Selection Committee Did Butler No Favors
March 17th, 2008
If any team can make a legitimate case that it got hosed by the Selection Committee, it’s the Butler Bulldogs.
For starters, how is Butler a No. 7 seed? Butler’s RPI is 17. Not only is that significantly better than the other No. 7 seeds (Miami’s RPI is 33, West Virginia’s is 27 and Gonzaga’s is 31), but it’s better than any of the No. 6 seeds, too.
And then there’s Butler’s draw: The Bulldogs are placed in the East region, where they’ll play the first-round game against No. 10 seed South Alabama, in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s safe to say South Alabama will have a lot more of their fans in attendance than Butler will.
And then, if the Bulldogs beat South Alabama, they have to play, in all likelihood, Tennessee. The Volunteers are the best team among the four No. 2 seeds. Bottom line: Butler may legitimately be one of the top 16 teams in the country, but it has an incredibly difficult road to get to the Sweet 16.
1. I think Butler got a bad deal. The bottom line is that the loss to Drake a few weeks ago cost them a 3 or 4 seed.
Posted at 9:27PM on Mar 16th 2008 by Joe
Tags: alabama, south