Our schedule is also not as weak as we thought. We are 10-3 against RPI Top 100. Boy it would suck to be in the same regional with Duke. I know Stanford and St. Joe's are the unbeatens, but I've seen both play and they do not scare me. Duke scares me though. They are just tough.
I'm with you, I can't understand the basketball rankings to save my life. They never make sense . . . but then again all this regular season stuff and conference titles are meaningless in college basketball unless you make it to March Madness. Plain and simple, college basketball during the regular season is tough to get passionate about. It really means nothing until March.
Regular season is not exactly meaningless. You do have to win more than half your games, if you are a team like LSU, to get into the Big Dance. We have a huge chance to improve our position for March this Saturday. If we beat Florida, we can actually start talking about a 4 seed or higher come March.
I know what you mean, you have to win game to get in . . . but all in all, it doesn't have the same drama as having to go undefeated to assure yourself a spot in the NC. That said, I've always been a basketball fan and have kept up with the team since I graduated. I just don't have the same game to game interest I once had. One thing though, you can have a losing record and make it to March. If you win your conference tourney, you get an automatic bid. So in theory, if a team losses every single game, they still have a shot if they hit a hot streak in the conference tourney. I could be wrong about that, I don't have an official rule book or anything, but I always thought if you won your conference tourney that it was an automatic bid.
Kind of like the NBA season. Getting to a 4th or 5th seed as opposed to a 7th or 8th seed could mean the difference between playing a first round game against a NorthSouthEastWest Montana State type team or playing another big conference team that just made it to the Big Dance. Of course those nobody teams can get on a roll and beat some good teams too. Who ever heard of Gonzaga a few years ago. Gonzaga has played so well in March Madness that they have lost their underdog status.
I guess I see it like this. If LSU goes undefeated, and loses in the first or second round, it would lessen the outstanding season we had. Now, undefeated teams shouldn't lose in the first round. But it can happen, if they play a hot team. A loss would then make the regular season and conference play basically meaningless since the nation puts their interest in March Madness, not regular season accomplishments. The final four teams are the ones that get attention, and probably a recruiting advantage. Gonzaga has lost it's underdog status, but I feel that is from recruiting. They have been a hot team in March, getting lots of attention. Kids want to play where they will seen, and have a chance to shine on college basketball's biggest stage. College basketball is why I am so against a playoff for college football. I would hate see fans only care in December, making the regular season less interesting. I like the bowls, and feel it gives schools a chance to get TV time and walk off the field champs . . . even if it is some over corporate sponsered bowl game no one watched in early December. Memphis is getting some good early season pub, for just winning the New Orleans bowl. Sorry to go off topic, getting late and need to hit the sack. I want to see LSU basketball in March, and have been happy with the team this year. I don't follow it as closely as football, and really only get to see a few games on TV. But it is always nice to see LSU do well and get national attention. I caught the ALA game last week, and thought we played a good game. I have no idea how good ALA is, but we won.
In the NCAA BB tournament no #1 seed has ever lost to a #16 seed and only a couple of #2 seeds have ever lost to a #15 seed. Other than that upsets prevail and its up for grabs.
Useless trivia, but... You are right, no 16 has ever beat a 1. Princeton came close against Georgetown in 1987, Fairfield took North Carolina to overtime in 1998, and Western Carolina took Purdue to overtime in 1996. They are the only ones to come close that I've seen. Four 15 seeds have beaten 2 seeds. 1991, Richmond beat Syracuse 1993, Santa Clara beat Arizona 1997, Coppin State beat South Carolina 2002, Hampton beat Iowa State No 15 seed has ever gotten out of the second round though. The higher your seed, the less likely you are to get upset. That's what we're playing for at this moment.
Just a tidbit. Take a look at Michigan State's schedule OOC. It's brutal. May even be #1 in strength of schedule. That's how they're ranked at 12-8.
