, the reason being to prevent a potential Sweet 16 matchup.

But with UConn as a 2 seed and SJU as a 5, they are on separate sides of the bracket and cannot meet before the Regional Final.  (If UConn was a 1 seed and SJU was a 6 seed, they could also be placed in the same region.)

When you understand the bracketing rules, it's very easy to understand how they ended up in the same region given their seeding.

[MuggsyB]

Apparently performance in the last 10 games no longer matters.

That's not true when you look at some of these teams.  If it was UCONN would be a 1 seed. 

[The Sultan]

That's not true when you look at some of these teams.  If it was UCONN would be a 1 seed. 

<sigh> No. That's not true at all.

You are misunderstanding the point. Performance in the last ten games used to be weighted more heavily than other games throughout the season. Now the last ten games are treated no differently than the first ten...the middle ten...or ten random games throughout the season. What matters is the entire resume.

[MuggsyB]

<sigh> No. That's not true at all.

You are misunderstanding the point. Performance in the last ten games used to be weighted more heavily than other games throughout the season. Now the last ten games are treated no differently than the first ten...the middle ten...or ten random games throughout the season. What matters is the entire resume.

Ya...I dunno.  If you look at Virginia as a #3? 

[The Sultan]

Ya...I dunno.  If you look at Virginia as a #3? 

UConn was picked as a #2 on Bracket Matrix.
Virginia was picked as a #3 as well.

In fact the NCAA only had two glaring inaccuracies seeding wise compared to Bracket Matrix. Vanderbilt should have been a 4 and Utah State a 8. There are a couple other quibbles here and there, but nothing major

Those aside, I think the committee actually did a very good job following its guidelines. Nothing like last year's ridiculous inclusion of North Carolina.

[Tarragona]

This was Vandy vs the 4 seeds:

https://x.com/totally_t_bomb/status/2033389230181806236?s=46