Good piece. H should have been for Hosed. Louisville was hosed by being seeded eighth while a seemingly equal team they beat twice (Clemson) was fifth. The refs need to call that (flip) flop.
Lunardi agrees with you on Louisville/Clemson. It is strange there should be a disparity. I can only surmise that they valued Clemson's wins over Duke and Kentucky, and Louisville's losses to them, and that 3 of Clemson's 6 losses were in overtime, but Louisville had a better non-conference schedule. Again, this is the only day of the year in which we will be lamenting the seedings.
The outrage over Carolina is understandable, but it goes to Lunardi being so assured that they weren't getting in. ESPN presents Lunardi as a code-cracking bracket savant. When he drops someone from the 1 to the 2 line, they present it as a news event, when it's no more substantive than whether he crosses "bell peppers" off his grocery list and goes with "tomatoes." Unfortunately people believe it. This year has reinforced the reality that he isn't plugged into the committee's thinking. I have known Joe a long time and I'm appreciative of the niche he's created and the interest that he's triggered, but people take him too seriously.
Oh, I agree about Joe (who used to string regionals for me more than 30 years ago). He invented the word "bracketology" and has become the Bill James of the tournament. (FWIW, I think "WAR" -- and its variables -- is an awful statistic, too). The tomatoes/peppers line is priceless.
Certainly, you are correct. But to the fans, they matter. I've heard comments from angry UofL fans. Of course, the Tar Heels are elated, like they fell into the foul lane or something.
A lot of fans are angry. West Virginia (which has no case in my opinion) is threatening to secede. Even the USC women's coach, who got a No. 1 seed, is mad because it was the fourth No. 1 seed. It's crazy. None of them have any idea what the committee does and what they have to deal with it. But people are angry generally.
Unfortunately the analytics boom is affecting this process. One of the things that put Carolina in the tournament was something called WAB, or Wins Above Bubble. Like WAR, it's a total abstraction that has nothing to do with events on the field, or court.
Good piece. H should have been for Hosed. Louisville was hosed by being seeded eighth while a seemingly equal team they beat twice (Clemson) was fifth. The refs need to call that (flip) flop.
Lunardi agrees with you on Louisville/Clemson. It is strange there should be a disparity. I can only surmise that they valued Clemson's wins over Duke and Kentucky, and Louisville's losses to them, and that 3 of Clemson's 6 losses were in overtime, but Louisville had a better non-conference schedule. Again, this is the only day of the year in which we will be lamenting the seedings.
The outrage over Carolina is understandable, but it goes to Lunardi being so assured that they weren't getting in. ESPN presents Lunardi as a code-cracking bracket savant. When he drops someone from the 1 to the 2 line, they present it as a news event, when it's no more substantive than whether he crosses "bell peppers" off his grocery list and goes with "tomatoes." Unfortunately people believe it. This year has reinforced the reality that he isn't plugged into the committee's thinking. I have known Joe a long time and I'm appreciative of the niche he's created and the interest that he's triggered, but people take him too seriously.
Oh, I agree about Joe (who used to string regionals for me more than 30 years ago). He invented the word "bracketology" and has become the Bill James of the tournament. (FWIW, I think "WAR" -- and its variables -- is an awful statistic, too). The tomatoes/peppers line is priceless.
The seeds mean nothing. I thought we all realized that by now.
Certainly, you are correct. But to the fans, they matter. I've heard comments from angry UofL fans. Of course, the Tar Heels are elated, like they fell into the foul lane or something.
A lot of fans are angry. West Virginia (which has no case in my opinion) is threatening to secede. Even the USC women's coach, who got a No. 1 seed, is mad because it was the fourth No. 1 seed. It's crazy. None of them have any idea what the committee does and what they have to deal with it. But people are angry generally.
Unfortunately the analytics boom is affecting this process. One of the things that put Carolina in the tournament was something called WAB, or Wins Above Bubble. Like WAR, it's a total abstraction that has nothing to do with events on the field, or court.