Chuck Taylor

I cut DeCoursey some slack, since his real job is reporting. Palm and Lunardi, on the other hand, get paid to be utter failures. Lunardi preparing to throw another dart at his bracketology dartboard:

He did, I posted in the outstate kids thread, guess this was the place for it.

Frankie Fidler in the portal. https://www.verbalcommits.com/transfers

I don't doubt TV people like having another "story line," but I don't think the selection committee used it to arrange the matchup. Imo, it just happened.

I'm going to step into it here. I don't know how the women's committee works, but imo the men's matchup was just a fluke. I've been tracking bracketology for weeks, and this matchup has been out there waiting to happen. I checked right after the Trev news and thought, "oh, boy." The committee had a hard enough time figuring out who was in. Then it had to avoid matches through a couple rounds among Mountain West teams (4), Big Ten (3), SEC (2) and Pac 12 (2) in the 7-10 slots. Bracket Matrix had us paired with 9 seed Michigan State. Go up a line, and we're paired with Northwestern. Those don't work, so go down a line and ... TEXAS A&M. Please try completing a seed list without regard to conferences and then get them to fit into a bracket while avoiding conference matchups for 2 rounds. If you think that sounds like too much work, then try doing it by committee. The committee members were up until 2 a.m. Sunday completing the field, and it's hard to believe they spent any time discussing how to arrange this matchup because it fit some kind of narrative. Finally, what would be the motivation for the matchup? Committee members hate Trev? Seems like he gets along well with his people, aside from the entire state of Nebraska now. TV? I hate to break it to you, but 95%+ of the viewers don't know about Trev or care. His departure is a big story here and that's about it. The women's process is not as transparent, and there aren't many bracketologists. But I'd guess their committee faces the same difficulties in the process and would not spent a lot of time on "interesting matchups."

Two recent interim coaches come to mind: --Wichita State, where Gregg Marshall's assistant was fired after 3 years. --Texas, where Chris Beard's replacement has the Horns as an 8 seed. I'm guessing that's not going to cut it with their fans. I'm sure there are examples where it's worked, but I can't remember any recent. I'll use the frequent excuse of "I'm too lazy to look it up."

The track record on hiring successful interim coaches isn't great. Good news for us!

Me every other year: Lunardi's an idiot! Me today: Lunardi's a genius!

I think they're at the end of the season, after the tournament, which makes it somewhat misleading. For example, Baylor entered the 2021 tournament 3 in offense and 46 in defense, but finished 2 and 25 to meet the metric standard. https://www.barttorvik.com/trank-time-machine.php?date=20210405&offseason=0&year=2021 I'd bet 2011 UConn didn't have the metrics going into the tournament either since they entered the tournament with 9 losses. The Torvik time machine didn't go back that far.

Sorry, boss, but I just tested positive.

Internet sources: So he hasn't "spoken to anyone," but he didn't say he hasn't exchanged emails or texts.

Me every other season: "Man, that Katz dude is terrible, just bends whichever way the wind blows." Me this year: "Man, that Katz dude knows his stuff."

While my clinic yielded 7 decades of frustration, I still am available for occasional advice.

I really have to stop myself from looking ahead on this bracket.

I honestly don't think there's much movement left for us, unless we beat Purdue or Illinois next week. Otherwise, it seems we're pretty much locked into an 8-10 seed.

Hanging onto a 9 seed (and facing Texas in Indianapolis) on Bracketville. A win over Michigan will keep us at least that high, regardless of what happens in the BIG tourney. https://bracketville.wordpress.com/bracketology/

Wish I could find it, but one of the top bracketologists mentioned that this year is particularly difficult because of the bunching of Big 12 teams in the 2-4 range, Big Ten teams in the 7-10 range and Big East teams on the bubble. Avoiding conference matches might result in some odd slotting. Awesome, Selection Sunday uproar guaranteed!

I understand that not incompletely, with the exception of everything that I don't.

Couldn't agree more. It's incredibly difficult to get the teams slotted initially. Then you have to slot the protected teams. Then you have to avoid rematches and separate conference opponents. By that time, there's no wiggle room for "hey, let's screw this team, or hey, would it be a great story if ..." That being said, I think the Alabama AD is going to screw us for the '77 win over Bear Bryant.

LBJ's backing didn't do much for USC this year.

We ain't going to Dayton. We're closer to an 8 seed than an 11.

Enough. We're in.

I don't know if that's true or not, but it's an interesting take. The metrics ratings is that they are designed to predict the outcome of games, so if beating a bad team by lot really means nothing, then KenPom etc. will change the formula.

Plus, recent Big Ten top 25 programs are down, i.e. Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Maryland and Iowa. I don't think it's a coincidence that Northwestern and Minnesota are also having good years. The non-con boosted players' confidence and added to the buy-in. Success in conference pushed it even further. We're playing great right now, and I'm not sure we would have if we'd taken 4-5 losses in non-con. We'll see how far we can go in the NCAA, but I think we're close to a lock right now and would need a complete collapse to not make it.

Definitely.