How the NCAA screwed Sparty

[trojanfan12]

I didn't even get to see the game as I was traveling, but all I can say is......if MTSU scored 90 points against Michigan State, then the basketball gods had it out for Sparty.

I don't see it as Sparty choked as much as Sparty caught the wrong team on the wrong day. MTSU played like a 2 seed and Michigan State played like a 3 seed.

Completely agree.

Sparty actually played fairly well. MTSU just had one of those games that is the reason we all love March Madness. If this were even as little as a 3 game playoff series, Sparty wins the series. But in a one off game, all you need is one or two guys to play out of their heads and it can create huge upsets.

 

[Malibu]

That's a misleading stat though. You can play insane defense yet the shots the opposition takes go in... Regardless of the D.

Agreed but Michigan State players coaches and players said it right out that there defense wasn't good enough. Over 90 pts and over 50% shooting doesn't happen versus Michigan State to often. There defense sucked regardless.

 

[cwerph]

 

[redseat]

Agreed but Michigan State players coaches and players said it right out that there defense wasn't good enough. Over 90 pts and over 50% shooting doesn't happen versus Michigan State to often. There defense sucked regardless.

Yes their defense was not good but again you still can play excellent defense and just have the opposition shoot lights out. Not saying that's what happened but to say the NCAA screwed MSU is ludicrous!

 

[domotime2]

I make my own bracketology and let me assure you that at the very BEST this team was a 14 seed. People whining that MSU got screwed because they had to play a 14 seed instead of a 15 are ridiculous. AND I'll be honest, I'm glad the committee didn't make them a 1. The big-10 was DOWN this year and MSU's resume wasn't really all that amazing to earn a 1 seed.

I didn't hear people complaining about playing MTSU when they were picking them to win it all in almost every bracket out there

 

[tabascojet]

Msu shot 56℅.......mtsu just had a magic night. Shit happens.

 

[The Q]

Yes their defense was not good but again you still can play excellent defense and just have the opposition shoot lights out. Not saying that's what happened but to say the NCAA screwed MSU is ludicrous!

The only one that would've been screwed was Virginia if they had to play them in a virtual road game in Chicago.

 

[jeffro151]

The only one that would've been screwed was Virginia if they had to play them in a virtual road game in Chicago.

Wouldn't that have been some shit if we had to play Iowa State and Michigan State in Chicago? This bracket definitely didn't favor the #1 seed.

 

[The Q]

Wouldn't that have been some shit if we had to play Iowa State and Michigan State in Chicago? This bracket definitely didn't favor the #1 seed.

Exactly what I said when the bracket came out.

 

[podsox]

Maybe is so should have tried a 2-3 zone. The cuse zone ain't what it use to be either. They are completely lost today

 

[cowboys5xsbs]

Sparty got screwed because they ran into a hot team not because of their seed.

 

[broncosmitty]

It's amazing Syracuse just whipped that Murfreesboro ass.

Didn't think it was possible.

 

[Malibu]

Go Cuse!!!

 

[Blaise Winter]

AND I'll be honest, I'm glad the committee didn't make them a 1. The big-10 was DOWN this year and MSU's resume wasn't really all that amazing to earn a 1 seed.

If it's a down year in the Big 10 with 7 bids/3 in the Sweet Sixteen, what did your Chip-Crumb Couch Pro Super Bracketology 2000 call the BIG LEAST with 5 bids/1 in the Sweet Sixteen? Abysmal? Dreadful? Or just good ol' awful? Talk about over-seeded.

State ran the table out of conference, their best player got injured, and they stubbed a few toes until he came back and was up to snuff. The first-round loss takes a lot of lustre off it, true, but they were fully deserving of a 1-seed regardless of that.

Here's the breakdown so far:

ACC (7 bids): 12-1
Big Ten (7): 8-4
Big 12 (7): 6-4
Pac-12 (7): 3-6
Big East (5): 5-4
SEC (3): 3-2

 

[Blaise Winter]

Oh, and I'm not saying they got screwed in any way - they lost a game they never should have lost, and if they couldn't beat that team, how could they run the table against much tougher competition?

 

[Cincyfan78]

What you do to get into the tournament (resume) and what you do when you are IN the tournament are two completely different things.

I wish people would stop using the wins/losses inside the tournament to try and justify/refute the regular season results. It can't be done.


More to the point of this thread: MSU got skunked. They didn't get cheated, they thought they could take a day off and got shown up by a team they should have destroyed.

 

[Jim Rome is Flaming]

After Sparty won the Big 10 championship, I thought they would be the 4th #1 seed.

Not only did they not get the 4th #1 seed, I believe the NCAA randomly swapped the 2 seeds so that Villanova would not end up in Philly with UNC. So, Sparty ended up matched up with the strongest #15 seed and by a large margin.

2016 Seeding - Crashing the Dance

MTSU's RPI was 78, which is closer to teams like Hawaii (a 13 seed), Iona (also a 13). The four 16 seeds have RPIs of 155, 209, 186, and 249.

No excuse for Sparty to lose to a team that's closer to a 13 anyway, but they'd clearly be still playing if the seeding were proper.

RPI is a very, very flawed stat. According to Kenpom (IMO a much better measure of a team's quality), MTSU was the second toughest 15 behind CSU Bakersfield.

And let's say you're right, and MTSU was the equivalent of a 13 seed. A borderline 1 seed should still win that game rather easily. Nobody screwed MSU but themselves.

 

[douggie]

 

[Eco]

Sparty had one of the best players in the nation, no excuses.

 

[redseat]

Sparty had one of the best players in the nation, no excuses.

Couldn't the same be said for LSU? Look where they got......


Bottom line you can't just win with ONE "best" player in college and it's March Madness, everything gets thrown out the window.