Samson should have 2 elite 8 and 1 final four based on his seedings this is what he had.. not the same years and 6 sweet 16's rather than the 3 he obtained.
Tubbs should have had four final fours , 5 elite 8's , and 7 sweet 16's rather than the 1 final four, two elite 8's and 4 sweet 16's he actually had.
It seems to me there records are pretty similar. but Samson under performs less than Tubbs.
When they were a 3 seed they usually lost to what a 6 seed? I bet a 6 seed goes to the Sweet 16 a lot more than anyone would think. Seems like there's about 6 seeds in the S16 every year. That's not really an upset.
I long for the days when OU won 20 games each and every season, year after consistent year, overcoming adversity along the way (as you must to be a good team). I hope, Coach Capel can get back to that, so he can show us all how great he can be in the post season. You cannot win if you don't get there.
I personally don't see the NCAA tourney and wins in the tourney as "icing on the cake". The regular season is a means to enter the tournament which is by far the most important part of the season.
While I agree with that, it goes to my point about these things being subjective. Traveler and TU are every bit as correct in their logic as we are in ours.
The thing is, success in the NCAA Tournament is very important for coaches looking to get into the Hall of Fame. Based on regular season success, Norm Stewart should be a HOF lock. However, he did not win an NCAA Tournament game from 1981 - 1988 despite six appearances, five of which he was a top-3 seed. Granted, for a few of them, Missouri got a first-round bye, but no wins is pretty bad. If he had even one Final Four run during that time frame, I think he would have been inducted a long time ago. Hopefully, he will still make it someday because the man is deserving. Missouri won more games in the last 20+ years of the Big 8 Conference than any other program...including Kansas.
And those coaches that are up for the HOF and such things, it goes without saying that their regular seasons were good, and most likely, consistent. You can't do well in the tournament if you don't make the tournament.
I personally don't see the NCAA tourney and wins in the tourney as "icing on the cake". The regular season is a means to enter the tournament which is by far the most important part of the season.
This is a given ... An very good regular season is REQUIRED before a team even gets a chance at the NCAA tournament. Logically then, it seems that the regular season is VERY IMPORTANT!
However, I concede that "icing on the cake" is probably not a proper descriptive. I was there, in person, at all the OU Final-4s during my lifetime .. 1988 and 2002. They were most fun, even though OU lost. But, those regular seasons were an absolute blast. I enjoyed the entire ride, the entire season. To me, those regular seasons were very "important." As were many others for teams that did not make the Final-4.
Also, going 0-0 in the NCAA tourney in any given season, well, it sucks. It is much better to go 0-1, as that means you were there, and not sitting at home like so many other crappy teams.
I understand.
As an aside, I have been a season ticket holder since 1977. I have become spoiled. Jeff Capel is not the first OU coach to make an Elite-8. I sincerely hope (and pray) that he is not the first in a long long time to miss 3 out of 5 NCAA tournaments.
