ESPN Bubble Watch

[TennesseeFan07]

The committee isn't consistent one year to the next.

Sometimes they aren't even consistent in the same year. In the past couple years I remember hearing an interview with one of the members and he explained that the reason one team got in despite losing a bunch of games at the end was because they looked at the entire body of work. Then he turned around and explained that another team got in because they were one of the hottest teams in the country. So they just put teams in they like and will justify it whatever way possible.

Do a quick scan of this interview.

Three things learned at the NCAA mock selection exercise - CBSSports.com

 

[TennesseeFan07]

It was the power sweep poster, said a committee member was on during Xavier and Memphis game talking about it.

If quality wins play a more significant role than having a watered down OOC schedule does, then that may explain Lunardi's fascination with Virginia. But, still, Virginia's resume is a joke.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I agree with the inconsistencies. From what I've read, the criteria this year does NOT include conference record, OOC SOS or the final 10 games of the season. Quality OOC wins are supposed to outweigh a bad OOC SOS and bad OOC RPI. That was from a committee members interview.

If true that's the last thing Tennessee wanted to here. Our OOC SOS, an last 10 were 2 of the things that really separated us from other bubble teams.

 

[TennesseeFan07]

If true that's the last thing Tennessee wanted to here. Our OOC SOS, an last 10 were 2 of the things that really separated us from other bubble teams.

Agreed. I still think Tennessee is way more deserving than Alabama or Ole Miss, just from an SEC perspective. Other than having a 1-3 record against those teams, Tennessee's body of work is marginally better.

 

[PowerSweep]

Yup...guy was named bodowsky maybe? Think he is the chairman...now I failed to mention that he said these were his points of emphasis and not anyone else's but here is what he said:

last 10-12 games not important...whole body of work starting in early november...looks at OOC schedule in terms of "when they had a chance to play tough teams did they challenge themselves?"... Quality wins more important than lack of bad losses

This was an interview at HT of xavier memphis and I happened to be in car...not a great audition f the tigers

It was the power sweep poster, said a committee member was on during Xavier and Memphis game talking about it.

 

[TennesseeFan07]

This is all I could get from the NCAA website. It Sounds like these representatives are really prepared.

How much does a committee depend on the RPI compared with other available information?
The RPI is just one of many factors used by the committee. Each committee member must weigh each factor available and make his or her own decision regarding its importance. Clearly, the RPI will be more helpful to a committee member when evaluating a team out of his or her own region, especially if they never have seen them play.

Each committee member has an advisory group and all conferences have a representative. The committee uses input from these individuals, as well as the RPI data. If a committee member is evaluating two or more teams, a wide difference in RPI rank can be a factor.

How “wide” is “wide”? A very generic rule of thumb is 20 or more ranking places, in addition to the actual mathematical difference between RPI rankings. But since every circumstance is different, those ranges can vary quite significantly from sport to sport and year to year.

 

[Bluetic]

Still shake my head and think about what a crock it all is. If UT gets in by the skin of their teeth, they will still be seeded higher than several teams that are "in" already. The same thing goes for the rest of the sec and major conference bubble teams. "Best" teams get in the field? I think UT still needs to bust into the tourney by at least getting to the finals. They do that, and they go from "last 4 in" to 7-8 seed...just by winning 1 game more than they are "supposed" to against a withering Gator squad. Although, Lunardi seems to be of the opinion that the Vols should lose ground by winning games!