Scott VanPelt aka Alien Head

[JTG]

Listened to SVP on ESPN for a few minutes today. Just enough to catch his Big Eat rant. Saying he can't wait to say "I told you So" when all the Big East teams flop. Then he lights into X, saying how on earth does the committee give X, with 13 losses a six seed.
I'm not big on the ESPN conspiracy theory, but he made it REAL OBVIOUS, that he has a bigtime axe to grind with the BIG East.
Why not complain about IU, UCLA, and Texas who all slept walked through their season.

[Masterofreality]

it's not a conspiracy theory. It's fact.


Please 6 Big East teams. Please win multiple games each.......PLEASE!

[xu82]

It wasn't just a few minutes worth, either. I was in the car most of the afternoon, and he never let up. Droning on and on....God I hope we have 4 teams in the Final Four and he jumps off a bridge! It was more than a little annoying.

[OTRMUSKIE]

Do you really think these guys hate the Big East? They are doing this for ratings and to cause controversy. Hell he might be right too, maybe all 6 teams do flop. I know Lance Goss today said he thought X was going to lose to BYU. How that guy still has a job amazes me. He clearly hates Xavier and this is obvious but I don't think SVP hates the Big East.

[THRILLHOUSE]

I know Lance Goss today said he thought X was going to lose to BYU. How that guy still has a job amazes me.

I'm still amazed he didn't face any repercussions for his tirade after the UC loss where he said Deonta Vaughn was point shaving.

[JTG]

Do you really think these guys hate the Big East? They are doing this for ratings and to cause controversy. Hell he might be right too, maybe all 6 teams do flop. I know Lance Goss today said he thought X was going to lose to BYU. How that guy still has a job amazes me. He clearly hates Xavier and this is obvious but I don't think SVP hates the Big East.

If there is a replay, you need to listen...it was more than obvious he hates the Big East. He even mentioned he would apologize if they didn't flop, but he had no expectation he would have to issue an apology. Actually Mike and Mike are the only guys I can listen to. SVP, and Cowherd, LeBatard all suck.

[xavierj]

I'm still amazed he didn't face any repercussions for his tirade after the UC loss where he said Deonta Vaughn was point shaving.

Can he face repercussions, when no one other than you hears it?

[xufan2434]

I usually love SVP.. It's my favorite radio show out there to follow. But sometimes this happens with him. He goes on rants about these type of things because of something personal to him. He's bitching because Maryland got the 4 seed and are in UK's bracket. Maryland was finally good again this year and now their chances of getting passed the sweet 16 are basically 0% and he knows that. Sooo basically if MD would have gotten a 3 seed and avoided UK, I doubt he would be saying anything about the Big East. He's complaining that Gtown was the worst 4 seed but doesn't have to face UK. I would say that's probably fair, but there's more that goes into it than that and he's ignoring that.

I do think X was overseeded and sure he can rant about it all he wants. But the committee was consistent and rewards wins over bad losses. X wasn't even close to being the only team that was inconsistent all year. A lot of teams were (aka Michigan State). Suddenly acting like teams seeded 7-10 deserve so much better is ridiculous. Everyone in that range had their chances all year and could have capitalized and forced the committee to give them a better seed.

[markchal]

Do you really think he's doing it for ratings? None of the BE teams have big fanbases. If he wanted ratings, he should just shit on Kentucky because that would infuriate all of them.

Who cares if he rips on the Big East? I think this was more of a concern in the A-10, because we needed every shred of respect we could garner to be treated favorably during the seeding process. We don't need that anymore. We're in a real conference. SVP can say whatever he wants, and I'm sure he will spin it some other way even if the BE does well.

[xu82]

SVP has the worst show on ESPN and I rarely listen. I don't need to hear them telling stories about eating cereal.

[DC Muskie]

He's bitching because Maryland got the 4 seed and are in UK's bracket. Maryland was finally good again this year and now their chances of getting passed the sweet 16 are basically 0% and he knows that. Sooo basically if MD would have gotten a 3 seed and avoided UK, I doubt he would be saying anything about the Big East. He's complaining that Gtown was the worst 4 seed but doesn't have to face UK.

This is what I had to listen to all day. And I'm a Terps fan!

Terp fans are bitching about something they haven't achieved in 12 years. Be happy you are back in the tournament, a place you have not been to in 5 years.

[OTRMUSKIE]

I guess that's why this is the greatest time of the year!

[D-West & PO-Z]

If there is a replay, you need to listen...it was more than obvious he hates the Big East. He even mentioned he would apologize if they didn't flop, but he had no expectation he would have to issue an apology. Actually Mike and Mike are the only guys I can listen to. SVP, and Cowherd, LeBatard all suck.

Yes this. Mike and Mike I like.

SVP and his douche partner with all their "bro's" and "dudes" and that shit are horrendous. I can listen to Cowherd but he believes everything he says is gold.

[OTRMUSKIE]

Honestly I try not watch ESPN at all if I can help it. Dan Patrick I do like and I am glad he doesn't work for them anymore. His show is enjoyable. Hopefully Fox Sports 1 finds a way to become a bigger player. I think 90% of the country is sick of ESPN.

[xu82]

Yes this. Mike and Mike I like.

SVP and his douche partner with all their "bro's" and "dudes" and that shit are horrendous. I can listen to Cowherd but he believes everything he says is gold.

What, you don't find lousy Boston accents to be great entertainment? They really do talk about eating cereal. I just can't take it. Sirius radio is full of better options. They make road noise seem appealing.

[JTG]

Yes this. Mike and Mike I like.

SVP and his douche partner with all their "bro's" and "dudes" and that shit are horrendous. I can listen to Cowherd but he believes everything he says is gold.

My problem with Cowherd is he wants the Yankees, and New England, and the Lakers and SC & ND to be on top every year. He has no use for small market or underdog teams. Only wants the big dog frontrunners to win every year.

[D-West & PO-Z]

My problem with Cowherd is he wants the Yankees, and New England, and the Lakers and SC & ND to be on top every year. He has no use for small market or underdog teams. Only wants the big dog frontrunners to win every year.

Very true. He hates underdogs. Completely dismisses them as if no one cares and no one will watch them.

[GoMuskies]

Very true. He hates underdogs. Completely dismisses them as if no one cares and no one will watch them.

Which is actually, you know, kind of true. Because people suck.

[THRILLHOUSE]

Can he face repercussions, when no one other than you hears it?

oh, plenty of people heard it. It was an epic meltdown. Sadly 1530 does not have the audio file hosted online anymore.

[Drew's Crew]

If you go to espnradio.com, I am sure they have it

[LA Muskie]

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with an ESPN vendetta against the Big East. Or Van Pelt clamoring for ratings. I think he genuinely thinks the Big East was overrated this year. And honestly, two years ago we would have said the exact same thing.

I think we probably got some beneficial seeds, but it's obvious that after the first 8 or so (top 2 seed lines) the seeding got very difficult because everyone had a flaw/blemish. Hell, Georgetown got a 4 seed and we beat them 3 times.

I think it's a reasonable question to ask whether the Big East was overrated this year. In large part that's because there are so few OOC games played post-December that it's difficult to appreciate how teams/conference stack against one another as the season matures.

[bobbiemcgee]

I can't stand to listen to any of these morons. They're almost always wrong and never own up to it. Cereal? really? Thank God for the the Comedy Channel on my radio nonstop. We played a bunch of Top 25 teams and did well. The people bitching played nobody, thus shitty seed.

[xsteve1]

oh, plenty of people heard it. It was an epic meltdown. Sadly 1530 does not have the audio file hosted online anymore.

I think he was talking about Goss (Mcalister).

[Xavier]

I guess X fans need to add him to the list because he said something bad about them?

[xsteve1]

Really who cares what these talking heads think. Do I think the league was great, ehh it was a really good league with one great team. Really there weren't any great leagues this year just leagues that had great teams at the top (Wisconsin, Arizona, Nova, UK, and Duke).
As DC Muskie said college basketball was pretty terrible this year (at least I think he said that).

[DC Muskie]

As DC Muskie said college basketball was pretty terrible this year (at least I think he said that).

I did. And it is.

Who do people think should be higher seeds? The bottom half of the tournament is really not that great. Not at all.

Obviously I think Kentucky is going to win it all, and I can't name one starter. They will go down as one of the best teams of all time, and they really don't have any identity. That really tells you how terrible college basketball is.

[jhelmes37]

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with an ESPN vendetta against the Big East. Or Van Pelt clamoring for ratings. I think he genuinely thinks the Big East was overrated this year. And honestly, two years ago we would have said the exact same thing.

I think we probably got some beneficial seeds, but it's obvious that after the first 8 or so (top 2 seed lines) the seeding got very difficult because everyone had a flaw/blemish. Hell, Georgetown got a 4 seed and we beat them 3 times.

I think it's a reasonable question to ask whether the Big East was overrated this year. In large part that's because there are so few OOC games played post-December that it's difficult to appreciate how teams/conference stack against one another as the season matures.

While I actually do agree with you - that 3 years ago, we would be whining and bitching about the Big East being incestuous and overrated, I would be shocked if there wasn't a concerted effort towards this type of thing.

And in all honesty, I don't blame them. Shit, if you own a business, you blow up your affiliates, your clients, your friends, etc. And if you're in the public media, you downplay your competition.

Which is EXACTLY what ESPN is doing. Whether or not the higher ups at ESPN actually mandated: "Hey, go talk shit about the BE, please" - is beside the point. The blowhards likely just understand they should do this - like an unwritten rule.

I would. Wouldn't you?

Seriously, does anyone watch ESPN anymore? It became irrelevant to me in about 2005.

[markchal]

While I actually do agree with you - that 3 years ago, we would be whining and bitching about the Big East being incestuous and overrated, I would be shocked if there wasn't a concerted effort towards this type of thing.

And in all honesty, I don't blame them. Shit, if you own a business, you blow up your affiliates, your clients, your friends, etc. And if you're in the public media, you downplay your competition.

Which is EXACTLY what ESPN is doing. Whether or not the higher ups at ESPN actually mandated: "Hey, go talk shit about the BE, please" - is beside the point. The blowhards likely just understand they should do this - like an unwritten rule.

I would. Wouldn't you?

Seriously, does anyone watch ESPN anymore? It became irrelevant to me in about 2005.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. It's the same thing on fs1, where they are very Big East heavy. You have to play up your relationships to get more viewers.

[Juice]

While I actually do agree with you - that 3 years ago, we would be whining and bitching about the Big East being incestuous and overrated, I would be shocked if there wasn't a concerted effort towards this type of thing.

And in all honesty, I don't blame them. Shit, if you own a business, you blow up your affiliates, your clients, your friends, etc. And if you're in the public media, you downplay your competition.

Which is EXACTLY what ESPN is doing. Whether or not the higher ups at ESPN actually mandated: "Hey, go talk shit about the BE, please" - is beside the point. The blowhards likely just understand they should do this - like an unwritten rule.

I would. Wouldn't you?

Seriously, does anyone watch ESPN anymore? It became irrelevant to me in about 2005.

Live games, 30 for 30, and Highly Questionable. That's all that is worth a damn on it anymore. Sportscenter sucks, PTI sucks, Sunday Countdown sucks, Baseball Tonight used to be good but now sucks. It all sucks.

[jhelmes37]

Live games, 30 for 30, and Highly Questionable. That's all that is worth a damn on it anymore. Sportscenter sucks, PTI sucks, Sunday Countdown sucks, Baseball Tonight used to be good but now sucks. It all sucks.

Good call on those - yes, the movies and the live games are great. I NEVER watch it for highlights or news. Ever.

[bleedXblue]

I did. And it is.

Who do people think should be higher seeds? The bottom half of the tournament is really not that great. Not at all.

Obviously I think Kentucky is going to win it all, and I can't name one starter. They will go down as one of the best teams of all time, and they really don't have any identity. That really tells you how terrible college basketball is.

Agree. Once you get past the top 10 teams or so, I think there is A LOT of parity until you get out around teams with an RPI of 50+.

[Masterofreality]

While I actually do agree with you - that 3 years ago, we would be whining and bitching about the Big East being incestuous and overrated, I would be shocked if there wasn't a concerted effort towards this type of thing.

And in all honesty, I don't blame them. Shit, if you own a business, you blow up your affiliates, your clients, your friends, etc. And if you're in the public media, you downplay your competition.

Which is EXACTLY what ESPN is doing. Whether or not the higher ups at ESPN actually mandated: "Hey, go talk shit about the BE, please" - is beside the point. The blowhards likely just understand they should do this - like an unwritten rule.

I would. Wouldn't you?

Seriously, does anyone watch ESPN anymore? It became irrelevant to me in about 2005.

This.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I do agree its not terrible practice for ESPN to intentionally shun the Big East some but I dont really think FS1 does the same as someone else mentioned. They obviously do talk about the Big East and run commercials to promote it etc, but when you watch Fox Sports Live they open up their coverage with other conference games frequently over the BE. Unless it is coming directly after a BE game just got over most the time I was mad that they didnt open up with the BE games. Some nights when BE teams played it took them until mid way through the show of further to get to highlights of a BE game.

I dont think it is much of a question ESPN is hammering on the BE on purpose some but its not shocking and something that for them makes some sense.

[Masterofreality]

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with an ESPN vendetta against the Big East. Or Van Pelt clamoring for ratings. I think he genuinely thinks the Big East was overrated this year. And honestly, two years ago we would have said the exact same thing.


Nah, no vendetta.

There was never a 30 for 30 about the "Death of the Big East". Dana O'Neil never wrote an article about what a "circus" the "New" Big East was, or that it was at a "crossroads" before the season started. The ESPN commentators never choked on their pablum after the League started off 39-3. Their talking heads haven't said a demeaning word about the league since the Conference Schedule started- about how it was "overrated"- even after the league teams like Xavier still won the few out of conference games that they had remaining.

Nah. None of that ever happened. Just in all of our collective imaginations. Right.

The ratings are the ratings and they are the same for the Big East, ACC, Big 12 and Big 10. The ratings say that the Big East is the #2 ranked league. Everythinge else is just noise.

Let's all go win Basketball Games.

[xunorm]

ESPN plays politics, just like every other network. They favor the conferences that they specifically cover, leaving the Big East out. They also have to spread the love out over 4 different conferences. FoxSports loves the Big East and PAC 12, so they play that hand. If I were a Big East coach, I would refer to the fact that no matter what, ALL the conference games are televised, most nationally, and that the Big East pretty much has its own network with basketball, and doesn't really have to share it since PAC 12 games are on so late on both Fridays and Sundays. That hour-long pregame special before the title game was fantastic with its narrow focus.

[Xville]

I really don't give a crap what the so called experts from espn,si, or even fox sports says about the big east. It's a good league but the time to prove it is in the tournament, and we will all find out then. None of them know for sure and neither do any of us quite frankly. Those non conference games were played mostly before Christmas first of all, and second of all big east played the rpi game well as others have.mentioned in this and other threads. We shall see this week if they are right or wrong, until then who cares what they say? They don't know anymore than any of us.

[Lamont Sanford]

SVP should be kissing our collective asses for giving the Terps their best player. They would be looking at 6 years without an NCAA tourney appearance without the play of Dez Wells this season!

[XU-XHI]

I do think X was overseeded

X is a 7 on the s-curve and a 7 by most "experts" picks. The committee has always said the may move a team up or down a seed line based on locations, bracket needs etc. to balance the brackets. X's top 50 wins didn't hurt. If the general consensus is that X is a 7 then anywhere from 6-8 is viable. For once we received the benefit of the doubt and got the 6. This is not overseeding, it is making the bracket work for the committee.

[XUFan09]

X is a 7 on the s-curve and a 7 by most "experts" picks. The committee has always said the may move a team up or down a seed line based on locations, bracket needs etc. to balance the brackets. X's top 50 wins didn't hurt. If the general consensus is that X is a 7 then anywhere from 6-8 is viable. For once we received the benefit of the doubt and got the 6. This is not overseeding, it is making the bracket work for the committee.

Your reasoning is correct, but X was actually the last 6 seed, 24th on the S-curve.

[waggy]

Your reasoning is correct, but X was actually the last 6 seed, 24th on the S-curve.

The problem with that is that the S curve is perfectly seeded.

The S curve they made public I think is generated after they made the field.

[DC Muskie]

Guys ESPN moved the ACC championship game to prime time.

It's been a day game for like 4,750 years.

They slotted it right where they used to have the BE game. It's sorta ridiculous to think that they don't consider the BE worth anything and why should they, they don't have a financial obligation to pump it up. It's just business, we just have to take care of ours.

And pray more people start watching our league. Our ratings at FS1 are super terrible. The same amount of people watched us get our asses handed to us in the BE championship game as those who watched QPR gave up 37 goals to Crystal Palace.

Obviously, these numbers in this post are to scale.

[waggy]

I forget, was the BE championship on FS1 or network?

[Masterofreality]

What DC says is true.

The only way any of this works is if Basketball Games are won- and lots of them.

Fact is, the former league had national championships to fall back on if they had failures in any particular tournament so the perception was better. That being said, on a national basis, no college basketball is drawing flies as to ratings. It's all about filling content...and Darts Tournaments don't get it done.

It cannot be emphasized how important performance in this Tournament is with 6 teams. Deep runs mean heightened awareness. Early flameouts feed into the critics.

[DC Muskie]

I don't mean to sound overly nervous, but the the next few days are absolutely critical to our league and our future TV deal. Obviously we aren't going to fall off the map, but if we can get half of these teams in the Sweet 16, then that's a good start for us. If we don't, or just get one, not the greatest, and God forbid we flame out...then we are looking to have all of our games on FS2 and Spike TV for the foreseeable future.

[Xville]

Guys ESPN moved the ACC championship game to prime time.

It's been a day game for like 4,750 years.

They slotted it right where they used to have the BE game. It's sorta ridiculous to think that they don't consider the BE worth anything and why should they, they don't have a financial obligation to pump it up. It's just business, we just have to take care of ours.

And pray more people start watching our league. Our ratings at FS1 are super terrible. The same amount of people watched us get our asses handed to us in the BE championship game as those who watched QPR gave up 37 goals to Crystal Palace.

Obviously, these numbers in this post are to scale.

Our numbers could be better, but let's all be honest with ourselves. The conference's numbers are probably never going to be that great. Almost every school in the league is in relative terms, a small private school with a small alumni base. The exceptions are St. John's, Georgetown and Depaul (in terms of size) who quite honestly don't have the best basketball fan bases. Now I don't mean to be doom and gloom...there is room for growth here, but in order for this to grow, the teams in this league are going to have to have sustained success so that some of them garner a national following. Right now, outside of those who may live in the area or graduated from these schools give a hoot about any of them...sorry but that is the truth right now...tv numbers don't lie.

[DC Muskie]

All of our teams out west have big bases. The reason we have this deal is because of alumni at GTown and St. John's, so as long as those two programs do well, I think you will see an increase in numbers.

But you're right, we need an overall trend of sustained success. I'm hoping it begins on Thursday.

[GuyFawkes38]

I really don't care how well the Big East does in the future (ratings or tourney success). I just want Dayton to remain out of it.

One of the lame things about college football is how obsessed fans are with conference affiliation. And one of the cool things about college basketball is that conference affiliation doesn't matter. There's a giant tournament at the end of the year that's conference-blind. ESPN can talk about how awesome the Big 10 and ACC are, but in the end, who cares. The tourney doesn't care.

[Masterofreality]

Someone else said it earlier. A lot of the ESPN hype around the former configuration was that A) Tons of Syracuse broadcast grads worked at some point at ESPN, B) UCon was in ESPN's backyard. They probably really didn't give a crap about St. John's, Providence or Pittsburgh and even less about SucKS and DePaul when they were in there. Because of UCon and Syracuse, it was New York centric with some pimping of Villanova and GTown because they had both won 'Ships.

Because of that, it is important that St. John's, Georgetown and Villanova continue to be very good- not necessarily by dominating the league, but by getting to the Tournament, along with others, and winning. While we can crow about our position, the League needs to be the college basketball point of choice and interest in New York, Washington and Philly. The only way that continues is continued success.

I can't agree with DC more on how important these next few days are.

[DC Muskie]

I really don't care how well the Big East does in the future (ratings or tourney success). I just want Dayton to remain out of it.

One of the lame things about college football is how obsessed fans are with conference affiliation. And one of the cool things about college basketball is that conference affiliation doesn't matter. There's a giant tournament at the end of the year that's conference-blind. ESPN can talk about how awesome the Big 10 and ACC are, but in the end, who cares. The tourney doesn't care.

Well you better hope the league can continue to well in the tourney to get more money, or else the network will come calling and say we need to add teams, ones who will follow their teams...ones like Dayton.

Again, having GTown, and St. Johns create ths league and have ZERO desire to be affiliated with the Blyers.

[waggy]

They're crazy if they ever thought they could build two 24 hr sports networks around BE basketball. No Effin way. ESPN has been doing this forever. They are the default channel and they have pretty much all the properties. Child please. The BE is more well known than FS1. FS1 needs more and better properties. The BE is only a piece of the puzzle. And as far as name recognition imo is a good value.

[Masterofreality]

They're crazy if they ever thought they could build two 24 hr sports networks around BE basketball. No Effin way. ESPN has been doing this forever. They are the default channel and they have pretty much all the properties. Child please. The BE is more well known than FS1. FS1 needs more and better properties. The BE is only a piece of the puzzle. And as far as name recognition imo is a good value.

They do have Major League Baseball, in fact they had Playoff games on there last year. The holy grail is NFL Football. if Fox really wants to grow that channel, they'll need to throw some NFL on there. I would guess they will bid for the Monday Night package.

[Chalmers0]

They do have Major League Baseball, in fact they had Playoff games on there last year. The holy grail is NFL Football. if Fox really wants to grow that channel, they'll need to throw some NFL on there. I would guess they will bid for the Monday Night package.

Only 6 years until the Monday Night Football contract comes up. And if they did somehow win it, it would be on the network, not on FS1. From a "properties" perspective, FS1 is pretty stuck at where it's at except for maybe adding some B1G football, but even that is only a secondary type of deal (they wouldn't necessarily get their pick of games).

I'm a huge skeptic of FS1 going forward, just hoping it doesn't cost the Big East/Xavier too much down the road.

[DC Muskie]

They're crazy if they ever thought they could build two 24 hr sports networks around BE basketball. No Effin way. ESPN has been doing this forever. They are the default channel and they have pretty much all the properties. Child please. The BE is more well known than FS1. FS1 needs more and better properties. The BE is only a piece of the puzzle. And as far as name recognition imo is a good value.

Oh for sure, they need to continue to build and they have a huge deficit to climb. More people watched the women's bracket show then the BE championship. I just hope they have a plan and are patient. And if we can add to the process that would be great too.

Having games on the main Fox channel helps as well, and I hope they are able to schedule bigger out of conference games as well.

[GoMuskies]

Schedule as many non-conference games against Kentucky for FS1 as possible. They're about the only fan base who would riot if they could not see a regular season game in November.

[DC Muskie]

Schedule as many non-conference games against Kentucky for FS1 as possible. They're about the only fan base who would riot if they could not see a regular season game in November.

I'm drafting the memo now...

[Caveat]

The good thing about the BE is that deal is already in place, and the inventory that they provide is pretty necessary to keep FS1 from showing poker or having a test-pattern up. The BE has more leverage in this deal than most of you think, given that the rights for most of the other major conferences are locked up by Bristol well into the next decade. The only reason anyone should get skittish is if Fox buys rights to some other sports programming that runs between January and March, in the afternoons and evenings EST, that would knock BE games off TV. The only options for THAT are:

- Another major college basketball conference (unlikely, since all of them are locked into deals with Bristol)
- The NBA (again, unlikely since it's locked into it's current media deal)
- The NHL (also unlikely, since FOX has been down the NHL's road before and cut the rights loose)

Building a new sports network takes time. I don't think anyone at Fox went into this with any delusions that it would be successful overnight. I suspect they have a 5-10 year plan to make this work, and I doubt they pull the plug on ANYTHING before that time.

[xu82]

I've been critical of these boneheads, but I'll also give credit where it's due. They just spent a few minutes being very complimentary of Xavier, saying they were more impressed with Xavier than they were Arizona. (Probably due to low expectations.) They were not afraid, and they knew they were good enough to win (which they were with a few different bounces). Admitted the first two opponents we soft, but proved they were "not frauds" and totally belonged on that stage. Loved Stains game and said it was beautiful to watch him play the game with solid fundamentals. Nice to hear kind words rather than bashing. Our guys didn't finish with more points, but they showed a lot of great stuff, gained respect and earned some fans.

WVU, on the other hand.....

[muskiefan82]

WVU, on the other hand.....

Performed like a reflection of their coach.

[Perma Fro]

Performed like a reflection of their coach.

Oh I like this game. They played like...

...the vomit that remained on the driver's side door after a drunken night partying with a booster's wife?

[casualfan]

I think the league missed a golden opportunity this year to get multiple teams to the second weekend.

We were the only team to make it and right, wrong, or otherwise the popular refrain is going to be that the only big east team to make the second weekend didn't have to beat a single digit seed to get there.

After last year we really could have used some momentum in the tourney, especially given the relatively weak field this year and the favorable seeds the league got.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I think the league missed a golden opportunity this year to get multiple teams to the second weekend.

We were the only team to make it and right, wrong, or otherwise the popular refrain is going to be that the only big east team to make the second weekend didn't have to beat a single digit seed to get there.

After last year we really could have used some momentum in the tourney, especially given the relatively weak field this year and the favorable seeds the league got.

I think after last night though, XU showed they belonged and didnt just get a lucky draw. Some critical people have already said as much.

[casualfan]

I think after last night though, XU showed they belonged and didnt just get a lucky draw. Some critical people have already said as much.

Give it a few weeks once people forget what they actually saw with their eyes.

And really it isn't as much about us as it is the rest of the league. Regardless of what people think of how we got there we still were the only Big East team to make the second weekend.

In two years the conference has had one sweet 16 team. That's not very good regardless of how you slice it.