The Hyball: Add A Group Stage To The NCAA Tournament

By Bobby Loesch on December 1, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Our New Future?
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The Hyball is a weekly basketball column

Thought experiment time.

I am not here to ruin everyone's beautiful, poised-to-fail, 68-team brackets, but... would replacing round one and two with a group stage in the NCAA tournament actually be kind of cool? Consider:

Three games in three days. 

Or maybe four days. Think about it: if you travel alllllll the way to City X to watch your team, you actually get multiple games instead of potentially only 40 minutes then GTFO. Does anyone really want to be in the position these Boilermakers fans were dealing with in Philly after the Saint Peter's upset?

A stronger Sweet 16.

Obviously the NCAA thrives on upsets -- more on that in a second -- but giving the better teams a little wiggle room gives the field a lot more legitimacy in the latter (and I'd argue more important) phase of the tournament. You don't want a field of flukes as sacrificial lambs for the juggernauts that did make it through.

You could still do brackets.

Sure, they'd be less fun, but... you still think you're gonna get all the games right from the Sweet 16 on? I say: hell no.

It gets rid of the First Four.

Back down to 64 -- sorry, y'all.

The upsets that did still happen would be that much better.

Now Kentucky couldn't say "Well, we just lost on a bullshit buzzer beater!"

Nah, y'all went 1-2 against a group of Belmont, Rutgers, and Delaware.

Be Gone!

It works for the World Cup.

We could only be so lucky if college basketball had soccer's popularity, and I'm sure it would translate immediately because this is completely apples to apples.

And, if there was ever one to convince you...

Maybe it gets last year's Iowa men's -- or women's! -- teams to the god damn Sweet 16.

For the guys, our field last year:

  • Providence (4)
  • Iowa (5)
  • Richmond (12)
  • South Dakota State (13)

OK, so we drop the Richmond opener in Game 1, but losing to both the Spiders and SD State? I say no. So we could immediately right that wrong, and then play Providence in a "if we win, we earned it, if we lose, at least it was to a comparable team" scenario. Certainly leaves a better taste in my mouth than the reality of what actually happened.

Ties would be pretty awes--

Aight, I'm not that far gone.

The Hyball

“With one hand the past moves us forward, and with the other it holds us back.”

Last Week

11/25 - Iowa 74, Clemson 71: Adam nailed this one's dynamic.

For a game in which the Hawkeyes only trailed for 12 seconds — Clemson led 3-2, 67 seconds into the game — it sure seemed like the table was set for Iowa to blow the game.

Yet... wasn't ever truly worried.

11/26 - TCU 79, Iowa 66: My first sign this wasn't going well...

Ross expanded:

There's no ignoring the elephant in the room either: TCU's style of play absolutely gave Iowa fits. TCU has a roster full of lanky, bouncy athletes and they swarmed all over Iowa all night, especially on defense. The Horned Frogs also played with a lot of physicality, which Iowa struggled to adjust to all game. Whether you like that style of play is irrelevant; TCU is hardly the only big, physical team that Iowa will play this season (the Hawks still play in the Big Ten, last I checked) and there will be plenty of opponents that will try to do to Iowa what TCU did in this game. How well Iowa is able to adjust to that style -- or how well they're able to enforce their own style on the game -- will be the key for Iowa as the season progresses. 

Glass half empty:

This loss cost Iowa the Emerald Coast Classic championship, a spot in the Top 25, and the possibility of a resume-boosting win in March...

Glass half full:

I suppose I'd rather see them have it now, in November, than in February or March. The die is pretty much cast for the season at that point and a loss then is likely to have far more significant consequences... There's still time for this team to grow and develop; hopefully they can take a few lessons from this clobbering and improve. 

11/29 - Iowa 81, Georgia Tech 65: This Dasonte Bowen take will get us through winter.

Nice get right game. Also liked when they called Payton Sandfort "shot ready" -- for sure stealing that going forward (though he's slumpin' a little bit lately, I'm not worried yet).

This Week

12/6 - Iowa at Duke (17): Gave some minor thought to attending this game (have a buddy based in Durham) before realizing it was in NYC.

Full week off before a big game like this can only help.

Kate Corner

I love Kate Martin. Like, love. Could think of few Hawkeye hoopers I'd rather go to war with more; she is glue.

Look how happy she is for Monika -- double fist pumping from the floor. And if that play is a little too gritty/gym rat for your taste, can I interest you in her new career high vs. UConn?

Rules, y'all. 

Connor Corner

Gave Connor a little bit of shit last week for his crowd tweet/some lacking help defense on one select play, so this week is a bit of a three-pronged mea culpa. First, commenter Herk Whatcha Mama Gave Ya makes their Connor case:

Huh, my favorite C-Mac moment from the game was him getting pissed leaving the court for the final time because he'd just missed Ogundele on a poor post-entry pass that got stolen - and from a broader standpoint that as a sixth-year senior he has no problem playing in pseudo-garbage time with some freshmen and minimally used back-ups, not to mention gives a shit about a mistake he might make even in those inconsequential moments.

Or maybe it's the fact that he's never out on the floor looking to 'get his.' He wasn't during his first 3 1/2 years in the rotation when his jump shot was suspect at best, and he still hasn't been dating back to the back half of conference play last season when his perimeter accuracy suddenly took a jump into the realm of legitimately good (and has continued into this year).

And lest anyone thinks that he's to be lauded for his shock selection during the early portion of his career, I'd remind folks that plenty of bad shooters out there have no qualms about continuing to fire away regardless of whether or not all available evidence would suggest to them that doing so is a very poor idea.

He's never complained about starting or not starting, never made excuses amidst what ultimately became a double hip surgery that he had to undergo, and has always seen genuinely as happy, if not more so for the successes of his teammates than he is for his own.

But sure, go ahead and bitch about a poor first half help defense assignment versus Omaha. That's fun too, I guess.

You know what? You're right. Great perspective, and I could probably ease up a little. While I do think he historically has been a frustrating -- albeit skilled in certain capacities -- player with a penchant to argue with refs about nearly anything, this season (and that above comment) gives me a new appreciation.

Second, in true "sportswriters are not good at sports" fashion, I had at least four shitty help defense plays myself while playing pickup basketball last week, mere hours after the column posted. Had there been video, I promise I would've posted all of 'em for a self-roast; accountability matters.

Lastly, what a line Fran's oldest had against Georgia Tech: 10 points (3/4 on threes), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal. And he saved the best for last:

Feelin' mahself.

Rafters Ring
Rivers For Real
Obligatory Michigan Football Section

Michigan hadn't won in Columbus in over 20 years -- you gotta give me this.

It started off innocent enough:

But, well, then:

LeBron, you say?

Hahahaha.

Time to garden:

* * *

My sweet, beautiful Buckeyes:

First half/game still tied after this play:

(This was me at least four times during the game, lol)

And my cherry on top:

And the stem on top of said cherry:

My absolute favorite tweet of them all; debated framing it (0% kidding).

The Mini-Hybrid

What a time.

I know I'm biased because of Michigan, but is this not the most feel good final Top 4 we've had in a long time/maybe ever? No Clemson (Dabo), no Alabama, no Ohio State, no Notre Dame.

Talk about Iowa, you say.

OK...

I mean, it wasn't that bad... but it was this bad.

Said it last week, I'll say it again: we should want much, much more from this offense. At this point, I'd settle for even 15% of "Listen, I get it" from Kirk Ferentz vs. his weekly incredulity.

Bill Walton's Western Civilization 

Sadly, he didn't -- but he did call this one.

No Context College Basketball
Wrapping It Up...

Let's beta the rollercoaster of life.

Bobby Loesch is a weekly contributor to Go Iowa Awesome. Follow him on Twitter @bobbystompy or email to bobbyloesch [at] gmail.com.

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