2011 Host sites

Anyone know if the same rules apply this year. That is can't face someone from your conf first weekend? Also, will there be 16 host sites in pods of 4 teams?

Assuming same as last year:

On the West Coast: Stanford and UCLA likely to host: Cal and WSU get shipped. filled in by the likes of SCU, UC-I, NM, Denver, Utah St.

Assuming FL, FSU, and Miami all get seeds, then someone gets shipped. FL area filled in by likes of FL GC, UCF, SEC teams like Auburn or Georgia.

One place FL team might go somewhere like Boston where BC, BU should make tourney but not seed. Fill in with NE conf team.

Complications in areas like OK/Texas. OK St likely to be seed but Baylor, A&M also from Big 12 and Kansas too. Where do those teams go? I assume one will come West. OK St could host likes of Rice, SFA, LSU.

If Mil hosts then MQ and ND St could join.

If Pep is seeded, likely to be shipped somewhere. Maybe great lake area as no seed from there as it stand now.

In the ACC you might have WF, Duke, UNC, Vir get seeds. That is a lot of seeds from one area.

If Memphis hosts, then Tenn could join along with left over from ACC like NC st

Wonder if they might make regular like ND host and bring in a seed from somewhere.

Too early to work out all the details but host in NW looks unlikely. West coast will probably have two hosts out of Pep, UCLA, and Stanford. If Stanford get's #1 seed then they are likely to host. Maybe UCLA too if their RPI holds up, but I think Pep tied them so we'll see. I predict we'll see 3 teams that are seeded but shipped this year. One from CA, one from FL, and one from ACC conf.

I'll try to update once we have this weeks games and seeding is clearer but never know until final Sunday. Remember PSU a few years ago who was 9 on RPI and didn't get seed.

Nice to see some new names in the running for seeds.

it's a bit different this year.

instead of the 4 team pod the first weekend, ( 2 -1- 1- 2 through the College Cup), the 4 team pod is the second weekend.

that means the weekends will see a 1 -2 - 1 - 2 game format through the College Cup

that means 32 teams get to host the first weekend, and it will probably mean that the teams lower that the top 16 will be paced with a heavy emphasis on Geography. it seems certain that almost all teams won't fly anywhere, unless it's to go to a seeded team's site. They are guaranteed home dates the first weekend.

the rule that they try to prevent you from playing a team in your conference the first two rounds is still in effect. but now you can be paired with a team in your conference the second weekend if it works out that you can play them on the second game of the weekend, and the pod will most likely have a 1 seed and a 4 seed, or a 2 seed and a 3 seed. Figure that it is possible to play in your conference the third game of the tournament, especially if both travel and seeding makes sense.

since there are only 8 pods the second weekend, playing in your conference the third game seems more likely than before.


But all this is conjecture. until we go through this once, we won't really know how much the committee weights travel vs. seed on the second weekend.

When this format was originally sold, the travel rule was off, but last minute politicking make me less sure that it still is gone.

also, although only the top 16 teams are technically seeded, the committee has always tried to keep to a 64 team seeded bracket where possible .... except out West involving teams like...

you know.

That changes things.

In our neck of the woods unless UP gets to 500 and gets at large bid. Then we might have WSU or OSU play PSU first weekend if they are Big Sky rep. WSU could also meet up with Denver.

In the bay area you have Stanford play someone from WAC like Fr st. SCU could play Cal.

In LA, UCLA could play SD or SD st. Pep plays UC-I.

In Boston area: BC plays someone like BU or Harvard.

In FL FSU and FL host. Probably FSU gets a weak team like FL GC. FL might get MI, and UCF plays Aub.

In Carolina's several ACC teams host: Duke, WF, UNC. opponents could be S. Car, Radford, Georgia, Samford.

In mid atlantic, you might have MD, VT, or Vir host. joined by GT, WV, W&M, Colgate, or Marist.

In the Wis area, you might have MQ and MIL host. Maybe ILL or CMU.

In Texas, A&M might play SFA. Baylor meets up with ARK PB or they go over to LSU.

OK St meets up with Mizz St, or SEMO.

Penn st could meet St. Fr.

ND could meet Dayton.

In Kentucky you have both LOU and Kentucky.

Lot less travel with this arrangement. Let's see who gets some of auto berths and we can pair them up geographically. Easier than pod of 4 we are used to.

Gnarly, the one thing you'll have to do is at least think some about the pods of 4 for the second weekend. It will be easy to keep teams from the same conference from meeting in the first round, but the NCAA also will have to keep them from meeting in the second round. This might affect where they will be able to send teams in the first round. Could this sometimes require the NCAA to send first round teams greater distances from home? I don't know, I'm wondering what you think.

Here is one possible bracket. The new 1-2-1 2 format you need to think of 8 pods of 8. Host team hosts 3 teams the second weekend.

In LA: UCLA hosts and plays NM first round
LBST and SD first weekend and then winner join UCLA in second weekend
Pep host Utat st then winner to UCLA
UC-I hosts OSU (had to break up UP/OSU since too many Pac 12 /WCC in LA.

Pod 2: Stanford:
Stanford v. Montana
UP v Kansas
Balor vs. SFA
SCU v. Cal

Pod 3: FSU
FSU v. Samford
AL v UCF
Fl v. FLGC
MI v. FIU

Pod 4 Ok St
OK ST v. Ill St
Lou v. Kentucky
A&M v. Tex St
LSU v. Ark PB

Pod 5: Virginia
UVA v. Radford
BU v. Harvard
PSU v. Marist
MD v. LaSalle

Pod 6 Memphis
Memphis v. Tenn- Martin
VT v. Mil
Aub v Ill
NC St v. MQ

Pod 7 Duke
Duke v. Army
W&M v. S. Car
BC v. LIU
ND v. Dayton

Pod 8: Wake Forest
WF v. Oakland
UNC v. Geo
WV v. Toledo
GT v. Tenn.


We'll see how wrong I am tomorrow.

Missed on following teams:

Not making it: NC st, arpi 45, GT arpi 43, SFA arpi 46

In: Texas 51, OH St 50, and WSU 52.

BY POD: I had parts correct. NCAA has more travel than I expected.

UCLA: Correct on UCLA NM 1st round. I had Utah St coming west to play Pep. NCAA shipped Utah st all the way to Aub? I had SD 29 v. LB st 31 (which totals 60 which is what you about expect with a 1 seed playing 64 total 65. NCAA has LB St 31 playing 10 pep whish is one of tougher 1st round games for a 3 seed. Aub also 3 seed at 13 rpi and they got Utah st at 59. NCAA is bringing in winner of MI/AL. Impossible for me to figure in travel like that.

Stanford pod:

Have Stan v, Montana 275 correct.
Also had SCU/Cal match up.
No way to predict Tex/S Car or BC/Marist coming to Bay area.

Had some of FL/FSU correct.

I assumed FL would be relegated to lower than 2 seed and be combined with FSU. Committee has FSU a1 and FL a 2. Committee relegated Memphis at 5 rpi relegated to a 4 seed even when they were undefeated vs. FL with 6 losses.


FSU samford 1st round correct.
Joined by Memphis/UT martin which I had correct.
Can't predict OSU/UP heading FSU.

For FL pod.
Had FL/FLGC correct.
I had MI/FIU in same town but ncaa has FIU/UCF
committee had Baylor /Tex St (i had them paired with SFA who didn't make)
UNC and W&M round out FL pod.

OK St pod
I had ARK PB in pod but not w/ OK st.
NCAA bringing in AUB/Utah St, MD/LaSalle, and ILL/ND. Hard to predict 1st two pairs. I did have MD/LaSalle match up.

VIR pod.

I had Radford w/ Vir, ncaa sends them to Duke.
I had BU/Harvard joining but NCAA sent them to WF.
I had PSU/Marist. NCAA sent PSU to WF pod and marist to BC.
Pairing of VT/WV common in past years by NCAA.
Hard to predict A&M/LSU shipping to Vir nor WSU.

Let the tourney playing by players begin and put the selection process behind us.