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LADY RAIDER BB Bracketology

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MTOleBlue

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The latest: https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/s...ogy-2023-women-college-basketball-projections

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And from an ESPN article on Women's Bracketology 2022-23: Biggest questions that will impact the rest of the season:

Which teams currently projected in the NCAA bracket will solidify their spot in the madness?

Utah, Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, St. John's, Duke, Florida State, Middle Tennessee. The list of teams exceeding expectations to this point is long. These form the other group of teams to watch most closely. Which ones can sustain their early success? Which will level off and lose their current seed status?
 
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College Sports Madness released its latest Bracketology.
Stanford Bracket:
#7 Baylor
#10 Middle Tennessee

#2 Stanford
#15 Holy Cross

CSM elevates MT's prior bracket position. This time last week CSM listed MT as an 11 seed.
 
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Another ESPN Bracketology came out today.
After comparing net rankings & AP top 25 votes which include 30+ teams there seems practically no correlation to team placement in the brackets. Who knows, maybe ESPN has it really close compared to Selection Committee. It almost appears that outside the top 8 selections they're pulling names out of hats & plugging spots.
Felt we should have been at worst a #7 seed with our #23 AP ranking, but MT is now up one bracket spot according to ESPN as a #8 seed again. Hoped for better, but really not surprised.
 
RealTime RPI Bracketology just bumped the Raiders up to a 10 seed from an 11.
Just keep winning
 
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I’d be more happy with an 11 seed. An 8 or 9 is going to make the Sweet 16 almost impossible.
 
ewglenn said:
The 6 is going to be hard to get to just being honest
Click to expand...
Will depend on how the tournament goes. We complete reg season undefeated in conference and win the tournament, possibility.

Would take some help though for sure of losses by teams above us not only in their tournaments, but also reg seasons. Sadly the big name teams aren't counted out as much losing a tournament as we are.

Doesn't help either that Rice is the only other CUSA team in the top 100 NET at 94.
 
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IMO, a 6 seed would be everything going right for Middle scenario, probably would need a strong finish by Louisville or Texas Tech (possibly both), losing to Mercer probably doesn't help. P5 schools can afford a bad loss here and there bc the strength of their conference schedule, Middle doesn't have that luxury.

I'll never advocate for losing, but a loss knocking us down to a 11/12 seed wouldn't be terrible. Being ranked is great for recruiting and PR, but if your a mid-major, it matters absolutely zilch in regards to seeding
 
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SpaceRaider said:
a discussion with a wbb bracketologist, Hayden King (?) after the top story

View embedded media
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting! Now I totally understand why women's Bracketology seems to make so little sense. Don't know how in the world the 2 co-host's from Main Street Sports didn't stop the interview after 1 minute & ask, "is this a joke someone's playing on us? Cause guess what, you got us!!" The most bizarrely sad Sports podcast interview in recent memory. Unfortunately if this guy Hayden King is a true example of all Women's Bracketology reps I should have my rear kicked for checking them out on a weekly basis. Dude is literally clueless, & without the ability to put together 1 coherent sentence. Apparently to get the job all you have to do is call the publication editor & ask, "yo buddy, y'all got anything for me to do. I sure got lots of free time here at the house. You do??? Cool!"🤪
 
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I know we're always trying for as high a bracket position as possible. Currently most bracketologists are setting us at 11. Truthfully I like an 11 or 12 seed option better than an a 7, 8,9, or 10. The opening round of 64/32 is on the higher seeds home court before heading to regional. If we play well in 1st game & pull a victory as a 7-10 seed automatically you're going against a 1 or 2 seed in round of 32 on their home court. Let's face it that's almost impossible on those home courts. But as an 11 or 12 seed we would be on a neutral floor against only a 5 or 6 seed in game 1. With solid play this team is very capable of that on a neutral site. Our 2nd round opponent would likely be against a 3 or 4 seed at their home. Once again still quite difficult, but not as much as against a 1 or 2.
Unfortunately a 4 seed is totally out of reach with back to back losses in Texas, our opportunity for a home court advantage has passed us by. I think our greatest chance of advancing now sets as an 11 or 12, or the alternate but less realistic 5 or 6 seed.
 
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I noticed that too earlier today. Tennessee in the running to be a host despite being unranked and I don't believe they've won a game against a ranked team. Just goes to show the huge gap in the women's game. The fact Tennessee is being considered as a top 16 team shows how the power programs run the show and the NCAA let's them. They will claim we didn't play a hard enough schedule, yet we will play anyone as long as they are willing to come to us in return. And that in itself is the problem. We can go to them but they don't want to come to Murphy Center. Until the NCAA quits rewarding seeding on reputation instead of merit and levels the playing field with neutral court NCAA games we will continue to have an uphill battle.
 
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The women's team's fighting for a top 4 seed specifically ignore G5 schools such as Gonzaga, Middle Tennessee, & South Dakota State because they terrify the Power 5 conferences.
At least the men have a fighting chance come tournament time based on general neutral sites.
As for as the ladies NCAA Tournament is concerned it reminds me of George Orwell's Animal Farm. "All women's basketball teams are created equal, but some women's basketball team's are created more equal than the others."
 
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MTFAN61 said:
The women's team's fighting for a top 4 seed specifically ignore G5 schools such as Gonzaga, Middle Tennessee, & South Dakota State because they terrify the Power 5 conferences.
At least the men have a fighting chance come tournament time based on general neutral sites.
As for as the ladies NCAA Tournament is concerned it reminds me of George Orwell's Animal Farm. "All women's basketball teams are created equal, but some women's basketball team's are created more equal than the others."
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I 100% agree in the bias. The Women's tournament has improved but there is still lots of work to do. But sadly when you look at the NET rankings which is what "should" affect the seeding more than anything, it makes sense.

NET is supposed to take the human component out of it. Remove the bias. Sadly the selection committee still has emotions. But still, UT has better wins and much better losses. Their avg win/loss rankings are 102/14. Ours 149/139. Every single one of their losses are Q1 while ours are Q2&3.
Schedule strength overall/out of conf, UT 2/2, MT 83/33.

And honestly that again just as said above goes back to those willing to play us. A perennial post-season team regularly ranked with a WBB HOF head coach asking for a home/home with another team is not unreasonable by any stretch. Yet here we are being told no time and time again. And until that part of women's ball changes, it absolutely will be an uphill fight. Because until that schedule strength changes we are stuck.

It's why I 100% support conference challenges as it can help the entire conference schedule strength.
 
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Hopefully we get a quality place in the bracket. I think meeting a team like Duke, UConn, NCSU, etc. in the second round wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. What we don’t want is to be matched up with the home team in game one, so being anywhere from 8 to 11 would be good.
 
I wouldn't fuss at that. CRI has only made it to the Round of 32 once. Is this the year to best that? I say yes!
 
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Real-time RPI Bracketology has moved the Lady Raiders back up to a #10 seed opposing NC State.
 
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Blue Raider Lightning said:
Drop to # 25 in today's poll.
Click to expand...
Reviewed our cumulative 3 point % over our last 3 games. Even with 2 of our last 3 games being at the comforts of home we only shot 24.5% from long range. That will not do in any game either at the NCAA Tournament or the CUSA Tournament.
Watched a number of women's conference tourney games last week & saw some excellent shooting from down town with consecutive 3 pointers being made. The 3 is too big a part of our game for poor play outside the arc the next couple of weeks. Our shooters will have to improve their concentration & shot selection from this past week if they desire an extended season.
We are definitely capable of shooting in the mid 30's, but I also remember the 10-54 game in Texas. It's time to be at our best from outside with no excuses.
 
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excerpt:

...Two or three leagues emerge every season as bid stealers -- conferences with a definitive regular-season champion that is certain to receive an at-large invite but fails to win the tournament. That means two bids from a league that was anticipated to only have one, reducing the number of at-large bids available to bubble teams.

Gonzaga has been a fixture among the top eight seeds in Bracketology and will make the NCAA tournament win or lose in the WCC tournament, which concludes Tuesday in Las Vegas. If someone upsets the Zags, the WCC's automatic bid goes to that team and Gonzaga takes an at-large bid that might be currently designated for a bubble team like West Virginia or St. John's.

If Middle Tennessee makes the Conference USA championship game, the Lady Raiders should make the NCAA field as an at-large -- and another bubble team would be out. South Dakota State dominated the Summit all season and is also a good at-large candidate. Should UNLV fail to cap an unbeaten Mountain West season with a tournament title, the Lady Rebels would become a bubble team.....


www.espn.com

These four things will most impact the women's NCAA bracket before Selection Sunday

As the debate over No. 1 seeds rages on, the Big 12, the availability of injured players and mid-majors that might shrink the bubble will continue to shape the bracket.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
Really proud for the Lady Raiders! Most wins in cusa history and a top 25 final ranking .. Considering that very few power 5 programs will come here to play us, this is quite an accomplishment. Kudos to Louisville for agreeing to come down here for a butt kicking. Top 25 would not have happened without that win.
 
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Important notice concerning the above article. The writer included the statement, "If" Middle Tennessee makes the tournament championship game they should be included as an at-large bid. Is this everyone's feeling as well? What a shame if this is true & we get bounced in the quarter or semi's again this year. For the past # of weeks ESPN has had us listed as "aq" via the Bracketology reports. My original assumption was that no matter what happened in the CUSA tourney, we were in the big dance. Then again, nothing is beyond the NCAA.
 
MTFAN61 said:
Important notice concerning the above article. The writer included the statement, "If" Middle Tennessee makes the tournament championship game they should be included as an at-large bid. Is this everyone's feeling as well? What a shame if this is true & we get bounced in the quarter or semi's again this year. For the past # of weeks ESPN has had us listed as "aq" via the Bracketology reports. My original assumption was that no matter what happened in the CUSA tourney, we were in the big dance. Then again, nothing is beyond the NCAA.
Click to expand...
We should be based on NET. If we lose our first game there might be an argument, but I think if we win one they won't be able to keep out a then 26-5 top 30 NET team out. Like you said though, nothing is beyond them. Can't always account for that human factor.
 
I have a question about the women's first and second round sites. I had heard that they would be played at the top 16 sites that would be selected a little earlier so people could get air and hotel reservations. I can't find a list of those 16 yet. Will they be waiting until the final announcement Sunday to set the 16 sites?
 
I think you're dead on. Don't believe anyone can know until selections are all released. Otherwise too great a risk of leaked seedings before the official announcement
 
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crassyblue said:
I have a question about the women's first and second round sites. I had heard that they would be played at the top 16 sites that would be selected a little earlier so people could get air and hotel reservations. I can't find a list of those 16 yet. Will they be waiting until the final announcement Sunday to set the 16 sites?
Click to expand...
The Women's tournament is unique and changed a bit this year.

* The First Four games are held at the campuses of 1 seeds.
* Round of 64 and Round of 32 games are held on campuses of seeds 1-4 in each bracket. We have a hint from the two top 16 reveals they did but you are correct. Won't officially know till Sunday.
* Sweet 16 and Elite 8 are played in two cities. Seattle and Greenville, SC.
* Final 4 and Champ is in Dallas

Every prediction I've seen has us in the Seattle bracket with the latest having us hosted by LSU to start.
 
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I knew about Seattle & Greenville SC. For neutrality I get Seattle. But Greenville SC??? Could we ask for more favoritism for the Gamecock's?
While there are plenty of quality teams in this year's top 25, it's the top 5 to 6 that are really outstanding. In the men's game it's not unusual to find a 4-7 seed make it through to the final 4, but this year I think it will be all 1 seeds with a possible 2 in the final 4 for the ladies.
South Carolina, Stanford, Iowa with Caitlin Clark, Indiana, & VA Tech all appear to be on a different level compared to the rest of teams seeking to be the best in women's college hoops. I think these teams are capable of beating the rest of the field set before them by double digits until having to face one another. Should make for an outstanding Final 4.
 
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MidTennMtneer said:
The Women's tournament is unique and changed a bit this year.

* The First Four games are held at the campuses of 1 seeds.
* Round of 64 and Round of 32 games are held on campuses of seeds 1-4 in each bracket. We have a hint from the two top 16 reveals they did but you are correct. Won't officially know till Sunday.
* Sweet 16 and Elite 8 are played in two cities. Seattle and Greenville, SC.
* Final 4 and Champ is in Dallas

Every prediction I've seen has us in the Seattle bracket with the latest having us hosted by LSU to start.
Click to expand...
Great explanation. The other one was also. Where can I find the "two top 16 reveals" that show at least what they think are the first four seeds in each section now?
 
Iowa will probably be a #1 seed especially over Indiana. Of note, South Florida (NET #30, best win is a 5 point win over Texas) lost by 12 to Wichita State (NET #111) today. They are probably in the field, so that's an at-large spot taken up. More reason for us to win the whole CUSA tournament and not have to worry on Sunday.
 
Our NET jumped overnight. Now 27.

ESPN currently has us a 10 in Seattle region against NC St. playing in Maryland.

CBS only updates every few days while ESPN is updated daily, sometimes more than once.
 
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