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When 15th Is Better Than 8th: The Math Shows the Bracket Is Backward

By 11W Staff - 12 March 2012
2 Comments

"Welcome to the strange intersection of bracketology and bracketonomics, in which the worse a team’s seed, the better off it may be." (nytimes.com)

Source fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/when-15th-is-better-than-...

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Comments

NW Buckeye on 13 Mar 2012 - 1:17am #

This is just an example of why there are many opposed to "playoff tournaments". Yes, we all know that the current bracket system favors the top seeds. Ther is no reason to skew it further to create a 'perceived' advantage for the middle seeds. We all know that in order to end up in the final four a lower seeded will most probably have to defeat a higher seeded team, maybe one or more of the top four seeds. So what if that game occurs in the second game of the tourney instead of the third or fortth?

Now we have to listen to some bleeding heart sports nerd detail several options to give the middle seeded teams an easier start in the tourney. It would seem to me that the best way for those teams to secure more favorable early match ups is they should play better during the season and secure a higher seed. Just imagine what kind of math this brainiac will dream up when the tourney expands to 128!!! Scientific proof that no playoff system will ever satisfy everyone.

Mr. Slick on 13 Mar 2012 - 1:06pm #

I have been saying for years now that the bracket should be made up by coaches placing their teams where ever they want in order of their overall seed (Like they do at the high school level). Imagine the grudges that would be started as coaches "jump on" other teams ranked ahead of them. For example, whoever the overall 5th seed is (first 2 seed as it is now) would have their choice of which #1 seed it would want to have in its region.

The technology is available to do it online w/ a big video chat or even easier with a simple 'google doc.'

This idea really excites me and I hope it gets to this in my lifetime.