So what goes with the PAC 12?

[OttoinGrotto]

I don't know that all this conference stuff means as much as its made out to during the tournament. So many factors go into who wins and by how much in these games. That includes a lot of random chance on 800 things. Sometimes those coin flips will align and it will somehow appear one conference or another has a major edge. Maybe they do, maybe not. If anything, I'd look at multiyear trends vs single year results. As an example, the single event results would tell us that Syracuse and FSU are the two best teams in the ACC. I don't know that we'd really think that is true.

Yeah, credit to the teams, they're winning their games. That's a true accomplishment.

The tourney is so random though I'm not sure if it's really a referendum on the conference.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

After Florida Gulf Coast stomped #2 seed Georgetown in 2013 with high flying fast paced offense and eventually went on to the Sweet 16, I was wondering who the coach Andy Enfield was with the supermodel wife. I thought it was a great move for USC to hire him at the time. SC had recently built a new arena, the school has such an athletics powerhouse tradition in most sports, it just felt like a sleeping giant. Los Angeles is such a draw for recruits. I was curious what Enfield could build with these resources. So I have been watching from afar as they steadily improved and been very competive. It took maybe a little longer but they are on the verge. Evan Mobley is one of the best NBA prospects. He has had a few other NBA draft picks.

The formula works when a coach has a good system. They are a dangerous team

 

[Newhouser]

they can shoot, not to many in the power conferences can.

I think this is it. Their pace in general leads to more shots and the rest of the P5 doesn't shoot it like they used to.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

For once Walton isn't high the Pac 12 is the conference of champions.

Both of those things can be true.

 

[Sherman20]

After Florida Gulf Coast stomped #2 seed Georgetown in 2013 with high flying fast paced offense and eventually went on to the Sweet 16, I was wondering who the coach Andy Enfield was with the supermodel wife. I thought it was a great move for USC to hire him at the time. SC had recently built a new arena, the school has such an athletics powerhouse tradition in most sports, it just felt like a sleeping giant. Los Angeles is such a draw for recruits. I was curious what Enfield could build with these resources. So I have been watching from afar as they steadily improved and been very competive. It took maybe a little longer but they are on the verge. Evan Mobley is one of the best NBA prospects. He has had a few other NBA draft picks.

The formula works when a coach has a good system. They are a dangerous team

It also helps when you hire the father of two top rated high school kids (the Mobleys) as an assistant coach. I kid. Sort of. Wayne Tinkle did the same thing at Oregon State when he hired Stevie Thompson and scooped up his highly rated kids Stephen Jr and Ethan. I’m actually surprised his previous OSU teams with Stephen Jr and his son Tres Tinkle didn’t do a bit better during their years there.

 

[HoustonCuse]

He means there has never been a NCAA game between 2 current PAC-12 teams.
Like we played Duke in 2018 Sweet sixteen or North Carolina in 2016 Final Four or Marquette 2013 elite eight.

Oregon-USC are playing Sunday for a spot in the elite 8.

It certainly is common for the conferences we have been in. Syracuse alone, since 2011 has played:
Marquette (BE) in 2011, 2013
Virginia 2016
North Carolina 2016
Duke 2018

That's 5 times for just a single team in 10 years. Crazy when you think about it.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

So ESPN says this is the first time 2 PAC 12 schools have ever played one another in the NCAA tournament.

I wonder if that excludes the PAC 8/10 portion of their history. Because that would be pretty pathetic if they never had 2 teams from that conference play in the tourney before.

Pretty sure in the PAC 8 days, only one team per conference made the tournament.

 

[jncuse]

In 2017 the SEC got 3 teams in the elite 8 (Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina) and two in the Final Four... and they did not appear to be a good conference before this.

Sometimes these things could be purely random ... move a dozen teams around by one seed or to another region, play the games over and totally different scearnios could occur. Or it may not be random.

I also have a theory as to why the conference with the most bids doesn't always tend to do well. But that will be later - have work to do.

 

[jncuse]

So ESPN says this is the first time 2 PAC 12 schools have ever played one another in the NCAA tournament.

I wonder if that excludes the PAC 8/10 portion of their history. Because that would be pretty pathetic if they never had 2 teams from that conference play in the tourney before.

Until about 2015 (or maybe even as late as 2017) any conference with less than 8 teams would never meet up until the elite 8 so that has to be considered

There was a rule created around 2010 that would allow inter-conference matchups earlier, but in practice they only applied this to conferences with 9 teams or more and still kept the integrity of the old rule for conferences with 8 or less teams (even if they were not required to). Only in the last 5 years or so did the NCAA say screw it, we are going to let conference teams meet earlier than the elite 8 even if it could be avoided.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I forgot Juzang got his start at UK. Great job by Calipari pushing him aside for this years terrific bunch.

 

[Alsacs]

Until about 2015 (or maybe even as late as 2017) any conference with less than 8 teams would never meet up until the elite 8 so that has to be considered

There was a rule created around 2010 that would allow inter-conference matchups earlier, but in practice they only applied this to conferences with 9 teams or more and still kept the integrity of the old rule for conferences with 8 or less teams (even if they were not required to). Only in the last 5 years or so did the NCAA say screw it, we are going to let conference teams meet earlier than the elite 8 even if it could be avoided.

I remember the season not too long ago you were doing your bracketogy thing and the PAC-12 got a bunch of teams in and they were over seeded. I think it was 2016 and you rightfully predicted the conference would suck in the tournament even though they got a bunch of good seeds.

The rule changed in 2011.
The Big East put 11 teams in.
The new rule is teams from the same conference can meet in the second round or sweet sixteen if they only played 1 time in the regular season.
If they played twice in the regular season and tournament then they can’t meet before the elite 8.

Minnesota played Michigan State in the second round in the 2019 tournament.

We played Marquette in the second round in 2011 and UConn played Cincinnati in the second round in 2011.
Our game with Duke in the sweet 16 in 2018 are the only 4 times this new rule has happened and teams from the same conference have played before the elite 8 from the same conference.