Edit* this years NCAA tournament was also 2nd most watched in 23 years.

Really wished Gonzaga won. Love to see those Tar Heels fans upset because they would have lost two straight title games to small private catholic schools. I also enjoy those crying Michael Jordan Memes.

Too bad the game was almost unwatchable. 27 fouls called in the second half!

This new refereeing "emphasis" (i.e. rule changes) that they started 2 years ago has got to change. When you combine it with the horrible shots that result from the 30-second shot clock, it's like watching the WNBA.

(04-05-2017 12:13 PM)ivet Wrote:  Really wished Gonzaga won. Love to see those Tar Heels fans upset because they would have lost two straight title games to small private catholic schools. I also enjoy those crying Michael Jordan Memes.

Me too.

(04-05-2017 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Too bad the game was almost unwatchable. 27 fouls called in the second half!

This new refereeing "emphasis" (i.e. rule changes) that they started 2 years ago has got to change. When you combine it with the horrible shots that result from the 30-second shot clock, it's like watching the WNBA.

maybe if all refs called it the way it's supposed to the players would all learn and then we'd have something. But some refs refuse to change.

Link? Everything I've seen said it did a 14.5, which is good but still behind other finals (such as Duke-Wisconsin two years ago).

(04-05-2017 12:31 PM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  Link? Everything I've seen said it did a 14.5, which is good but still behind other finals (such as Duke-Wisconsin two years ago).

ESPN posted it.
"Average of 22.998 million viewers, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nielsen Co."

That is funny; I did not watch it.

(04-05-2017 12:31 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(04-05-2017 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Too bad the game was almost unwatchable. 27 fouls called in the second half!

This new refereeing "emphasis" (i.e. rule changes) that they started 2 years ago has got to change. When you combine it with the horrible shots that result from the 30-second shot clock, it's like watching the WNBA.

maybe if all refs called it the way it's supposed to the players would all learn and then we'd have something. But some refs refuse to change.

If all refs called it the way it's supposed to be, it'd be like the old Big East.

As my football coach used to say, "Basketball is a contact sport. Football is a collision sport."

(04-05-2017 12:37 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(04-05-2017 12:31 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(04-05-2017 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Too bad the game was almost unwatchable. 27 fouls called in the second half!

This new refereeing "emphasis" (i.e. rule changes) that they started 2 years ago has got to change. When you combine it with the horrible shots that result from the 30-second shot clock, it's like watching the WNBA.

maybe if all refs called it the way it's supposed to the players would all learn and then we'd have something. But some refs refuse to change.

If all refs called it the way it's supposed to be, it'd be like the old Big East.

As my football coach used to say, "Basketball is a contact sport. Football is a collision sport."

What I said was if the refs called it the way the new rules call for it- the players would learn.

The thing is some folks want to have it be maul ball- and that just isn't going to happen. There's a reason why this years tourney was 2nd best rated overall in the last 23 years. folks want freedom of movement.

It was the third highest rated final since 2005:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/...uble-digit

(04-05-2017 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Too bad the game was almost unwatchable. 27 fouls called in the second half!

This new refereeing "emphasis" (i.e. rule changes) that they started 2 years ago has got to change. When you combine it with the horrible shots that result from the 30-second shot clock, it's like watching the WNBA.

30 seconds is plenty of time. It was just sloppy shooting. They couldn't even hit free throws.

(04-05-2017 12:42 PM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  It was the third highest rated final since 2005:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/...uble-digit

I saw the headline. Saw your posts correcting me, went back to source and it was edited. So I've edited. My source was espn. Sorry for error

One important caveat is that last year's UNC-Villanova game was the first (and so far only) championship game that was on cable (TBS) as opposed to over-the-air CBS. Therefore, it's not quite an apples-to-apples comparison with respect to last year.

(04-05-2017 12:56 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  One important caveat is that last year's UNC-Villanova game was the first (and so far only) championship game that was on cable (TBS) as opposed to over-the-air CBS. Therefore, it's not quite an apples-to-apples comparison with respect to last year.

I agree. CBS is free tv

So tell me again how the P5 will separate itself from the rest because nobody watches those other schools?

(04-05-2017 12:42 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(04-05-2017 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Too bad the game was almost unwatchable. 27 fouls called in the second half!

This new refereeing "emphasis" (i.e. rule changes) that they started 2 years ago has got to change. When you combine it with the horrible shots that result from the 30-second shot clock, it's like watching the WNBA.

30 seconds is plenty of time. It was just sloppy shooting. They couldn't even hit free throws.

The clock wasn't a problem for shooting. Playing in a football stadium may have been. Depth perception is very different in that atmosphere. Nobody in the Final Four shot near their average.

In the final game, there were a staggering 95 missed shots. That's 95 opportunities for the bigs on both teams to make contact going for the ball. They are the ones who got in the most foul trouble, not the wings and guards.

It didn't hurt this year that the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME was on CBS instead of TBS!

(04-05-2017 12:42 PM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  It was the third highest rated final since 2005:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/...uble-digit

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2017/04/...rship-cbs/

So the final number came to 23.0 million viewers. Just 2.5 million less than this years college football championship.

Also, from the NCAA article, note that 4.4 million watched the game via stream. That's would be in addition to the TV viewership. That is getting to be a bigger story. Streaming of the championship game was up 29%!