There have been many articles criticizing CTB's lack of success in the NCAAT and complaining about not meeting expectation. Many of these same criticisms were laid upon Nova and Jay Wright before they broke through. However, the truth is that the NCAAT is not really a great way of measuring a team's success.
If you look at pro sports, they all vastly favor the postseason over the regular season. Other than the Warriors trying to break the Bulls win/loss record or the Patriots going undefeated, no one really cares about the regular season other than the need to make the playoffs.
In basketball and hockey, basically everyone makes the playoffs, but then we have best of 7s to prevent a superior team from losing on a bad night. Baseball allows less teams into the postseason, but has the same best of 7s. Football has one game knock outs, but the regular season's best teams only have to win two games to make the Super Bowl, at least one of which is played at home. In other words, in football, regular seasons mean a lot, and they truly provide a post season advantage.
In college football, the regular season and conference championships are everything. No one really cares about the bowls except for the national championship, and only 4 teams qualify. People remember great plays and players from the big regular season games, including rivalry games.
College basketball is strange because the NCAAT is a great sporting event that creates drama like no other, but it does not do a great job of whittling out the best team. The regular season champs get little favoritism and playing 6 one and done games wreaks havoc and creates little predictability.
To me, winning the ACC regular season and then winning the ACCT are real accomplishments. They are not the equivalent of an NBA team winning its conference. It is much more, and CTB should be celebrated for winning 2 regular season and 1 ACCT championship. Unlike the NBA, nobody rests starters for the playoffs, and everyone battles for both championships. These championships are hard to win and truly coveted.
The NCAA is simply icing on the cake, and not the mark of a true champion. While true champion sometimes do emerge from the NCAAs (the Duke and Florida back to back title teams were true champions), the truth is that winnings teams are somewhat random. All the best schools have had highly ranked teams knocked out in the first and second round, and many low ranked teams have made the final four, and UConn recently won as a low seed.
Bottom line, what CTB has achieved is incredible. Losing in the NCAAT earlier than expected is not something to be ashamed of and it does not put a mark on CTB. It is simply the function of the NCAAT randomness. If UVA is good enough year in and year out, it will surely suffer another stunning first weekend loss, but it will also surely go the final four and maybe win a championship.
If you look at pro sports, they all vastly favor the postseason over the regular season. Other than the Warriors trying to break the Bulls win/loss record or the Patriots going undefeated, no one really cares about the regular season other than the need to make the playoffs.
In basketball and hockey, basically everyone makes the playoffs, but then we have best of 7s to prevent a superior team from losing on a bad night. Baseball allows less teams into the postseason, but has the same best of 7s. Football has one game knock outs, but the regular season's best teams only have to win two games to make the Super Bowl, at least one of which is played at home. In other words, in football, regular seasons mean a lot, and they truly provide a post season advantage.
In college football, the regular season and conference championships are everything. No one really cares about the bowls except for the national championship, and only 4 teams qualify. People remember great plays and players from the big regular season games, including rivalry games.
College basketball is strange because the NCAAT is a great sporting event that creates drama like no other, but it does not do a great job of whittling out the best team. The regular season champs get little favoritism and playing 6 one and done games wreaks havoc and creates little predictability.
To me, winning the ACC regular season and then winning the ACCT are real accomplishments. They are not the equivalent of an NBA team winning its conference. It is much more, and CTB should be celebrated for winning 2 regular season and 1 ACCT championship. Unlike the NBA, nobody rests starters for the playoffs, and everyone battles for both championships. These championships are hard to win and truly coveted.
The NCAA is simply icing on the cake, and not the mark of a true champion. While true champion sometimes do emerge from the NCAAs (the Duke and Florida back to back title teams were true champions), the truth is that winnings teams are somewhat random. All the best schools have had highly ranked teams knocked out in the first and second round, and many low ranked teams have made the final four, and UConn recently won as a low seed.
Bottom line, what CTB has achieved is incredible. Losing in the NCAAT earlier than expected is not something to be ashamed of and it does not put a mark on CTB. It is simply the function of the NCAAT randomness. If UVA is good enough year in and year out, it will surely suffer another stunning first weekend loss, but it will also surely go the final four and maybe win a championship.
