Can anyone explain NCAA Tournament?

[nolabear]

So how does this bracket thing work? Yep, utter newbie to March Madness, though the fact that I worked at Duke U for years ought to put my prejudices firmly in place.

[tridim]

1. 64 teams.. 32 games..

32 teams remain.. 16 more games.
16 teams.. 8 games
8 teams.. 4 games
4 teams(The Final Four).. 2 games
2 teams play the championship game.

[BlooInBloo]

Your statement has every virtue, except for being correct.

There are 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament.

[tridim]

4. Do I have to spank myself for not being 100% accurate?

As if anyone gives a crap about the play-in game. :)

[BlooInBloo]

5. (shrug) I suppose the only relevant matter is whether or not the OP gets the correct answer....

I don't especially care, since I already know the answer.

[Ex Lurker]

2. also, the teams are seeded according to a formula

which purports to rank them from best to worst. In the first round, the 1's play the 16's, the 2's play the 15's, etc.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Are you talking about the RPI? If so, link to where it says the Selection Committee is *required*...

to seed according to RPI please?

If not RPI, then what formula, and similar link please?

Thanks!

[Ocracoker16]

7. RPI is used as rough guide but

the committee also looks at other factors which you can read more about at this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_Sunday

[BlooInBloo]

10. Yes, I know.

[Ocracoker16]

18. Ofcourse you do

I meant to respond to the post that said a formula was used to determine seeding. I mistakenly replied to your post. Sorry.

[Uzybone]

6. Not seeded based on "a" formula

Seeds are based on numerous formulas, polls and personal prejudices of the selection committee.

[leftofthedial]

8. tall college guys, most of whom will not graduate,

run and bounce and throw a ball.

for a few weeks, the media acts like these tall guys were missing blondes in aruba

[taterguy]

9. Sounds like someone was always picked last for the team

[BlooInBloo]

11. You gotta love the last-picked folks ripping on kids who commonly have only one way out...

and then the last-picked people continue bitching at the .0001% who make it pro, and make millions.

But somehow those last-picked NEVER seem to find time to bitch about the billionaire owners. I wonder what the difference could possibly be?

[leftofthedial]

19. Actually, I lettered three years in high school.

Then I played on the school's champion intramural team two years in college.

:shrug:

Of course, I'm so old that back when I was in school, some guys still used a set shot. LOL

[RoyGBiv]

13. Graduation rates ...

Of the teams in this year's women's and men's tournaments who report graduation statistics (some schools do not, e.g. Ivy League schools like Cornell and Dartmouth nor North and South Dakota):

Women's Teams

98% of the teams in the tournament have a graduation rate of at least 50%
97% have a graduation rate of at least 60%
81% have a graduation rate of at least 70%

Men's Teams

63% of the teams in the tournament have a graduation rate of at least 50%
48% have a graduation rate of at least 60%
35% have a graduation rate of at least 70%

(PDF) The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at UCF - Annual Report - "Keeping Score When It Counts: Graduation Rates for 2009 NCAA Women's and Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Teams"

[taterguy]

16. Graduation rates are misleading

If I was a good enough athlete to make money playing ball, that's where I would devote my time and attention, during the limited window of opportunity.

You can go back and get an education almost anytime.

You can only earn money as a professional athlete during a few precious years.

It should also be noted that it's much easier to get a diploma from some schools than others.

[RoyGBiv]

17. They are ...

And there are a lot of variables there, one of which you mentioned. Some of those variables go the other way. And, we could go off on a whole tangent about why more women graduate than men and then get into talking about why black student athletes at these schools graduate less often than white student athletes. But opening up all those cans of worms wasn't my purpose.

The sarcasm was offered that most of the players in the tournament wouldn't graduate. That is incorrect, and I just wanted to back it up with this report.

[SoCalDem]

14. and they sweat a lot.. n.t

[bigwillq]

15. The tournament is good for the economy!

Sports bars and restaurants are usually packed for the tournament!

:bounce:

[leftofthedial]

22. just as long as they don't pay any bonuses to the players.

[tekisui]

12. The way it works is Duke loses in the third round.

:rofl:

At least on my bracket.

[Motown_Johnny]

20. Think Thunderdome, two teams enter one team leaves. Then enter another one etc etc

until there is only one

[kentuck]

21. My team won their first game in the NIT last night...

And our fans are ready to fire him. He didn't make it to the NCAA. Not that there is anything dishonorable in playing in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

So they play the first game in the tournament against a dangerous UNLV team, who had previously defeated teams such as #1 Louisville, Arizona, and UCLA. Not a patsy, to say the least.

No more big crowds, no more big media, just the NIT. So they play the first playoff game in the fabled Memorial Coliseum, where the Baron of the Bluegrass, Adolph Rupp played and won his last game.

In memory of Rupp, Billy Clyde (our new coach from the great state of Texas) wore a brown suit with a blue tie. The only other coach in history that would even dare to wear a brown suit was none other than Adolph Rupp.

But this was not your typical Kentucky team. They were young and inexperienced. Their two best players were Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson. Meeks is a junior and Patterson is a sophomore. However, Meeks sat out most of the year last year because of injury, so technically, he had the experience of a sophomore. (Some may remember his historic 54 point game against Tennessee earlier this year? In which he broke record held by the great All-American, Dan Issel.)

The fans packed the old Memorial Coliseum to watch our beloved Wildcats. They sprang to a 20-point lead and managed to hang on for a ten point victory. At one time, UNLV cut their lead to 3 points. But then, Jodie went to work. :-)