Jon Joseph Moderator No. 1 Share Posted March 31 Thanks to 30 Duck for carrying the NCAA Tournament load. He has provided great insight and coverage and I hope he will continue to do so. The following information is from The Wilner Hotline ($ Wall.) The SEC secured 35 Units from this season's NCAA CBB Tournament, eclipsing the ACC record of 25 Units in 2016. Each Unit is worth $2M paid over six years. Units are awarded through the Elite 8, no extra Units are earned by teams making the Final 4 and the Champ Game. The total payout, $70M, means $4.4M for each of the SEC's 16 member institutions. This provides more money for NIL and positive recruiting material; especially when recruiting the Portal. Every SEC Tournament team had at least two starters from the Portal. Both Final Four Florida and Auburn start four transfers. More than 1,000 players have entered the portal since it opened on March 24, 2025. (In the middle of the Tournament which did not please Michigan State's Tom Izzo among other coaches.) Recruiting players from high school has taken a back seat to the recruiting of proven athletes whose NIL value is more easily determined. Portal recruiting and NIL seem to have spread the talent in college football but not in basketball. Five of the Elite 8 teams came from Dixie, as do all four of the Final 4. The B1G finished second with 21 Units earned. $42M, $2.33M for each conference member. But the B1G without a championship carries on from when Michigan State won it all in 2000. Four Number 1 seeds are in the Final 4 for the first time since 2018. Duke is a 4.5 favorite over Houston and Florida is a 2.5 favorite over Auburn. Who Knew? Duke's Cooper Flagg is not a transfer but a true frosh, who has a chance to be the Tournament's MVP. Cooper is from Newport, ... MAINE? 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 2 Share Posted March 31 CBS Grades the Elite 8. March Madness grades: Duke earns 'A-' before Final Four, Tennessee salvages a 'D' in Elite Eight report card - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The Blue Devils and Auburn aced the report card for the eight teams who played in regional finals Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDuck No. 3 Share Posted March 31 Relative to units, keep in mind UW and UO get full shares. Sometimes the insistent chatter that both are receiving half shares when "the traitors left the Pac" loses the significance that the half shares until 2030 apply only to the media portion of revenue. Half shares do not apply to Basketball Tournament or Football Playoff shares, or to some other conference revenue. (And, the half shares of media revenue have an annual escalator leading up to 2030) On the other hand, Oregon St and WSU will continue to receive ALL the tournament shares for the former members of the Pac12 conference because they still declare there is a Pac12 conference. They will never consider another conference name or formal organization until all of those legacy shares from the Tournament are paid out. It is a rolling six-year distribution earned by former members that the NCAA will keep paying through 2028. This is also why the Pac will get to 8 full-sports members before 2026. If they don't, OSU and WSU risk losing those Tournament payouts and they would revert to the individual former conference members. There has to be a Pac conference from 2026-28 to receive the shares. The women's tournament did not have that type of distribution so there is no legacy shares from the women's tournament. HOWEVER, the NCAA is actively discussing "retroactive shares" which would mean OSU & WSU would receive those also. more details here in this column from April 2024: 'Pac-2' members Washington St, Oregon St cashing in from NCAA Tournament WWW.FOX13SEATTLE.COM Thanks to four men’s teams from the Pac-12 Conference making the NCAA Tournament — and all winning at least one game — Washington State and Oregon State have added another chunk... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 4 Share Posted March 31 (edited) On 3/31/2025 at 10:30 AM, HDuck said: Relative to units, keep in mind UW and UO get full shares. Sometimes the insistent chatter that both are receiving half shares when "the traitors left the Pac" loses the significance that the half shares until 2030 apply only to the media portion of revenue. Half shares do not apply to Basketball Tournament or Football Playoff shares, or to some other conference revenue. (And, the half shares of media revenue have an annual escalator leading up to 2030) On the other hand, Oregon St and WSU will continue to receive ALL the tournament shares for the former members of the Pac12 conference because they still declare there is a Pac12 conference. They will never consider another conference name or formal organization until all of those legacy shares from the Tournament are paid out. It is a rolling six-year distribution earned by former members that the NCAA will keep paying through 2028. This is also why the Pac will get to 8 full-sports members before 2026. If they don't, OSU and WSU risk losing those Tournament payouts and they would revert to the individual former conference members. There has to be a Pac conference from 2026-28 to receive the shares. The women's tournament did not have that type of distribution so there is no legacy shares from the women's tournament. HOWEVER, the NCAA is actively discussing "retroactive shares" which would mean OSU & WSU would receive those also. more details here in this column from April 2024: 'Pac-2' members Washington St, Oregon St cashing in from NCAA Tournament WWW.FOX13SEATTLE.COM Thanks to four men’s teams from the Pac-12 Conference making the NCAA Tournament — and all winning at least one game — Washington State and Oregon State have added another chunk... Hope they enjoy the scraps, then again, they’ve always been bottom feeders gaining from other’s success, so this is nothing new. Biggest difference now is even fewer people know they exist. Edited March 31 by JabbaNoBargain 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 5 Share Posted March 31 Saturday Down South Weighs in on the First Final 4 Matchup of SEC Teams. 5 early thoughts on Auburn-Florida, AKA the most important SEC basketball game ever - Saturday Down South WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Auburn and Florida are playing in a historic Final Four showing for the SEC, so what's worth watching for in San Antonio? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 6 Share Posted March 31 On 3/31/2025 at 9:27 AM, Jon Joseph said: Cooper is from Newport, ... MAINE? Probably the least "exciting" of the star's left in the Final Four, but he's great, more than any other player he reminds me of Magic. 6'9 with great handles, and a better shot than Magic, He looks like everything is effortless for him on the court. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 7 Share Posted April 1 It's not as perfect a championship indicator as having a BCR Roster in college football but for the most part, men's basketball teams in the top 20 efficiency rankings in scoring and defense have won the title. All four of the Final 4 teams fit this bill. Efficiency metrics touted Duke, Houston, Florida and Auburn all year. Now they're in the Final Four APNEWS.COM Duke, Houston, Florida and Auburn have posted elite efficiency numbers in making it a rare Final Four featuring only 1-seeds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 8 Share Posted April 4 Monday Night Gators vs. Cougars? And Other Men's Final 4 Takes. Five bold men's Final Four predictions: Who's in national title game Monday night? WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The 2025 men's NCAA Tournament Final Four is Saturday in San Antonio. Before Auburn-Florida (6:09 ET) and Duke-Houston tip off (8:49 ET, CBS), here are five predictions for this year's national... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
