OT NCAA Bracketology: The case for/against Oklahoma
With most other major P5 conferences holding their tournaments this week, I bring forth the curious case OU basketball. I understand that they have a tough SOS (#3 I think) and play in a tough conference but I have to believe the Trae Young hype-train has carried this team as far as they can go.
Can anyone make a legit argument for a team that has lost 11! of it's last 15 games and just got bounced in the first round on the Big 12 tournament? They have a few decent wins from the non-conference but they are 18-13 overall and 8-10 in their own conference. With 3 more days for other teams to raise their stock to the committee, how do they get in?
Say what?
I expect they will get either 7 or 8 teams in, but will be interested to see how far they get as a conference. I think I would take UM/MSU/Purdue over anyone in that conference. If you are all in love with OK's record against ranked teams, then get K-State and TCU out, because they were awful against ranked teams.
I wonder whether the allure of Trey Young singlehandedly gets the team in. Not saying it's fair, but I wouldn't put it past the selection committee.
Here's my take: Non conference schedules and how and who you beat in non con matters way too much. Not for individual teams, but for how your conference gets judged at the end of the season. Like teams change over the course of the year, we should know that first hand. Since that goes for RPI, it's not accurate.
Hang on, where did all of the Nebraska support come from? Are people really saying 13 Big Ten wins should get you in no matter who you play? No. Nebraska is bad and should feel bad. I would take PSU over Nebraska. And neither of them should sniff a spot.
If they get in, it will have to be via the First Four round in Dayton. I know they have some good wins, but that was a lifetime ago. They've gotten beat by some pretty bad to meh teams in the process.
Personally I don't think they deserve to make it in. Their best wins are from the first half of the season and they have regressed HARD since then. They've got NIT written all over them.
This is the worst Kansas team in over a decade and they still won the conference by two games. If they get 8-9 teams in, they'll be embarrased after the first weekend.
for the committee to do the selections blind, with just the resumes and not the team names?