Miami Hurricanes the victim of a cardinal sin by NCAA Tournament selection committee that had no business taking place
The Miami Hurricanes are back in the NCAA Tournament after a three-year hiatus. First year head coach Jai Lucas navigated the Canes to a 25-8 mark and a berth in the ACC Tournament semifinals. As a result, the Canes earned a 7 seed in the West region of the NCAA Tournament. That seems like a […]
The Miami Hurricanes are back in the NCAA Tournament after a three-year hiatus. First year head coach Jai Lucas navigated the Canes to a 25-8 mark and a berth in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
As a result, the Canes earned a 7 seed in the West region of the NCAA Tournament. That seems like a relatively fair seed, given Miami was in the 7-8 seed range in most projections. They will open up against 10 seed Missouri Tigers on Friday.
However, the Hurricanes ended up being the victim of a truly absurd bracket decision by the committee. The Hurricanes will face Missouri, who was a bubble team, in St. Louis, which is basically the Tigers’ back yard.
7 seed Miami Hurricanes will face 10 seed Missouri Tigers in St. Louis, which is a clear advantage for the lower seeded team
Naturally, the highest seeded teams are given relative preference for their opening round games. In this case, Duke is playing in Greeneville, SC, Florida is playing in Tampa, FL, Michigan is playing in Buffalo, NY, and Arizona is playing in San Diego, CA. Not exactly in their back yards, but still not horribly far away.
But for some reason, the committee decided to put the Tigers, who claimed one of the tournament’s last non-First Four spots, as basically a home team in St. Louis. For those wondering, Columbia, Missouri and St. Louis are only two hours apart down the interstate.
There is absolutely no reason that Missouri could not have been sent to Oklahoma City, where 10 seed Texas A&M is playing, with the Aggies making the trip to St. Louis. That would have been a much fairer and more sensible placement for the Tigers.
Instead, the Hurricanes will instead have to find a way to win their first NCAA Tournament game since the 2023 Elite Eight in what should be a very pro-Missouri environment.
