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The Bears were almost the highest ranked #2 seed
Which means they would have been in the South regional in that case.
Comparing the two paths of a #1 in the East and the #2 in the South:
In Fort Worth – Norfolk State, then the winner of UNC/Marquette. Then…..
In Pittsburgh – UCLA or St. Mary’s, then Kentucky or Purdue
#2
In Fort Worth – Delaware, then winner of Ohio State/Loyola. Then….
In San Antonio – Tennessee or Colo St, then Arizona or Illinois
In hindsight, which one is the better draw?
Posted by illinibear1
Cody Orr: 1 seed in East: If we play the projected favorites, we’ll face UNC (#30 KenPom), UCLA (#8), and Kentucky (#3).2 seed in South: Loyola (#24), Tennessee (#7), and Arizona (#2).The path is slightly easier in the East, but a more favorable crowd in the South is probably worth it. Arizona is one of the best teams this year! I have them going to the finals in my bracket.
Andrew Miner: Thanks Cody for clarifying those rankings. I think Arizona is perhaps the best team in the tournament and would be slightly tougher than Kentucky to advance to the Final Four. However, the East Region makes it extremely difficult to even get to the Elite 8 in the first place so I would pick the South. The more I think about it, the more I believe the Bears can handle it and set up a 2012 Elite 8 rematch.
BNT: I’m with Cody that the path is easier in the East. I have Arizona making it to the Championship game as they are a dangerous team. The good thing about the tourney this year is that there is great parity and no clear cut favorite. To be clear, we are as good as any of the favorites and better on most days. But probably the biggest reason I’m ok with being in the East is because of having our First Round in Fort Worth, Flo Thamba’s parents will get to see him play for the first time as a Bear. Divine?
Please tell me that LJ will make his triumphant return this weekend!
Posted by PioneerSkies
Andrew Miner: Ruled out for this weekend as confirmed by Talia Goodman. Not exactly a surprise at this point.
pbpope: Still hoping for, as Brent Pollard put it on the podcast, a “secret weaponing” of a second weekend team, provided we make it there (<knocks on wood, goes outside turns around three times and spits>)
BNT: I truly hope I’m wrong, but I think we don’t see him in the tourney. Sorry to be a
The East
has five teams that made the top 5 in the AP poll this year. Almost every national analyst on tv has remarked how Baylor has the most difficult path. I know you don’t get the prestige that comes with being a 1 seed, but makes you wonder if #2 in the south would have been a better draw. Plus you get to play in San Antonio, in stead of Pittsburgh, if you make it to the second weekend.
Posted by illinibear1
BNT: Answered above.
Heels vs BU?
What is Baylor’s all-time record vs. the Tar Heels? I know Coach Drew has had good success against fellow blue-blood Kentucky.
Posted by TarBear69
Cody Orr: Going back as far as 1949, we have never played UNC.
Baylor Bears Head-to-Head Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Andrew Miner: Pretty incredible that we have never played the Tar Heels—including missing them in last year’s tournament. Will be interesting to see if Shaka Smart can have another Wisconsin based team upset UNC. On the Kentucky point: Before Drew, BU was 0-3 and lost by an average of 34.67 points to the Wildcats. After, Drew is 2-1 in three incredible games (2012 Elite 8; ends KY home winning streak at Rupp in winter 2012; and the ice storm, neutral court 2013 contest at Cowboys Stadium).
BNT: We never have. I’m pretty pumped about the potential first time ever match up and I’ll be their to witness it. Win or lose (we’ll win), Drew will shake Hubert Davis’s hand...looking at you Coach K.
If we had dropped to the 2 line
what makes you think we wouldn’t have just wound up the 2 in the East?
Posted by TheCalvinator
BNT: I’ll let my buddy illinibear1 answer this one.
Because being the highest ranked number 2 we would have been placed in the closest region. It’s the same principal as the 1 seeds, if all other circumstances match up, like not playing someone from your league. Arizona got the south instead of us because they are the higher ranked 1 seed.
Is Jerome Tang
going to be at Baylor next year?
Posted by illinibear1
Andrew Miner: I’m going to say he stays.
pbpope: I’m with Andrew. It certainly appears that Tang is being incredibly selective with his interest in HC positions… to our benefit!
Joe Goodman: I won’t be surprised either way, but I don’t think he leaves unless it’s a major program offer.
BNT: He’ll stay because I told him he can’t go.
How ticked off should the NC State Women’s team be?
UConn gets what are effectively home games in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight as the 2-seed.
Posted by TheCalvinator
Andrew Miner: They should be pissed. Even though many are saying that this lines up with the S Curve, it is a crappy break to be dealt. The Wolfpack will have to find a way to forget about it and just play. The committee on the women’s side never seems to give new teams the benefit of the doubt (Baylor was rarely ever given No. 1 seeds in the past 5 years or so) and keep giving all the breaks to the old money (funny, UConn was at one point the new money—that’s how one they’ve dominated).
BNT: Andrew nailed it. It’s disgusting the love that some programs get like UConn on the women’s side and Duke/Kentucky on the men’s side.
What is wrong with Sarah Andrews’ hand?
She has not been shooting well. Will she be recovered in time for the NCAA?
Posted by Your_Bailey_Bear
I actually thought the injury was to her non shooting hand, which she has been icing after the games. If I remember correctly she hurt it late in the second game against TCU where she sat on the bench for the final quarter. Andrews actually had a really good outing in her next contest vs Oklahoma State—and the Bears needed all 17 points from her in order to win—but since then her production has certainly fallen off a cliff as she hasn’t even cracked double digits. To take a line from Coach Drew, it may be a ‘pain tolerance’ thing. We will just have to see what happens. Baylor WBB Pulls Away from Frogs Again
BNT: As a simple Bear, I’ll explain it in the way I understand. She has an ouchie. The good news is with basically a week to recover, I think she’ll have a good tournament regarding offensive production.
Odds that Kansas State hires Grant McCasland?
Also, how much longer will WVU keep Bob Huggins around?
Joe Goodman: I really don’t have an idea on what K State is thinking beyond some rumors I’ve seen saying they wanted Brad Underwood. McCasland would be a great fit there I think though.
BNT: I’m with Joe as I don’t know, but it would be a very smart move for any program to hire him. I would be shocked if Huggins were to be fired, but there could be a mutual agreement for him to move on. Having said that, I don’t see it happening any time soon.
Posted by PioneerSkies
Will alcohol be served at the new basketball pavilion…
…since the City is contributing to the cost?
Posted by PoppyBear
Joe Goodman: My guess is it will have alcohol for non Baylor events and Baylor events will have alcohol only in the fancy, club sections.
BNT: I am already lobbying for seats in the “fancy, club sections”, Joe. Here’s a BNT joke for y’all, what’s the difference between and methodist tailgate and a baptist tailgate? When you walk into the methodist tailgate they offer you a beer. When you walk into a baptist tailgate they hide the beer. I always chuckle when I go to our bowl games that the longest lines are the beer & bathroom lines. Correlation? Here’s a bold prediction. Beer/wine will be sold at BU athletic venues in the somewhat near future. Let the debate begin!
If the 2020 tournament is not canceled, it’s unlikely all our senior class returns to win a National Championship. Of Vital, Teague, Butler, and Mitchell, how many could we have lost last year and still been a NCAA 1-seed?
Keep in mind Cryer, Flagler, Mayer, or EJ could have been starters.
Posted by Your_Bailey_Bear
Andrew Miner: I think you answered your own question. I believe Baylor is still a number one seed with so much firepower and we earn a No. 1 seed (Illinois lost in the second round, Michigan in the Elite 8 as the other No. 1s). Are we the No. 1 overall or so dominant of defense that we stroll to a title? Maybe not. But could we still win it all (like this season)? Absolutely.
BNT: Yeah, we would have still been a 1 seed and could have won it all. I agree with Andrew that we still would have too much fire power and probably not had the injury bug like this season.
Given the Georgia coaching rumors this weekend, do we need to start asking about a CSD contract extension? With the conference contract shake-ups, will we need to worry about the SEC money-whipping Drew or other Big 12 coaches if revenue drops?
Posted by Your_Bailey_Bear
Andrew Miner: Didn’t Georgia hire someone else immediately after these rumors came out? And it was publicly disputed by Baylor’s David Kaye (who would probably never publicly address something like this—he was quiet about Dave Aranda—unless it was so obvious and he had Drew’s blessing) who is just about as plugged in as you can be. I think contract negotiations for an extension—even if earned and deserved to keep him safe—are okay with holding off about three more weeks. Or maybe I am super naive.
BNT: Money whipping isn’t going to win over Drew. Drew likes his contracts to have heavy back loading based upon reaching incentives. As a sales guy who ran teams all over creation and carried a bag myself, this is shrewd because earnings are based upon performance. That is the ultimate motivator for performance as you have to believe in your ability to reach and surpass the incentives. As humble as Drew is, he has that kind of confidence. Bottom line is he wants to be at Baylor and Baylor wants him to stay. Mack has openly said Baylor wants Drew to finish his career as a Bear.
Hey BNT, what is taking so long on CSD’s contract? Why haven’t we heard anything? If both sides want to really work with each other what the heck is the holdup?
Posted by aintathangbutachickenwing
BNT:
Thanks for the questions, post any comments or other questions below and Sic ‘em!
xoxo
BNT