The 2003 NCAA Tournament seedings and locations

[YourPublicEnemy]

We've been through this before about the many issues with our location and what not but you should take a look at how awful that bracket was made up in terms of where teams were placed. For instance, the four regional location options were Albany, Minneapolis, San Antonio and Anaheim. The one seeds were Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona.

Now Arizona and Texas were put in the correct regions. But this is where it gets really stupid. Albany and Minneapolis are about a 14-minute difference from Lexington. They're both roughly 12 hours. However, Oklahoma gets sent to the East Region in Albany where it's a 23-hour trip when Minneapolis would have been a 12-hour trip. Would it not have made more damn sense to switch Kentucky and Oklahoma?

But then you look at who gets placed in these regions as lower seeds.

East region- No. 1 Oklahoma gets sent to New York where the No. 3 seed is Syracuse. Syracuse gets a home game essentially and wins.

Midwest region- Overall No. 1 Kentucky goes to Minnesota and gets a No. 3 Marquette that is only five hours away and a No. 5 seed Wisconsin who is only four hours away.

Both Marquette and Syracuse get to the Final Four.

How is there not more common sense in a selection committee?

 

[UKWildcats#8]

All based on geography UK would have gotten "screwed" in either scenario and so would OU.

 

[IAphatcat]

I was there for that fiasco. Will never forget "we are Marquette" booming out from that home crowd.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Best team in the country until Keith Bogans got hurt. Not even close. Hands down.

 

[YourPublicEnemy]

Best team in the country until Keith Bogans got hurt. Not even close. Hands down.

We were like No. 17 in the preseason polls that year too. That was the year I almost had all four teams right in my bracket. The only one I missed was us. I had us playing Syracuse in the finals and winning. What I would have liked to have seen is us vs Kansas in the semis because that would have been a great game. Hinrich, Collison, Langford and Miles vs our crew? Wow.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

We were like No. 17 in the preseason polls that year too. That was the year I almost had all four teams right in my bracket. The only one I missed was us. I had us playing Syracuse in the finals and winning. What I would have liked to have seen is us vs Kansas in the semis because that would have been a great game. Hinrich, Collison, Langford and Miles vs our crew? Wow.

Agreed. That would have been a great game. We won from our defense that year and Bogans was the unquestionable leader. Him playing at about 50% killed us. Man, that was an awful feeling after that one.

 

[CapnBlubs]

Just seems messed up that awesome players like Bogans and Hayes (and certainly Prince, who graduated in '02) didn't get to play in any Final Fours. Hate the way things worked out during that era.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Just seems messed up that awesome players like Bogans and Hayes (and certainly Prince, who graduated in '02) didn't get to play in any Final Fours. Hate the way things worked out during that era.

Azubuike, Fitch, Hawkins, Estill, Camara.... Man, that 2002 team was STACKED too. The Team Turmoil year. My, my, what might have been if Jason Parker didn't get injured that year. Manchild.