That would leave 64 at large bids. 1/2 of a 128 team field.
Also, if it's going to be that big, we shouldn't have a 128-team draw. We should have four 32-team regional draws. First weekend is a true regional tournament with all teams playing relatively close to home, and then the 64 winners move to the "national" tournament.
Would you settle for 8 … 16 team sites?
Honestly, I'd be fine with it. I don't think we owe at-large bids anything, anyway. If the best team in the country gets left at home because they f*cked up in the conference tourney, so be it.
After watching the game I think IU flew east from Dayton to the west coast.
West coast league tourney was the week before the Big 10 tourney.
They may be, I don't know if they are or not based off of last night. People act like the one week well rested team whose coach said they specifically prepared for Indiana all week are not 18-23 year old peak athletes too.
We would take 15 hour bus rides and play 90 minutes and 120 minutes with one halftime break on back to back days. Tournaments. Sometimes in rain and shit. Then team bus it back. Have a day off then practice and play again. If it's fatigue from travel maybe. But I doubt it. Hell look at D1 baseball. Or pro baseball. They constantly play. The amount of actual time these b-ball kids spend "playing" is nothing. They stand most the time. The game is super short. I guarantee they play pickup for hours on end. Day after day. I'm sure they were "sitting" in a private plane. Sorry I don't buy the tired bit. Not adequate time to prepare a game plan. Definitely! Gassed? Nonsense.
They should have left the ball there while we demand the game be restarted tonight from the beginning.This is the biggest story of the night
2 Cheerleaders Just Made The Biggest Game-Saving Play Of March Madness
It was the highlight of the night -- and maybe the tournament.www.huffpost.com
Yeah, but the other teams in those scenarios were probably in the same boat.
To a degree for sure. But not always. No doubt St Mary's had an advantage. I still think gassed is an excuse. They are young. Indiana isn't a great team and that's why they lost. There was a reason St Mary's was a 5 seed. I bet if the roles were reversed St Mary's would have still won handily. It wasn't that IU was gassed. IU has zero shooters and met a good team. Why Indiana in Indiana can't find anyone who can shoot is bizarre
Yep. Exactly. And what state tournaments were being played in that required 15 hour bus rides before the game? 15 hours averaging 55 mph is 825 miles which would land you somewhere in the middle of Florida from my home in Noblesville.
Oh yeah. I won't rehash what i said on teh bball boards but yeah. Being gassed didn't help but they lack shooters and bball IQ. Which don't help either.
See my response to Crazy. I don't buy the gassed bit. IF that's the case basketball players would be in a coma if they ever tried to play a D1 baseball schedule. Game after game. Endless travel. Hours and hours in the sun.
Nah, don't bring up baseball. John Kruk played baseball while smoking in between innings in the dugout.
He took his "ball" and went home. Shit those dudes stand for hours in long-sleeves in the sun and play day after day after day. Their travel is absurd. That's fatigue. Hoops fatigue is nonsense.
Yes, and the committee got it right. St, Mary's is a legit 5 seed and IU was around that 10-12 seed line. Most times a 5 seed will beat the 12 seed and sometimes they'll blow them out. Frankly, I wouldn't be shocked for this SMU team to be one of the surprise Final Four teams we see every year. They are a very smart, disciplined, and experienced team that is very well coached.
I don’t think there is any question IU was gassed and that affected the final score. I have no way of knowing if being gassed was a difference maker. The evidence was obvious. They beat us with their footwork on offensive and defense. We couldn’t throw it in the ocean from the beach. That’s all fatigue.
Look at IU's schedule. The games are 1, 3, and 4. I looked at my school's. Same drill. Tons of noon, 1, 3, 4 games.
I dunno. IU jammed them up pretty well in the first 10 minutes. They are going to struggle with UCLA (who is longer on the perimeter except for the rastafarian point guard).
Yeah I just don't agree COH. At all. I think St. Mary's was a legit 5 seed and IU barely made the tournament. The difference was quality not rest. IU never has anyone who can shoot. Fresh or tired. See Harry's post above
Ha! Woodson got them in the tourney year 1! Think of all the "well a coach needs 3 years" or "maybe it's 4." Year 1. Full credit to Morisson. He said Woodson would be a good hire
Nah, that's an old Mike Davis quote.....he literally said that in a press conference with the current players on the team watching.
IU beat or played tough highly seeded teams when we didn’t have a full bench. There is not 30 points difference between the two teams. St Mary’s is good and if we play them 5 times they might win 3 but last night’s blowout was an anomaly because of fatigue.
Fatigue from what? Playing 18 minutes two days before and catching a plane? Playing three games 20 minutes or so each game? That's nothing
Have you noticed that Olympic sprinters running the 100 will pull up in early races to conserve for the heat the next day? Bolt didn't run the early 100s all the way through, at about 80 with a lead he'd back off. There is a debate if it works, but they seem to believe it does.
Five games, plus travel in eight days is a bit much. But TV calls the shots!
I was going to post about the guys who run 365 marathons a year but didn't for the same distinction on your sprinter. I think the comparisons are too apples to oranges. Fast twitch slow twitch etc
I'm not buying the travel excuse either. Three hours on charter, heading east to west, is not s significant factor. I do think playing five game in 7 days (or whatever it was) definitely is. But not jet lag.
Your second paragraph might be right, but I don’t think IU/st Mary’s is evidence if that. Michigan handled a good Colorado State team.
