LillardMVP said:
In '03 we were a #12 seed, but had the longest winning streak in the country having won our last 17 games going in to the NCAA's after beating BYU and sweeping conference. If Weber wins out we will be lucky to get a #13 seed most likely #14 seed, especially with one more loss. If UNC goes dancing I would imagine the selection committee giving them a #15 seed, and if in some hell forsaken way Montana makes it, a #16 seed after that embarrassing loss to the flying Eagles of EWU.
Look at the 16 seeds last year. 18-17 Chattanooga from the Southern Conference which is rated about the same as the Big Sky in RPI this year. 20-16 Morehead State from the OVC (rated just below the big sky). 23-11 East Tennessee State from the Atlantic Sun Conference (down towards the bottom in conference ratings). And last but not least 21-12 Radford College from the Big South conference (even lower than the Atlantic Sun this year).
If you take a look at the teams those 4 16 seeds played in their non-conference schedules last year, and compare them to the teams Weber, UNC and the Griz played this year..you can see why those teams were 16 seeds. I'm sure if you go back to the 2008 and 2007 tournaments you'll see similar teams with the 16 seeds.
If the Griz end up in the tournament that would mean their record is most likely 23-8. That will not be a 16 seed. Yes their RPI wouldn't be great, but I can pretty much guarantee you that there will be several other teams that are more deserving of a 16 seed. The Griz would most likely get a 15, maybe a 14 if lucky.
Weber would probably get the best seed out of the 3 big sky teams due to their RPI being higher. Their RPI is higher not really due to big wins over big teams, but because they played a tougher schedule (and lost to the tougher teams in non-conference).
The Griz got a 12 seed back when they were 23-6 going into the tournament. The 12 seed that year was a pretty big surprise to a lot of people. Portland State last year (23-9 going into the tournament) got a 13 seed. Sure they had a huge win earlier in the season against Gonzaga, but they also had some rough losses like against ISU later in the season.
I really think any of the top 3 teams in the Big Sky, if given a decent seed, have a chance of putting up a good fight or who knows..maybe even pulling off an upset. You hear the experts talk about it every year. The recipe for a big upset in the first round is great guard play from the underdog team. The top 3 big sky teams are lead by tremendous guards. The Griz of course have AJ. Weber has Lillard, and UNC has Figures. I hope I'm not wrong on this.. I'd hate to see the Big Sky team get stuck with a 16 seed.
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:lol: 
