The Walton Belt (2024-25 Edition)

Is it true that the NCAA Selection Committee automatically gives the #1 overall seed to the holder of the Walton Belt after the conference tourneys? ;)
 
MarkD83 said:
Well at the end of each year the ncaa champion holds the belt which is an obvious statement but helpful
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except when it’s held by a team that doesn’t make the tourney. Possible for teams with no conference championship.
 
fidel said:
except when it’s held by a team that doesn’t make the tourney. Possible for teams with no conference championship.
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Fun trivia - Dartmouth was 6-21 last year but was probably one of the only teams other than UConn and whoever won the secondary post-season tournaments to finish with a win. They won their final regular season game in an upset over Harvard. The Ivy League tournament only takes four teams and they didn't qualify, so that was their final game.
 
Indoor66 said:
Does anyone have a school by school sequential history of the belt? Inquiring minds would like to know.
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I do have this and had posted it in prior incarnations of the board but can't seem to track those posts down. I have everything from 1951-present, including a few years where the belt split (split belts occurring when the beltholder did not make the postseason and so a second belt had to be bestowed upon the team that won the championship).
 
fidel said:
except when it’s held by a team that doesn’t make the tourney. Possible for teams with no conference championship.
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However, I believe Bill Walton suggested it was reset each year with the "NCAA champion", so it is hard to track during the season but in mid-April the holder of the Walton belt is the NCAA champion.
 
MarkD83 said:
Well at the end of each year the ncaa champion holds the belt which is an obvious statement but helpful
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If my calculations are correct, USC held the belt in March 2020 when the conference and NCAA tourney were cancelled.
 
MarkD83 said:
However, I believe Bill Walton suggested it was reset each year with the "NCAA champion", so it is hard to track during the season but in mid-April the holder of the Walton belt is the NCAA champion.
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So algebra, combined with quantum physics where necessary. We miss Bill.
 
pfrduke said:
I do have this and had posted it in prior incarnations of the board but can't seem to track those posts down. I have everything from 1951-present, including a few years where the belt split (split belts occurring when the beltholder did not make the postseason and so a second belt had to be bestowed upon the team that won the championship).
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Found it: https://forums.dukebasketballreport...elt-2018-19-edition.42632/page-2#post-1154602

Edit - I did not find it using the internal DBR search, but it did come up on an external google search using this in the search bar: "Walton belt site:dukebasketballreport.com". It was the seventh result under "The Walton Belt (2018-19 edition)".
 
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Duke's earliest chance to win back the Walton Belt is if FSU beats Clemson on Sat. Feb. 15 and then Duke beats FSU on Sat. Mar. 1. That's the only scenario where Duke could win it back during the regular season. Barring that, let's hope Duke crosses paths with the Belt-holder during the ACC tournament.
 
boligrafous said:
Duke's earliest chance to win back the Walton Belt is if FSU beats Clemson on Sat. Feb. 15 and then Duke beats FSU on Sat. Mar. 1. That's the only scenario where Duke could win it back during the regular season. Barring that, let's hope Duke crosses paths with the Belt-holder during the ACC tournament.
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Walton Belt Doomsday Scenario:

1. Clemson wins out until BC
2. BC upsets Clemson the second to last game of the season, then beats VT.
3. BC does not even qualify for the ACCT let alone post-season, and the belt dies there.
 
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