UCLA/UNC - Committee favored UCLA

[RepoMan]

Maybe if we played at Roy's house.

I dunno. We might not get as much anti-Duke venom there!

[devildownunder]

I dunno. We might not get as much anti-Duke venom there!

Plenty of venom, just less profanity, dadgummit.

[Troublemaker]

Every season, there are people on every message board across the country complaining about how so-and-so got a cakewalk while their team got stuck in the toughest region. I never know whether to laugh or get angry.

NOBODY has a cakewalk. Everybody's path to the final four is treacherous. If you don't believe me, ask uconn fans, who saw north carolina go down in their region a couple of years ago and must have been licking their chops at the prospect of playing George Mason! There are no series in the ncaa, it's one and done. And, with the possible exception of the first round for higher seeds, you are facing an opponent that is fully capable of beating you every single time to step on the floor.

This handwringing about somebody getting it easy and someone else getting it tough is silly.

Eh. Semantics. In a single-elimination tournament, anything can happen, obviously. But you can still compare draws and formulate opinions on their difficulty. I'm satisfied with Duke's draw, for example, and I think if I were a UNC fan, I'd be thrilled with their draw. Obviously, anything can happen and teams have to play well to advance. But that goes without saying.

[Troublemaker]

Besides the idea that Tennessee is a bad draw for UNC, I also disagree with Indiana being a strong 8 seed. If Arkansas doesn't take Indiana out first, I'm going to place heavy money in the second round on UNC -12 (or whatever) against the Hoosiers. The Heels will blow them out. Sure, Indiana has a very good big man and a very good wing. UNC has those things as well and UNC's are better. IMO, it's easier to analyze matchups that are apples-to-apples than matchups where two teams have different strengths (apples-to-oranges). Along the same lines, apples-to-apples upsets are rare, and apples-to-oranges give you a better chance for a shocker.

And that's why Wazzou could possibly be a trouble matchup for UNC. They play at a completely different pace and are very patient, have an excellent, long defender in Weaver that they can throw on Ellington, have both good size and length in the middle to make things tougher-than-usual for Hansbrough, and will make UNC guard for 30 seconds every possession. Louisville would also be a threat. They'd force UNC to play zone offense. They're very athletic. David Padgett can work some point-center magic in the halfcourt.

Wazzou and Louisville are the two potential roadbumps for UNC, imo. But both teams would need to advance first, and odds are, UNC will avoid both.

[Johnny B]

Not so sure about UNC/UCLA. However, I seem to remember an interesting quote from Jay Bilas on ESPN during (one of) the selection shows. He stated that there was a clear correlation between the number of teams invited from the ACC and whether an ACC representative is on the selection committee.

I hope I didn't misrepresent him. Perhaps others heard the same quote, but I was a bit surprised by the strength of his conviction.