ESPN

Moderator

  (8:57 PM)

Hey eveyrbody, we'll be getting started here shortly, send in your bracket questions and comments to Cheryl NOW!

Cheryl Marra

  (9:02 PM)

Hello everybody, send in those questions!

Susan

Stanford won in the regular season, won the Pac 10 tourney. beat Ga, lost in ot to Tenn. is ranked 10th in the polls and they get a 6 seed. How can you justify this. I heard someone say in regards to the mens tourney that a team shouldn't be penalized for who their conference plays, but be rewarded for their play. I guess you don't agree?

Cheryl Marra

  (9:04 PM)

I do believe they should be rewarded for who they do play. What's important is to look at the full schedule -- including the strength of the non-conference opponents. You have to look at the teams that are above Stanford, and what they did, relative to what they did. This is all factored in to the final decision.

Cheryl Marra

  (9:04 PM)

Stanford also had some significant losses within their total schedule.

Jen (Minneapolis, MN)

Hi Cheryl,How did Lindsay Whalen's injury and possible return play into Minnesota's seeding?

Cheryl Marra

  (9:06 PM)

Several institutions had injured players that we took a look at as we were making decisions about where they might be seeded. For Minn, we looked at what they had done with Lindsey and what they had done without and tried to find a place that would be fair to them, with or without the return of Lindsey Whalen.

Ed, Naperville, Ill.

What was the reasoning behind taking Memphis in the field before Louisville?

Cheryl Marra

  (9:06 PM)

We didn't take Memphis in the field. Do you mean Marquette?

Monica (Chicago, IL)

CUSA looked like a league that would send 5 teams to the NCAA Tournament this year. Why didn't Louisville get in?

Cheryl Marra

  (9:08 PM)

This was an extremely difficult year in terms of the number of bubble teams and those that were under consideration for the at-large bids. While Louisville had success within the conference, when we were comparing all of the bubble teams, we looked at a wide variety of factors, including wins in the Top-25, bad losses, strength of schedule, non-conference opponents -- and considering all of those factors, we had to leave some very good teams out. Louisville was one of those teams this year.

Ed from Naperville, Ill.

yes, sorry

Cheryl Marra

  (9:10 PM)

I can read minds, Ed. I know what you meant. The one thing about Marquette is that they did beat Louisville head to head and they played very strong down the stretch. They beat DePaul twice and certainly came on strong and positioned themselves well the last couple weeks of the regular season.

Daniel (Henderson, TN)

Tennessee gets #1 seed but instead of sending them to Chattanooga they are sent to Tallahassee. Did this have to do with the fact that UT-Chattanooga was only a #10 seed or the fact that you decided to reward Vanderbilt for winning the SEC and giving them the shorter trip?

Cheryl Marra

  (9:11 PM)

It had everything to do with Chat. being the No. 10 seed. A No. 10 plays a No. 2 and we were not willing to change Tenn's seed or Chat's seed. It was more important to protect the integrity of the bracket and the process.

Cheryl Marra

  (9:11 PM)

We do believe it will be great for the Vandy fans to have the opportunity to play in Chattanooga.

Cole (Springfield, PA)

How did the commite decide to put Penn State a #1 seed and Purdue a #2?PS: I'm happy with the decison

Cheryl Marra

  (9:14 PM)

Penn State beat Purdue twice during the regular season and lost in the conf. championship in the last possession of the game. In addition, Penn State beat Texas (a No. 1 seed) beat K-State (a No. 2 seed), beat LSU (a No. 4 seed) and also won the Big Ten regular season. Actually, the decision was not about Purdue and Penn State, it was about Purdue and those other schools under consideration for the No. 1 seeds of which Penn State was only one of them.

Kevin (Macon, GA)

Last year the committee went to great lengths to avoid having #1 seeds play on a lower seed's home court. This year Penn State has to travel to the #8 seed Virginia Tech and then to the #2 seed UConn for their regional. Why the change in philosophy?

Cheryl Marra

  (9:16 PM)

Actually, we have the same philosophy, Kevin. There is always the potential, when you are protecting the seeds, as they were place in the bracket, to have to play a higher seeded team at the home of a lower seeded team. It did happen in multiple occasions in last year's tourney as well. In terms of Penn State playing in Bridgeport or in Hartford, Connectcut is not the host institution. While it is in the same state, it is not considered UConn's home court.

Brian (Sunnyvale, CA)

Please explain how Houston received a 3 seed (27-3, 7th/RPI, 11th/AP, 12th ESPN/USA) and were "shipped" to the East versus Vandy who received a 2 seed in the Midwest (24-7, 10th/ RPI, 15th/AP, 18th/ESPN/USA). Traveling from Houston to Santa Barbara to Connecticut doesn't seem fair for a team that posts the resume as Houston does.

Cheryl Marra

  (9:20 PM)

While Houston had a great year, so did several teams on the line above them which includes Purdue, Connecticut, Kansas State and Vanderbilt. Vandy won the conference championship and while you might want to look only at Vanderbilt, we consider all the schools on the No. 2 and No. 3 line, as we are seeding. The competition for a school like Vandy in the SEC, week-in-and-week-out, is not the same that Houston plays week-in-and-week-out in the C-USA. The significant wins that those institutions had on the line above Houston were taken into consideration - -but that does not detract from the great year that Houston had.

Teresa(Albany,NY)

I am very upset with the seeding. Texas should defidently not have been a #1 seed,after that 22 point loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament. If you are going to give a #1 seed to Penn State,then you should give a #1 seed to Purdue who beat them in the Big 10 championship. If you are going to give Texas a #1 seed,why not give UCONN a #1 seed too? And I am also astonished that you gave Stanford a #6 seed. I would have thought at least a 3 or 4. And the locations that teams recived are horrible. Purdue in the west, UC Santa Barbra in the East, Miami(FLA) in the West,Georgia in the west,Villanova in the west,etc. I know it doesn't much matter, but I'm talking 3 time zones away. I am very angry.

Cheryl Marra

  (9:22 PM)

Texas tied for the regular season conf. champion in the Big 12. They were the only No. 1 seed to play every other No. 1 seed. They beat Tenn, they beat Duke, they lost to Penn State. They beat No. 2 seed K-State, they beat Okalhoma twice, and Georgia. So, for Texas, it was the overall schedule and what they did within that, that allowed them to obtain the last No. 1 spot.

Cheryl Marra

  (9:23 PM)

Stay tuned for the tournament, thanks for your interest, everybody!!

Moderator

  (9:23 PM)

Thanks everybody, goodnite!