2026 NCAA Selection Show Discussion / Rants

[jdubs30]

Just feel really bad for the fans of Siena.
They wait 16 years to get back in the tournament and their reward is to play the number one ranked team in the country in Duke.
How can they even keep a loss respectable

13-7 and the 3 seed in the 5th worst conference in the country. Before the Merrimack win they only had 2 top 250 wins all year - Marist twice.

They were very much deserving of the 16 seed. People are confusing the GMac love with the reality of this Siena team - the most NIL in the MAC…..

 

[Blanko97]

Well done all around honestly, maybe St. John’s is unfairly low. I will say that Miami of Ohio is going to get blown out in the first four. Should’ve put in Oklahoma

 

[BomberOrange]

Just feel really bad for the fans of Siena.
They wait 16 years to get back in the tournament and their reward is to play the number one ranked team in the country in Duke.
How can they even keep a loss respectable

Their win was making the tournament. Thats it.

 

[Irishsecra1]

13-7 and the 3 seed in the 5th worst conference in the country. Before the Merrimack win they only had 2 top 250 wins all year - Marist twice.

They were very much deserving of the 16 seed. People are confusing the GMac love with the reality of this Siena team - the most NIL in the MAC…..

Actually it isn’t so much the 16th seed but given the number one team in the country.
The team that just beat SU by 37.

 

[rocfan44]

After their American Conference Championship win USF Men's Basketball Head Coach Bryan Hodgson shared a really nice moment when he learned his Bulls would be heading to Buffalo, up the road from where he grew up, for their opening round game.

Hodgson's father has dementia and can't travel. But now, he will get to see his son coach, in person, for the first time as a head coach. And it will be in the #NCAA Tournament!
FOX 13 News - Tampa Bay

Now I feel I have to root harder for them now, in honor of all those who’s family suffer from this awful disease.

 

[phillydad]

Has Martelli's name ever been mentioned as a Cuse candidate?

Has Martelli's name ever been mentioned as a Cuse candidate?

Sr. or Jr.?

 

[jncuse]

View attachment 261145

VCU got ranked after the last team in.
If they had lost today it does appear there bubble would have been the one to burst.

 

[Dinkyspond]

Sr. or Jr.?

Jr.

 

[JKinUtah]

I thought basketball season ended 2 months ago...oh wait, that was just our season

 

[Cusefan0307]

13-7 and the 3 seed in the 5th worst conference in the country. Before the Merrimack win they only had 2 top 250 wins all year - Marist twice.

They were very much deserving of the 16 seed. People are confusing the GMac love with the reality of this Siena team - the most NIL in the MAC…..

Not sure where you’re getting your rankings from. According to the NET and CBB reference SRS there were 6 conferences worse. Queens finished 3rd in their conference during the regular season with a worse NET and got the 15 Siena probably should have received. Most bracketologists had Siena a 15 over Queens or Furman. They definitely shouldn’t have got the overall number 1.

 

[Bball44]

Not sure where you’re getting your rankings from. According to the NET and CBB reference SRS there were 6 conferences worse. Queens finished 3rd in their conference during the regular season with a worse NET and got the 15 Siena probably should have received. Most bracketologists had Siena a 15 over Queens or Furman. They definitely shouldn’t have got the overall number 1.

And just looked it up, that Queens is in North Carolina

 

[MadNY3]

After their American Conference Championship win USF Men's Basketball Head Coach Bryan Hodgson shared a really nice moment when he learned his Bulls would be heading to Buffalo, up the road from where he grew up, for their opening round game.

Hodgson's father has dementia and can't travel. But now, he will get to see his son coach, in person, for the first time as a head coach. And it will be in the #NCAA Tournament!
FOX 13 News - Tampa Bay

Now I feel I have to root harder for them now, in honor of all those who’s family suffer from this awful disease.

Years later, there will be a story circulating in how John Wildhack sat in Indianapolis and steered USF into Buffalo as part of recruiting Hodgson to Syracuse.

His final selfless act during a cesspool of political backlighting.

Exit scene.

(This story was inspired by The Oscar’s, which my Bride is blasting in the house.)

 

[jncuse]

Siena appears to have been hurt in two cases:

#1. Per the Bracket Matrix Siena (15.34) should have been the last #15 seed, and Queens's (15.59) should have been the first #16 seed. So Siena got a tough break in that regard.

#2. Even as a #16 seed, it seems they priortized the travel for UMBC/Howard between Game 1 and Game 2, and placed them in Buffalo which is not unusual. That forced Siena to play either in Grenville, Tampa or San Diego. And they gave them Grenville.

That being said it would have been equally reasonable to put Siena in Buffalo, and make UMBC/Howard winner travel to Grenville instead of Buffalo. They could have went either way, but Siena got shafted with the choice.

 

[jncuse]

It's a bit surprising that South Florida ended up in Buffalo.

Looking at the schedule and where the 6 seeds are playing, South Florida could have been placed in Portland, and Texas/NC State would have only had to travel to Buffalo. That would have made more sense since South Florida is not close to Buffalo either.

Its funny they applied things differently:
1) In the case of #16 play ins, they gave the play-ins priority to Buffalo over Siena.
2) In the case of #11 seeds, they didn't give the play-ins priority to Buffalo, and placed South Florida there.

I won't be a conspiracy theorist in terms of where USF is playing, but realistically they should have been the ones heading to Portland.

 

[zjscuse]

Well done all around honestly, maybe St. John’s is unfairly low. I will say that Miami of Ohio is going to get blown out in the first four. Should’ve put in Oklahoma

There record is 31-1 they deserve to be in.

 

[jncuse]

It's a bit surprising that South Florida ended up in Buffalo.

Looking at the schedule and where the 6 seeds are playing, South Florida could have been placed in Portland, and Texas/NC State would have only had to travel to Buffalo. That would have made more sense since South Florida is not close to Buffalo either.

Its funny they applied things differently:
1) In the case of #16 play ins, they gave the play-ins priority to Buffalo over Siena.
2) In the case of #11 seeds, they didn't give the play-ins priority to Buffalo, and placed South Florida there.

I won't be a conspiracy theorist in terms of where USF is playing, but realistically they should have been the ones heading to Portland.

Ignore the above - the only logical place that South Florida could play was Buffalo. So there is no conspiracy.

This is because the play-ins could not play a game in Buffalo (since each play in game had one ACC teams), and since Louisville was playing in Buffalo. And they avoid potential all-ACC matchups in round of 64, so one play in matchup had to be moved.

And that is why USF ended up in Buffalo, and the play-ins in Portland. The puzzle for the play-ins can get really complicated at times. The committee didn't screw it up, it was just caused by Louisville as #6, and two ACC play-ins.

 

[cuseattle]

Ignore the above - the only logical place that South Florida could play was Buffalo. So there is no conspiracy.

This is because the play-ins could not play a game in Buffalo, since Louisville was playing in Buffalo, and there were 2 ACC play ins. So it was impossible to set up a play in game in Buffalo, since they are not allowed to set up potential matches between conference mates in the round of 64.

And that is why USF ended up in Buffalo, and the play-ins in Portland. The puzzle for the play-ins can get really complicated at times. The committee didn't screw it up, it was just caused by Louisville as #6, and two ACC play-ins.

I really appreciate the effort you put into this every year.

St. John's seed is the worst offense by the committee.

 

[Blanko97]

There record is 31-1 they deserve to be in.

They played the little sisters of the poor all year and couldn’t make it past UMass in their tourney. They might deserve it if you don’t look past the record

 

[jncuse]

The committee really stuck to consensus - no major deviations. I have never seen the same # of teams match up seed wise. There was less than 10 teams on the top 11 seed lines that were off by a line, and none were off by two lines.

- According to the Matrix, it would have been Michigan St 2, Purdue 3... and it was the opposite... but I imagine many predicted that 3 for Purdue purely based on the committee historically ignoring the results of the B10 final. So the committee actually did that part right.

- Vanderbilt was predicted as a strong 4, and they were a 5

- Utah St was predicted as a strong 8 by the matrix, and they ended up as a 9.

- NC st was predicted as a 10, and they came in as a 11 play in, so they were one of the bigger misses.

Also of note, the matrix had St. John's as #18, which matched where the committee placed them. The Big East struggled this year.





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