Can we still get a #1 seed?

[SilkyJ]

ACC gets a #1 seed. If we win the tourney, we get it. Why would Carolina still be ahead of us if we beat them 2 out of 3 and won the conference?

I agree, but as Jay Bilas points out constantly to the other talking heads, its all about "who's the best team" and so if people think UNC is still better than us (b/c on paper they are, and they are "built" for a title run) then they may still get a 1 seed ahead of us...

[BlueBlood112883]

I agree, but as Jay Bilas points out constantly to the other talking heads, its all about "who's the best team" and so if people think UNC is still better than us (b/c on paper they are, and they are "built" for a title run) then they may still get a 1 seed ahead of us...

To that I say well the best team wins 2 out of 3 *note I didn't say the best talent, but the best team*. Performance on the court outweighs what a video game, or a game played on paper shows. I mean 2 out of 3 would be kinda hard to fight against about who's a better team when it matters.

[DBFAN]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this or not, but it might serve us better to have a number 2 seed. My reasoning is this, UNC will get a number 1 seed regardless of what happens in the ACC tourney, and it will be in the east, or south(whichever starts in Raleigh i forget), if we win the tourney, beat carolina, we might get a 1 seed, but it would not be in the east. A number two seed would put us in North Carolina for the first round at least. Even though I think we are the best team after UNC, Kansas, and Memphis, I still think the number 2 seed would be more favorable for us, and their would be a little less pressure on the guys.

GO DUKE

[Lotus000]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this or not, but it might serve us better to have a number 2 seed. My reasoning is this, UNC will get a number 1 seed regardless of what happens in the ACC tourney, and it will be in the east, or south(whichever starts in Raleigh i forget), if we win the tourney, beat carolina, we might get a 1 seed, but it would not be in the east. A number two seed would put us in North Carolina for the first round at least. Even though I think we are the best team after UNC, Kansas, and Memphis, I still think the number 2 seed would be more favorable for us, and their would be a little less pressure on the guys.

GO DUKE

If Carolina has the #1 seed in the East, we WON'T get the #2 seed in the East. The Committee would never, ever put us in the same bracket. What we need to happen is have Tennessee lose, not UNC (though the latter would be nice).

[Cameron]

If Carolina has the #1 seed in the East, we WON'T get the #2 seed in the East. The Committee would never, ever put us in the same bracket.

It happened in 2004. We were both in the Atlanta Region. We were a number one and Carolina a number six.

[grc5]

I don't know how much I'd worry about Wisconsin. I don't think they would take away a seed from us as we are superior to them in the RPI and dead even in the Pomeroy. Oh, and we blew them out head to head.

While we were beating Wisconsin in November, Kentucky lost to Gardner-Webb; the Cats are still on the bubble. I think a Big 10 Regular Season and Tournament chammpion would get the nod over a team that lost 3 of its last 5 conference games, and got upset in the ACC Tournament.

[Lotus000]

It happened in 2004. We were both in the Atlanta Region. We were a number one and Carolina a number six.

Well I'll be jiggered. You're right. Dadgum dadgum.

(stupid blown lead against UConn...)

[Cameron]

Well I'll be jiggered. You're right. Dadgum dadgum.

(stupid blown lead against UConn...)

Lol

[BlueBlood112883]

Well I'll be jiggered. You're right. Dadgum dadgum.

(stupid blown lead against UConn...)

You forgot Aww Shucks, and to grab a Coke.

[Duvall]

I think a Big 10 Regular Season and Tournament chammpion would get the nod over a team that lost 3 of its last 5 conference games, and got upset in the ACC Tournament.

3 of 6. And the Big Ten is very much not good this year.

[marktg30]

If we win the ACC Tournament we will have a #1 Seed... Personally, Memphis hasn't impressed me at all...

[PatZorro]

Honestly, we may not even want the No. 1 in the East. Beyond that, I am not even sure that we want the Raleigh Pod, especially if UNC shares that Pod.

My reasoning is this: Nearly everyone the great State of NC (where I live) hates Duke. And I am not talking about the casual hatred that Duke experiences at most places. If we were in say, the Mid-West, or the West, odds are that the fans of the other schools in attendance will not like us. They will probably root for the other team, boo our kids, etc. We will face that everywhere we go.

But the fans here in NC are a different breed altogether. They actively hate Duke. They will buy tickets just so they can question Duke Player X's parentage, sexuality, and ability. Those fans will pay through the nose just to chant F*%K you, Paulus. We all know that to be the case. The local media will heap vitrol on our kids on TV, the internet, and print media.

Away from this state the dislike is passive. Some fans of the other teams are more concerned with getting to a certain eatery, meeting up with the fam, entertaining their wee bairns, etc. Booing Duke is cool, but they may have better things to do. Not so in NC, especially with UNC fans scooping up any tickets that get scalped.

Raleigh is nice cause the kids can sleep in their own beds, but it will be crawling with experienced and motivated Duke haters. In Charlotte the kids will not even be able to sleep in their own beds, and will still be swarmed by people who hate Duke with a jihadist fervor. Bag that.

A 2 seed somewhere else is fine. Besides, UNC fans will pack Raleigh and Charlotte to the gills and spend like Drunken Sailors, so you better believe they will get a No. 1 Seed.

The only caveat to the projected seedings throughout this thread are major injuries. If Hans, or Kyle, or Rose, or Love were to go down with season ending injury, then the committee would have to take that into account.

PatZorro

[BlueBlood112883]

^ I totally disagree with that. When we were in Gboro for the ACC, and NCAA's in 06 we had a ton of the place packed with Duke fans. I know we did especially on Sunday. * I was in the UNC section most of the tournament.* Then the following week we had our fans at all the Duke sessions and outnumbered and cheered the fans from other teams. So Gboro in NC is a Duke city if there is one beyond Durham. Where what you posted didn't happen.

[houstondukie]

Why are we even mentioning other teams outside of the ACC?

There is no way both UNC and Duke will get a 1 seed, so we shouldn't even be talking about Tenn, Memphis, Kansas, UCLA, etc.

They could all lose in the first round of their tournaments and the committee still won't give 2 ACC teams a 1 seed.

UNC is the ONLY team in our way for the 1 seed, and the only chance we get a 1 seed over them, which is highly unlikely at this point, is if we win the ACC tourney and they lose in the first round. Even then, it may still be unlikely.

If anything, we should be worried about not getting a 2 seed if we lose early. In which case, then we should be talking about non-ACC teams like Wisconsin, Texas, etc.

[Lauderdevil]

The national sports media is not exactly known for its constancy. If we have a convincing romp through the ACC Tournament, people will remember that we were ahead with a few minutes left in the game at Cameron and had a little dry spell -- and there'll be plenty of talk about how Duke is "peaking at the right time," how deadly we are from outside, how much our defense tightens up at Tourney time, how this is Coach K time, etc. etc. (Oh, and of course a reprise of "Duke gets all the calls.") An ACC Championship, plus a loss of at least one of the other current no. 1's, should give us a 1. Like Wall Street analysts, sports commentators love to explain as pre-ordained what has just happened.

Now all we have to do is do it, which is the hard part. What's clear is that if we have a solid tournament (which in my mind means making it to Sunday, if not necessarily winning it), one way or another we'll be well positioned come next Sunday night.

Tell you one thing, if you had asked me in November if I'd be happy with a 2 seed for this team, I'd have been doing back flips. 26-4 is a spectacular regular season -- the most significant outperformance vs. expectations in several years.

[oli-p]

Carolina could lose their first game and still will have a one seed.
They are ranked 1 in the country with only tourney week left. They are a lock. If we get a 1 seed, we won't be taking theirs. It will most likely be Tennessee's.

Thank you. Finally a voice of reason. Carolina has a one seed. A loss in the ACC tournament would only take them out of the number one overall seed. No one is going to take them from 1 to 5 even if they lose a game.

[yancem]

It happened in 2004. We were both in the Atlanta Region. We were a number one and Carolina a number six.

I'm pretty sure that there is rule against place 2 teams from the same conference as the 1 and 2 seeds. You can't avoid teams from the same conference being in the same region when some conferences get 6-7 teams but there rules governing conference match-ups.

[BlueBlood112883]

I'm pretty sure that there is rule against place 2 teams from the same conference as the 1 and 2 seeds. You can't avoid teams from the same conference being in the same region when some conferences get 6-7 teams but there rules governing conference match-ups.

I thought the only rule was you can't play anybody from your conference till the Elite Eight? That is unless your conference gets 6-7 teams in?

[feldspar]

The national sports media is not exactly known for its constancy.

Problem is, the national sports media is not the one responsible for seeding the tournament teams. The committee thinks very differently from the media.

[Cameron]

I thought the only rule was you can't play anybody from your conference till the Elite Eight? That is unless your conference gets 6-7 teams in?

I'm almost positive that this is exactly correct. There are no rules against two conference teams being seeded one and two in the same region. As long as they are not in the same bottom or top half of the regional bracket, it's all fair game.

I wouldn't put it past the committee to "move in the direction" of a Duke-Carolina regional final for a second. What television drama that would make for the NCAAs ratings. Let's not kid ourselves here, ratings and hype are certainly taken into consideration during the committee's selection. Duke-Kentucky anyone? How many times have they tried to recreate the famous '92 East Regional? Ad nauseam.