R i wrote:Reasons why UNCA could be in the "play-in" game.
They have 11 losses
LU was in the "play-in" game as Big South Champ
They were the 4 seed in the tournament.
And the teams they are battling for 15/16 seeds with will almost all have more than 11 losses (not that it has much to do with anything by itself...it depends on who you lost to, and UNCA has no losses against sub-200 RPI teams..they'll likely be the only candidate at that level that can say that). But for argument's sake, Austin Peay has 17 losses, FGCU has 13, the best SWAC teams have 12/13 losses, Lehigh (the best remaining Patriot League team) has 14 losses....so even if the 11 losses mattered in a vacuum, there are at least 4 teams in the field that have more than UNCA does.
And yeah, LU's seeding a few years ago has nothing to do with this year. And that Liberty team had one of the worst records in NCAA history to ever make the tournament...of course they were going to the play-in round.