Most Competitive NCAA Tourney Ever?

[Udaman]

After today, it's looking like the regions will be

East - 1, 2, 3, 4 seed
West - 1, 2, 3, 5 seed
South - 1, 2, 3, 4 seed
MidWest - 1, 2, 3, 12 (with Arizona being a pretty good 12)

Has there ever been a Sweet 16 with so many high seeds? Ever?

What it means, is whoever gets to the Final Four is going to be tested, and big time, and no doubt the final winner will have earned it.

[Bluedog]

After today, it's looking like the regions will be

East - 1, 2, 3, 4 seed
West - 1, 2, 3, 5 seed
South - 1, 2, 3, 4 seed
MidWest - 1, 2, 3, 12 (with Arizona being a pretty good 12)

Has there ever been a Sweet 16 with so many high seeds? Ever?

What it means, is whoever gets to the Final Four is going to be tested, and big time, and no doubt the final winner will have earned it.

USC is beating MSU right now...But yeah, it's going to be tough to win the whole thing. Will have to beat quality competition. Not sure the historical numbers...By AP rankings:

Midwest: 1, 14, 8/NR winner, NR.
West: 5, 3, 9, 17.
East: 4, 6, 11, 20.
South: 2, 7, 10, 13.

From this looks like South is hardest, followed by West, East, and Midwest in that order. Obviously, they're all tough though.

[brevity]

Not sure if this is an anomaly. One thing I've noticed is that are fewer upsets in the first weekend because the NCAA Selection Committee has gotten A LOT better at seeding mid-major teams than before. Not many years ago, a team like Siena would have received a 13 or 14 seed because they were Siena. This year they were a 9, which is a much better reflection of their abilities in relation to the other teams.

Conversely, teams like Mississippi State and Southern Cal weren't automatically given 5 seeds just because they won their conference tourney. (Though the wisdom of a 10 seed for USC has yet to be determined.)

You could also argue that there's a clear separation this season between the top 8 teams and the next 8 teams, and another separation between those 16 teams and everyone else. I could be wrong, but I don't expect more than 2 teams in the Elite Eight that are a 3 seed or lower. But I do expect a couple of 2 seeds to break into the Final Four.

[zingit]

I suppose you're right that it'll make the next round better, but I'm a little disappointed that none of the almost-upsets turned into actual upsets today.

[Troublemaker]

I've been very surprised at how chalky this tournament has played out so far. Even Arizona and Purdue were the most talented teams in their respective subregion (except possibly WFU > Zona), so you could argue that the Sweet 16 consists of the sixteen teams that "should have" made it according to talent and matchups. The chalkiness will make for an interesting Sweet 16 for sure.

[SoCalDukeFan]

Keeps seeds 1-4 close to home for round one.

SoCal

[pfrduke]

I suppose you're right that it'll make the next round better, but I'm a little disappointed that none of the almost-upsets turned into actual upsets today.

It was NBA-esque, in a way. The weaker teams hung in there for most of the game, but the better teams made the key plays they needed to at the key times to win.

[Kedsy]

Not sure if this is an anomaly. One thing I've noticed is that are fewer upsets in the first weekend because the NCAA Selection Committee has gotten A LOT better at seeding mid-major teams than before.

While it's true there have been fewer upsets the past couple years, this year there were 10 seed upsets in the first round, which is a lot, historically. Obviously not so many the second round (just one, actually, and it was a 5 over a 4, which isn't much of an upset).

All the top 12 seeds except UConn have played at least one game that was still in doubt reasonably late into the second half, so I'd say the fact that all twelve of them won (for the first time in history) is at least somewhat of a fluke.

[NYC Duke Fan]

The selection committee did an outstanding job this year. With the exception of the Midwest Regional every 2 seed is playing a 3 seed and every 1 seed is playing a 4 seed ( Louisville is playing a 12 seed),...well UCONN is playing Purdue, a 5 seed instead of Washington, a 4 seed., no big deal.

[brevity]

Keeps seeds 1-4 close to home for round one.

Except for whoever got stuck in Boise (Missouri's and Xavier's pods, I think). Nothing wrong with having a regional there, but not with Portland hosting one the same year. Big, idiotic FAIL on the part of the NCAA.

[ice-9]

I predicted and still predict an all chalk Elite Eight -- yep, all the 1 and 2 seeds advancing.

Last season, the top four were clearly a cut above the rest, and all four 1 seeds made the Final Four.

This season, while there appeared to be a revolving door of top 10 rankings, the *teams* that occupied the top 10 remained remarkably consistent: UNC, Pitt, UConn, Duke, Oklahoma, Memphis, Louisville and Michigan State. So I expect to see most if not all of those teams in the Elite Eight.

Once we're there, however, it should be fairly even. I expect a few 2 seed over 1 seed upsets (i.e. DUKE ). Until then, I predict all chalk.