Althouse: "Virginia got jobbed when Duke and Wisconsin unjustly stole its No. 1 seed."

March 16, 2015

"Virginia got jobbed when Duke and Wisconsin unjustly stole its No. 1 seed."

A USA Today headline that made me laugh.

22 comments:

Wilbur said...: The ol' Badger game, huh?; 3/16/15, 7:51 AM
Mazo Jeff said...: I think UV should pull out of the Tournament in protest! That'll show em. Ah, never mind.; 3/16/15, 8:02 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: Maybe they would have received a 1 seed if they didn't gang rape people on shattered glass tables.; 3/16/15, 8:11 AM
tim maguire said...: If they deserved the number 1 seed, then it won't matter. They'll win anyway. If they don't win anyway, then they weren't number 1.; 3/16/15, 8:15 AM
MadisonMan said...: Columnists have to whine about something I guess.; 3/16/15, 8:22 AM
traditionalguy said...: Is this why it's called Madness?

It seems like all NCAA tournament news and the Conference Tournaments before them are spoken of in frenzied manic excitement. A popular basketball announcer named Dick Vitale singlehandedly made this the cultural style.; 3/16/15, 8:23 AM
MadisonMan said...: Conference tournaments are overrated.

Says the person advocating for the team that lost in the Conference tournament (and not even in the finals!)

I'm sure if UVa had won the tournament, and was still bypassed for #1, he'd be pointing to the Conference Championship and saying See? See?; 3/16/15, 8:24 AM
MadisonMan said...: What I want to know, mostly, over everything else:

WHO IS OBAMA PICKING!!?

Oh Please, do-nothing White House Press Corps, please find out this very important nugget of information.; 3/16/15, 8:25 AM
Big Mike said...: Virginia (29-3, lost to Carolina in the conference quarterfinals) should arguably be ahead of Duke (29-4, lost to Notre Dame(!!!) in the conference finals). That Wisconsin could sportingly spot a hot MSU team an 11 point lead before putting on a clinic about how to play the game says that they really do deserve a number 1.

Virginia will face that same hot MSU team in the second round of the tournament. I do like Virginia's draw; the only strong (Final Four caliber) teams it will have to face are MSU and either 'Nova or Louisville.

Meanwhile poor Maryland! They should get by Valpo and an overrated West Viginia, no sweat, but then they run into Kentucky in the round of 16. Welcome to the Big Ten, guys.; 3/16/15, 8:30 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: Does Althouse disapprove of the President's normalizing of otherwise unlawful behavior in promoting participation in gambling by publicizing his bracket selection?

Or does the fact that he is not openly stating that he is part of a betting pool mitigate the promotion of what looks and feels like gambling?

I am curious as to what the strict rule-followers think. Like the former Assistant US attorney in private practice who always sent the email at tournament time citing the statute that said such gambling was illegal, only to be countered one year by a former federal clerk who still participated in the judge's own office betting pool.; 3/16/15, 8:34 AM
traditionalguy said...: But who tests the game balls for under inflation? UVA will probably have to use the hard ones that bounce back out of the rim instead of softly going through.; 3/16/15, 8:35 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: I don't usually mind when someone takes my seed.; 3/16/15, 8:39 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: Big Mike,

That's what makes tourney time so great. Everyone has opinions and we get to see who is right in a matter of weeks.

The Midwest is loaded. Notre Dame is one of the best teams in. I expect them to get to and lose to Kentucky. West Virginia is very good and will go far and will really push Kentucky.

Louisville is the overrated team -- can't score. Picking them to lose first round.

First one seed to lose? Villanova.

The pools that calculate points by seed x round are my favorites. They encourage upset picks, but you cant go crazy because a loss gets you zero.

AA should host a March Madness group.; 3/16/15, 8:44 AM
Wince said...: I'm picturing a woman and her gynecologist:

"Yes, Virginia, Duke and Wisc unjustly stole your No. 1 seed."; 3/16/15, 8:58 AM
DrSquid said...: UVA lost 2 games in less than 7 days, their MVP is compromised by injury and illness. They were not 'jobbed'. Duke was given a gift, that #1 should've gone to Arizona.

Would've made no difference anyway, you'll never see Duke playing outside of their homestate in the opening week of the tournament.; 3/16/15, 9:21 AM
DrSquid said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/16/15, 9:22 AM
paminwi said...: Wisconsin would have been a #1 seed even if they had lost their conference tournament. So said the guy from Utah who was the chair of the selection committee.; 3/16/15, 9:27 AM
traditionalguy said...: WTF, TCU is not even in the Tournament!; 3/16/15, 9:52 AM
Will said...: I think Wisconsin earned it. I do not think Duke deserved it. UVa is right!!

As a decades-long ACC fan, and a Duke alum, I do think it is shameful that Duke was given a 1 seed when they won neither the season nor the tournament. The 2 teams that won these milestones were UVa and Notre Dame, and as such both of them deserved to be above Duke. UVa has a legitimate right to complain.

Furthermore, after this undeserved gift, Duke was put in the easiest Region where they face Gonzago as their number 2. Seriously? At least if you are going to give Duke a completely undeserved gift then stack their region and make them earn it.

Even the ESPN announcers the other night commented that the refs were making bad calls that benefited Duke at Notre Dame's expense. Just ridiculous. But the Irish held Duke off, defeating Duke for the 2nd time this year. And even the ND loss at Cameron was heavily influenced by some highly asymmetric reffing that made ND tentative which then snowballed with the Crazieness.

Bottom line, both UVa and ND showed they earned seeds more than Duke did. UVa has a legit point in complaining they got moved down when both Duke and UVa lost in the tournament semis. Why play a regular season deathmarch if it will be ignored?

If you want to root for a team that does it Old-School "Right Way", then root for Notre Dame to beat Kansas and Kentucky. A team of very high yet finite depth and talent but great chemistry and Senior Leadership. It would be as good as Duke taking down UNLV in the Final Four when UNLV was undefeated.

I hate injustice. UVa and ND earned it on the field. Duke did not and therefore should not have had a 1 seed.; 3/16/15, 10:26 AM
Big Mike said...: @BarrySanders, I see you and I have a difference of opinion on West Virginia. I saw them play on TV (Baylor, I think) and wasn't impressed. They lost 3 times in 5 weeks to Baylor, and split with Texas and Oklahoma. OTOH the Mountaineers creamed mighty Wofford, which is a 12 seed.

You could be right; 3/16/15, 10:33 AM
Jaq said...: Every time I see the word "jobbed" now, I think of a boxer selling advertising on the bottom of his shoes.; 3/16/15, 3:53 PM
Michigan and Trumbull said...: @Will - Because of the unbalanced ACC schedule, UVA's path through the regular season was substantially easier than Duke's. Whereas Duke had to play UNC and Notre Dame twice, UVA had the luxury of only playing them once, while getting an extra game against doormat Virginia Tech. UVA also enjoyed home court advantage against a short-handed Duke team- yet Duke prevailed in the head-to-head environment.

Duke also had a substantially more impressive nonconference schedule, including a 10-point win at Wisconsin (which surely trumps UVA's best nonconference win over Maryland), as well as several other wins over quality power-conference teams such as Michigan State, St John's, and UConn on road/ neutral courts. No team in the country had as many quality road/ neutral wins as Duke.

The committee also could - and should - have taken into account that Justin Anderson, arguably UVA's best player, has not recovered fully from his broken hand or appendectomy. In the ACC tournament, he came off the bench and shot 0-for-6 in 26 minutes, including some horrifically bad shots down the stretch against UNC.

As to Notre Dame, are you seriously suggesting that one hot week should trump the entire season, in which it played one of the worst nonconference schedules in the country (ranked #347 out of 351 by kenpom.com)? Notre Dame had an excellent tournament and deserved to win- but they were likely a #5 seed coming into the conference tournament. Moreover, you appear to be blaming the refs for Notre Dame's blowout loss at Duke in which it trailed by 26 at halftime and allowed Duke to shoot over 60% from the floor.

As far as Duke's regional draw, Gonzaga is a legit #2 seed, and Iowa State is probably the most dangerous #3 seed. Duke also may face one of the top defensive teams in the country in San Diego State in the second round. Could its bracket be tougher? Certainly. But it's hardly a cakewalk. Somehow, I suspect that you weren't complaining in 2013 when Duke had the #1 RPI in the country, yet was not only given a #2 seed, but was placed with the overall #1 seed in the tournament (Louisville).

That being said, I wholly agree that we should root for Notre Dame against Kentucky.; 3/17/15, 1:07 PM