Jacksonville and etsu are set to suit up tonight in the CIT tournament. (whatever the hell that is) The etsu fans are trying desperately to gear up excitement over the flawed concept that a good showing in the CIT will somehow magically hide their poor performance in the A-sun tourney and restore honor to a senior laden team who never materialized.


This is the end of mid-major (or low-major) basketball as we know it. Fans might as well migrate toward the SEC or one of the other major conferences for the purity has now been removed from the one-bid leagues.

It used to be that when you got beat in the conference tournament your season was over. No matter if you were better than the team that beat you or not. Lose and it's over. You knew exactly where you stood. It was beautiful and it was pure. It is the single reason one bid league tournaments were more exciting than the major conferences. In a major conference winning the conference tournament doesn't necessarily matter. If you've had a good season you can lay an egg in the tournament and still advance in the post season. Do not misunderstand I am not suggesting that teams in the major conferences don't deserve to have that luxury. However it comes at a price. It was just a few years ago LSU's head coach came out and admitted that winning the SEC tournament didn't matter to him...they were looking to the NCAA.

Again the word "purity" comes to mind. The only trait the one bid leagues held over the major conferences. No more. Now sub-par etsu and Jacksonville teams are searching for new life in a meaningless void known as the CIT. The fans of etsu are desperately trying to talk it up and find ways to make it meaningful so it feels like they are apart of the March experience.

Meanwhile Belmont, a team that actually deserves the FULL attention and focus of the A-sun boards right now, is competing for attention with a group of children who are chewing the fat over a make believe do-over scenario where their team still matters. News flash...they don't. The seniors who lost do not deserve the chance to "redeem themselves." Losing comes with a price. The purity of the one-bid league is gone.

Anytime you see schools from the major conferences who did not make the NCAA tourney openly stating they will not accept an invitation to anything other than the NIT (Baylor, Maryland, and Minnesota come to mind) it is hard to get excited about the tournaments such as CIT or CBI.

I just want to see our team play again. Nothing more, nothing less. I love ETSU basketball.

ETSU could win the tournament, and I wouldn't consider it some great feat. The administration would however.

(03-15-2011 09:17 AM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  I just want to see our team play again.

Well, you're going to get to....you're going to get to.

Yeah Goldfinger, I completely agree with you.

I'm a big sports fan and this is the first time I've heard of the CBI/CIT/CLIT/**** tourney's. I was like, "What the hell is this?"

I think it's stupid to have these tourney's but sadly, you know, it's all about money.

Hey at this rate, why don't we just have college football, college basketball, the NFL and the NBA go all season long and juice the public for all it's worth?

We'll there are 70 some teams playing in bowl games. You're right, it's all about money.

Is it silly? Yes.

But I'm driving back to FGCU on Friday from Orlando for a WOMEN'S NIT game. In our situation, it's all we've got for now.

It's not just silly.....it's an insult to former players.

For the seniors, it's an opportunity to play just a little bit more at the college level, even if it is a crap tournament. For the underclassmen and coaches, it's extra official practice time together to prepare for next season. For the fans, it's one last chance to see these guys one last time. For the big boys, sure they don't want to play in a tournament like this and that's fine, but for the programs that get shut out of the NIT because they're not a BCS school, this gives them an opportunity for a little bit more postseason.

(03-16-2011 08:56 PM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  For the seniors, it's an opportunity to play just a little bit more at the college level, even if it is a crap tournament. For the underclassmen and coaches, it's extra official practice time together to prepare for next season. For the fans, it's one last chance to see these guys one last time. For the big boys, sure they don't want to play in a tournament like this and that's fine, but for the programs that get shut out of the NIT because they're not a BCS school, this gives them an opportunity for a little bit more postseason.

Oh.......you mean something they don't deserve.

(03-15-2011 09:17 AM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  I just want to see our team play again. Nothing more, nothing less. I love ETSU basketball.

I agree with this sentiment. UCF is in the CBI right now. We had to actually pay to play in this tournament. Yet, it is good to see the Knights continue playing. It's another opportunity for me to watch departing seniors like Tom Herzog (a player you all most likely have never heard of, but he's one of the top shot blockers in the country).

Meaningless game? To most people, yes. However, if we succeed in this tournament, it can give us momentum going into next season.

Meaningless or not, I'll be at our second round game tonight against Rhode Island rooting hard for my Knights!

For tournaments that do not matter, here's something to consider.

FGCU attendance in the WNIT.

1st Round vs. Drexel: 3,002.
2nd Round vs. Florida: 4,543.

Seating capacity is 4,250 at Alico Arena. The game against UF was not only standing room only, but the first sold-out crowd in school history. And I can tell you from experience, the house was NEVER louder, even if it was a meaningless game.

If butts are in the seats, these "Little Dances" will keep going.

Not at all the case. This tournament, no matter how embarrassing has given ETSU a leg up on the conference for next season. They're still holding organized, legal practices. They're the only men's team in the Atlantic Sun to be doing that, and in the case of the players they are losing, the time is valuable. Granted, it's costing them $$$ to play in the stupid thing but if it helps for next season, I'm all for it.

(03-17-2011 02:14 AM)Goldfinger Wrote:  

(03-16-2011 08:56 PM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  For the seniors, it's an opportunity to play just a little bit more at the college level, even if it is a crap tournament. For the underclassmen and coaches, it's extra official practice time together to prepare for next season. For the fans, it's one last chance to see these guys one last time. For the big boys, sure they don't want to play in a tournament like this and that's fine, but for the programs that get shut out of the NIT because they're not a BCS school, this gives them an opportunity for a little bit more postseason.

Oh.......you mean something they don't deserve.