(03-17-2017 06:14 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  To me, blowouts make a tourney a dud, and there were a lot of games that went down to the wire today, fun games to watch.

Perfectly valid viewpoint. Fair enough!

(03-17-2017 08:43 AM)ken d Wrote:  Depends on what you call an upset. MTSU was favored in that game. And Maryland was only a 2 point favorite over Xavier. The only two betting favorites to lose yesterday were Maryland and Vanderbilt (also a 2 pt favorite).

(03-17-2017 09:24 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  I don't think one can interpret much about upsets. They happen for so many different reasons. At the core of it, one team just outplays another, regardless of seed.

I'm talking purely from the viewpoint of TV execs.

They're banking that the average casual fan, who tunes in because its a thing to do and because filling out a bracket is a thing to do, will care most when team A is seeded "below" team B and wins the game. The "Madness" of March, which is the sole marketing focus.

Betting lines, while not invalid in the slightest, I don't think are how most of these casual viewers look at games. They look at seeds.