[Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card]

A 2 seed may not be too bad.. if the previous losses were not enough to have the team play with a chip on their shoulder, maybe a 2 seed will. I’m watching basketball and I’m disappointed to not have the PAC 12 championship to look forward to, but at least I don’t have any nerves or anxiousness. Maybe the basketball gods saved Stanford from injuries today ??‍♂️

One never knows how a committee will see things, but if we are talking about Stanford possibly being the 4th or 5th seeded team, overall, in the tournament, there is very little practical difference between the two. Not zero difference, but very little difference. If seeding holds to the Elite Eight, the difference is who gets to wear white uniforms in that game, as the higher seeded team. On the way to that game, in theory a 5th seeded team would play slightly tougher teams, but the difference is slight and the seedings don't always play out as expected. Thus, as much as I care about Stanford women's basketball (and I really do care, as I had to wait, after that ridiculous officiating the last four minutes of the game Friday night, until now before I trusted myself to post), I have a lot of trouble working up a "care" about whether Stanford is seeded fourth or fifth overall.

Also, though I usually subscribe to the "avoid the top team(s) as long as possible, because that gives more other teams the chance to knock them out before you get to them" theory, I don't think that applies to Stanford this year. I don't know if Stanford will get to the Final Four. Lots of my fellow rabid Stanford fans say "no," but I think there are a whole lot of teams this year--more than usual--that could make it to the Final Four this year, as there is one great team and a whole lot of other teams that are good, but have flaws. That group includes Stanford. We might not make it, but we might.

If we do, my vote this year is to play South Carolina in the first game of the Final Four, not the second. As others have posted, our scouting report advantages seem to be more significant on the first game of a weekend than the second. While beating South Carolina is a tall order for anyone this year, I actually like our chances of doing it on a Friday better than on a Sunday.

My bottom line: If we are talking about Stanford being the fourth or fifth overall seed, I can live with either one. 

Of course, we might not be talking about that. One never knows.

Just thought of one possible reason to care about 4 or 5 overall seeding: Might that determine where Stanford would be sent for a regional? If Stanford and Va Tech, for example, are vying for the 4th and 5th overall seeds, would regional geography be dependent on which is no. 4?

Frankly, the NCAA changes its approach to such matters so often that I don't know the answer to my question.

[Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card]

A 2 seed may not be too bad.. if the previous losses were not enough to have the team play with a chip on their shoulder, maybe a 2 seed will. I’m watching basketball and I’m disappointed to not have the PAC 12 championship to look forward to, but at least I don’t have any nerves or anxiousness. Maybe the basketball gods saved Stanford from injuries today ??‍♂️

One never knows how a committee will see things, but if we are talking about Stanford possibly being the 4th or 5th seeded team, overall, in the tournament, there is very little practical difference between the two. Not zero difference, but very little difference. If seeding holds to the Elite Eight, the difference is who gets to wear white uniforms in that game, as the higher seeded team. On the way to that game, in theory a 5th seeded team would play slightly tougher teams, but the difference is slight and the seedings don't always play out as expected. Thus, as much as I care about Stanford women's basketball (and I really do care, as I had to wait, after that ridiculous officiating the last four minutes of the game Friday night, until now before I trusted myself to post), I have a lot of trouble working up a "care" about whether Stanford is seeded fourth or fifth overall.

Also, though I usually subscribe to the "avoid the top team(s) as long as possible, because that gives more other teams the chance to knock them out before you get to them" theory, I don't think that applies to Stanford this year. I don't know if Stanford will get to the Final Four. Lots of my fellow rabid Stanford fans say "no," but I think there are a whole lot of teams this year--more than usual--that could make it to the Final Four this year, as there is one great team and a whole lot of other teams that are good, but have flaws. That group includes Stanford. We might not make it, but we might.

If we do, my vote this year is to play South Carolina in the first game of the Final Four, not the second. As others have posted, our scouting report advantages seem to be more significant on the first game of a weekend than the second. While beating South Carolina is a tall order for anyone this year, I actually like our chances of doing it on a Friday better than on a Sunday.

My bottom line: If we are talking about Stanford being the fourth or fifth overall seed, I can live with either one. 

Of course, we might not be talking about that. One never knows.

Just thought of one possible reason to care about 4 or 5 overall seeding: Might that determine where Stanford would be sent for a regional? If Stanford and Va Tech, for example, are vying for the 4th and 5th overall seeds, would regional geography be dependent on which is no. 4?

Frankly, the NCAA changes its approach to such matters so often that I don't know the answer to my question.