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beknighted



Joined: 11 Nov 2004
Posts: 11050
Location: Lost in D.C.


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PostPosted: 04/01/19 6:22 am    ::: News from Indianapolis Reply Reply with quote

Indianapolis (AF) – Hours after the University of Connecticut upset Louisville to reach its 12th consecutive Final Four, a new controversy has emerged that has led some observers to doubt the integrity of the seeding and placement process for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament: The tournament committee has secret rules that it does not reveal to schools, coaches, or the public, and that can dictate seeding and where teams play in the tournament.

This revelation came when tournament committee insiders revealed that the committee considered placing Connecticut in a region other than Albany, but decided not to do so. They did not move Connecticut to another region beause a placement outside of Albany would have violated one of the secret rules.

Under normal circumstances, the committee’s seeding and placement process would attempt to “balance” seeding so that teams with the highest rankings on the so-called S-curve are paired with teams in the lower rankings of the second seeding line. Tournament committee members, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that this principle would have sent Connecticut to one of the other regions.

But the committee also has a rule – not previously revealed – that requires it to always place Connecticut at the closest regional to the university’s campus in Storrs, Connecticut. The secret rule prevailed.

“I mean, it’s obvious, isn’t it?” said a committee member. “In explaining the seeding, Rhonda [Lundin Bennett, chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee] made it pretty clear that UConn was the #1 #2, but somehow they’re paired with Louisville instead of Mississippi State. That makes no sense if you think we pay any attention to the S-curve at the top of the bracket. So Louisville gets [screwed] by having to play UConn again, not to mention that none of the other #1 seeds ended up paired with the right #2 seeds, either.”

The secret rules are contained in a document marked “Do not disclose – committee members only,” and which contains a warning that disclosure will violate a nondisclosure agreement that all committee members are required to sign. In addition to the requirement that Connecticut be assigned to the nearest regional, some of the rules require pairing teams from the same state as often as possible, do not allow the Ivy League champion to be seeded higher than its RPI, and discourage matching two teams with the same mascot in any first round game.

Notes in the document indicate that the rule concerning Connecticut is intended to “maximize ticket sales” and “keep Rebecca Lobo happy.” It is not clear how long the secret rule has been in effect, but Connecticut has been assigned to the regional location closest to its campus eleven of the last twelve years. The year that Connecticut was assigned to a distant regionals, the two closest regionals were being hosted by highly-seeded teams.

Bennett, when asked for comment, said “We’re going to let the seedings and placements speak for themselves, just like we always do.

Asked about the secret rules, Anna Negron of ESPN’s public relations team said “The NCAA operates independently of ESPN, and we have no input into the choice of teams, seeding, or geography of the bracket.” A member of the ESPN women’s basketball broadcasting team, speaking under condition of anonymity, said “Really, we had no idea. But if they’d asked us, we’d have had a bunch of suggestions, like maybe not picking teams that have trouble making layups.”

In the end, said one committee member who originally pressed for Connecticut to be assigned to a different region, “it worked out fine. UConn played well in Albany, and they drew a big crowd. I’ve learned that we have these rules for a reason.”




Last edited by beknighted on 04/01/19 3:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
Carol Anne



Joined: 09 Apr 2005
Posts: 1739
Location: Seattle


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PostPosted: 04/01/19 6:30 am    ::: Re: News from Indianapolis Reply Reply with quote

"But the committee also has a rule – not previously revealed – that requires it to always place Connecticut at the closest regional to the university’s campus in Storrs, Connecticut. The secret rule prevailed."

At last, the conspiracy involving the committee and ESPN has been revealed!


bucks4now



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 723



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PostPosted: 04/01/19 7:52 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Doesn't this get old for you?


bucks4now



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 723



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PostPosted: 04/01/19 7:53 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Doesn't this get old for you?


Speebs56



Joined: 19 Aug 2015
Posts: 228
Location: Orange county, CA


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PostPosted: 04/01/19 11:48 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Happy April Fools Day!


mzonefan



Joined: 15 Oct 2005
Posts: 4878
Location: Ann Arbor, MI


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PostPosted: 04/01/19 12:53 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

bucks4now wrote:
Doesn't this get old for you?


Question Delighting members of this board every year with his famous April Fool's post?


Marquette Fan



Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 3567



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PostPosted: 04/01/19 7:11 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

bucks4now wrote:
Doesn't this get old for you?


I look forward to this every year and was happy to see BeK posting on here recently as I knew we'd see this post again.


beknighted



Joined: 11 Nov 2004
Posts: 11050
Location: Lost in D.C.


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PostPosted: 04/01/19 9:19 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

A few things about this one:

1. I was a little surprised not to see anyone mentioning that the tournament committee actually has a principle that says that teams should be placed close to home. But it also does have the principle about balance, not that you'd know from how they do the placements, because they seem to ignore it.

2. Also, I'm pretty sure that there wasn't a big deviation from the S-curve. Although you have to figure that Mississippi State was the #4 #1, it's a reasonable guess that Louisville was the #3 #1, so the Albany pairing is reasonable (and, not incidentally, probably what you'd get if Louisville got 3rd choice for regional sites). So, a little creative license.

3. If UConn had lost yesterday, there would have been a different ending, but honestly I kind of liked this one better.

4. No, it doesn't get old. Wink


Howee



Joined: 27 Nov 2009
Posts: 15716
Location: OREGON (in my heart)


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PostPosted: 04/14/19 10:06 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

BeK.....I just found this! ALWAYS nice to see you here--Rebkell's misses your presence!!



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