RE: This is a clear shot at the AAC
They are taking the AAC down. That's what this is. I think some of you are whistling by the graveyard.
I didn't like the SMU decision but it wasn't because of NC State. Has anyone taken a look at BYU's losses? Hideous.
A. I'm going to start with the lowest hanging fruit, and that's UConn's seeding. 7? UConn should have been at least a 5. When people knock UConn's games against the bottom 5, realize a few things. The mega conferences like the ACC have unbalanced schedules. Some of those top teams avoided playing the other power teams twice and instead they had multiple games against weaklings Miami, Virginia Tech, BC, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Second, UConn's OOC was about as strong as UConn could schedule it. What, Florida, Maryland, Indiana, Stanford, Washington, Harvard, wasn't good enough? It's not often that you hand the #1 team in the nation one of their 2 losses and beat historical programs like Maryland and Indiana (in down years, albeit, though Maryland beat the ACC's #1 in Virginia, the BE's #1 in Providence, while Indiana beat the B1G's Michigan, Ohio St. and Wisconsin, while Stanford and Harvard made the tourney). What more really could UConn do OOC? That's the 22nd toughest schedule in the country, including games against AAC teams.
What's the message UConn can take from this? Do you schedule a tough OOC (where you'll take extra losses) or do you pump up your wins and FORCE the NCAA to give you a higher seed, ala St. Louis or Umass this year? Compare UConn's OOC to St. Louis's.
B. Louisville's seeding. Preposterous.
C. Giving higher seeds to ACC teams while stick Louisville on Wichita St.'s side. This is essentially taking out 2 birds with one stone. They gunned for Wichita St. there.
D. Seeding = NCAA tournament credits. We know this folks. You give your side higher seeds, and they proceed through the tourney after playing low majors the first round, and you collect the money. Even better if you stick the toughest and top seeds from other conferences against one another.
E. The SMOKING GUN: 75% of AAC teams in the same region. It's NEVER happened before.
They are limiting the AAC's possible avenues, and they are taking the AAC's money. THIS IS A SMOKING GUN. It's stunning to me that some AAC fans are whistling past the graveyard. Win out, you say. If you take this attitude year after year, you will not win out. Ain't going to happen. You can't fight the seeding.
If you're going to argue that Louisville was punished for a weak OOC, then why was UConn punished? It had a very strong OOC and even beat the #1 team Florida.
Explain that to me.
Or can you have things two ways?
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