I agree with you. That's the reason I said I know it will never happen. Still doesn't change the fact that the Big Ten only thinks about dollars and not it's student athletes and fans.I think that's very unlikely. The last game before the brackets are announced is the best time slot. Like nearly every other year, our final is highest rated.
Big Ten an exception as conference title games rebound
Outside of the Big Ten, ratings for the major college basketball conference title games rebounded significantly during championship week.www.sportsmediawatch.com
3/17 Games
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Does anyone have good Kentucky Twitter Implosion chatter? I have no use for the guy but may look up "Big Tim" or whatever it is today just to poke the bear a little...
There’s also no real proof that the reason Iowa lost was because they played so many games. It’s really hard to prove a singular cause for upsets in a single elimination basketball tournament. How far does the tourney champ need to go in order for us to not blame that? At what point is an upset an upset caused by some other reason than simply “tired legs because the big ten is greedy”. We didn’t lose last year because we had tired legs. We lost because we drew a tough matchup with a very good Loyola team and didn’t adjust as well as we needed to to win.
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
I think the conference should consider moving up the tourney weekend if possible. The WCC (granted, they're not attracting the eyeballs that the B1G is) has theirs done before we even begin, so no matter what happens the winner has plenty of time to rest up for the NCAAs.
I would say that 21 years without a team that wins a championship begins to infer some correlation. No real way to prove it, but common sense points to teams having to play 3-5 games in the span of a week being related to the inability to string 6 wins together over a 2.5 week period. It's a contributing factor is all I'm saying - not the singular cause.
2015, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Years since 2015 the BTT champ made it past first weekend.
2016, 2021, 2022 - years they didn’t.
This was not a thing UNTIL we lost and want a reason to blame the big ten for it. The BTT champions normally do just fine. Of the 4 years they made it to 2nd weekend in this stretch, 3 of them made the final 4.
Before 2015, you have to go back to 2006 to find the next team that didn’t make it past the first weekend.
So 2007-2022, 3 teams lost the first weekend and 13 teams made at least sweet 16. This has nothing to do with the big ten tournament timing. Winning it didn’t slow us down in 2005.
i would argue it’s not a contributing factor. There are a lot of reasons we haven’t won a national championship. I think blaming the timing of the big ten tournament is a convenient excuse when the teams that have won it tend to perform fine until they start facing some really tough competition. So really, is it the tired legs from games played a week and a half ago? Or is it just some bad luck, maybe lack of that super star top 5 nba star, or several other things. I don’t understand the tired legs argument. The SEC and AAC tournaments play Sunday as well. The ACC, Big East, Pac12, and Big 12 tournaments end one day before.
So who are we comparing to that has “fresh” legs because they didn’t play a conference tournament the weekend before the ncaa?
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
I agree with you that you can't point to that call as the reason for losing (Kris did get fouled on a 3 when we played them and that didn't matter), but the longer-term problem with missing the above call, when it's so dang obvious and right in front of the ref, is it really reinforces why players should flop whenever they feel any contact. That's probably called if Murray falls down or flails his arms, but that's not how the Murrays play (which is a big reason why I really like those guys despite the school they attend). Blatantly missed calls like that incentivize overly selling contact in the future, which tends to spiral and impact the game negatively in a number of other ways (ie, selling contact that shouldn't be a foul but is called one because the guy flung around wildly and fell down). Hate the poor reffing can lead to that.
Obviously my favorite tourney time is waiting to see where the Illini are seeded, who and where they are playing, and of course rooting for them to make a deep run and maybe win it all. But in second place there is the pure deliciousness of watching a blue blood with their bought and paid for NBA wannabes get owned by a group of players that will probably be mowing lawns and painting houses this summer for extra cash.
So suck it, Kentucky. Here's hoping Dook, Kansas, and UNC join you quickly.
And Auburn. Especially Auburn. Not a blue blood but no matter. Hope you lose by 30. And Bruce can go back to Auburn and choke on a meatball at the nicest Italian restaurant in town. Which is probably Fazoli's.
So suck it, Kentucky. Here's hoping Dook, Kansas, and UNC join you quickly.
And Auburn. Especially Auburn. Not a blue blood but no matter. Hope you lose by 30. And Bruce can go back to Auburn and choke on a meatball at the nicest Italian restaurant in town. Which is probably Fazoli's.
One of the nig reasons and probably the biggest reason is that Iowa was mentally spent, just like last yea when we ran the table in the B1G tourney. Its a grind and to win it, like both Iowa and us did, it takes a lot out of you mentally and to ramp up like that within a week is difficult. That’s why over the past several years of this format, the B1G has not done well overall in the tourney. The entire season and the tourney is a grind. Its not the amount of games, its the type of game the conference plays night in and night out. There are more tightly contested games in the B1G than blowouts. I hope today the B1G wins all 5 games as we are 2-3 so far.
I think it is more that last year we felt like we were cheated and deserved the Big ten title and so our team put so much focus on winning the Big ten Tourney to show everyone who was really the best team in the league. we then accomplished that goal and sort of lost the "eye of the tiger." We kind of felt like we were a #1 seed and did not have the mental drive to get through and win the second round game.
I think Iowa did the same thing (except maybe not show they were the real Big ten champs but (in their mind) show they were the best team in the conference. Also everyone stated they were the hottest team in the country, (which they had won a lot of games at the end of the season) but the their schedule was fairly soft the last half of the season with wins coming against (in order): Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska (lost to Michigan), OSO, MSU, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan, (lost to ) Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, IU and Purdue.
That really was only about 3-4 good wins.
I think Iowa did the same thing (except maybe not show they were the real Big ten champs but (in their mind) show they were the best team in the conference. Also everyone stated they were the hottest team in the country, (which they had won a lot of games at the end of the season) but the their schedule was fairly soft the last half of the season with wins coming against (in order): Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska (lost to Michigan), OSO, MSU, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan, (lost to ) Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, IU and Purdue.
That really was only about 3-4 good wins.
I didn't start reading this thread until this morning.
Maybe one reason is that college students are generally more tolerant? And the rest of the fans in the stands tend to be older adults or youngish parents with kids? My only experience with European soccer fans was in the 1990s when I lived in England for a little while and attended a couple/few games. It seemed to me that the fans were at least 90+ per cent male. Don't know if that is typical in other countries. It also seemed to me (granted a very subjective analysis) that women were just not that much into sports, or at least soccer, in England and presumably other countries. Maybe men just don't act like such ***holes when they are sitting next to their dates, wives, or significant others. I know I don't. Sorry if that may have sounded sexist.
Another reason? Maybe liquor? I know that alcohol is now sold at college games, I guess, but I think that has been a relatively recent thing but liquor has been sold at soccer games forever (I think). It seems as if soccer fans (mostly male) drink before, during and after the games (albeit I don't know that for sure but am pretty sure it happens).
Then there is this, in the U.S. maybe bad behavior is reserved for politics, not sports (half sarcastic comment).
So 3 teams lose the first weekend of the NCAAs after winning the BTT in a 17 year period (16 tournaments), so let’s blame the BTT that has not changed?
Come on. Be logical here.
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
Are you suggesting that your facts are superior to my feelings? Do you know what decade it is?? Quit being rational!!
I just read about his story. From regular student on academic scholarship to MAC defensive player of the year. Only received one call of interest in HS by a D3 team. Pretty cool stuff!
There may not be any way to verify our late tourney finish hurts our teams. I do think an extra week of rest after the grind of the B10 conference season is way more likely to be beneficial than detrimental. Twenty one years without a championship for the B10 is a very bad look, something needs to change.
MustangWally
- Mayfield
Since the last Big Ten champion, the ACC has won the tournament EIGHT times. The Big East six times (though one was vacated), the SEC three times, the Big 12 twice, and the AAC once.
The Big Ten has made it to the final game seven times, and, of course, lost all seven. I guess we don't get tired until the last game.
The Big Ten has made it to the final game seven times, and, of course, lost all seven. I guess we don't get tired until the last game.
Since the Wooden era B1G has only won 5 in the last 46 years the best I can tell.
Anyone have any idea what KenPom’s record was yesterday? He and his metrics get talked up so much here, just curious how one would have done using his rankings.
That makes me feel a little better I guess.
So basically the deal is…B1G can’t close the deal.
I wonder what the breakdown is for (# of appearances by each conf.) Gonna do some research…
Go Nats 88 Illini
Fairfax, VA
Super happy for St. Petes. But if only one 15 beats a 2, I sure would have liked Jacksonville State to be the one. Here's hoping for two #15's.Maybe you should watch their jerseys a little closer...
its more the 20 game conference schedule leading into the BTT meaning.. 23-24 conference games.. that is alot
At least the B1G has had six different teams make the final game over that stretch. Good conference depth but just can't get over the hump.
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