Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with NCAA

why is the floor raised for the NCAA final four?

comah — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:07:39 -0800

why is the basketball floor raised at the NCAA tourney? isn't it dangerous? I'd think someone could get hurt chasing a ball....

College hoops in San Francisco?

Who_Am_I — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:41:24 -0800

Where can I watch NCAA basketball this weekend (Saturday) in San Francisco? I only really care about the second game, UNC vs. Villanova, which tips off ~6:00 PST. I'm staying in Hayes Valley Saturday night, so somewhere close to there would be ideal.

And why are southern schools now in "The Big East"?

Zambrano — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:19:22 -0800

What is the point of these college basketball conference tournaments held just before the national "March Madness" tournament? A team's regular season record determines their fate in the national tournament. If a big school loses in a conference tournament it has no bearing on its place in the national tournament. So why have conference tournaments?

I'd rather not have to wait for the ESPN Classic version.

clearly — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:18:17 -0800

Where can I watch an online replay of the North Carolina - Duke basketball game from this afternoon? The game was covered by CBS.

The Dean Dome is so very far away now

K.P. — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:40:03 -0800

Is there any way to watch UNC basketball in the UK? I'd like to be able to watch the rest of the season, the ACC tournament, and the NCAA tournament. But I'm going to be in England the whole time. I'll be somewhere with a very basic cable television service from Virgin (this one I think), so traditional TV doesn't seem to be an option. Is there any way to watch online?

I won't be in London, but might consider making the trip for the final tournament games if there is a pub showing them on a big screen.

Maiden or Eagles shirt at the game...

theichibun — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:10:22 -0800

Journalistic ethics as it pertains to a student/school newspaper. I'm the sports photographer for my university newspaper. At home games I wear shirts with my team on it. Nobody has said anything, and I doubt they would because we're not in a major conference (on the lower end of mid-major if even that) and there usually aren't a lot of other people there.

Over the course of the next week or so (including today if that matters), we will traveling to schools in the ACC, SEC, and Southern Conference for men's basketball games.

I know that working for a newspaper normally I would need to stay away from affiliating myself with a team in any way. But does this change in any way in my situation considering that I am going as a staff member of the school newspaper?

NCAA sheets and comforter?

lemonade — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:01:49 -0800

I'd like to buy a set of sheets and a comforter (queen size) with a University of Michigan design--but I can't find much that isn't made out of jersey, which would never stand up to the wear and tear of the dog. Any ideas where to find these (pref. online)? I actually did find one set of sheets here, but no comforter anywhere that isn't jersey.

If gambling were legal, I'd do this with money at stake.

Dec One — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:34:26 -0800

I like playing in sports-related picking contests with friends. In the fall, I play in a football pool in which each participant picks every NFL game against the spread, and the winner is the person who has the most correct picks over the entire season. Right now, I'm in a couple of NCAA basketball pools. What other contests like these can I organize? I like that these contests don't involve a lot of skill or time. The football pool is perfect, because picking against the spread is like predicting the outcome of a coin toss. We have people in the pool who know nothing about football, and last year one of them won second place. The basketball pool is good too, because any idiot can pick most of the higher seeds, maybe pick a few upsets for fun, and win the pool.

Full-fledged fantasy sports are way too complicated (You have to draft players, keep track of who's playing well, who's injured or on a bye week, make judgments about which free agents are worth picking up, etc.). Casual fans would not want to play these games against hard-core fans, because they would be at a disadvantage. And I don't want to scare off casual fans.

Something like this idea is a step in the right direction, but still a little too dependent on skill over luck, as each contestant would have to judge how good each home run hitter will be. (In case you don't feel like clicking on the link: it's a sort of fantasy baseball lite, involving home runs only).

I should clarify that I'm willing to looking to organize and run something, not to join an existing game. So, what other ideas for games does the hive mind have? Something baseball-related would be nice, as that season is just starting up. But it doesn't have to be sports-related. Maybe something politics-related? Or the weather?

watching some bball in Boston

Gungho — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:04:23 -0800

Where is a good place to watch NCAA tourney in the Boston 128 area? Looking for a bar with multiple TVs that wouldn't mind some schlub sipping on a few beers while watching several games at once. Food would be a Plus. Along the Route 128 area from say Woburn to Needham.

Predict the unpredictable NCAA Basketball Tournament

clearly — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:12:39 -0800

NCAA Basketball Tournament office pool. Do you have any strategies and tips to help me win mine? Games predicted deeper into the tournament are weighted heavier in the scoring. There will be about 20 entries. I know this is the most unpredictable sporting event around. Do you have any strategies that have helped you in the past?

Help me score tickets for the NCAA tourney

COD — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:11:29 -0800

Here is the situation. I live near DC and would like to attend the Purdue - Baylor game, which is the 2nd game of session 1 on Thursday afternoon. Given that none of the 4 schools involved (Purdue - Baylor - Xavier - Georgia) are from the DC area, and none of them inspire particularly national followings, do you think I can score a good deal by waiting until after game 1 starts and working the ticket resellers loitering around the Verizon Center? I seem to recall watching plenty of first round games on TV where the arena was not even close to full because the teams were not local. I can buy on Ebay for close to face value, but if odds are good that I can save $100 on a pair of tickets by waiting until the last possible second, I'll take the risk. After all it's just a basketball game. Looking for input from anybody that might have attended early round games under similar circumstances in recent years.

I'd Wager that A Lot of Money Was Bet on March Madness

sjuhawk31 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:49:38 -0800

Sports Betting Filter: How can I determine approximately how much money was bet on the NCAA (men's basketball) tournament last year and where that ranks on the most gambled-upon sporting events of the year? I'm doing an article on the NCAA tournament and one of the angles I want to use is the amount of time and money people devote to it.

How do I import a draft class with real names into Madden 2007 on the Xbox 360?

hcastro — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:17:35 -0800

How do I import a draft class with real names into Madden 2007 on the Xbox 360? I enjoy managing franchises in the Madden series of football games, but it just isn't the same without draft classes containing real college players. I used to import classes on the PS2, but what are the consequences of doing this with the 360? What are the methods (legitimate or unsupported)?

Personal mention on ESPN in the last day or two. Did anybody see it?

mcstayinskool — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:06:14 -0800

I just heard that my extremely odd online NCAA basketball pool was mentioned on ESPN in the past day or two, except I don't know in what context or on what show. Anyone see it? (more inside) I'm in my 12th year of running a bizarre online NCAA basketball pool. It's hard to do it justice unless you've entered it, but it's non-profit, no gambling involved, full of ridiculous data analysis tools, and the winner only gets a candy bar (mailed to them anywhere on the globe). Oh, and you compete against 1000 chimpanzees, who all make their picks at random.

SO ANYWAY, apparently my pool was mentioned on ESPN in the past 48 hours, but I don't know what show and in what context. Any chance anyone saw this, so I can try tracking down a clip?

If it helps, it's called the "Johnny Quest Memorial Candy Bar Pool" or JQMCBP for short. I kind of doubt they would have referred to it by name though.

Are there any good scoring systems for running a NCAA bracket pool?

zacharyseibert — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:10:23 -0800

MarchMadnessFilter: Are there any good scoring systems for running a NCAA bracket pool? I'm running a bracket pool in my dorm, and I was just looking for a good way to score it. There will be probably 20ish people, at a 5 dollar buy-in. Any scoring system will do, but I really want to find a way to incorporate upset-wins into the points system.

Thanks in advance!

My friend's friend saw so-in-so at a Melissa Etheridge concert...

10ch — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 04:27:03 -0800

Are there any openly lesbian women's basketball coaches in the NCAA?

Gators to play for national championship?

nimkip — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 17:05:47 -0800

NCAAfilter: What would have to happen for Florida to play for the national championship (football) this year?

Where to find yearly preseason NCAA football rankings?

beachhead2 — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 18:43:19 -0800

Is their a website that lists historical preseason NCAA football rankings? I have no problems finding year-end rankings and national champions but nothing regarding preseason rankings year-to-year.

Are office pools legal?

Mave_80 — Mon, 22 May 2006 12:51:15 -0800

I'm thinking of organizing an office pool on the World Cup. I'm based in VA. I'd probably set up something similar to what gets done with NCAA bracket pools. My question is though: Is this illegal given US gambling laws? Disregarding for a moment whether or not the office might have a problem with it (they have no problem with NCAA brackets), it seems like at least some states don't have problem providing the pool size is small, and whoever runs it doesn't make any money from organizing it. Is this a fair interpretation? Also, if it is illegal, how come ESPN etc can run their fantasy leagues without recourse - do they have licenses to do so?

I've found articles re. other states, but none specifically re. VA. Any help appreciated!!

How do I run a simple online NCAA Tournament pool?

brain_drain — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 16:19:31 -0800

What's the easiest and least-intrusive way to run an NCAA tournament pool online? I may get stuck running my office's NCAA basketball tournament pool this year. Traditionally, it is administered using paper entries. This requires a lot of manual labor to tally up the picks for each round of games and to calculate overall results.

I would love to be able to set up an online pool that would allow people to submit their entries on a website, and that would automatically tally up the results and show the standings. ESPN and CBS Sportsline have services like this. However, those sites require registration, and I fear that many of my colleagues, some of whom are not internet-savvy, will balk at having to register to enter the pool (and, more importantly, will come complaining to me about having to do so).

Are there any websites that would allow me to run the pool as described above, but would not require users to fill out detailed registration forms? It doesn't have to be fancy or secure -- just simple and non-intrusive.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

NCAA Tourney

mic stand — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 09:31:19 -0800

What site(s) would you recommend using to listen to live streaming audio of this year's men's NCAA tournament? Preferably free sites, but any recommendations are appreciated. Thank you.