I don't like it for 2 reasons. Making the tourney should be an accomplishment, not a birthright. And two, what is the impetus to play tough OOC games if not to strengthen your resume for the tourney? It virtually turns the pre tourney portion into an exhibition season.

I just realized who I should be rooting for in a positive fashion: St. John's! The only team in March Madness, men or women, from my neck of the woods.

Hofstra has appeared in the NCAA Division 1 tournament four times, but not since 2001. They would have played in the 2020 tournament but that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2016, Stony Brook as America East champion made its only NCAA appearance to date, ranked #53 overall in the tournament, and went one-and-done against Kentucky.

That's all folks. Well, then, go Red Storm!

Actually, I am closer to Yale than to St. John's, as the crow flies. But that big body of water in between has a psychologically distancing effect. Besides, Yale is already out, having lost to Texas A&M. Apparently, though, that game was closer than expected.

They are saying #12 McNeese State over #5 Clemson was a big upset. McNeese had Clemson down 31-13 at halftime; Clemson woke up in the second half but McNeese held them off 69-67. First NCAA Tournament win for McNeese.

Edit: Heh, watch coach Will Wade get "very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, excited." :)

Attachment 1054309

https://x.com/CBSSportsCBB/status/1902840080479158707

Clemson was indeed an upset. The final score wasn't indicative of how the game went. As you mentioned, the Tigers only had 13 in the 1st half. They scored 14 in the final minute. The 14-4 finish @ the end made it look closer that it really was. Clemson just couldn't hit jack. Meanwhile, McNeese St's coach Will Wade is headed to NCState to take over here in Raleigh.

In other bad ACC news, Louisville was eliminated by Creighton. The Jays ballooned a 1 pt lead into 20 in the 1st half & were never threatened again. What makes this particularly embarrassing is that the Cardinals were playing in Lexington, KY & had a clear home crowd advantage. (Which never should have happened in the 1st place. How fair would it have been for Auburn to be the overall #1 seed & having to play a tough underdog in that dog's home state? Terrible seeding by the selection committee.)

Added to the ACC's disgrace is many experts called Clemson's & ville's seeding an insult to the teams & the league. Turns out they were being flattered. So one of the worst basketball seasons on record for the ACC is turning into the worst. The league needs a better than expected showing from UNC just to save some face.

Ahhh, Baylor vs. Mississippi St., number 9 versus number 8 in the East. This should be a decent game. I might switch over to the women's tourney later, though. Duke vs. Mount St. Mary's might put me to sleep.

I suppose I shouldn't ask why teams from Texas and Mississippi are playing in the EAST regional instead of SOUTH. Probably an overflow of teams selected from the latter region.

Merely guides on how/where to seed teams, instead of a factual statement of where they play. Otherwise Florida would not be the #1 seed in the WEST region :confused::laugh:

Weird. But it is MARCH MADNESS! ;)

I wanted to report "Bulldogs barely beat Bears. Bye-bye Baylor!" but such was not the case. Baylor led the whole game, by as much as 11, and demonstrated that they were just marginally better than Mississippi State, 75-72.

I just switched to this game and caught this play. The "assist" was an inbound pass about three-quarters of the court to a sprinting teammate. It looked like quarterback and wide receiver. I hope they have a highlight video of it later.

Here, Jordan, I will answer my own question for a change, thank you! ;)

Quarters vs halves: Why women's, men's NCAA tournament games use different formats

I hope I've been helpful!

IMO, quarters are the superior form of basketball and would help eliminate/lessen what I feel is the penalty one receives of being refereed by college officials.

Yes you have, thanks. This is my first deep dive and this thread is helping me learn the ins and outs of this madness.

I recently read an article about ornate college basketball court designs. It wasn't this one, but you get the idea.

Wife and I are watching the FDU/TCU women's game, which is on the Horned Frogs home court. She commented on the floor pattern, asking whether it's distracting to the players.

Attachment 1054374

I opined that it's not; the design is more apparent from a high camera angle than from the players' level; the ball is bright orange, and the lines and paint stand out well.

The Horned Frogs seem to be thriving upon it, at least.

EDIT: Actually, maybe it was distracting at some point. That image above is apparently old; comparing it to what I am seeing on my screen now, it seems they replaced the blue motif with the same pattern but in light reddish grey on a beige background.

The women have been ahead of the men in format for a long time. WCBB was using a 30 second shot clock in the 1970s, when the men were content to watch Dean Smith's Four Corners offense for hours at a time.

Arkansas 75, St. John's 66

Je suis désolé. :(

It is my curse. Whomever I root for will lose. I could perfect your brackets, if your office pool is still open. For a nominal fee, I will root for one team in each pairing; you merely bet on the other team and reap the rewards!

Hmmm. I noticed something. If you go to the CBS brackets in my OP, every finished men's game has a "RECAP" link, meaning press coverage. In contrast, every finished women's game so far merely has "BOX SCORE" for a link. Sad.

I knew I would have to mention this at least once in this thread. Here are some of the lopsided scores from the first rounds.

MENS:
Iowa State 82, Lipscomb 55
Michigan State 87, Bryant 62
Florida 95, Norfolk 69
Maryland 81, Grand Canyon 49
St. Johns 83, Omaha 53
Duke 93, Mount St. Mary's 49
Oregon 81, Liberty 52
Arizona 93, Akron 65
Houston 78, SIU Edwardsville 40

WOMENS:
UCLA 84, Southern and A&M 46
Florida State 94, George Mason 59
LSU 103, San Diego State 48!
South Carolina 108, Tennessee Tech 48!!
Duke 86, Lehigh 25!!!
Texas 105, William and Mary 61
Tennessee 101, Southern Florida 66
Notre Dame 106, Stephen F. Austin 54
Baylor 73, Grand Canyon 60*

I had to look up a few schools that I had never heard of before. On the one hand, it seems a bit ludicrous for some of them to be competing against the powerhouses. Maybe even unfair. I can't help thinking about the selection process; maybe the inclusion of some conferences should not be automatic.

But I must keep in mind that for these obscure colleges, just being in the tournament is the high point and the reason for celebration no matter how bad their first round defeat is. I mentioned Stony Brook earlier, how they qualified for their only NCAA tournament appearance in 2016. I remember it remained a locally big deal for them even after getting blown out by Kentucky.

*No, this game was not a blowout like the men's game but I included it to highlight the fact that Grand Canyon Antelopes qualified in both tournaments!

With St. John's out, I am back to this:
The UCONN basketball machine got off to a quick start in both tournaments with easy victories (I purposely left out the women's crushing of Arkansas State, 103-34, in my post above).

But, as I type, the UCONN men's team has their hands full against #1 Florida.

Umm,
Yes! Go Huskies! :rolleyes: