16 beating a 1

[Vice honcho room temperature]

I have three impossible dreams in sports. 1) Minnesota Vikings winning a Super Bpwl
2) 16 beating a 1 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament
3) Playing shortstop for the NY Mets

Now 1 I think can happen and I can die in peace 3 I have made peace with not happening but 2... it could happen but I doubt it. Sure teams have a good 1st half but its too much. I want to see it but I doubt it

[karl100589]

After Leicester City in 2016 anything can happen.

[Ishmeal Loves Kaseyhausen]

It could be because they're from nearby and we watched the game closely but the closest I can remember it to happening was in 2006 when Albany led UConn by 12 with 12 minutes to go before UConn went on a run to get the win.

[Mayonnaise]

I see absolutely no reason it cannot happen. Injuries, bad calls, bad seeding, off nights, lucky bounces, there is no shortage of things that can happen and make this a reality. Yes it is highly unlikely given the way things are structured but anything is possible in sports.

And with all the crazy medical advances, you could make it to 152 years old so yeah, it'll happen.

[andrew8798]

It's going to happen someday

[unc40]

Georgetown barely escaping Princeton back in 1989 is probably the most famous close call but in that same tournament #1 seed Oklahoma trailed #16 East Tennessee State by 17 points and rallied to win that game.

In the 1998 NCAA Women's Tournament #16 seed Harvard defeated #1 seed Stanford.

Eventually a #16 seed will beat a #1 seed in the men's tournament. A #15 seed has defeated a #2 seed 8 times and there really isn't much difference between a #1 and #2 or a #15 and #16.

[Deleted]

Never in a kajillion years.

The problems I see is that potentially beatable or vulnerable teams aren't made #1 seeds & that the gap in talent is still big between the two programs.

Hanging around is a given, but a #16 must play 40 solid minutes because one small hiccup, & its all over.

[BRV]

The closest I've ever come on my bracket to picking a 16 over a 1 was in 2014 when I was thisclose to picking Coastal Carolina over Virginia. And when it was a tight game in the fourth quarter, I was kicking myself for not having the intestinal fortitude to go through with it. Virginia ended up pulling away, but if I learned anything from that game, it's that a 16 will absolutely beat a 1 one day. It'll be a once-in-a-lifetime sporting event but it will happen.

[Renslayer]

We just need Georgetown to become a number one seed again. They have a tendency to collapse early in the Tournament

[OGBoardPoster2005]

The best bet is a Top team that's just kinda coasting versus a team that is either in-state with them or one that got overlooked.

[The Kevstaaa]

I honestly can't believe it hasn't happened yet.Just by the law of averages, you'd think it would've gone down at some point. So yes, I think it will happen one day.

[Milkman Norm]

It would have to be a perfect storm like Georgetown vs Princeton (almost) was. Where a program that runs a system that the #1 isn't used to that upsets their rhythm and slows the pace down is able to keep a game close. I can't see an up tempo #16 beating a #1 because the #1 should have much higher quality athletes.

[Sponsored by Groose Wipes]

I think it will happen. It will be a 1 seed that should be a 2 or 3 and a 16 seed that should be higher. It will take a perfect storm but I think it will happen one day.

[Push R Truth]

I think it will happen because of suspensions. Like between selection Sunday and the first game a couple key guys get caught up in a bad party or some other shit and suddenly a #1 seed is starting 3 benchwarmers

[Reflecto]

I think the First Four existing is going to be directly responsible for a 16 beating a 1 seed.

Just the way the tournament's reworked the playins makes it have stronger 16 seeds already, solely because the worst four teams in the tournament- the traditional 16 seeds if things went normally- end up playing each other...and thus, the two teams who do NOT have a play-in game can conclusively be said should have been 15 seeds if not for the seeding changes.

It's the same for others- there's been more 15s beating a 2 recently (a la with two 15s who should be a "possible win" 14 seed), and regular 14s beating a 3 (with possible 13 seeds- a winnable enough upset), and 4/13 has become as much of a possible upset as 5/12 has been (by some 12 seeds going to 13.)

The change this year started it (where the top 2 seed can no longer be in the overall 1 seed's regional) to start some seeding purposes. It seems likely that eventually- we're going to see them make "the overall 1 and overall 2 seed are the two number ones that get the First Four play-in opponents" as a firm NCAA tournament rule- and once that happens, we'll be in range to eventually see the 3 or 4 seed overall lose to one of the "should be 15s."

[pegasuswarrior]

Mar 18, 2017 17:44:33 GMT -5 Milkman Norm said:

It would have to be a perfect storm like Georgetown vs Princeton (almost) was. Where a program that runs a system that the #1 isn't used to that upsets their rhythm and slows the pace down is able to keep a game close. I can't see an up tempo #16 beating a #1 because the #1 should have much higher quality athletes.

Thanks to Jay Blias rules that NCAA keeps adopting you can't see finesse and strategy overcome the "ballerz" approach from those 1 vs 16 teams. Bring back the 45-second clock. Or at least 35. Eff these NBA rules.