March Madness 2024

[Xville]

I don’t ever want to hear a coach talk about fatigue as an excuse for losing ever again. What nc state has done negates all that bs.

[noteggs]

True. But hats off to Oakland

[X-band '01]

Creighton's biggest lead of the game was 15 against Oregon. In double OT.

[muskiefan82]

Creighton's biggest lead of the game was 15 against Oregon. In double OT.

And that's the lead that mattered. Go BEast!

[GoMuskies]

Gonzaga is in their 9th straight Sweet Sixteen. Remember when people around here used to put down Gonzaga, act like they were nothing special and wonder why they got more national love than Xavier?!? Lol at those folks.

[paulxu]

I think the 32 first round women's games were chalk...except for Louisville v Middle Tennessee State.

[BandAid]

Gonzaga is in their 9th straight Sweet Sixteen. Remember when people around here used to put down Gonzaga, act like they were nothing special and wonder why they got more national love than Xavier?!? Lol at those folks.

Gonzaga is clearly a tier above, but I’m pretty sure when people were contending that status it was a handful of years ago. You know, before the dark times.

[GoMuskies]

Even way back then the arguments were pretty bad. Every time we played they killed us...other than the one 3-14 game when they probably should have, but we kept it close.

[JTG]

Even way back then the arguments were pretty bad. Every time we played they killed us...other than the one 3-14 game when they probably should have, but we kept it close.

Bad mouthing Gonzaga does look stupid on our part. But they've had one coach in the time we've had 6. Having one good coach with good players and a good system is a better recipe for success than having 6 coaches in a similar time frame, each of whom leaves at the peak of Xaviers success. Not whining about it, just stating a fact.

[MHettel]

Bad mouthing Gonzaga does look stupid on our part. But they've had one coach in the time we've had 6. Having one good coach with good players and a good system is a better recipe for success than having 6 coaches in a similar time frame, each of whom leaves at the peak of Xaviers success. Not whining about it, just stating a fact.

I lived in Spokane in 1999-2000 when the Zags were still underdogs. Watched them knock Pete Gillen and Virginia out of the dance one of those years. There are no pro sports in Spokane and the filled a pretty big hole and the whole town (city I suppose, but barely) got on board. I couldn’t help but like them. XU #1, GU #2 for me

[D-West & PO-Z]

Even way back then the arguments were pretty bad. Every time we played they killed us...other than the one 3-14 game when they probably should have, but we kept it close.

C'mon Go, lol, there is no question now that Gonzaga is a premier program and ahead of X but as recently as 2014 Xavier was the more accomplished program.

Through the 2014 season Xavier had 24 tourney appearances, 6 Sweet 16 appearances and 2 Elite 8's.

Gonzaga had 17 tourney appearances, 5 Sweet 16's and 1 Elite 8 appearance.

I think people who complained about some of the media attention Gonzaga got back then as the mid-major darling were warranted. What Gonzaga has done since then (9 Sweet 16's, 2 Final 4's) has been amazing and Gonzaga deserves every accolade they get. But it's revisionist history to act like X fans were crazy for thinking we were better a decade ago.

[GoMuskies]

As soon as we beat Gonzaga I'll entertain arguments we belong in the convo with Gonzaga. Felt the same way then and now.

[GoMuskies]

Also, a decade ago Gonzaga was coming off a season where they were the overall #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Sure, they got upset by a hot Wichita State team, but that squad went to the Final Four and was undefeated the next season. Gonzaga's non-conference success consistently dwarfed Xavier's, but there was always some excuse or justification. Just found it all silly, really. And now it's just fucking hilarious.

[X-band '01]

I think the 32 first round women's games were chalk...except for Louisville v Middle Tennessee State.

Ohio State did not get that memo today.

[Xville]

I think Purdue may pull this one out

[noteggs]

Minus the Marquette game, lack luster games so far. Why did they decide to play most of the games on Sunday evening?

[X-band '01]

They've done that since the CBS/Turner deal.

[Xville]

Been very chalky. Makes for a great second weekend, but I’d still like Cinderella for one more round

[GoMuskies]

Well, then go Grand Canyon! NC St is a pretty fun Cinderella story going on two weeks.

[Xville]

Would love Grand Canyon (grant-fosters story is pretty cool) and Yale for some mix next week.

While I like the nc state story, it need to end with Marquette.

[X-band '01]

Doesn't Texas A&M know you're supposed to fold like a cheap tent when you're down by 10+ points in the final 2 minutes?

First 2016, now 2024 could be in the works.

[paulxu]

Interesting comments from Hurley and Val:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39804746/big-east-undefeated-uconn-hurley-says-mistake-was-made

[xubrew]

Minus the Marquette game, lack luster games so far. Why did they decide to play most of the games on Sunday evening?

So CBS can get 100 percent of the viewership for 3 whole games.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Interesting comments from Hurley and Val:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39804746/big-east-undefeated-uconn-hurley-says-mistake-was-made

"We have to abide by the committee's process," she said, according to college basketball broadcaster John Fanta. "Are we working behind the scenes to try to better understand what the committee is looking for? Yes, that is happening. But I don't think screaming at the top of my lungs is going to get us more teams."

Probably better for her to stop commenting than keep saying stuff like this. Somehow she keeps getting worse at this. She has done a ton for this conference to this point but someone said on twitter, maybe its time for a "wartime consigliere".

[D-West & PO-Z]

Double post

[xubrew]

Also from the article....


The NCAA tournament selection committee left out the next tier of Big East teams -- Seton Hall, St. John's and Providence. All three reached the 20-win plateau.

Well, had there not been FIVE teams from multi-bid leagues that were outside the bubble, but won their conference conference tournaments, at least two more Big East teams probably would have been in.

I mean...did everyone just completely miss that?? That's more than a seed line worth of teams! Normally the First Four Games are on either the 11 pr 12 lines. This year they were on the 10 line. UAB, New Mexico, Duquesne, Oregon, and NC State had no shot all won their conference tournaments. The last time I can remember that happening even once was Oregon State in 2021, and the last time before that was Georgia in 2008 in the year a tornado hit Atlanta during the SEC Tournament. Something that almost NEVER happens, happpened FIVE TIMES this year. Bid thieves almost always come out of leagues like the MVC, or the Sun Belt, or a league like that where one team is blowing the rest of the world away, and is a mid-major story all year long like what we've seen Murray State or Indiana State do, and then some other team wins the conference tournament. It's normally not Duquesne, or NC State, or Oregon, who wins a conference tournament in a power conference after an absolutely sucktacular year.

How many were projecting Providence, Seton Hall, and Saint John's as 9 or 10 seeds?? That's essentially what they would have had to be in order to get in. I thought the selection of Virginia was a little ridiculous, but as I said earlier on in the thread Virginia perfectly fit the profile of a team that shouldn't be selected, but was going to be anyway because of what they did on the 4th day of the season in a game no one really even knew about at the time.

[Xville]

"We have to abide by the committee's process," she said, according to college basketball broadcaster John Fanta. "Are we working behind the scenes to try to better understand what the committee is looking for? Yes, that is happening. But I don't think screaming at the top of my lungs is going to get us more teams."

Probably better for her to stop commenting than keep saying stuff like this. Somehow she keeps getting worse at this. She has done a ton for this conference to this point but someone said on twitter, maybe its time for a "wartime consigliere".

She has been awful regarding this, along with a few other things this year and is only further digging her own grave. She also said the feedback she got was to continue to play tough non-conference games. That makes zero sense---the Big 12 and MW had horrible non-conference sos for the most part, and got a ton of their crap teams in.

You can prove a freaking point, without yelling and screaming and I'm not a fan of the political stance she has taken on this.

[Xville]

"We have to abide by the committee's process," she said, according to college basketball broadcaster John Fanta. "Are we working behind the scenes to try to better understand what the committee is looking for? Yes, that is happening. But I don't think screaming at the top of my lungs is going to get us more teams."

Probably better for her to stop commenting than keep saying stuff like this. Somehow she keeps getting worse at this. She has done a ton for this conference to this point but someone said on twitter, maybe its time for a "wartime consigliere".

She has been awful regarding this, along with a few other things this year and is only further digging her own grave. She also said the feedback she got was to continue to play tough non-conference games. That makes zero sense---the Big 12 and MW had horrible non-conference sos for the most part, and got a ton of their crap teams in.

You can prove a freaking point, without yelling and screaming and I'm not a fan of the political stance she has taken on this. Hurley has had to say something almost every day to keep it in the spotlight, because our weak ass commissioner keeps saying stupid shit.

[xubrew]

She has been awful regarding this, along with a few other things this year and is only further digging her own grave. She also said the feedback she got was to continue to play tough non-conference games. That makes zero sense---the Big 12 and MW had horrible non-conference sos for the most part, and got a ton of their crap teams in.

You can prove a freaking point, without yelling and screaming and I'm not a fan of the political stance she has taken on this.

Seton Hall and Providence had OOC SOSs in the 230s. Saint John's was better than that, but not great. Boise State's OOC SOS was in the 30s. Virginia's was in the 160s, which isn't good but it's better than the Big East teams that didn't get in. They also all but said the reason Iowa State was 8th on the seedlist was because of their weak OOC SOS.

I've said this before, but teams that win at least one OOC game away from home against another tournament team have their chances of being selected go up exponentially. I'm not saying that's how it should be. I'm saying that for the last 20 years that's simply been how it's been. Right or wrong (probably wrong) Virginia got in because on the 4th day of the season they beat Florida in Charlotte. It was a game no one cared was happening at the time, and it was a game that wasn't all that far away from home, and it was a game that if we were to replay today Florida would absolutely kill them, but that probably had more to do with them getting in than anything else. They beat a tournament team away from home and none of the Big East bubble teams did that.

Is that stupid?? Perhaps. But is it also accurate?? YES!! I'm actually with her on this. Don't water down the OOC schedules.

[GoMuskies]

Seems to me that the good Big East teams got in, and the shitty (ok, very flawed) ones didn't.

[xubrew]

It's the Sweet Sixteen and is one team left that I have any real interest in or connection to. So for me it's been a typical NCAA Tournament. For me it feels like the season is over. When most of your interest is in the teams that aren't in the power leagues that's just kind of how it is each year.

[Xville]

Seton Hall and Providence had OOC SOSs in the 230s. Saint John's was better than that, but not great. Boise State's OOC SOS was in the 30s. Virginia's was in the 160s, which isn't good but it's better than the Big East teams that didn't get in. They also all but said the reason Iowa State was 8th on the seedlist was because of their weak OOC SOS.

I've said this before, but teams that win at least one OOC game away from home against another tournament team have their chances of being selected go up exponentially. I'm not saying that's how it should be. I'm saying that for the last 20 years that's simply been how it's been. Right or wrong (probably wrong) Virginia got in because on the 4th day of the season they beat Florida in Charlotte. It was a game no one cared was happening at the time, and it was a game that wasn't all that far away from home, and it was a game that if we were to replay today Florida would absolutely kill them, but that probably had more to do with them getting in than anything else. They beat a tournament team away from home and none of the Big East bubble teams did that.

Is that stupid?? Perhaps. But is it also accurate?? YES!! I'm actually with her on this. Don't water down the OOC schedules.

I'm not comparing the BE teams that didn't get in with the Virginia, Boise States of the world. I'm comparing the Big East entire conference to the Big 12 and MW entire conference Non-Con SOS.

The big 12 Non-Con Sos overall was very poor and it allowed them to prop up their W-L, Kenpom and Net. In turn that allowed them to look better than they actually were heading into conference, which allowed them to get more teams in.

Take a look at the middle of the big 12 and tell me what these teams did in the non con to not only get in but get safely in with decent seeds?

Texas
TCU
BYU
Texas Tech

[MHettel]

I'm not comparing the BE teams that didn't get in with the Virginia, Boise States of the world. I'm comparing the Big East entire conference to the Big 12 and MW entire conference Non-Con SOS.

The big 12 Non-Con Sos overall was very poor and it allowed them to prop up their W-L, Kenpom and Net. In turn that allowed them to look better than they actually were heading into conference, which allowed them to get more teams in.

Take a look at the middle of the big 12 and tell me what these teams did in the non con to not only get in but get safely in with decent seeds?

Texas
TCU
BYU
Texas Tech

Playing 20 conference games is a problem for the Big East as well.

[xubrew]

I'm not comparing the BE teams that didn't get in with the Virginia, Boise States of the world. I'm comparing the Big East entire conference to the Big 12 and MW entire conference Non-Con SOS.

The big 12 Non-Con Sos overall was very poor and it allowed them to prop up their W-L, Kenpom and Net. In turn that allowed them to look better than they actually were heading into conference, which allowed them to get more teams in.

Take a look at the middle of the big 12 and tell me what these teams did in the non con to not only get in but get safely in with decent seeds?

Texas
TCU
BYU
Texas Tech

I'm with you on the Big 12. Their OOC schedule was ridiculous. But, the MWC is a little different.

The Mountain West only had four teams inside the bubble, most were seeded worse than expected, and the only reason they had a 5th team in is because New Mexico won the auto bid. Since they were seeded below the teams in the First Four it's clear they would have been out had that not happened. Another reason I'm not as critical of the MWC is because I know they try and play a lot of teams that don't want to play them on equal terms, and then sort of end up with their schedules. They never really sat down and did a data deep dive and made some coordinated effort to improve their nets. Other power conference teams simply don't want to play them home and home (or at all), and a lot of top level mid-majors (I hate that term) would rather play an opponent that's from a P5/BE conference in a place that isn't so hard to get to, so their schedules just kind of end up the way that they do. San Diego State actually went to Grand Canyon, so good on them for that, but they're also a team that most of the Pac 12 just seems to want to avoid. The BeeHive schools (Utah, BYU, etc,) just decided they weren't going to play Utah State anymore. Colorado State had trouble getting games (although they could have gone on the road more than they did) and ended up having to schedule a couple of D2 schools, but they did also manage to beat Creighton, and without that win they're probably not in at all. And, yes, there are others (New Mexico in particular) that choose to play a soft OOC schedule, but it's not all of them. Most MWC teams want to play better teams, but can't get them scheduled.

EDIT: In short, I think it's absurd and hypocritical for so many schools to not play MWC teams, and then those same schools want to point out how the MWC doesn't play anybody. Well...I'm glad those MWC teams got in. If a school feels they should have been in instead, then put them on the schedule and beat them.

[JTG]

It's the Sweet Sixteen and is one team left that I have any real interest in or connection to. So for me it's been a typical NCAA Tournament. For me it feels like the season is over. When most of your interest is in the teams that aren't in the power leagues that's just kind of how it is each year.

So you don't cheer for the Big East teams? As much as I don't cheer for them during the conference season, I'm all in on them in the NCAAT.

[Xville]

So you don't cheer for the Big East teams? As much as I don't cheer for them during the conference season, I'm all in on them in the NCAAT.

Yep that’s where I’m at. Now if the big East teams are suddenly out then my interest will be pretty minimal outside of hate watching Purdue and duke.

[GoMuskies]

I'll cheer for Marquette, Creighton and UConn. I like the three of them fine (UConn would be getting annoying if we hadn't beaten them twice last year; we weren't good enough to even be a speed bump for them this year, and that's annoying, but not on the UConn side of things). Probably have a preference for Creighton over the other two.

[xubrew]

So you don't cheer for the Big East teams? As much as I don't cheer for them during the conference season, I'm all in on them in the NCAAT.

Not to the point to where I structure my day to make sure I don't miss the games. As much as I love college hoops, when it gets down to this part of the tournament I usually don't even watch the games live. I mean I'm certainly keeping up with the results, and I'll oftentimes DVR them so I can speed through the boring parts, but where I'll get really excited about a lot of early season MTEs because of all the different teams and match-ups, now it just sort of feels like there's only 16 teams left and none of them are all that exciting to me. 346 teams are gone. The season has suddenly melted away.

[JTG]

I didn't see either of Marquette's games. Did Shaka stay off the floor, or was he allowed to 'Sixth Man" their opponents? I can't believe the conference let him get away with that all season.

[X-band '01]

She has been awful regarding this, along with a few other things this year and is only further digging her own grave. She also said the feedback she got was to continue to play tough non-conference games. That makes zero sense---the Big 12 and MW had horrible non-conference sos for the most part, and got a ton of their crap teams in.

You can prove a freaking point, without yelling and screaming and I'm not a fan of the political stance she has taken on this. Hurley has had to say something almost every day to keep it in the spotlight, because our weak ass commissioner keeps saying stupid shit.

As long as she gets the media deal right when it's time to reup with Fox, she''ll ultimately be forgiven.

[XUBison]

She has been awful regarding this, along with a few other things this year and is only further digging her own grave. She also said the feedback she got was to continue to play tough non-conference games. That makes zero sense---the Big 12 and MW had horrible non-conference sos for the most part, and got a ton of their crap teams in.

You can prove a freaking point, without yelling and screaming and I'm not a fan of the political stance she has taken on this.

What are the “few other things”? My only sense has been that she is universally esteemed by BE membership. I don’t think she’s anywhere near having dug her own grave, but maybe I missed something?

[XUBison]

"We have to abide by the committee's process," she said, according to college basketball broadcaster John Fanta. "Are we working behind the scenes to try to better understand what the committee is looking for? Yes, that is happening. But I don't think screaming at the top of my lungs is going to get us more teams."

Probably better for her to stop commenting than keep saying stuff like this. Somehow she keeps getting worse at this. She has done a ton for this conference to this point but someone said on twitter, maybe its time for a "wartime consigliere".

I agree there’s a lot of weak sauce in these public statements. I also think there’s not much to say about a few of our (kind of crappy) teams not making it in a year with wacky, unprecedented bid thievery. A little fire and gusto might have at least been cathartic for us fans though, and I suppose it would have sent a message that the BE is going to fight, when necessary. I do also suspect, however, that the BE presidents are steering the BE response and are satisfied with it thus far.

[Xville]

What are the “few other things”? My only sense has been that she is universally esteemed by BE membership. I don’t think she’s anywhere near having dug her own grave, but maybe I missed something?

She's simply a horrible marketer of the conference. You have one of the biggest media companies in the world that is supposed to be your partner, and she has done about zero with it. I appreciate her service over the last decade, but this is a whole new world, and with no football to fall back on, you have to think outside of the box and actually do something to promote your league.

I firmly doubt that a stronger commissioner would have allowed what Cooley did, but even if that were allowed, a stronger commissioner would have taken that Divine Providence doc and done something with it to promote the league.

[xubrew]

She's simply a horrible marketer of the conference. You have one of the biggest media companies in the world that is supposed to be your partner, and she has done about zero with it. I appreciate her service over the last decade, but this is a whole new world, and with no football to fall back on, you have to think outside of the box and actually do something to promote your league.

I firmly doubt that a stronger commissioner would have allowed what Cooley did, but even if that were allowed, a stronger commissioner would have taken that Divine Providence doc and done something with it to promote the league.

What Cooley did?? As in...change jobs?? Okay, name one example in the entire history of college athletics where a conference commissioner inserted themselves into something like that. Do you even know what a commissioner actually does??

[Xville]

What Cooley did?? As in...change jobs?? Okay, name one example in the entire history of college athletics where a conference commissioner inserted themselves into something like that. Do you even know what a commissioner actually does??

That's not something that would ever be made public.

[xubrew]

That's not something that would ever be made public.

Okay, sure, but public or not when has it ever happened? When has a conference commissioner ever had any influence at all over any hiring decisions, firing decisions, or really any personnel decisions of any kind, that any institution has ever made?

I'm not trying to defend Val Ackerman. I'm just saying that if you're going to be critical of her, then at least stick to the things that are within the parameters of what she actually does.

[Xville]

Okay, sure, but public or not when has it ever happened? When has a conference commissioner ever had any influence at all over any hiring decisions, firing decisions, or really any personnel decisions of any kind, that any institution has ever made?

I'm not trying to defend Val Ackerman. I'm just saying that if you're going to be critical of her, then at least stick to the things that are within the parameters of what she actually does.

Harbaugh.

Let me ask ya---do you think the Big East University Presidents (the commissioner's bosses, right?) other than Gtown of course were pleased that Cooley changed jobs within the conference? It's a really bad look.

[GoMuskies]

Was she going to threaten to kick Georgetown out of the league if they hired Cooley?

[xubrew]

Harbaugh.

Let me ask ya---do you think the Big East University Presidents (the commissioner's bosses, right?) other than Gtown of course were pleased that Cooley changed jobs within the conference? It's a really bad look.

So it was Tony Petitti wanting Harbaugh gone after he'd just won a national title, and not the Chargers wanting to hire him for $16 million a year, that ultimately forced him out. Had Harbaugh wanted to stay at Michigan he wouldn't have been able to because Petitti would not have allowed it.

This is all quite fascinating.

[Xville]

So it Tony Petitti wanting Harbaugh gone after he'd just won a national title, and not the Chargers wanting to hire him for $16 million a year, that ultimately forced him out. Had Harbaugh wanted to stay at Michigan he wouldn't have been able to because Petitti would not have allowed it.

This is all quite fascinating.

You asked if there were any personnel decisions a commissioner had ever made. He made a personnel decision when he suspended Harbaugh during the season.

[xubrew]

Was she going to threaten to kick Georgetown out of the league if they hired Cooley?

I guess the Big East presidents are upset with her for signing off on the move, and she will now be fired for doing so.

[xubrew]

You asked if there were any personnel decisions a commissioner had ever made. He made a personnel decision when he suspended Harbaugh during the season.

That's not a personnel decision. That's a disciplinary action as per the league bylaws. Pettiti didn't tell Michigan they had to get rid of him. If he had they would have laughed in his face. If Harbaugh still wanted to be at Michigan, he would be. Are you REALLY trying to suggest that is not the case?? He chose to leave because he had the opportunity to take an NFL job for nearly double the pay.

[Xville]

I guess the Big East presidents are upset with her for signing off on the move, and she will now be fired for doing so.

All will be decided by the tv agreement. Do you have much faith in her to maximize that agreement?

[Xville]

That's not a personnel decision. That's a disciplinary action as per the league bylaws. Pettiti didn't tell Michigan they had to get rid of him. If he had they would have laughed in his face. If Harbaugh still wanted to be at Michigan, he would be. Are you REALLY trying to suggest that is not the case?? He chose to leave because he had the opportunity to take an NFL job for nearly double the pay.

I never said anything about the commissioner telling Harbaugh to leave, you did.

If you want to argue semantics of disciplinary vs personnel decision to prove some kind of point, ok. However, in most definitions, disciplinary falls under personnel. The fact remains that the Commissioner made a decision on Harbaugh to suspend him.

[GoMuskies]

She did a pretty sweet job with the original deal. I can't think of a single complaint I have with the administration of this league since day 1. Got the name, MSG, sweet Fox deal, brought in UConn. All seems pretty great.

[GoMuskies]

I never said anything about the commissioner telling Harbaugh to leave, you did.

If you want to argue semantics of disciplinary vs personnel decision to prove some kind of point, ok. The fact remains that the Commissioner made a decision on Harbaugh to suspend him.

Really not sure what that has to do with the point you guys were talking about. Harbaugh broke Big Ten rules so he was suspended. What was Val supposed to do about Cooley going to Gtwon? Suspend him from coaching in league games?

[profson]

Spying on another team's practices is forbidden by league (maybe NCAA ) rules. Enforcement is squarely in the Commissioner's duties. There is no rule against a coach going from one team to another in conference. End of debate. She is not a dictator. She can't make up rules as she goes along just because she does not like something.

[Xville]

She did a pretty sweet job with the original deal. I can't think of a single complaint I have with the administration of this league since day 1. Got the name, MSG, sweet Fox deal, brought in UConn. All seems pretty great.

Pretty sure that was done before she became commissioner. There was already a financial deal in place.

Brought in UCONN? yeah that was tough.

I give her credit for the fox deal. That was very good at the time and brought some visibility to the conference. As I said, I think she mostly has done a good job, but in the same vein, I think the conference needs some new blood with some new ideas. It's a very different world than it was ten years ago.

[Xville]

Spying on another team's practices is forbidden by league (maybe NCAA ) rules. Enforcement is squarely in the Commissioner's duties. There is no rule against a coach going from one team to another in conference. End of debate. She is not a dictator. She can't make up rules as she goes along just because she does not like something.

Can someone point out in the last 20 or so years a coach in either football or basketball for a major conference that has changed head coaching jobs within the conference other than Cooley? Wonder why that is?

[GoMuskies]

The Washington State guy just took the Stanford job. A little bit on an unusual situation unfolding there, of course!

Chris Beard left Texas Tech for Texas many, many years ago. Wait, that was three years ago.

[Xville]

The Washington State guy just took the Stanford job. A little bit on an unusual situation unfolding there, of course!

Chris Beard left Texas Tech for Texas many, many years ago. Wait, that was three years ago.

Ah yes, I’m wrong.

[GoMuskies]

Ah yes, I’m wrong.

Dude, you can't say THAT on a messageboard!

[xubrew]

Can someone point out in the last 20 or so years a coach in either football or basketball for a major conference that has changed head coaching jobs within the conference other than Cooley? Wonder why that is?

Xavier just played against one. Mike White went from Florida to Georgia in 2022 (I think).

[MHettel]

I never said anything about the commissioner telling Harbaugh to leave, you did.

If you want to argue semantics of disciplinary vs personnel decision to prove some kind of point, ok. However, in most definitions, disciplinary falls under personnel. The fact remains that the Commissioner made a decision on Harbaugh to suspend him.

I would just stop at this point.

[MHettel]

Can someone point out in the last 20 or so years a coach in either football or basketball for a major conference that has changed head coaching jobs within the conference other than Cooley? Wonder why that is?

Nick saban?

[GoMuskies]

Nick saban?

Nick Saban went from LSU to the Dolphins to Alabama.

[bjf123]

I would think universities could have language in their coaches contracts saying they can’t leave for a school in the same conference. No clue if any of them actually do. I’m guess they don’t.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MHettel]

I would think universities could have language in their coaches contracts saying they can’t leave for a school in the same conference. No clue if any of them actually do. I’m guess they don’t.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Coaches already break their contract when they leave. The buyouts are added to discourage them from leaving I suppose. Maybe they could increase the buyout if the coach left for an in conference job?

[XUBison]

The Washington State guy just took the Stanford job. A little bit on an unusual situation unfolding there, of course!…

I suppose those circumstances sort of make it worse– like Stanford kick dirt on WSU on their way out. Moreover, in-state rival and conference mate, UW, just poached the WSU AD. Shocking, since WSU effectively controls the conference right now; along with Oregon State, that is. Oregon State must really not like those poor old Cougs!

[GoMuskies]

Did Marquette's team bet on NC State?

[noteggs]

Not sure maybe Joplin did?

[GoMuskies]

Seems like the Zags are getting hosed by the whistle.

[Xville]

Not a good night for Marquette to show how soft they are

Hoping they heard that and things change

[noteggs]

3-24 from deep for Marquette. Ouch

[bjf123]

3-24 from deep for Marquette. Ouch

That’s not winning basketball.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Xville]

3 of 25. We could go 3 of 25. That’s steelesque.

[Xville]

Great now all of Marquette is going to come back for payback lol

[X-band '01]

3-24 from deep for Marquette. Ouch

They're also throwing up bricks at the foul line. Helluva night for them to have an "everything goes wrong" game.

[X-band '01]

And now the potential story line becomes a potential NC State-Houston matchup for the South Region. Just 41 years after a certain national title game between the two programs.

[paulxu]

My bracket:

https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2013/09/25/resized_99265-aptopix-three-trains-_segr_73-17524_t800.jpg?90232451fbcadccc64a17de7521d859a8f8 8077d

[Xville]

Creighton and Marquette are charmin soft. Rely too much on outside shooting. They need to rethink their strategy for March.

Yes I know creighton made the elite eight once. Yippee.

[Xville]

Come on creighton prove me wrong!

Great move for McDermott to go zone

[Xville]

Duke is going to end up in the final four… again. And it’s one of their very average teams. Ugh

[Xville]

It was really cute when Illinois thought they had a chance

[noteggs]

Yeah as we’ve seen, UConn is a pretty good second half team.

[muskiefan82]

Love them or hate them my God that UConn team is good.

[GoMuskies]

UConn should heartily thank the Big East for having them back. In the AAAAAACK, they were an objectively mediocre program.

[xudash]

UConn should heartily thank the Big East for having them back. In the AAAAAACK, they were an objectively mediocre program.

Exactly. I cannot imagine they will be stupid enough to leave again for football under any scenario.

[GoMuskies]

Exactly. I cannot imagine they will be stupid enough to leave again for football under any scenario.

I agree. Unless someone else offers them like one more dollar or something. Because that seems to sway college admissions more than anything else.

[noteggs]

The most interesting question is. Would D Hurley be a very good coach like today or rot on the vine with his incoming talent with the AAC? Maybe somewhere in between? Obviously he’s a damn coach.

[paulxu]

Shades of Jimmy V.

[xubrew]

NC State was trailing Louisville in their first ACC Tournament game, and they'd lost five out of six coming into that, and even after winning the ACC Tournament they were still seeded below the bubble (and should have been).

Loyola Chicago was the first team that I know of to make the Final Four that was seeded lower on the seedlist than the last at-large team taken. They were 46th on the seedlist, and Syracuse was 44th and the last First Four team. I kind of wanted that to always be the most incredible Final Four run of all time, and MAYBE you could argue that it was since NC State was 45th on the seedlist and Loyola CHI was 46th, but at the same time NC State had to win FIVE conference tournament games just to make the NCAA Tournament, whereas Loyola only had to win three.

I'm still going to claim that the 2018 Loyola team was the best Final Four run ever, but that's more out of stubbornness than anything else, and I totally understand the argument for this year's NC State team.

[GoMuskies]

1983 NC State still has the record on greatest March run for now. 2024 NC State would surpass them with two more wins.

Also funny is that NC State is eliminated unless an 80% UVA foul shooter misses a FT in the ACC semis AND NC State banks in a miracle three at the buzzer to send the game to OT.

[xubrew]

1983 NC State still has the record on greatest March run for now. 2024 NC State would surpass them with two more wins.

Also funny is that NC State is eliminated unless an 80% UVA foul shooter misses a FT in the ACC semis AND NC State banks in a miracle three at the buzzer to send the game to OT.

I'm not old enough to remember this or appreciate it as it happened. I am certainly aware of the story. My question is, much like the Texas Western 1966 NCAA Championship Run, does the story get told the way it actually happened?? Yeah, that story of Texas Western is a great story, but the story about how it was this big upset is kind of false. UTEP was ranked #3rd in the country at the start of the tournament and had been in the top ten for most of the year. How big of an upset could it have actually been??

The 1983 NC State team was a 6 seed. They were ranked in the top 25 throughout the year, and while they weren't ranked in the final poll, they must have at least been close since they were a 6 seed. That's not exactly a bubble team even with the smaller field. Now, I'm not saying it wasn't amazing, but I can think of at least two occasions where a lower seeded team won it all (Nova in 1985 and UConn in 2014). The 1983 NC State team was far more accomplished than this year's NC State team coming into the tournament.

[GoMuskies]

They were a bubble team at best. Their #6 seed (with a smaller tournament) reflects wins over #5 UNC and #2 Virginia (Ralph Sampson) in the ACC Tournament. If they lose that UNC game, it wouldn't have been a bit surprising for them to miss the Tournament.

[X-band '01]

I'm not old enough to remember this or appreciate it as it happened. I am certainly aware of the story. My question is, much like the Texas Western 1966 NCAA Championship Run, does the story get told the way it actually happened?? Yeah, that story of Texas Western is a great story, but the story about how it was this big upset is kind of false. UTEP was ranked #3rd in the country at the start of the tournament and had been in the top ten for most of the year. How big of an upset could it have actually been??

The 1983 NC State team was a 6 seed. They were ranked in the top 25 throughout the year, and while they weren't ranked in the final poll, they must have at least been close since they were a 6 seed. That's not exactly a bubble team even with the smaller field. Now, I'm not saying it wasn't amazing, but I can think of at least two occasions where a lower seeded team won it all (Nova in 1985 and UConn in 2014). The 1983 NC State team was far more accomplished than this year's NC State team coming into the tournament.


They were a bubble team at best. Their #6 seed (with a smaller tournament) reflects wins over #5 UNC and #2 Virginia (Ralph Sampson) in the ACC Tournament. If they lose that UNC game, it wouldn't have been a bit surprising for them to miss the Tournament.

Brew, you're forgetting that the 1983 NCAA Tournament only had 52 teams - there were 4 play-in games that featured the 12 seeds in each region (including Xavier/Alcorn State, I might add). That's why even a 6 seed or a 7 seed would very much have been a bubble team back then. They very likely would have not been invited had they lost to Virginia, for example. They definitely would not have gotten in had they lost to either Wake or Carolina in the ACC Tournament.

[muskiefan82]

Congratulations Seton Hall on winning the NIT.

[xuphan]

Congratulations Seton Hall on winning the NIT.

That center for Indiana State with the glasses (can’t remember his name) looks really good and gave me flashback to Stainbrook. No idea if he has any eligibility left but If he hits the portal, I’d take him in a heartbeat.

[muskiefan82]

That center for Indiana State with the glasses (can’t remember his name) looks really good and gave me flashback to Stainbrook. No idea if he has any eligibility left but If he hits the portal, I’d take him in a heartbeat.

Robert Avila I think but they call him "Larry Blurred" for fun

[JTG]

I'm not old enough to remember this or appreciate it as it happened. I am certainly aware of the story. My question is, much like the Texas Western 1966 NCAA Championship Run, does the story get told the way it actually happened?? Yeah, that story of Texas Western is a great story, but the story about how it was this big upset is kind of false. UTEP was ranked #3rd in the country at the start of the tournament and had been in the top ten for most of the year. How big of an upset could it have actually been??

The 1983 NC State team was a 6 seed. They were ranked in the top 25 throughout the year, and while they weren't ranked in the final poll, they must have at least been close since they were a 6 seed. That's not exactly a bubble team even with the smaller field. Now, I'm not saying it wasn't amazing, but I can think of at least two occasions where a lower seeded team won it all (Nova in 1985 and UConn in 2014). The 1983 NC State team was far more accomplished than this year's NC State team coming into the tournament.

Texas Western/UK had the black white thing as the upset factor, not that Western was not a good team. TW was playing the all white UK team of Adolf Rupp. NC State's win was about a miraculous shot at the buzzer. Valvano was a media darling, hyped up by Dickie V, so that made it a big deal. Both were very dramatic, but neither were in the atmosphere of some of the 1v16 upsets. Heck, X beating Georgetown was a colossal upset at the time.

[GoMuskies]

The officiating in the women's game is horrific.

[Xville]

A lame ass reporter just had to ask Staley and iowas coach about effing trans whatevers being able to play women’s sports. Iowas coach sidestepped it nicely, Staley lied about her true feelings ( you can tell with the hesitation and body language) so the woke mob wouldn’t come after her. It’s a damn shame that with the growth of women’s sports and what many had to endure, that women either are scared to take a stand against such nonsense and/or refuse to protect their own.

[muskiefan82]

UConn is a machine right now. Clingan is a better basketball player than Edey will ever be.

[Xville]

Good thing Mondays tip is almost at 930est. Do We really need to keep pretending that the west coast cares about college basketball?

[MHettel]

Good thing Mondays tip is almost at 930est. Do We really need to keep pretending that the west coast cares about college basketball?

Do we really need MORE of your opinion?

I’ll be watching at 630, thanks for asking.

[Xville]

Do we really need MORE of your opinion?

I’ll be watching at 630, thanks for asking.

There’s an ignore button that you are welcome to use. But you just keep on replying like you can’t get enough el cheapo

Pesky facts:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/basketball/2023/04/06/march-madness-indianapolis-third-best-among-local-market-tv-ratings-ncaa-mens-basketball/70089553007/

Cater to the markets that give a crap. Just a crazy thought.

[xuphan]

Do we really need MORE of your opinion?

I’ll be watching at 630, thanks for asking.

Haha. Love it!

[SkyWalker]

Boiler Up!! My son is a proud Purdue grad and my wife and I watch Purdue basketball games when X is not on of course. Any others on here rooting for the Boilermakers?

[bobbiemcgee]

Do we really need MORE of your opinion?

I’ll be watching at 630, thanks for asking.

The women will set the TV record today.

[MHettel]

There’s an ignore button that you are welcome to use. But you just keep on replying like you can’t get enough el cheapo

Pesky facts:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/basketball/2023/04/06/march-madness-indianapolis-third-best-among-local-market-tv-ratings-ncaa-mens-basketball/70089553007/

Cater to the markets that give a crap. Just a crazy thought.

Wow! Got me there!

What kind of stupid marketing executive would value those Southern California markets over places like Louisville, Indy, Knoxville, Birmingham, and Dayton. How dumb of them.

[Xville]

Apparently someone doesn’t understand tv markets very well. ithe size of the market doesn’t matter if they don’t watch it genius.its a regional sport, one that predominantly the east coast and Midwest care a whole lot more about than other areas of the country.

The time is later than almost every other major sporting event. Check out when college football playoffs start for instance two hours earlier. Weird.

[xuphan]

Apparently someone doesn’t understand tv markets very well. ithe size of the market doesn’t matter if they don’t watch it genius.its a regional sport, one that predominantly the east coast and Midwest care a whole lot more about than other areas of the country.

The time is later than almost every other major sporting event. Check out when college football playoffs start for instance two hours earlier. Weird.

Who cares. Stop going around in circles about what times games are played. As 94Grad has told us, they are the experts. NOT YOU!!!!!

12-7
12.50 el cheapo
Lou’s little brother.

[Xville]

Who cares. Stop going around in circles about what times games are played. As 94Grad has told us, they are the experts. NOT YOU!!!!!

12-7
12.50 el cheapo
Lou’s little brother.

Who cares? Apparently you since you can’t get enough of responding to me. heed your own advice when arguing about millers vacation schedule, Ritalin boy.

[xuphan]

Who cares? Apparently you since you can’t get enough of responding to me. heed your own advice when discussing about millers vacation schedule. Ritalin boy

12-7
12.50 el cheapo
Lou’s little brother

[xuphan]

Wow! Got me there!

What kind of stupid marketing executive would value those Southern California markets over places like Louisville, Indy, Knoxville, Birmingham, and Dayton. How dumb of them.

Ya, not the guy to have a grown up discussion with MHettle.

[Xville]

12-7
12.50 el cheapo
Lou’s little brother

Lol at first I thought it was a typo now it’s obvious you can’t even get the “insult” right.

[Xville]

Anywho, got a game coming up in a half hour. Should be an interesting one. Does Cc cement her legacy ( the almost hate she has gotten lately from quite a few different areas of women is wild) or does sc complete the perfect season?

[MHettel]

Apparently someone doesn’t understand tv markets very well. ithe size of the market doesn’t matter if they don’t watch it genius.its a regional sport, one that predominantly the east coast and Midwest care a whole lot more about than other areas of the country.

The time is later than almost every other major sporting event. Check out when college football playoffs start for instance two hours earlier. Weird.

Weird. I actually live in Seattle and work in LA. Please tell me more about the lack of interest in my backyard.

I can only imagine the discussion that occurs between the media executives. “Well guys, should we try to get 8% of the Dayton market or 4% of the LA market? “.

Oh yeah, also the games are played in Arizona, in the mountain time zone.

[Xville]

Probably hot take but to me this women’s game has been more entertaining than any of the men’s games so far this year

[xubrew]

Every year the time of the start of the game is a story. Some idiot in the media decides to rant and rave about it. Why don't they ever actually ask someone who works in TV, or specifically who works at CBS?? They'd be happy to explain it to them.

There are more people watching TV on Monday nights between 9pm and midnight est than at any other time of the week. That's the reason the game tips when it does. It's to maximize the viewership. From week to week 9pm tips usually get more viewers than 7pm tips.

There has even been some discussion of moving the Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight games to Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday because they know the two Monday games would probably get more viewers than they do on late Sunday afternoon. They obviously haven't done it, but it has been discussed.

Anyway, until next year when it's brought up again, that's why...

[Xville]

Every year the time of the start of the game is a story. Some idiot in the media decides to rant and rave about it. Why don't they ever actually ask someone who works in TV, or specifically who works at CBS?? They'd be happy to explain it to them.

There are more people watching TV on Monday nights between 9pm and midnight est than at any other time of the week. That's the reason the game tips when it does. It's to maximize the viewership. From week to week 9pm tips usually get more viewers than 7pm tips.

There has even been some discussion of moving the Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight games to Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday because they know the two Monday games would probably get more viewers than they do on late Sunday afternoon. They obviously haven't done it, but it has been discussed.

Anyway, until next year when it's brought up again, that's why...

If what you say is true, why is the college playoff football game start time 7:30 just move it to 9 then and the game ends at 1230

[paulxu]

My wife is comparing Caitlin Clark's impact to Mia Hamm's for women's sports.

Meanwhile, that young lady in the middle for the Lady Gamecocks is like Zach Edey to the guys. Doesn't really jump. Doesn't really need to.

Lady Gamecocks too strong.

[94GRAD]

Does loving the Lady Cocks make me bisexual?

[xubrew]

If what you say is true, why is the college playoff football game start time 7:30 just move it to 9 then and the game ends at 1230

Because they want it to end between 1130 and midnight.

[GoMuskies]

Does loving the Lady Cocks make me bisexual?

As long as they're lady cocks, I think you're still straight. 2024 IS a bit confusing.

[xuphan]

My wife is comparing Caitlin Clark's impact to Mia Hamm's for women's sports.

Meanwhile, that young lady in the middle for the Lady Gamecocks is like Zach Edey to the guys. Doesn't really jump. Doesn't really need to.

Lady Gamecocks too strong.

She is really fun to watch.

[xuphan]

Boiler Up!! My son is a proud Purdue grad and my wife and I watch Purdue basketball games when X is not on of course. Any others on here rooting for the Boilermakers?

Yes! Would love to see Purdue win it as I don’t think they have ever won a basketball championship.

[X-band '01]

Yes and no. They were the consensus national champion in 1932 in something that predated the NCAA. They had some player named John Wooden on that team.

[Xville]

Because they want it to end between 1130 and midnight.

that doesn’t really jive with what you were saying earlier. If you say that the 9 window does better than the 7 typically, why start the playoff game an hour and a half earlier than 9? If it started at 9 it ends half an hour later than the window. What’s that matter?

They just put the womens game on at 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday and while numbers aren’t in,
I’m gonna go ahead and guess it did pretty damn well.

In the end whatever, I’m gonna watch it but a lot of the timing decisions don’t make sense to me when the sport is a very regional sport.

[xuphan]

Yes and no. They were the consensus national champion in 1932 in something that predated the NCAA. They had some player named John Wooden on that team.

Thanks for the information. It would be fun to see Purdue win it.

[xubrew]

that doesn’t really jive with what you were saying earlier. If you say that the 9 window does better than the 7 typically, why start the playoff game an hour and a half earlier than 9? If it started at 9 it ends half an hour later than the window. What’s that matter?

They just put the womens game on at 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday and while numbers aren’t in,
I’m gonna go ahead and guess it did pretty damn well.

In the end whatever, I’m gonna watch it but a lot of the timing decisions don’t make sense to me when the sport is a very regional sport.

Because the football game takes between 3-and-a-half and 4 hours to play. They are on the air for the entire 9-12 window and it was set up to end at about the end of that window.

And perhaps it's not the best example since the CFP championship game didn't even get 10 million viewers this year.

But...you asked why the basketball game tips at the time it does. That's why. They want the whole thing to be played in the 9-12 window. There are examples of telecasts outside that window that do great. The Super Bowl is on a Sunday. There are examples of programming at that time that does shitty. I don't know what is typically on Lifetime TV on Monday nights, but I bet it doesn't rate that well. But generally speaking 9-12 (eastern) on Monday nights is when more people are at home watching TV than at any other time during the week. That's why the game starts when it does.

Question answered.

[MHettel]

that doesn’t really jive with what you were saying earlier. If you say that the 9 window does better than the 7 typically, why start the playoff game an hour and a half earlier than 9? If it started at 9 it ends half an hour later than the window. What’s that matter?

They just put the womens game on at 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday and while numbers aren’t in,
I’m gonna go ahead and guess it did pretty damn well.

In the end whatever, I’m gonna watch it but a lot of the timing decisions don’t make sense to me when the sport is a very regional sport.

It’s not a regional sport. Thats a straight up lie meant to support your gripes about the game time not being tailored to your schedule.

Its false. The whole idea about even being on TV is to sell products via commercials. There is ALOT of money to spend in California, and it makes sense to wait for those people to get home from work before stating the game.

[Xville]

It’s not a regional sport. Thats a straight up lie meant to support your gripes about the game time not being tailored to your schedule.

Its false. The whole idea about even being on TV is to sell products via commercials. There is ALOT of money to spend in California, and it makes sense to wait for those people to get home from work before stating the game.


There's a national audience for College football and for football as a whole, not really for college basketball. People mostly stay in their lane (their conference, their team etc.) for college basketball, it is what it is.

College football starts earlier, super bowl starts earlier. every single sports finals starts earlier than the game tonight.

[xubrew]

There's a national audience for College football and for football as a whole, not really for college basketball. People mostly stay in their lane (their conference, their team etc.) for college basketball, it is what it is.

For the most part this is correct, but it's not correct for the NCAA Tournament. It is a massive national event and TV event. Even with it being on cable it will get three times the viewers that the CFP Championship game got.

Track and Field is not a national sport, but Olympic Track and Field is a huge deal. College basketball for the regular season does not rate well out of market, but the NCAA Tournament gets HUGE ratings. The only thing that really beats it is the NFL playoffs.

[Xville]

Because the football game takes between 3-and-a-half and 4 hours to play. They are on the air for the entire 9-12 window and it was set up to end at about the end of that window.

And perhaps it's not the best example since the CFP championship game didn't even get 10 million viewers this year.

But...you asked why the basketball game tips at the time it does. That's why. They want the whole thing to be played in the 9-12 window. There are examples of telecasts outside that window that do great. The Super Bowl is on a Sunday. There are examples of programming at that time that does shitty. I don't know what is typically on Lifetime TV on Monday nights, but I bet it doesn't rate that well. But generally speaking 9-12 (eastern) on Monday nights is when more people are at home watching TV than at any other time during the week. That's why the game starts when it does.

Question answered.

Do what? It got 25 million and was the most watched in four years.

The rest? ok. I understand the why behind it, even though I disagree with it. Do you think they put it there because college basketball is just not that popular as some other sports it "competes" against and so they trying to maximize as much as they can, while college football/nfl ylou could put it at noon on a Wednesday and viewership would still be the same?

[xubrew]

Do what? It got 25 million and was the most watched in four years.

The rest? ok. I understand the why behind it, even though I disagree with it.

I stand corrected. It peaked at 28 million. I actually stand EXTREMELY corrected. The game was on multiple channels, and the ratings I was looking at were only the average for one of the five or six ESPN channels that was airing it. You are absolutely right. That's a very solid number of viewers for a cable telecast of any kind.

But tonight's game will almost assuredly do better than that. it won't do 3X better than that, but it should get more than 30 million viewers and perhaps peak at around 35 million (counting open and active streams).

[Xville]

For the most part this is correct, but it's not correct for the NCAA Tournament. It is a massive national event and TV event. Even with it being on cable it will get three times the viewers that the CFP Championship game got.

Track and Field is not a national sport, but Olympic Track and Field is a huge deal. College basketball for the regular season does not rate well out of market, but the NCAA Tournament gets HUGE ratings. The only thing that really beats it is the NFL playoffs.

Nm.

[Xville]

I stand corrected. It peaked at 28 million. I actually stand EXTREMELY corrected. The game was on multiple channels, and the ratings I was looking at were only the average for one of the five or six ESPN channels that was airing it. You are absolutely right. That's a very solid number of viewers for a cable telecast of any kind.

But tonight's game will almost assuredly do better than that. it won't do 3X better than that, but it should get more than 30 million viewers and perhaps peak at around 35 million (counting open and active streams).

Really? Numbers I'm looking at must just be from tv only then because I don't see numbers anywhere near that the last five years.

Anyways, the horse is dead :) .

[bjf123]

Anyways, the horse is dead :) .

Long live the horse!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[paulxu]

Just think if they could actually count all the drunks watching in the sports bars.
That would be a large dead horse.

[Xville]

In this day and age its interesting hearing this kind of culture stuff from a college coach. I love hurley...his sideline antics are silly, but i like his old school process of accountability/culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqgPh6rnFsc

Also, hearing him talk about some of the schools with really big nil dollars or "salary caps" have really tough years should open some peoples' eyes.

[American X]

Forget tip times, basketball needs more Indian Princesses singing the National Anthem.

[Xville]

Forget tip times, basketball needs more Indian Princesses singing the National Anthem.

No shit. Damn

[GoMuskies]

I really dislike Edey.

[Xville]

I really dislike Edey.

Not a fan either but he’s making clingnan look like he needs another year in college at the moment.

[GoMuskies]

Man, Purdue without Edey looks like an NIT team.

[GoMuskies]

Hurley losing his mind is hilarious. He's definitely getting T'd up soon.

[Xville]

Refs must have some $ on purdue

[GoMuskies]

"That's a fucking flop" Lol

[paulxu]

Man, Purdue without Edey looks like an NIT team.

Purdue without Edey IS a NIT team.

(although he reminds me of the big lady Gamecock in the middle)

[XUBison]

(although he reminds me of the big lady Gamecock in the middle)

The weirdest statement I’ve read today.

[GoMuskies]

They called a foul on Edey!!!!!

[Xville]

Cam spencer is a bad man

[GoMuskies]

UConn has been one shot away from putting this thing away a couple of times. Wonder if Purdue will make a run now. Now or never.

[Xville]

Clingan has done a fantastic job on edey so far this half after a tough first

[Xville]

Looks like it’s over. Big ten still blows.

4 of last 8, and though it’s dumb, nit championship as well. Since the pac is pretty much gone, let’s take the mantle of the conference of champions

[GoMuskies]

Seems impossible to come back from 16 down to UConn.

We were up 10-0 on these guys not long ago!

[Xville]

Btw women’s game drew 18.7 mil. That’s amazing… will be interesting to see if interest can stay near that level with Clark moving on

[GoMuskies]

Barring a big comeback, UConn will not only win back to back championships, but they'll be 12-0 against the spread in those two Tournaments. Still possible for Purdue to cover, for sure, but they need to get on their horses.

[Xville]

Alright who is better…2018 nova or 2024 UConn?

[GoMuskies]

UConn, but Nova would have a shot if they were white hot from three.

[XUBison]

Alright who is better…2018 nova or 2024 UConn?

UConn is the best team since the Florida back-to-back teams.

[Xville]

Yeah I think I agree.. probably too much frontcourt for UConn.

[Blue Blooded-05]

No ring for Mike Bobinski

[Xville]

6 in 25 yrs with three different coaches. Ridiculous

[X-band '01]

Even more ridiculous is that Kevin Ollie is one of those coaches.

[Xville]

Sc-Iowa most watched basketball game since 2019. Game was on at 3est on a Sunday. The CC effect is/was ridiculous. Hopefully the momentum for women's college basketball can be sustained a bit. It's a very different game from the men's but entertaining in its own way.

[paulxu]

Last 10 NCAA's winners:

5 from the BE
3 from the AC
2 from the Big12

[UCGRAD4X]

Last 10 NCAA's winners:

5 from the BE
3 from the AC
2 from the Big12

What no B1G?!?!?!

[GoMuskies]

Last 10 NCAA's winners:

5 from the BE
3 from the AC
2 from the Big12

Colllege football can die now. Please

[American X]

This will be great for Xavier's recruiting. You can get destroyed by back-to-back national champions two to three times a year!

[GoMuskies]

This will be great for Xavier's recruiting. You can get destroyed by back-to-back national champions two to three times a year!

One of those years you might even beat those national champions twice and finish two games ahead of them in the conference standings.

[paulxu]

Colllege football can die now. Please

Speaking of football, in the last 20 years, the champions came from:

SEC - 13
ACC - 3
B1G - 2
Big 12 - 1
Pac 12 - 1 (vacated)

[Xville]

Men’s draws a 14.8. Women beat men by 4 mil.

Pretty sure the men could have gotten a 14.8 starting an hour earlier.

[MHettel]

Men’s draws a 14.8. Women beat men by 4 mil.

Pretty sure the men could have gotten a 14.8 starting an hour earlier.

good lord. Give it a rest.

I'm pretty sure the TV marketing executives are better at their jobs than you are.

[bjf123]

They called a foul on Edey!!!!!

I didn’t get to see the entire game, but did notice that a lot of the time when Edey would get the ball in the paint, he’d lower his shoulder and just knock the defender back 2 - 3 feet. How the heck is that not a foul?


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[Xville]

I didn’t get to see the entire game, but did notice that a lot of the time when Edey would get the ball in the paint, he’d lower his shoulder and just knock the defender back 2 - 3 feet. How the heck is that not a foul?


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Been like that all year with him. Big ten fans bitched about it all year long.

[XUBison]

good lord. Give it a rest.

I'm pretty sure the TV marketing executives are better at their jobs than you are.

A shitastic season apparently leads to a lot of dead horses during the offseason. Oh well, I’m with Ville on this one. A 9:30 EST start time, on a Monday night no less, is absolutely stupid. It is not fun. My kids can’t stay up that late… Hell, I can’t stay up that late. My brother and I make a (sort of) big deal out of the tourney every year. We watch all the games together, except the championship! I don’t care if it pulls the average up by a handful of viewers, it is a total disservice to the fans on the East Coast. I get that those on the West Coast don’t want to be listening to the game on their drive home, so maybe they should come up with a better answer altogether.

They should do a Sunday doubleheader with the men’s and women’s games. They probably need to still be in different venues, but so what? It would be a circus; a celebration of college basketball. But nooooo— instead, they will focus on expanding the tournament to 96 teams, so we can all enjoy watching Minnesota and Vanderbilt lose in the tournament.

[XUBison]

Been like that all year with him. Big ten fans bitched about it all year long.

I used to hate that about Shaq. He’d back a guy down and turn for an easy dunk… Because his defender had been moved to the third row.

[XUBison]

This will be great for Xavier's recruiting. You can get destroyed by back-to-back national champions two to three times a year!

I think this is the exact recruiting pitch our women’s team has been making since the UConn ladies rejoined the Big East.

[xubrew]

Men’s draws a 14.8. Women beat men by 4 mil.

Pretty sure the men could have gotten a 14.8 starting an hour earlier.

That's a pretty low rating for the men's championship game, and it's the second year in a row it's been that low. I don't know what it was with the number of open streams, but in the past it's generally been half of what the TV audience was, so that still only gets it up to 21-22 million.

I don't think it has to do with what time the game tips. Hell, every night throughout the season there's a game that tips at 11pm, so for all the games to be over by midnight is actually kind of nice. I think that, put very simply, it's popularity is declining.

[Xville]

That's a pretty low rating for the men's championship game, and it's the second year in a row it's been that low. I don't know what it was with the number of open streams, but in the past it's generally been half of what the TV audience was, so that still only gets it up to 21-22 million.

I don't think it has to do with what time the game tips. Hell, every night throughout the season there's a game that tips at 11pm, so for all the games to be over by midnight is actually kind of nice. I think that, put very simply, it's popularity is declining.

Maybe it's just me but overall I thought the tournament was incredibly boring compared to previous years. Now, part of that was Xavier not being in it, but a bigger part to me was that it was incredibly chalky after the first round. There was the NC State story which was kind of cool I guess, but there didn't seem to be a whole lot of stories/drama with this tourney. It also seemed inevitable that UConn was going to win the thing, from even before the bracket came out.

[GoMuskies]

It's a personality driven thing, and there weren't really any interesting personalities on the men's side. At least not that anyone was aware of. The free agency era brought on by the transfer portal is going to make it more difficult to create interst, too, because people will have to re-learn entire new rosters every season, and the casual fan isn't going to put in that kind of effort.

[Xville]

It's a personality driven thing, and there weren't really any interesting personalities on the men's side. At least not that anyone was aware of. The free agency era brought on by the transfer portal is going to make it more difficult to create interst, too, because people will have to re-learn entire new rosters every season, and the casual fan isn't going to put in that kind of effort.

Fair...who knows how far they would have gotten, but leaving out Indiana State was a missed opportunity from a personality/story standpoint.

There was the Oakland story and that was about it.

[xubrew]

I can't find the number, but I'm almost certain the Xavier v Duke Elite Eight game in 2004 had substantially more viewers than the championship game for the last two years. For some reason I thought it was in the neighborhood of 20 million. Granted there were no live streams back then and it was on a free-to-air network, but still. And that wasn't even a Final Four game.

I don't think the sport or the tournament is as popular as it used to be.

[drudy23]

Seton Hall and Indiana States omissions weren't their bubbles bursting, they were mistakes. Both should have 100% been in the field.

There's decisions between bubble teams that can go either way, this wasn't that. These were flat out wrong decisions. You don't see that very often.

There also were not the typical amount of close games this year. It was relatively pedestrian. Still a great event but rather uneventful this year. Another sign the committee didn't get things quite right with selections and seeding. A ton of boring blow-outs.

[Xville]

Seton Hall and Indiana States omissions weren't their bubbles bursting, they were mistakes. Both should have 100% been in the field.

There's decisions between bubble teams that can go either way, this wasn't that. These were flat out wrong decisions. You don't see that very often.

There also were not the typical amount of close games this year. It was relatively pedestrian. Still a great event but rather uneventful this year. Another sign the committee didn't get things quite right with selections and seeding. A ton of boring blow-outs.

Agreed. I'll also add that the seeding done by the committee was one of the worst I can ever remember. I remember looking at the bracket on Sunday night/Monday morning with a lot of wtf in my mind.

[xubrew]

Seton Hall and Indiana States omissions weren't their bubbles bursting, they were mistakes. Both should have 100% been in the field.

There's decisions between bubble teams that can go either way, this wasn't that. These were flat out wrong decisions. You don't see that very often.

There also were not the typical amount of close games this year. It was relatively pedestrian. Still a great event but rather uneventful this year. Another sign the committee didn't get things quite right with selections and seeding. A ton of boring blow-outs.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm saying that it was not a surprise that they weren't selected. If a team is inside the bubble, then the committee will automatically take them. If a team is on the bubble, there is a box that if teams check they will go to the front of the line. They always have.

An out of conference win away from home against another tournament team.

Virginia did that. The Big East teams did not.

Because Virginia beat Florida on the 4th day of the season down in Charlotte, I was almost certain they would get in over any of the Big East bubble teams or Pitt. Even though it was on the 4th day of the season, and even though Charlotte isn't exactly on the other side of the world from UVA, and even though Florida would have clobbered them had they played later on in the year, the committee is almost programmed to look at a game like that and put any bubble team that has that OOC win away from home against a tournament team ahead of anyone else that doesn't.

Was it a mistake?? Perhaps. Was it consistent with what they've always done?? Yes.

[Xville]

I can't find the number, but I'm almost certain the Xavier v Duke Elite Eight game in 2004 had substantially more viewers than the championship game for the last two years. For some reason I thought it was in the neighborhood of 20 million. Granted there were no live streams back then and it was on a free-to-air network, but still. And that wasn't even a Final Four game.

I don't think the sport or the tournament is as popular as it used to be.

Can't find X-Duke either but I'd be shocked if it was anywhere close to 20 based on the numbers of Final Four/Championship listed here. I assume these numbers are accurate...i know this year's are. Regardless, as you stated, the last two years numbers are concerning for the sport. Football only seems to get more and more popular, while college basketball only gets less and less. With both having transfer portal/nil, not sure if that's why basketball seems to be losing its popularity or what it exactly is.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/ncaa-final-four-ratings-history-most-watched-games-cbs-tbs-nbc/

[waggy]

How often has the game been on TBS?

[Xville]

Looks like it has been on Turner every other year since '16 if that site is correct.

[GoMuskies]

Alright who is better…2018 nova or 2024 UConn?

ESPN ranked Villanova 2018 as their #25 best champion of all time. 2024 UConn came in at #29. I disagree, but I thought it was interesting given that you asked the question here.

[Xville]

ESPN ranked Villanova 2018 as their #25 best champion of all time. 2024 UConn came in at #29. I disagree, but I thought it was interesting given that you asked the question here.

Wow, really? I’d like to think both belong in top ten. That’s kind of insane. Lots of ucla, Kentucky and Duke teams I assume

[GoMuskies]

Their top ten is

1) UCLA 1972
2) UCLA 1973
3) Indiana 1976
4) UCLA 1968
5) San Fran 1956
6) UCLA 1967
7) UCLA 1969
8) NC State 1974
9) UNC 1982
10) UCLA 1964

9 of 10 before I was born and all 10 before I was old enough to watch/remember. The #1 team of my "viewing lifetime" is 1996 Kentucky at #12.

[MHettel]

Their top ten is

1) UCLA 1972
2) UCLA 1973
3) Indiana 1976
4) UCLA 1968
5) San Fran 1956
6) UCLA 1967
7) UCLA 1969
8) NC State 1974
9) UNC 1982
10) UCLA 1964

9 of 10 before I was born and all 10 before I was old enough to watch/remember. The #1 team of my "viewing lifetime" is 1996 Kentucky at #12.

thats just dumb.