Let's face it...

MdWIldcat55

Heisman
Dec 9, 2007
21,521
86,541
113
...you can't win the National Championship most years without unalloyed, undeserved, impossible to predict -- or plan for -- luck. That's what makes this the greatest sporting event but also the most maddening.

Virginia SHOULD have lost the last two games. That last play against Purdue in regulation was a fluke. Tonight took one missed call, and one call that usually isn't made. On the other hand. Auburn loses the very first game if a kid hits free throws. There are probably ten critical games so far that came down to a couple lucky plays.

That's why I just don't think you can get too crushed if the luck just doesn't flow your way. Start this tournament all over again, change some lucky plays, and the entire Final Four would be different.
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Hall of Famer
Dec 7, 2007
45,702
100,980
113
Good points.

On the other hand, if UVA had players with less experience, maybe they don't even make it past Purdue. Experience matters. It's hard to imagine MSU taking down Duke without Winston and Goins playing clutch ball down the stretch.

Since all things are essentially UK-centered on this board, the issue for us is getting back some guys who know what they're doing. While it's no guarantee for advancement in the tourney, it's certainly better than playing with a green roster every Spring.
 

kybassfan

Heisman
Jul 1, 2005
20,032
16,368
113
Luck has been a major factor in the tournament since I can recall. You see bashers like the CLODites try to lay it on the coach, but you have to be extremely dense not to see that sometimes the ball has to bounce right.
 
Mar 8, 2006
3,309
942
0
...you can't win the National Championship most years without unalloyed, undeserved, impossible to predict -- or plan for -- luck. That's what makes this the greatest sporting event but also the most maddening.

Virginia SHOULD have lost the last two games. That last play against Purdue in regulation was a fluke. Tonight took one missed call, and one call that usually isn't made. On the other hand. Auburn loses the very first game if a kid hits free throws. There are probably ten critical games so far that came down to a couple lucky plays.

That's why I just don't think you can get too crushed if the luck just doesn't flow your way. Start this tournament all over again, change some lucky plays, and the entire Final Four would be different.
Still hurts .. we let at least another Final Four bid go away not playing basic basketball. Free throws and Turnovers.
 

Son_Of_Saul

Hall of Famer
Dec 7, 2007
45,702
100,980
113
You have to relish a title when it comes as they are hard to win. I’ve seen three in person which is more than a human deserves. The demanding of titles by some fans only shows their stupidity.

That's certainly part of the truth.

The rest involves fans having a keen sense of being able to approximate missed opportunities when they're there for the taking. The annual missed free throw flame-out is one such example that can be potentially remedied by featuring older rosters that don't mentally crap the bed under the brightest lights every spring.
 
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CB3UK

Hall of Famer
Apr 15, 2012
64,406
107,375
78
Fans complain about no one caring about the regular season and this is why, it doesnt matter in CBB.
 

homeytheclown

All-Conference
Jun 17, 2018
1,595
2,526
0
...you can't win the National Championship most years without unalloyed, undeserved, impossible to predict -- or plan for -- luck. That's what makes this the greatest sporting event but also the most maddening.

Virginia SHOULD have lost the last two games. That last play against Purdue in regulation was a fluke. Tonight took one missed call, and one call that usually isn't made. On the other hand. Auburn loses the very first game if a kid hits free throws. There are probably ten critical games so far that came down to a couple lucky plays.

That's why I just don't think you can get too crushed if the luck just doesn't flow your way. Start this tournament all over again, change some lucky plays, and the entire Final Four would be different.
Denny Crum said that too
 

Xception

Heisman
Apr 17, 2007
26,407
22,344
0
The problem is fans who look at the matchup on paper and figure they should probably win them all and if you don’t you underachieved. Needing luck doesn’t even exist in their lexicon, they call that hitting your free throws.
 

K_TIME

Heisman
Jan 2, 2003
18,408
25,734
113
1. How do you explain Texas Tech if it's all luck? They've not had a nail bitter of extreme degree yet.
2. How about UK 2012...closest game was 9
3. How about 2009 UNC....closest game was 12
4. How about 2006 Florida....had one game that was won by 4....then won the rest by like 15+ points.

There are some elements of luck/winning tight games but the truly elite teams just wipe away the competition more times than not. Which is why I contend the 2015 was not as elite as 2012 (we got lucky to win Notre Dame just one round earlier)
 
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Rembrandt90

Heisman
Jun 25, 2018
6,758
13,246
0
Fans complain about no one caring about the regular season and this is why, it doesnt matter in CBB.
This is obviously totally wrong. The regular season is when good teams learn how to compete against other good teams, and young players learn how to use their skills. The regular season determines who doesn't get to play in the Tournament, who does get to play in the Tournament, and where they are seeded. Seedings are very important to Tournament outcomes. We can cite lowly seeded teams that outperform their seeds, but higher-seeded teams almost always win out. The regular season earns those high seeds.