ncaa tournament (general) – Rush The Court

On Improving the NCAA Tourney: Part II

Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 19:45:59 +0000

This is the second edition of our two-part look at ways to improve the overall structure of the NCAA Tournament. In our Part I piece published earlier this week, we made several recommendations concerning the selection and seeding of the 68 teams in the annual field. Today we will focus on improving the bracketing process. Over the years, the Selection Committee has endeavored to better balance the bracket while easing travel burdens on participating schools’ players and fans. Examples of these modifications include the current “pod” system for the first two rounds; ranking the four top overall seeds so that the top two teams are on opposite sides of the [...]

On Improving the NCAA Tourney: Part I

Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 21:18:52 +0000

Last June the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) empaneled an ad hoc committee whose stated purpose was to provide the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee a perspective from men’s basketball coaches and their teams regarding selection, seeding and bracketing for the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA has in recent years become increasingly receptive to considering and making changes, and as this year’s event reaches its climax, we decided to offer some specific recommendations to bolster the best three weeks in sports. Let’s focus today on improvements to the selection and seeding process.

John Calipari is one of [...]

Three Schools Looking to End Tourney Droughts

Shane McNichol — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 20:05:40 +0000

So much of this season’s focus has zeroed in on college basketball’s blue-blooded programs, both those holding true to their stature and those that are floundering. But although their names are not as sexy, this season’s early group of bubble teams features a handful of programs that have little to no recent experience in the NCAA Tournament. For coaches at these schools, climbing the mountain to March Madness can be a veritable game-changer. As we slowly turn the corner into February and the last six weeks before Selection Sunday, fans, coaches, alumni and general observers should all keep a close [...]

Handicapping the Midseason Battle for the #1 Seeds

Shane McNichol — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 16:01:30 +0000

The College Football Playoff has caught a lot of flak for a system that rewards four teams in an environment where five power conference champions all feel that they are deserving. The NCAA Tournament with its 68 teams is obviously a lot more inclusive, but the pursuit of the four top seeds shares some of the flaws of the football system. College basketball features a less defined definition of its power conferences, but depending on your opinion of the Big East and American, our landscape features a minimum of six power conference champions which presumably would have a shot at the top line. On [...]

On Improving the NCAA Tourney: Part I

Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 18:01:21 +0000

In June the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) empaneled an ad hoc committee whose stated purpose was to provide the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee the perspective of men’s basketball coaches and their teams regarding selection, seeding and bracketing for the NCAA Tournament. With that in mind, we decided to give some specific recommendations of our own that would enhance an already great event. Let’s first focus on some improvements for the selection and seeding process.

John Calipari is one of the members of the recently created NABC ad hoc committee formed to make recommendations to [...]

Preseason Rankings May Reveal Final Four Destiny

William Ezekowitz — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 18:07:16 +0000

With March right around the corner, teams that rank highly in the Top 25 are daring to dream of a magical run to the Final Four in Houston. Because the NCAA Tournament is so matchup-based, it makes sense that most observers can’t realistically pick their favorites until Selection Sunday. But what if there were data that allowed us to eliminate a few upstarts before we even saw the brackets? Well, there are ways to do that. One oddity of college basketball is how important and even predictive the preseason rankings are. Nate Silver uses them as one of the tools [...]

Examining Elite Eight Profiles: Who Looks Poised to Go Deep Into March?

Will Ezekowitz — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 19:01:57 +0000

As conference play heats up, the identities of teams become increasingly apparent. As we invariably figure those teams out, we also start thinking about which teams are poised to make a run in March. To take a deeper view of postseason success, we looked at the KenPom statistical profile of five years of Elite Eight teams (perhaps a little arbitrary, but it’s hard to sneak into the national quarterfinals without being actually good) and compared it with this year’s teams that currently fit that profile. In the past five years, Elite Eight teams have ranked an average of 18th in offensive efficiency and 31st in defensive efficiency. Offense is clearly [...]

The First Four Doesn’t Need to Leave Dayton, But Maybe It Should

Chris Johnson — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 19:05:38 +0000

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

The first thing I think of when reading, writing or listening to anything having to do with the “First Four” is the NCAA’s frustrating semantical insistence that it be referred to as the “First Round.” Technically speaking, it is the first group of games qualified NCAA Tournament teams play, but to imply First Four teams and the other 64 all enter the Tournament needing to survive a “first round” – whether by playing games or not, which is what everyone except First Four teams do – is a confusing mischaracterization casual [...]

New Initiative For Seeding Should Create More Stability Within The Madness

BHayes — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 18:15:42 +0000

The college basketball news of the day on Thursday came from Ron Wellman, Wake Forest AD and current chair of the Division I men’s basketball championship committee, when he outlined significant criteria changes for how the NCAA Tournament will be seeded in the future. The new method will be put in place immediately for the 2014 NCAA Tournament, and while the change may not be as drastic as say, a 96-team field, it should have a meaningful and productive impact on the dear old event we know and love.

Brandon Davies And BYU Rejoiced After Their Comeback Victory Over [...]

Rejoice: The NCAA Tournament As We Know It Is Unlikely to Change

Chris Johnson — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 14:31:22 +0000

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

Nothing means more to college basketball fans than the NCAA Tournament. It is hallowed territory. The one three-week period of the year where college basketball dominates the national sports conversation. The best postseason of any sport in any country on any planet in any universe. Even pretentious NBA fans who typically spurn the college game for 11 months of the year – besides the sliver of college action they forcibly consume on YouTube clips leading up to the draft – usually tune in when March rolls along. As far as [...]

More Fireworks in the Nation’s Capital? NCAA Selects Washington, D.C. as Last 2013 Regional Host

EJacoby — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:23:24 +0000

The 2013 NCAA Tournament will be a milestone, marking the 75th all-time ‘Big Dance’ since Oregon won the first one in 1939. A lot has changed over the years, and it’s much harder to win the Tournament in its current 68-team format than it was for the Ducks in a total field of just eight schools then. In “a concerted effort to include cities with a rich history to help mark the milestone,” according to the new VP of NCAA Championships, Mark Lewis, the committee selected Washington, D.C. as the final host of the 2013 Regionals. The nation’s capital joins [...]

930 And You: The 2011 Tournament Under The New APR Rule

jstevrtc — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:19:21 +0000

The new APR rule is a fact. 930 Or Bust is happening. So let’s talk about it.

On the ESPN blog last week, Diamond Leung, a gentleman we’re happy to file under Official Friend Of RTC, posted an article in which he listed the 12 teams that would not have been eligible to compete if the new APR standard had been applied to the 2011 NCAA Tournament. #1-seed Ohio State? Watching from home. Kawhi Leonard and San Diego State? Sorry, they’d have been studying for finals and not playing basketball. Leung also noted how eventual champion Connecticut [...]

Coastal Carolina Takes A Couple On The Chin, But Still Fighting

jstevrtc — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:12:40 +0000

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have their work cut out for them.

Getting into the NCAA Tournament from the Big South is tough enough, considering the conference has never had more than one representative in The Dance at a time. You want in? You better win the postseason tournament. Winthrop has won nine of the last 12, bordering on a monopoly. National chatter about the Chanticleers, though, has been on the uptick throughout the latter part of the season, due to an impressive 20-game winning streak (22, if you include victories over a couple of D-III teams).

Greenwood's Absence Means Players Will Be Shifting [...]

Come Get Your RPIs, Fresh Out The Oven

jstevrtc — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:15:42 +0000

The NCAA has just released the latest RPI data for D-I men’s basketball. Your top 10:

1. Kansas 2. BYU 3. Ohio State 4. Georgetown 5. San Diego State 6. Pittsburgh 7. Duke 8. Texas 9. Notre Dame 10. Purdue

Two teams really digging those latest rankings: St. John’s at 17, and George Mason at 23. The Patriots are the highest school from a non-Power Six conference. Get the full list of all 345 D-I teams from the NCAA right here.

Answering That All-Important Question: What About My Bracket?

rtmsf — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:19:18 +0000

Andrew Murawa is an RTC contributor.

When the format of the new 68-team NCAA tournament bracket was announced back in July, we wondered exactly what type of effect this would have on our bracket pools. With just one opening round game in the past ten years (since the expansion of the tournament field from the sensible 64 teams to the odd 65 team field in 2001), that opening round game in Dayton was safely ignored by the vast majority of the college basketball fanbase. But when the NCAA announced that the First Four would not only include [...]