Ultimate Bracket Buster

Wow. A new Cinderalla!

And goodnight to 'Nova.
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The greatness that we call Villanova lost?! Nah! That couldn't have happened.
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To be fair, in the last 9 seasons they have gone to the dance in all but one year (last season) and within those 8 NCAA appearances there has been one final four, two sweet 16s and one elite 8. Pretty close to greatness IMO.

What have we done in the past 9 seasons? One NCAA appearance and it was an awful showing from the opening tipoff.

I would settle for that kind of greatness in a heartbeat. For crying out loud, we still hang our greatness hat on a final four appearance that took place a generation ago.
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I never said I wouldn't take what 'Nova has done over the years (as, I certainly would take it). Quite frankly, I also do not think that is "close to greatness." It's pretty good, but not great in my book. "Greatness" is what Michigan State has done over the past 10-15 years. That's my opinion.

My response was about a poster speaking of 'Nova like they were in the class of Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, Duke, UConn, Michigan State, and the likes. IMO, they aren't in that tier. Personally, that is the tier I would boast about, if I were boasting about a team that I'd like to emulate. I wouldn't boast about wanting to be like 'Nova. Once again, that is my opinion. Another thread derailed.

Carry on, folks.
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Michigan St. is beyond greatness. It's another dimension. Nova's resume over the past decade is great to me. But maybe because I'm tired of waiting until next year as a Johnny fan.
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LOL Another dimension.... Good one! A "dimension" I'd like for us to encounter.

No problem. I just view 'Nova as being "good" or "solid" of late. I also understand you're tired of waiting for us to do make some noise. I can feel you on that one.

Hopefully, next year, around this time, we can all rejoice in us winning our first round NCAA game.
 
JT III in the tournament by year:

Did not make it
Sweet 16
Final Four
Did not make it
Lost round of 32 (as a 2 to a 10)
Lost first round (as a 3 to a 14)
Lost first round (as a 6 to an 11)
Lost round of 32 (as a 3 to an 11)
Lost first round ( as a 2 to a 15)

As great as he has been during the regular season. Those are the type of things that get you fired.
 
Not even close.

The NCAA started seeding in 1979.
In order Looie went:

As a 10 lost to a nine (Penn by two) in the Elite Eight. Penn went to Final Four (duh)
As a 3 lost to a six (Purdue by two) in second round. Purdue went to Final Four.
Did Not Make it
As a 5 lost to a four (Bama by one) in second round.
As a 1 lost to a four (Georgia by three) in Sweet 16. Georgia went to Final Four.
As a 9 lost to an eight (Temple by two) in first round.
As a 1 lost to a one (GTown by 18) in Final Four.
As a 1 lost to an eight (Auburn by 16) in second round.
As a 6 lost to a three (DePaul by eight in OT) in second round.
As an 11 lost a six (Florida by three) in first round.
Did not make. NIT title
As a six lost to a three (Duke by three) in second round. Duke made Final Four.
As a four lost to a two (Duke by 17) in Elite Eight. Duke won national title.
As a seven lost to a 10 (Tulane by 4) in first round.

That is 14 seasons in a seeded tournament. made it 12 times. in those 12, he lost to a lower seed four times and the largest gap was a seven. As the higher seed he lost to someone lower than an eight once, in his final year.

In nine seasons at Georgetown, JTIII has made it seven times. In those seven, he has lost to a lower seed five times. He has four losses where the gap is eight or larger. He has lost to someone lower than an eight five times, all five being double-digit seeds. IN THE SPAN OF SIX SEASONS!
 
JT3 the most overrated coach in basketball history. no one has done so little with so much
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They beat us badly both times and our recruits were rated higher out of high school. Winning the Big East this year with the Ville and Cuse was no small task. Mind you, I hate G Town and the Thompsons but give credit where it is due.
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I'll give him credit for doing a good job during the regular season with his teams over the years. No doubt about it. But he's really suffered in the tourney of late. IMO, they have become the 'regular season warriors.' They remind me of the 80's Milwaukee Bucks.... Kick butt in the regular season; only to flounder (and, flounder hard) in the postseason.

But I see you, per usual, have to take a diss at the Johnnies (when the conversation didn't even warrant it), realfan.
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Realfan? So wait, let me guess, you must be Norm Roberts. Hey shouldn't you be kind of busy now? :)
 
Not even close.

The NCAA started seeding in 1979.
In order Looie went:

As a 10 lost to a nine (Penn by two) in the Elite Eight. Penn went to Final Four (duh)
As a 3 lost to a six (Purdue by two) in second round. Purdue went to Final Four.
Did Not Make it
As a 5 lost to a four (Bama by one) in second round.
As a 1 lost to a four (Georgia by three) in Sweet 16. Georgia went to Final Four.
As a 9 lost to an eight (Temple by two) in first round.
As a 1 lost to a one (GTown by 18) in Final Four.
As a 1 lost to an eight (Auburn by 16) in second round.
As a 6 lost to a three (DePaul by eight in OT) in second round.
As an 11 lost a six (Florida by three) in first round.
Did not make. NIT title
As a six lost to a three (Duke by three) in second round. Duke made Final Four.
As a four lost to a two (Duke by 17) in Elite Eight. Duke won national title.
As a seven lost to a 10 (Tulane by 4) in first round.

That is 14 seasons in a seeded tournament. made it 12 times. in those 12, he lost to a lower seed four times and the largest gap was a seven. As the higher seed he lost to someone lower than an eight once, in his final year.

In nine seasons at Georgetown, JTIII has made it seven times. In those seven, he has lost to a lower seed five times. He has four losses where the gap is eight or larger. He has lost to someone lower than an eight five times, all five being double-digit seeds. IN THE SPAN OF SIX SEASONS!
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++10. This is awesome analysis!

Looking at this doesn't look at bad as it felt at the time. Twice we lost to lower seeds that went to the Final Four, so obviously those teams (Penn and Purdue) played really well in the tournament. We were the lower seed in many of those losses, so losing was somewhat acceptable. From memory, the losses that really hurt were the Auburn loss (1 vs. 8 ) and losing to Tulane (10 vs 7). Wasn't Tulane's team name the "Green Frogs" or something like that? Was the loss to Alabama at the Nassau Colliseum? IF so, i think I was there.
 
Not even close.

The NCAA started seeding in 1979.
In order Looie went:

As a 10 lost to a nine (Penn by two) in the Elite Eight. Penn went to Final Four (duh)
As a 3 lost to a six (Purdue by two) in second round. Purdue went to Final Four.
Did Not Make it
As a 5 lost to a four (Bama by one) in second round.
As a 1 lost to a four (Georgia by three) in Sweet 16. Georgia went to Final Four.
As a 9 lost to an eight (Temple by two) in first round.
As a 1 lost to a one (GTown by 18) in Final Four.
As a 1 lost to an eight (Auburn by 16) in second round.
As a 6 lost to a three (DePaul by eight in OT) in second round.
As an 11 lost a six (Florida by three) in first round.
Did not make. NIT title
As a six lost to a three (Duke by three) in second round. Duke made Final Four.
As a four lost to a two (Duke by 17) in Elite Eight. Duke won national title.
As a seven lost to a 10 (Tulane by 4) in first round.

That is 14 seasons in a seeded tournament. made it 12 times. in those 12, he lost to a lower seed four times and the largest gap was a seven. As the higher seed he lost to someone lower than an eight once, in his final year.

In nine seasons at Georgetown, JTIII has made it seven times. In those seven, he has lost to a lower seed five times. He has four losses where the gap is eight or larger. He has lost to someone lower than an eight five times, all five being double-digit seeds. IN THE SPAN OF SIX SEASONS!
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Good analysis but a couple of points
game vs. Alabama was at Nassua Col virtually a home game
Purdue game was a first game one and done as Johnnie's were the seeded team
pre Big East Johnnie's went out in first round in '76 to Indiana '77 to Utah, and 78 to Louisville.
In and out is never good.
This is not to disparage Looie as the guys that have followed him could not shine his shoes.
Just an example of the heartache of Johnnie fans.
 
Salty I didn't analyze the pre seeded tournaments for this reason -- there were only 32 teams, so a loss to anyone to start is not a bad loss, and in 1978 they matched teams by putting conference champions against at larges. But even if you wanted to count that:

in 1978 when SJU lost to Louisville by 12, they were supposed to because they got the last at-large bid in the region and lost to the second-ranked auto qualifier
in 1977 when SJU lost to Utah by four in the opening round, the game was in Provo, Utah. And the match-up was even -- SJU was 22-9, Utah 22-7
In 1976, when SJU lost to Indiana by 20 in the opening round, they just happened to draw the last team to have an undefeated season.

So when you look back at those three, I don't think you can say that SJU was the favorite in any of the three. Certainly not 1976 because of the opponent and 1978 due to the seeding at the time.

And just to finish:

in 1967 SJU lost by one to Boston College in the Sweet 16. Boston College had a slighty better record at 21-3. SJU was 23-5. And there were only 23 teams.

In 1968 SJU lost by nine to Davidson in the first round, which went to the Ellite Eight and lost to runner-up North Carolina. Again SJU had a worse record. Davidson was 24-5. SJU was 19-8. And there were just 23 teams.

in 1969. SJU lost by 10 to Davidson in the Sweet 16, which again lost to UNC in the Elite Eight. Again SJU had the worse record. Davidson was 27-3. SJU was 23-6. And there were 25 teams.

So in full retrospect. Looie made 18 tournaments. And based on the seeding he lost three times he shouldn't have and maybe one other pre-seed time, although I don't think losing to Utah at Utah should be expected.
 
Who isn't rooting for FGCU? Comer is ballin'!

Go Eagles!
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One of the best tourny stories ever. How can you not love these kids?
 
JT III in the tournament by year:

Did not make it
Sweet 16
Final Four
Did not make it
Lost round of 32 (as a 2 to a 10)
Lost first round (as a 3 to a 14)
Lost first round (as a 6 to an 11)
Lost round of 32 (as a 3 to an 11)
Lost first round ( as a 2 to a 15)

As great as he has been during the regular season. Those are the type of things that get you fired.
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As Howland found out.
 
JT III in the tournament by year:

Did not make it
Sweet 16
Final Four
Did not make it
Lost round of 32 (as a 2 to a 10)
Lost first round (as a 3 to a 14)
Lost first round (as a 6 to an 11)
Lost round of 32 (as a 3 to an 11)
Lost first round ( as a 2 to a 15)

As great as he has been during the regular season. Those are the type of things that get you fired.
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As Howland found out.
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And have a statue build of you outside the Arena if you do that at St. John's! LOL
 
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