Final Four

[ProudUte]

A play-in team (UCLA) makes it to the final four.  One of the last few teams to get an invite makes it to the final four.  

Not one team east of the Mississippi is playing in the final four.  This probably happened sometime, but when?

The whole tourney started out odd when Duke and Kentucky didn’t get invited.  Not sure when that last happened.

 

[UteBacker]

I’ve been trying to catch up on what’s been happening with college basketball the past few years.  What the hell happened to these three teams + Indiana?  They used to be automatic.  

[MDUte]

I heard a couple of them tested positive for Covid right before the tournament and had to be disqualified to participate in the tournament.

[HoosierUte]

Duke was on the bubble, may have gotten in over other schools based on the name alone. They had a positive test and pulled out of the acc tourney and shutdown for the year. There are those that believe they shut down early as a cover for likely missing the big dance. 

Indiana (my second alma mater and current home state) is not good, and they haven’t been for a while. They get recruits but cant play together, they fired their coach (little bro archie miller) and are trying to rebuild with a geriatric coaching staff, probably won’t end well. 

[Utesbyfive]

It has NEVER happened before that all final four teams are west of the Mississippi.

[utefansince79]

North Carolina was in the tourney as an 8 seed and was blown out by Wisconsin in the first round.

 

[Charlie]

That is very likely.  If I remember right there once was actual regions where only the schools in the region filled out their spots, so the final four had regional representation of the best in each region.  East, West, South, MidWest no longer has any idenity.  But travel back then was a significant issue as well.

[utefansince79]

Was ironic when Utah faced Arizona in Florida.