I was pleasantly surprised in 2013 (when both teams were at the Palace) that MSU fans were subdued when we played SDSU/VCU. I was expecting them to root against us but it really didn’t happen.
Yeah you’d probably see Nevada as the 3 or 4 out West.
NCAA Tournament environments are just so unique that I think most people are very focused on the team they support. They spend the 2 hours before the game at the bar and they leave after they win or lose to go back to the bar.
It takes a strong hoops fan to sit and watch back-to-back games. You also have to remember that the opening round games are on different tickets.
I vaguely remember when Michigan was in Charlotte playing against Duke there was a pretty good crowd of UNC fans there rooting for the upset.
The Pac 12 falling apart certainly makes this theory ring true, but there are plenty of vagaries in which teams earn protected seeds and what locations are available in other brackets, that make me side-eye this just a bit.
I think the crowd sizes support this notion.
I would certainly support this if it occurred 
. Michigan definitely has a huge base in the DC area – lots of alumns showed up for the Big Ten tournament a couple years back.
The committee can make the bracket however they damn well please, so we have no idea.
Not looking at this that closely, but compare these scenarios:
Michigan, Gonzaga, Houston, Nevada, Louisville in Anaheim
vs.
Michigan, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Iowa State in Kansas City
Just hypotheticals and I probably have too many Big 12 teams in the second one, but you can see how it could play out.
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FWIW Gonzaga had about 2/3 of the stadium in the 2017 championship game vs UNC, who travels better than Michigan basketball.
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I bet part of that was being in their first Final Four, but no doubt they’re passionate too.
I guess I could’ve better answered saying I don’t think they’d drown out Michigan fans in Anaheim. Could be dead wrong though.
I wonder how much of that might have been NC fans actively rooting against Duke, and how many were just naturally rooting for the underdog, which I think we all often do in the NCAA tournament (when it’s not connected to bracket we’ve chosen… which is why I don’t like to fill out brackets!)
I don’t think they’d be worse than a Kansas or Kentucky, no.
That was mostly UNC fans rooting specifically against Duke lol. Naturally rooting for the underdog type games generally result in passive cheering. Clapping occasionally, standing up after a run, maybe getting into it a touch more towards the end. That was pure “acting like it’s an actual game against Duke” type cheering.
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Tennessee is living on the edge lately, we shall see what happens it would not surprise me if the Gamecocks were to beat them.
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Ok, thanks! I was just speculating, not actually remembering.
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Oh of course, I just happened to have a tie in there so I figured I’d interject.
In 2013 most Michigan fans seemed to leave after our game and not actively root against State, while most state fans didn’t come until later in the Michigan game. That Duke thing is definitely not the norm.
I agree with MH20 and Dylan on this. Besides look at all the Simpson and Teske family and friends who would be there in Columbus. I’m sure they would prefer Columbus.
How many of you would buy games to the first/second round in Detroit if Michigan State and Ohio State were there as #1 and #2 seeds? I’d go ahead and pass on that.
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Speaking of the bracket someone please explain in any poll having 3 ACC teams in the top 4? North Carolina that was beat by Michigan by 17 points at #3 with more losses than Michigan has. The B1G / ACC challenge ended in a tie, no way should they value an ACC victory worth anymore than a B1G victory. Michigan had the most impressive victory in that challenge with Duke being a close second over Indiana. Not for a let down by MSU we would have won.
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UNC has 7 tier 1-A wins: @Wofford, Gonzaga, @NC St, Va Tech, @L’Ville, @Duke, @Clemson. Michigan has 4. UNC has played the 9th toughest schedule, per KenPom. Michigan’s SOS is 24th.
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Polls are dumb and meaningless. Gonzaga is #1 and they haven’t played a challenging game in over two months.
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