Would you be in favor of bringing back the 3rd place games? They were discontinued before I started watching the tournament (I just turned 43). I'd think they'd be pretty cool. Give more teams the chance to go out on a high note (yeah, teams go out on DOUBLE bad note)

The 3rd place game was not entertaining...for players nor fans.

The final 3rd place game was won by my UVA team.

FWIW, NIT brought back the third place game for this year.

I'd rather see them in college football. So when 11-1 Alabama has to play 10-2 Florida instead of sitting idle, maybe there won't be so many complaints about the SEC getting two in the playoff.

I don't miss the 3rd place games at all. They mostly are pointless.

I remember when I was a little kid Iowa made the final 4 when Lute Olsen was their coach, and the final 4 still had a 3rd place game and it seemed so stupid. Once you lose your chance at the championship, its over, go home.

On that note, if your goal is to give teams a double chance to prove themselves, you might as well just make the tourney a double elimination tourney, then the games still mean something.

(03-20-2021 02:39 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  The 3rd place game was not entertaining...for players nor fans.

The final 3rd place game was won by my UVA team.

They were dropped because nobody cared.

Maybe they make sense in a tourney like the NIT, but not in the NCAA.

I barely remember the 3rd place game. It was played on Monday night around 5 pm CDT, televised in syndication, while the national championship game was shown on NBC at 8 pm Central. When CBS got the TV rights in 1982, the 3rd place game went away. The 1982 Final Four with UNC-Georgetown-Louisville-Houston was the first with no 3rd place game.

At one time, the regionals had 3rd place games. You could lose in the Sweet 16, lose your chance to advance in the tournament, but play a consolation game. We're number 9, 10, 11, or 12! That was before the days of at-large bids and shipping teams out of their region.

They dropped third place games for a reason - and a very good reason at that. Let's leave it that way.

The World Cup still has a 3rd place game. I watch as much of the tournament I can but I have never seen the 3rd place game. I chose not to watch because it’s a glorified exhibition. There’s probably a financial incentive for the players to play but that cannot be the case in collegiate sports.

TY johnintx for the history lesson. :)

(03-21-2021 02:11 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  The World Cup still has a 3rd place game. I watch as much of the tournament I can but I have never seen the 3rd place game. I chose not to watch because it’s a glorified exhibition. There’s probably a financial incentive for the players to play but that cannot be the case in collegiate sports.

There is a tradition of playing “friendly” matches in soccer. They are more for entertaining and practice, rather than intense competition. Whether the games are watchable depends on expectations.

I'd like to see some sort of merger of an NCAA losers bracket with the NIT.

(03-21-2021 02:11 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  The World Cup still has a 3rd place game. I watch as much of the tournament I can but I have never seen the 3rd place game. I chose not to watch because it’s a glorified exhibition. There’s probably a financial incentive for the players to play but that cannot be the case in collegiate sports.

So do the Olympics - but they give third-place medals/trophies in both.

The Women's Basketball Invitational did a full placement tournament in Kentucky Fri-Sat-Sun - with Championship Game, 3rd Place Game, 5th Place Game and 7th place game.

NAU won the 3rd place game, so great they got to finish on a high note.

On the flip side, Abilene Christian lost all three games they played, only winless team.

(03-22-2021 10:28 AM)YNot Wrote:  I'd like to see some sort of merger of an NCAA losers bracket with the NIT.

If all of the First Four were at-large teams, they could be slotted into the NIT. Start the NIT with 24 teams, and have the lovers join the NIT field when it gets down to 6 teams, which of course brings the field to 8 teams.