Where will the NCAA seed Loyola?

[BUSongwriter]

With a record of 27-5, a conference title, a runaway win in the conference tournament, and an RPI knocking on the door of the Top 25, one might expect Loyola to be seeded a 7 or an 8.

I say, prepare to be dissed again, MVC.

My prediction? A 10 or 11. And I predict that the NCAA will have a little fun and have them go up against Wichita in either the first or second round.

Here's what I'll be watching. Gonzaga has an almost identical record, strength of schedule, and RPI. My guess is, despite that, the Zags will be up to 3 seeds higher than Loyola.

Your thoughts?

[tornado]

is there any doubt the mid-majors will get reamed

[MacabreMob]

http://www.bracketmatrix.com/

[tornado]

a lot of those teams still have potential upsets in their tournies

[Da Coach]

Recall that Wichita State last year tied for the title in the MVC with a 17-1 record, and blew through the MVC Tournament, including a blowout win over ISU in the MVCT Championship game. They were 30-4 overall going into Selection Sunday, they had won their last 15 games, their average margin of victory for the season was 19.6 points, they were ranked 19th in the AP media poll, and 19th in the USA Today Coaches poll, and they were ranked #8 in the KenPom rankings and #11 in the Sagarin rankings, which the NCAA selection committee claimed they were going to put more weight on last year.
But despite all that, they were given a #10 seed, which was universally criticized. The NCAA rated them as the #38 best team! Almost every projection had them as a 5, 6, or 7 seed at the worst. Plus, they left Illinois State out completely, despite a 27-6 record, and an RPI of 33.
The NCAA selection committee has eliminated nearly all the representatives from midmajor and smaller schools, and have clearly shown their disdain for conferences like the Missouri Valley.

So I expect Loyola to get a 12 seed. Depending on outcomes in the postseason tournaments among other conferences that might allow less-deserving teams to get a bid, it could rise as high as 11.

[tornado]

Ha- LOL - just saw that the PJS has a column about Loyola has "risen from the ashes", been "resurrected from the dead".......

Baloney - Loyola has never been nuked, destroyed and left for dead in the ashes like Bradley was under the watchful eye and encouragement of none other than Kirk Wessler...

Loyola has not been great, they've been mediocre....they have never had to rebuild from scratch with their entire roster booted or departing...and corruption at the highest levels that falsified finances and overspent, wasted and screwed their programs into oblivion...

Loyola has never gone thru the total destruction that Bradley went thru at the hands of Kirk's favorites & idols, Glasser & Cross.

if there's a program he oughta notice has risen from the dead, it's the one right under his nose that he helped destroy earlier this decade, and as long as I am alive, I'm not going let them get away from rewriting history and constantly trying to blame it all on KK & JL - both of whom are among the best in the NATION at what they do while Joanne has sunk into her hole and Cross' ladies hockey program at Penn State (with their massive recruiting budget) can't even beat tiny, lowly opponents like Clarkson, Mercyhurst or Lindenwood.

[BUSongwriter]

MacabreMob -- I know you study this pretty closely. Could you explain why the matrix has Gonzaga at a 5 and Loyola at a 12 when Loyola is ahead in the RPI? I see the Zags throttled Ohio State for a very good win, but their conference is pathetic in the lower half and they lost to Florida, which Loyola beat. I'm sure there are variables I'm just not seeing.

Thanks!

[pfcmsh]

Love It

Ha- LOL - just saw that the PJS has a column about Loyola has "risen from the ashes", been "resurrected from the dead".......

Baloney - Loyola has never been nuked, destroyed and left for dead in the ashes like Bradley was under the watchful eye and encouragement of none other than Kirk Wessler...

Loyola has not been great, they've been mediocre....they have never had to rebuild from scratch with their entire roster booted or departing...and corruption at the highest levels that falsified finances and overspent, wasted and screwed their programs into oblivion...

Loyola has never gone thru the total destruction that Bradley went thru at the hands of Kirk's favorites & idols, Glasser & Cross.

if there's a program he oughta notice has risen from the dead, it's the one right under his nose that he helped destroy earlier this decade, and as long as I am alive, I'm not going let them get away from rewriting history and constantly trying to blame it all on KK & JL - both of whom are among the best in the NATION at what they do while Joanne has sunk into her hole and Cross' ladies hockey program at Penn State (with their massive recruiting budget) can't even beat tiny, lowly opponents like Clarkson, Mercyhurst or Lindenwood.

You go tornado!! Bravo and amen!

[Mikovio]

If they take the Custer injury into consideration like they should, it??™ll be a 7 or 8.

If not it??™ll be 11-12.

12 seed might even be best because you draw a 5 and 4, whereas the 8s need to kill a giant in the second round.

[Tulsa Brave]

Gonzaga has 4 quadrant 1 wins, and Loyola has 1 quadrant 1 win. That is why Loyola had to win the MVC tourney to get in, and why they will be a low seed.

It's also the reason Nebraska will not be in the field...they also have just one quadrant 1 win despite a 13-5 Big 10 record.

[bradleyfan124]

Whatever seed they get the pressure will be on them from the rest of the Valley teams. They have to do just one thing to represent the rest of us.
""""""WIN"""""

[tornado]

Loyola reminds me a bunch of Drake from 2008...
exceeding everyone's expectations, an MVP who is a smart point guard, underrated players, but just like that Drake team - I fear that once they get to the NCAA, they will be good enough to beat mid-major teams, and 3rd-4th tier BCS teams, but by the 2nd game they are gonna face a top tier Power Conference team, and they may get beaten by superior athleticism and the tendency for the refs to give breaks to the (ahem) higher seeded team (if you know what I mean)....

[Dub]

No faith in the committee or the process. 12+ seed

[Da Coach]

Jef Borzello, ESPN college basketball expert gives his projections for seeding. He labels Loyola a #12 seed-

https://twitter.com/jeffborzello/status/971038715001884676

[Da Coach]

CBS will do their Selection Show differently this year. They will announce all 68 teams in the tournament first, then reveal the brackets one by one They probably think this will keep people watching longer.-

https://twitter.com/AdamZagoria/status/971023523815809029