Who had the Better Pod?

[Mets82]

Out of the 8 Pods, who do you think had the better pod. Well, actually, this is a 2 part question.

1) Looking back on it, going into the tournament, I think Dayton did because they had 2 number 1 seeds there. I think the worst might have been the Purdue/Washington pod.

2) Now that we are down to the sweet 16, who had the better games. I will say Dayton. I think pretty much all the games were good.

 

[SabresRule]

1) Looking back on it, going into the tournament, I think Dayton did because they had 2 number 1 seeds there. I think the worst might have been the Purdue/Washington pod.

Dayton.

No game was dull there. Just ask Bill Raftery. Pitt and Louisville were in danger TWICE, as well as the OKState/Tennessee and Siena/Ohio State thrillers.

 

[BillD1984]

It's tough to decide what region has the best Regional Semifinal matchups. If I HAD to rank them:

1. Memphis- top four seeds still alive
2. Boston- top four seeds still alive
3. Glendale- top three seeds still alive plus the #5 seed
4. Indianapolis- top three seeds still alive plus the #12 seed

Don't get me wrong, I think all four regions are stacked. But this is how I'd rank them.

I have Indy ranked fourth, but you could make the arguement that the history of the four teams at that site combined, are better than any of the other sites.

 

[anders5189]

It's tough to decide what region has the best Regional Semifinal matchups. If I HAD to rank them:

1. Memphis- top four seeds still alive
2. Boston- top four seeds still alive
3. Glendale- top three seeds still alive plus the #5 seed
4. Indianapolis- top three seeds still alive plus the #12 seed

Don't get me wrong, I think all four regions are stacked. But this is how I'd rank them.

I have Indy ranked fourth, but you could make the arguement that the history of the four teams at that site combined, are better than any of the other sites.

I agree with that. The east and the south will be good. I think UConn-Purdue will be another laugher for the Huskies and the Indy regional has marquee names, but I don't think the games will be great. Louisville should destroy Arizona and Michigan St already did destroy Kansas back in January.

 

[Mets82]

Anders and Bill, you both agree that the Memphis region is number 1 but did you guys think that BEFORE the tourney?

Looking at the brackets today, I would have said Dayton because you have 2 number 1 seeds. Do you agree?

 

[BillD1984]

Anders and Bill, you both agree that the Memphis region is number 1 but did you guys think that BEFORE the tourney?

Looking at the brackets today, I would have said Dayton because you have 2 number 1 seeds. Do you agree?

I agree that Dayton had the best "pod".

They hosted two #1 seeds, and with that comes two evenly matched 8-9 games.

 

[BillD1984]

FWIW, last Sunday night when the brackets came out, I thought top to bottom the Midwest Region was BY FAR the toughest.

 

[anders5189]

I agree that Dayton had the best "pod".

They hosted two #1 seeds, and with that comes two evenly matched 8-9 games.

I'm actually shocked that there were no major upsets in Dayton. That site has been a killer over the years.

1981- #1 seed DePaul loses to St Joseph's at the buzzer.
1985- #8 seed Villanova upsets #1 seed Michigan. We know what happened next.
1992- #1 Seed Kansas loses to UTEP.
2006- #11 seed George Mason... Anyway they wound up in the FF.

I have no idea why they play games there. The arena looks like a dump. Why not play in Columbus or Cleveland or Cincinnati?

 

[SabresRule]

1985- #8 seed Villanova upsets #1 seed Michigan. We know what happened next.

Wozniak had a long cry?

 

[BillD1984]

I have no idea why they play games there. The arena looks like a dump. Why not play in Columbus or Cleveland or Cincinnati?

I agree, and I've thought that for years.

Both Cleveland and Columbus have gorgeous facilities, I don't understand why the NCAA insists on Dayton.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

I have no idea why they play games there. The arena looks like a dump. Why not play in Columbus or Cleveland or Cincinnati?

Attendance. The six highest attendance figures for the NCAA opening round occurred in Dayton:

Highest Single Session—Opening Round
8,681—Dayton Arena, OH, Siena (81) vs. Alcorn St. (77),
3-12-2002
8,464—Dayton Arena, OH, Mt. St. Mary’s (69) vs. Coppin
St. (60), 3-18-2008
8,257—Dayton Arena, OH, Niagara (77) vs. Florida A&M
(69), 3-13-2007
8,254—Dayton Arena, OH, Oakland (79) vs. Alabama A&M
(69), 3-15-2005
7,808—Dayton Arena, OH, Florida A&M (72) vs. Lehigh
(57), 3-16-2004

And, this year:

Both teams shot so poorly that fans at the crowd of 11,346 at University of Dayton Arena — the largest for an NCAA opening-round game .....

Morehead St. ends 25 years of NCAA tournament futility by beating Alabama St 58-43 in opener -- Newsday.com

 

[anders5189]

Attendance. The six highest attendance figures for the NCAA opening round occurred in Dayton:



And, this year:



Morehead St. ends 25 years of NCAA tournament futility by beating Alabama St 58-43 in opener -- Newsday.com

That's for the play in game. Fine people in Dayton like seeing the 2 worst teams square off. A game that trivial deserves to be in a dump, but Dayton does not deserve the 1st and 2nd round games, and their attendance is not better than what other sites get. In fact I think they had the smallest arena of the opening rounds. Makes no sense.

 

[HD MM]

That's for the play in game. Fine people in Dayton like seeing the 2 worst teams square off. A game that trivial deserves to be in a dump, but Dayton does not deserve the 1st and 2nd round games, and their attendance is not better than what other sites get. In fact I think they had the smallest arena of the opening rounds. Makes no sense.

Just because you house the teams in a larger arena doesn't mean you'll sell out.

Look at American Airlines Arena in Miami. That arena could hold 19,600, yet they couldn't even sell half of the available tickets to any of the games they hosted!

 

[anders5189]

Just because you house the teams in a larger arena doesn't mean you'll sell out.

Look at American Airlines Arena in Miami. That arena could hold 19,600, yet they couldn't even sell half of the available tickets to any of the games they hosted!

True, but the attendance was pretty good most places. It's hard to gauge on TV because most fans don't attend every game so they're not all there at the same time. I can assure you that they did have sell outs in Greensboro and Philly. I bet they did in Portland too. There were probably 20,000 people in Minneapolis although it looked small because the Metrodome is so big. All of those other places are much larger than the arena in Dayton. The NCAA could do a lot better than playing in Dayton.

 

[HD MM]

True, but the attendance was pretty good most places. It's hard to gauge on TV because most fans don't attend every game so they're not all there at the same time. I can assure you that they did have sell outs in Greensboro and Philly. I bet they did in Portland too. There were probably 20,000 people in Minneapolis although it looked small because the Metrodome is so big. All of those other places are much larger than the arena in Dayton. The NCAA could do a lot better than playing in Dayton.

The Associated Press reported Greg Shaheen, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball and Business Strategies, as saying, "We are normally at or near sellout in all of our sites." This year was different.

Philadelphia, Kansas City, Portland, and Greensboro all sold out.

In these locations, local favorites such as Villanova (Phil), Gonzaga (Port), UNC (Greens), and Oklahoma (KC) all helped.

It's understandable how this year's economy could be responsible for this dip in attendance, but Miami's American Airlines Arena was only about half full. The Miami Herald listed the number at 9,577 (Capacity of 19,600).

The Herald went on to report "the other seven locations averaged 15,283.

Minneapolis was the other location to struggle significantly. They sold 12,814 tickets in an arena that holds 32,000.


Why Hosting First Round Games in Miami Hurt the NCAA Tournament | Bleacher Report

 

[anders5189]

The Associated Press reported Greg Shaheen, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball and Business Strategies, as saying, "We are normally at or near sellout in all of our sites." This year was different.

Philadelphia, Kansas City, Portland, and Greensboro all sold out.

In these locations, local favorites such as Villanova (Phil), Gonzaga (Port), UNC (Greens), and Oklahoma (KC) all helped.

It's understandable how this year's economy could be responsible for this dip in attendance, but Miami's American Airlines Arena was only about half full. The Miami Herald listed the number at 9,577 (Capacity of 19,600).

The Herald went on to report "the other seven locations averaged 15,283.

Minneapolis was the other location to struggle significantly. They sold 12,814 tickets in an arena that holds 32,000.


Why Hosting First Round Games in Miami Hurt the NCAA Tournament | Bleacher Report

Interesting. I thought there were more in Minneapolis. It's hard to tell in those domes. Miami does not surprise me. Few people down there have the passion of salsa. Attendance at everything down there stinks.

 

[HD MM]

Interesting. I thought there were more in Minneapolis. It's hard to tell in those domes. Miami does not surprise me. Few people down there have the passion of salsa. Attendance at everything down there stinks.

Unless they host the WBC.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

So we can start bitching about next year's first and second round sites now, here they are:

2010

FIRST AND SECOND ROUND
MARCH 18 AND 20
— New Orleans Arena, New Orleans
Host: Tulane University
— Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, RI
Co-hosts: Big East Conference and Providence College
— HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
Host: San Jose State University
— Spokane Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA
Host: Washington State University

MARCH 19 AND 21
— HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Tri-hosts: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Canisius College and Niagara University
— Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL
Host: Jacksonville University
— Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
Host: Marquette University
— Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Host: Big 12 Conference

 

[anders5189]

So we can start bitching about next year's first and second round sites now, here they are:

What are they thinking? The last time they went to New Orleans there were only about 2000 people at the games. Maybe it was a Katrina thing. Maybe not. The NCAA should just do FF's in New Orleans. I have a feeling that no one will go to those games. And Providence? That arena is tiny and probably has asbestos in the ceiling. Go to Boston!

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Wozniak had a long cry?

Real men only cry at funerals. You need a kleenex for yourself? Last time I checked your brackets were cleaning up the bottom of the list.