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Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
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WarningSigns Offline
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Post: #61
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
(03-05-2012 09:30 AM)bearcatalyst Wrote:  
(03-05-2012 09:14 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  
(03-05-2012 09:05 AM)bearcatalyst Wrote:  Right, I am sure you would look upon all of the CUSA championship banners with pride if all we had to show for them were a number of NIT appearances.

Are conference tournaments exciting? Hell yes. Much more exciting than my proposition. However, the notion that NCAAB is pure and that the BCS is not because you get to decide it on the court just isn't true. The best teams don't go to the NCAA tournament to play for the title and a lot of that is due to these conference tournaments.

Championship week is a boatload of fun to watch. You know what else is? Watching every game your team plays in conference as do or die for 14-18 games rather than not giving a damn at all because if you go unbeaten in the MAAC and lose in round one, you go to the NIT.

Conference tournaments ARE NOT do or die basketball for everyone. 10 Big East teams will probably get in. So 9 can die without consequence. The BE is obviously a much, much, much better league than these one bid leagues. But don't act like everyone is playing with the same amount of pressure. There is not an iota of pressure on Syracuse. However, some 27 win team that smoked their conference will fall and be left out for a team that has play all year like they don't belong in the NCAA tournament. And the don't belong to play for it. At all.

The NCAA tournament wouldn't have the "best" teams going to the tournament to play for the title unless you went with the Jay Bilas approach and got rid of automatic bids. Many of the conference champions (tournament or regular season) from smaller conferences are inevitably not going to be among the best 68 teams. The NCAA tournament does not pretend to have the 68 best teams, so I am not sure where your "lack of purity" argument comes from.

The NCAA tournament claims to have the best 37 at large bids and then the conference champions (as defined by the conferences). I think that is incredibly pure. You get the entire regular season to be one of the best 37 at large bids, and if you do not earn that you get seeded in your conference tournament based on your conference performance. The top team often gets home court advantage, byes to the 2nd or 3rd round and gets the most favorable draw. Then you get to play do or die basketball to earn your automatic bid. Seems very pure to me. It is survive an advance. That is the essence of the NCAA tournament and I love how the conference tournaments are just an extension of that.

Jay Bilas also has that right. I don't understand why we give the smaller conferences a bid for a team undeserving of a 23rd seed a bid at all. But as long as these rules are around, you might as well take the most deserving teams. You think it is pure to say 30 games don't matter but their final 3 do? Ok, and that is fine. I just don't buy it.

The conference tournaments for the low majors are incredibly fun for fans. Just not for fans of the teams that are actually in them. It's a joke that teams that dominate their leagues don't get into the tournament because they slip up in one game.

In a vacuum, I find them extremely entertaining. However, after the first month of the regular season, all mid majors know if they have a chance at an at large bid. The rest of their season becomes about winning out and maybe getting on the bubble with 28 wins. And every other team from a mid or low major level conference is going through the motions. The regular season is a total waste of time to watch essentially outside of your own team because you love them. Especially from a low level conference. Duke playing Carolina as #1 vs #2 every year? Who cares. They are both in the tournament. Michigan State against OSU? Doesn't matter. Both will be highly seeded. Why watch? NCAAB is borderline unwatchable once you realize that all that is going to matter is tournament week.

If you're a basketball junkie, you will enjoy watching the matchups I described above. And I am. (and do)

But if you are a lower level team the games you play are meaningless except for the last week of the year. That isn't pure in any sense. If, however, every game they played from January to March actually mattered to their NCAA hopes, they would play with that same fire you see this week all year long. It means more meaningful and better played basketball. And you could televise the late season matchups that become the championship games (in the regular season) and play them up on TV even more than they do now. Hell, you could have essentially 3 weeks of HUGE games from ALL of these conferences once the better and NCAA deserving teams have separated themselves from their conference foes.

There isn't a law that states certain conferences can only get one team in. If you don't earn at large bid by dominating your own conference, its probably because your conference stinks. If your conference stinks, you should be able to win your tourney. The NCAA tournament basically starts now.
 
03-05-2012 10:20 AM
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Post: #62
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
Some of the best games in the smaller leagues are tonight:
VCU plays Drexel for the CAA title
Fairfield plays Loyola MD for the MAAC title
Gonzaga plays St. Mary's for the WCC title
Davidson plays Western Carolina for the SoCon title
 
03-05-2012 06:57 PM
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Post: #63
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
Man VCU is FAST
 
03-05-2012 07:43 PM
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Post: #64
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
VCU looks very good...sucks for whoever will have to play them in the first round (assuming they hold on)
 
(This post was last modified: 03-05-2012 08:19 PM by Bearcat_Bounce.)
03-05-2012 08:19 PM
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Post: #65
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
I think they are in regardless...

but one work comes to mind watching them: havoc
 
03-05-2012 08:20 PM
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Post: #66
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
I love how Shaka Smart coaches. His kids really play hard, and always seem to turn it on at the most important parts of the season. He'll be a great get for whatever school picks him up.
 
03-05-2012 08:22 PM
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Post: #67
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
that Theus is like a water bug out there...changes direction so quickly.....I'm impressed


and here I thought Shaka was an idiot for staying at VCU...I figured he should have cashed in his chips after last year...shows you what I know.

btw Drexel still in this
 
03-05-2012 08:25 PM
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Post: #68
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
VCU definitely has the better chance for an at large compared to Drexel, if this game comes down to a shot at the end or something like that...I think they should both get in, if not Drexel will be sweating it out on Sunday.
 
03-05-2012 08:33 PM
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Post: #69
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
VCU kid really blew it trying to throw a full court pass with the lead and 25 seconds left.
 
03-05-2012 09:04 PM
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Post: #70
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
Bonehead play by VCU gives Drexel life.
 
03-05-2012 09:04 PM
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Post: #71
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
down to a 1 point game with 11.6 to go. VCU on the line.
 
03-05-2012 09:08 PM
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Post: #72
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
VCU holds on...I personally think Drexel should still get in over a team like Northwestern or Xavier
 
03-05-2012 09:10 PM
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Post: #73
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
Loyola up 3 on Fairfield, and Fairfield misses a 3...looks like Loyala will advance to the NCAA tournament
 
03-05-2012 09:13 PM
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Post: #74
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
(03-05-2012 09:10 PM)Bearcat_Bounce Wrote:  VCU holds on...I personally think Drexel should still get in over a team like Northwestern or Xavier

Absolutely. Drexel's numbers don't support an at-large bid, but on a neutral court I'd take them over just about every bubble team.

Championship week is awesome. Gonzaga-St. Mary's should be another good one.
 
03-05-2012 09:15 PM
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Post: #75
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
Wow just heard that St. Mary's has played Gonzaga in the conference final for 4 straight years.
 
03-05-2012 09:21 PM
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Post: #76
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
I'm not belittling the teams I've seen tonight (VCU, Drexel, now Zags/St. Mary's)....but after watching a lot of Big East conference games and then watching these games, the Big East is just on a different level.

and yes, I know VCU was in the final four last year, not disrespecting them....


which also leads me into this statement: how the H are we not ranked
 
03-05-2012 09:34 PM
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Post: #77
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
Lunardi has Drexel still in his last 4 in despite the loss tonight.
 
03-05-2012 10:03 PM
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Post: #78
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
So...Gonzaga is ranked 25th in coach poll.....UC has no votes. Are they really THAT much better than us???

LOL guess that shows what a joke the poll is
 
03-05-2012 10:25 PM
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Post: #79
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
Looks like St. Mary's will hold on...but Gonzaga has made 15 straight WCC conference championship games, that is a crazy stat.
 
03-05-2012 11:02 PM
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Post: #80
RE: Championship Week Thread (Non-Big East)
What a shot to tie by Gonzaga!
 
03-05-2012 11:08 PM
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