Board 8 > Who had the more impressive streak: NCAA #1s (135-0) or the Noble Nine (124-0)?

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's all over!

#1 seed (and widely considered the best team in the country) Virginia has been defeated by little-known UMBC, ending the most epic streak in sports. #16s had been defeated 135 times in a row until this evening.

But the real question is, how does this compare to the GameFAQs version of The Streak- the unbeatable Noble Nine going an amazing 124-0 since the birth of Character Battles back in 2002. Let's find out!

Noble Nine
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Noble_Nine

Close calls:
Sonic over Zero, 52.34% in 2003
Sonic over Aeris, 53.02% in 2003
Snake over Frog, 51.39% in 2004
Snake over Bowser, 50.59% in 2005 (1,196 vote margin)
Samus over Tifa, 50.49% in 2006 (1,418 vote margin)
Sonic over Vincent, 52.09% in 2006
Mega Man over Sora, 54.28% in 2006
Crono over Auron, 54.50% in 2006

The #1s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournament_upsets#16_vs._1

Close calls:
* Sixteenth-seeded Murray State took top seeded Michigan State to overtime in 1990, but eventually lost 7571
* Two 16-seeds have come within two points of upsetting a #1 seed, both in 1989. In the East Regional, Georgetown hung on to win 5049 against a Princeton squad who were 23 point underdogs. Princeton had the opportunity to win the game with the last shot, but Alonzo Mourning blocked the last two attempts to secure the victory. In the Southeast Regional, Oklahoma fought back from a 17-point first-half deficit to take the lead over East Tennessee State with 1:21 remaining. ETSU also had a chance at a last-second win, but Alvin West's shot from halfcourt was deflected and Oklahoma defeated ETSU 7271.
* In 1996, Western Carolina missed a three-pointer to win and a two-pointer to tie in the final seconds, losing 7371 to Purdue.

For comparisons sake, #15 seeds defeated #2s a full EIGHT times over this same stretch, including 4 times just in the last few years.


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I mean, the Noble Nine actually had to defeat some tough opponents to maintain that streak. The #1 seeds were facing what were generally considered to be the worst teams in the field.
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UVA was easily the overall favorite in terms of bracket predictions, BTW... 18.5% of the 17 million brackets on ESPN had them going all the way, more than 2% more than the next closest team (Villanova) and twice as many as the next most likely winner (Duke).


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Crono was defeated by time.

UVA apparently just choked hard.

Noble 9 easily more impressive.
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#1 seeds, for sure. There's just so much more luck involved in basketball games than in GameFAQs polls.
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the Noble 9 with ease. It's not even a conversation. The Noble 9 had a lot more opportunities to lose each contest. The 1s only had 4 chances to lose every season.
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#1s easily. one is a popularity contest, another is an actual result.
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Both were incredible streaks in their own way, but I think I'll have to side with the #1s.

Sure, they always had the more talented players, but these aren't hardened professionals we're talking about here- they were 18 and 19 year old boys who could easily have been cocky and overconfident, or frozen up and choked under pressure when the biggest moments arrived. Yes, they were playing against unknown guys without NBA aspirations, but for the most part those #16 players were 21 and 22 year olds who had been playing together for 4 years and coming in hot after winning their (small) conference tournament.

Outside of a rally or something else weird, Mario should never lose to more than 3-4 video game characters in a given year... but a killer injury, bad calls by the referees, or anything else can happen on the basketball court.


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red13n posted...

Crono was defeated by time.

This is why I picked basketball. The "Noble Nine" were going to have their streak end because of the young whippersnappers who never played them games were going to undo the likes of Crono and Mega Man. It would have been impressive had that streak gone on another couple of contests.

It's merely a matter of consistency. #1 seeds have always been extremely talented teams with a few future NBA players. The Noble Nine was only going to be strong as long as new games with those characters came out and that wasn't the case for two of them.
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Xeybozn posted...

#1 seeds, for sure. There's just so much more luck involved in basketball games than in GameFAQs polls.

This, and also the fact that the Noble Nine itself is sort of a tautology

i went with the number 1's because there's like ~20 of them compared to nine of nobles..........or whatever, i dunno, i dont watch college basketball
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You guys are stupid
The Noble Nine were defined because of their streak, not the other way around
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I could've sworn a 16 > 1 happened a few years ago. I don't really follow NCAA, but I swear I remember hearing something like that.
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Underleveled posted...

I could've sworn a 16 > 1 happened a few years ago. I don't really follow NCAA, but I swear I remember hearing something like that.

Nah, there have been a few 15 > 2 upsets in the last few years, but this is the first 16 > 1.
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Nanis23 posted...

You guys are stupid
The Noble Nine were defined because of their streak, not the other way around

So?
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Didnt a womens 16 seed win once?
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Alanna82 posted...

Didnt a womens 16 seed win once?

Yeah, it happened in women's basketball a while ago.
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Alanna82 posted...

Didnt a womens 16 seed win once?

Indeed so. Harvard beat Stanford in 98.

That being said, the #1s is more impressive, IMO

Ngamer64 posted...

In 1996, Western Carolina missed a three-pointer to win and a two-pointer to tie in the final seconds, losing 7371 to Purdue.

Though this was 10 years before I went to college there, I remember this game and how heartbreaking it was for WCU; the closest we've gotten to going back was losses in the 2012 and 2014 Socon finals, both by 2 points.

Also a noteworthy #16 was UNC Asheville in 2012, who led at halftime against Syracuse, but wound up losing by 4.

North Carolina will forever be known for its big 4 in college ball (UNC, Duke, NC State, and Wake Forest), but we sure get some great games from the underdogs come tournament time.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Underleveled posted...

I could've sworn a 16 > 1 happened a few years ago. I don't really follow NCAA, but I swear I remember hearing something like that.

Nah, there have been a few 15 > 2 upsets in the last few years, but this is the first 16 > 1.

Syracuse in 2012 (I think) should have lost to a 16 seed, but they got bailed out hard by the refs. Might be what he's thinking.
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kevwaffles posted...

Syracuse in 2012 (I think) should have lost to a 16 seed, but they got bailed out hard by the refs. Might be what he's thinking.

Yeah, that was 'Cuse vs Asheville and the refs did bail out the Orange.

And again, only two 16 > 1's have ever happened. Harvard > Stanford in Women's 98, and UMBC > Virginia yesterday
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the fact that a 16 > 1 already happened in women's ball makes the streak even more impressive tbh
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Noble Nine, they had to go up against tough opponents and it was the same group rather than the flavour of the year.

There's also luck in contest matches. Look at Solid Snake/Bowser 2005 or Samus/Tifa 2006, two almost "crippling injuries"
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The 1-seed basketball teams, because they actually have to put in effort. Character matches are merely popularity contests...

The Noble Nine is not undefeated in 1 vs. 1 matches. Crono lost to MissingNo. (Unless you only count 24-hour matches.) Why not count the 12-hour matches?
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Haste_2 posted...

The Noble Nine is not undefeated in 1 vs. 1 matches. Crono lost to MissingNo. (Unless you only count 24-hour matches.) Why not count the 12-hour matches?

Who had the more impressive streak: NCAA #1s (135-0) or the Noble Nine (124-0)?
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Corrik posted...

Haste_2 posted...

The Noble Nine is not undefeated in 1 vs. 1 matches. Crono lost to MissingNo. (Unless you only count 24-hour matches.) Why not count the 12-hour matches?

Who had the more impressive streak: NCAA #1s (135-0) or the Noble Nine (124-0)?

My mistake. It was easy to misinterpet that, because in NCAA's case there was never a loss.
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Haste_2 posted...

Corrik posted...

Haste_2 posted...

The Noble Nine is not undefeated in 1 vs. 1 matches. Crono lost to MissingNo. (Unless you only count 24-hour matches.) Why not count the 12-hour matches?

Who had the more impressive streak: NCAA #1s (135-0) or the Noble Nine (124-0)?

My mistake. It was easy to misinterpet that, because in NCAA's case there was never a loss.

They just lost last night dude. That's the point of the topic lol. The streak is over. Whose was better!
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I can't read. I only read the topic title. A 1-seed lost in the first round?!
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Haste_2 posted...

I can't read. I only read the topic title. A 1-seed lost in the first round?!

UMBC beat Virgina by 20 points last night. The number 1 overall is out.
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NCAA was more impressive as like, an achievement, I guess, since a website having relatively stagnant popularity tastes for an extended period of time isn't really that impressive

Given the competition though Noble Nine seems like the more impressive streak in and of itself
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Lopen posted...

NCAA was more impressive as like, an achievement, I guess, since a website having relatively stagnant popularity tastes for an extended period of time isn't really that impressive

Given the competition though Noble Nine seems like the more impressive streak in and of itself

NCAA streak is more impressive and it is not even debatable by any real metric.
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The 1s had this easily in the early going (over 60%), but never count out the NN!


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LeonhartFour posted...

I mean, the Noble Nine actually had to defeat some tough opponents to maintain that streak. The #1 seeds were facing what were generally considered to be the worst teams in the field.

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ExThaNemesis posted...

the Noble 9 with ease. It's not even a conversation. The Noble 9 had a lot more opportunities to lose each contest. The 1s only had 4 chances to lose every season.

Quoting this because no-one has mocked ExTha for this yet.

135 opportunities to lose > 124 opportunities.

#1s had a lot more seasons than the Nobles did brackets.
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GOSH back to a perfect tie at 80 votes. Let's call it official at 100.


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Think of it this way.

Imagine if this year's UVA team played this year's UMBC team 135 times, and won every single game.

Now imagine if GameFAQs had a poll of Cloud vs Bowser every single day for 124 days, and Cloud won every single poll.

Ignoring the obvious fact that such a phenomenon on GameFAQs would inevitably draw attention and result in a gimmicky rally to make it end...it's not even a conversation. The second scenario is far less surprising.

GildedFool posted...

ExThaNemesis posted...

the Noble 9 with ease. It's not even a conversation. The Noble 9 had a lot more opportunities to lose each contest. The 1s only had 4 chances to lose every season.

Quoting this because no-one has mocked ExTha for this yet.

135 opportunities to lose > 124 opportunities.

#1s had a lot more seasons than the Nobles did brackets.

Name checks out.
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Despite my vote I've got to admit, red and Andy make a good point. Sure, Mario and Link will be introduced to a new generation of gamers every few years so it's not too difficult to stay relevant/popular, but it's pretty wild how Mega Man/Seph/Crono continued to fend off tough challengers for years despite not having any influence with the younger crowd. (Aside from a few re-releases and cameos here and there.)


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LAST CHANCE to have your say!


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