Fuzzy bracket math

[BUSongwriter]

OK, it's been a few years since I've been in school, and math was never my strong suit, but could someone please explain to me how Loyola -- solidly in the Top 20 of major polls and with a NET rating of 10, is projected to be a 10 seed by Jerry Palm of CBS? My math tells me that puts them between 37-40 in rankings. In fact, Palm had Loyola as a bubble team (!) until they beat Drake in the MVC finals.

Joe Lunardi has the Ramblers at an 8 -- better, but still only about a 30 ranking.

A reminder . . . Loyola was an 11 seed when they made their Final Four run in 2018. Because they have two stars from that team now seniors, I'd think they'd be given a bit more respect. They obviously haven't been given much by these bracketologists. I hope the committee is better at math, but I'm not confident.

[Tommy]

You nailed it, Songwriter. If you're not in a power conference, it's very difficult to get a seed higher than 8 or 9, and if Loyola with 4 losses can't do better than a 10, what exactly would it take.

Didn't Lunardi have 9 Big 10 teams going last I checked, too? If that happens, that's just stupid. If you are the 9th best team in your conference and you didn't win your conference tournament, wasn't that pretty much your chance at a 'National title'?

Again, not to sound like a broken record, but the NCAA is not a championship tournament, it's a money ball, and making money is all they care about.

[BUfan17]

So much weight goes on the strength of schedule and "good wins" for the seeds, whether that is fair depends on who you are talking to. Remember a few years back how mad the ISU fan base was when they got snubbed a bid despite a pretty good record? Unfortunately that is how it goes as a mid major.


To be honest through Loyola does not have any real "good wins". Yeah they have a really good record which is impressive in itself but none of their wins are that impressive. If they swept Drake and beat Wisconsin I think they would be looking at a 4 or 5 seed.

[Tommy]

So much weight goes on the strength of schedule and "good wins" for the seeds, whether that is fair depends on who you are talking to. Remember a few years back how mad the ISU fan base was when they got snubbed a bid despite a pretty good record? Unfortunately that is how it goes as a mid major.


To be honest through Loyola does not have any real "good wins". Yeah they have a really good record which is impressive in itself but none of their wins are that impressive. If they swept Drake and beat Wisconsin I think they would be looking at a 4 or 5 seed.

"Good" wins are subjective. The entire ranking system is subjective. How on earth can a mid-major team ever get "good" wins when power conference teams refuse to take games against them, especially on their court. It's a broke system built on money and my hope is that one day the non-power conferences say enough and create their own tournament where just the tournament and season champs are invited and the ranking system is done away with. Serves no purpose other than to manipulate the outcomes.

[bigjimmy]

Drake is hanging on by a thread for their at large berth. Georgetown winning the Big East gets the Bulldogs a little bit too close to the bubble. They will be rooting for Colorado to beat Oregon State tonight and for Houston to beat Cincinnati tomorrow.

[bigjimmy]

All right Bulldogs! And they get Wichita. NCAA Selection Committee being funny. Go kick their ass.

[Stryker]

Committee was getting cute. Also put IL and Loyola in with a potential second game matchup.