Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post
Red, I am afraid YOU just don't understand what the NCAA (March Madness) basketball tournament is all about.

If it were 32 teams, or 48 teams it would be about picking the top 32 or even 48 teams. The teams that really had any chance at all at winning the whole thing. But it hasn't been 32 or even 48 teams for decades. At 64 teams (now 68), it is about getting the best 35-40 teams in that have any sort of chance, plus being inclusive with 20+ teams from the small conferences that really have no chance to do anything other than maybe pull off 1 David vs Goliath miracle. 1 not 6 like it would take to win it all.

THAT is what makes the tournament so special. That is why on selection Sunday, you see teams and players jumping up and down that have no chance to win the tournament. That inclusiveness is what drives ratings and interest. Every freaking small college in the country, that most people don't even know where they are located or what their mascot is, is included. Even schools that with losing record. All they have to do is get hot at their conference championship and win 3 or 4 games and they are in and everyone is googling to see where the fuck they are even located.

My favorite team Villanova is without a doubt one of the top 68 teams in the country. They could easily beat a dozen teams in the tournament. But they are not in and rightfully so, because they lost 3 games to inferior teams way back in November before conference play even began.

Non bettors, the few that remain, are watching and interested in these games for one reason only. They are looking for that Cinderella, David #16 or #15 that knocks off one of the big boys, a #1 or #2.


As for us bettors, I don't know what you are complaining about. Yes, there are some lines that are out of whack. Find them, bet them and be happy. And in the meantime, lets just enjoy when one of the Davids, slings his rock and befalls a goliath.

I'm sorry you missed most of the points.

The seeds are out of whack, not the lines. And my ranting has to do with teams like Sam Houston State and Indiana State being left out while every upright Big 10 team and Virginia were put in. The rant has to do with the former ratings system laying out that Dayton and Drake and San Diego State are all top 10 teams, so the ratings system (RPI) was shelved. Today, Dayton and Nevada had to play each other while Arizona got was what essentially a bye. This screws Dayton/Nevada big-time. The argument can be made, using the RPI system the committee relied on for 20 years, that Dayton should have been a two seed, not a godawful seven with Arizona on deck.