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(03-22-2021 10:55 PM)axeme Wrote:  

(03-22-2021 07:35 AM)Muskrat Wrote:  I believe that the "power programs", though certainly better in general than good mid-major teams, are overrated. By overrated I mean that they are more vulnerable to being beaten or being in a tight game on a neutral court by good mid-majors than the general sports public and many sports pundits like to think.

https://sports.yahoo.com/why-this-may-al...12534.html

The above article is interesting, but almost by definition an "upset" should be a fairly rare event, which clearly they aren't. I maintain that much of the public and most sports pundits consistently either overrate certain types of teams, underestimate other types of teams, or some combination of both.

Perfect example: Loyola . They were ranked in the top 20 at season's end and NET 11. Even conservatively, they should have legitimately been 6 seed if not a 5. Hell, if they are a legitimate top 15 team, they should have been a 4 seed. But they are a 8 instead. Illinois should be pissed: they should have gotten to play a true 8 seed, but instead get waxed by a 4-5 quality team, which makes their defeat not such a surprise.

I agree. Over the years I’ve noticed teams like Loyola being seeded two to three slots below what their RPI or NET ranking infers. This year being 11th they should have been a 3 seed. So a 5 or 6 would be expected. Who knows why they dropped to 8. Maybe they do such things to promote upsets. Those seem to help their ratings. Watching the women’s tournament where the first 17 games were won by the favorite I thought they were about to cry when a lower seed finally won.