College Sports (Basketball)

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#51      
Illini in Indiana
Illwinsagain said:
Depending on who the 24 teams are, maybe it does matter. There will be 12 teams who get a "warm up" game that they won, prior to the Thurs/Friday rounds. If these teams are P4 conference teams with an 8-12 record that won a couple of games in the conf tourney, they could have an advantage. I believe it is one of the reasons (besides $$$) that the tourney went from 48 - 64 back in the day.

The first reason I don't like it, I am old and don't like change.
The second reason, it waters down the tourney.
The third reason, Illinois will be playing a talented SEC team that underachieved all year, until getting hot at the end of the season that already beat another P4 team in their warm up game and found their 3 point shot. A team that wouldn't have been in the tourney prior and feels like they are playing with house money.
Paranoia, yes.
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I can't argue any with your opinion. I'm too old and rather not see change.
But we too may have an off year and under achieve, then upset a good SEC team and have a sweet 16 run.
 
#52      
mysterio2525
the juiceman cometh said:
Sounds good. Let's call these pods "conferences" and the winner of each pod qualifies for the main draw. Then let's add enough at-large selections to get up to a number that works neatly for a single-elimination tournament. Let's say...I dunno...64?
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I do think it will lead to that.. that's what the play ins are

the core thing that came change... it must be single elimination games. the number of teams expanding was always inevitable. single elimination needs to be sacred.... despite my desire for a rematch with UNC in 2005
 
#53      
BalloonsTheElephant
21ChampaignSt said:
Just expand the tournament to 365 teams and let it play out all summer. Year round basketball. Who wouldn't want that?

March Madness rolls into April Awesomeness rolls into June Jubilation rolls into July Just-get-it-over-already rolls into August Apathy.

Think of all the money err I mean, all the deserving student athletes who will get to compete on one of sports' biggest stages!
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It only takes two more games to go from 64 teams to 256. It's not really that big of a difference. I know you are joking, but it's gonna be 128 before you know it.

The real question is do you make 8 groups of 16 or 4 of 32?
 
#54      
Illwinsagain
BalloonsTheElephant said:
It only takes two more games to go from 64 teams to 256. It's not really that big of a difference. I know you are joking, but it's gonna be 128 before you know it.

The real question is do you make 8 groups of 16 or 4 of 32?
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8 groups of 16, 8 #1 seeds? Again, watering down the process. Of course, if it were 128 teams, Opening Rounds Tuesday/Wednesday, Next rounds Thursday/Friday and little rest for Saturday/Sunday. I hate admitting this, but I would absolutely watch. The B1G would have HAVE TO move their Final to Saturday. All conference tourneys would need to move back one day, along with the announcement. The big question, would there be more money made with 2 more days of meaningful tourney games (32 games a day on Tuesday/Wednesday) to give up Sunday's ratings? Follow the MONEY.
 
#55      
grue2
BalloonsTheElephant said:
It only takes two more games to go from 64 teams to 256. It's not really that big of a difference. I know you are joking, but it's gonna be 128 before you know it.

The real question is do you make 8 groups of 16 or 4 of 32?
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I don't see them going to 128+ unless they add another week or two to the schedule. The money is in the TV. How many games can they practically/profitably air per day on weekdays/weekends?

I don't think I would watch any of the games other than the IL game. The 1/128 game is probably identical to the 1/64 game today. The 64/65 matchup doesn't hold any interest for me. Its roughly the 12th ranked teams from two power leagues playing.
 
#56      
Point-Illinois
I don't know what they are planning to do with 76 teams...but I'll say this...

If it only affects the Tuesday/Wednesday before the field of 64 is set, it bothers me a lot less. Honestly, I don't give a rat's fart about those teams unless they are the Illini or a future opponent of the Illini.

If this is an attempt to make more money by having more "play-in" games for bubble teams...it kind of makes it easier on the committee right? If your resume is mediocre enough for the bubble, prove you belong in the field by beating another bubble team for the spot. Have the projected last four in, first four out, next four out...etc (make the math work) all play for 10/11/12 seeds. Then these coaches who barely missed the tourney in years past won't be able to say they were snubbed.

My ONLY ask for these "pre-games" would be that they are not called NCAA Tourney games...and that the tourney doesn't truly start on Tuesday/Wednesday. If you aren't playing on Thursday/Friday with 63 other teams, you didn't make the tourney, full stop.
 
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#57      
ptgrd23
People ask what is to stop a basketball only school like Marquette or St John to spend full $20M on basketball payroll. Issue is they have to get the $20M from somewhere and most basketball programs don't generate that kind of money - only successful college football programs. Specifically those getting B10 or SEC level payments of +$50M per year.
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Other nuggets from Illinois’ recent report to the NCAA:
  • The football program had revenue of $68.7 million, the biggest chunk from television rights ($39 million). Ticket sales amounted to $9.8 million (remember, this is the 2023 season, when the team was 5-7 and did not play in a bowl game). Expenses totaled $38.9 million.
  • The men’s basketball program had revenue of $30 million, including $9.3 million in ticket sales. It also got $2.4 million from the NCAA. Expenses amounted to $18 million.
  • Women’s basketball finished $2.8 million in the red last year, and all other sports combined lost $21.7 million.
  • In its list of capital assets, DIA said its greatest asset was 100-year-old Memorial Stadium, valued at $163.7
www.news-gazette.com

UI athletics reports modest profit on record revenue, expenses

The University of Illinois athletics program set records in the last fiscal year for both revenue and expenses. The bottom line shows the program finished about $4.6 million in the
www.news-gazette.com www.news-gazette.com
 
#58      
ptgrd23
I don't know how much of basketball $30M revenue was TV rights. If total was $60.5M and football was $39M of that one might guess that basketball was $20m?
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swimswam.com

Big Ten Reports $928 Million In Revenue, Distributes $63 Million To Members In 2024

The Big Ten distributed between $63.26 to $63.43 million to 12 of its members, while Rutgers and Maryland received $61.52 million.
swimswam.com swimswam.com
 
#61      
ptgrd23
Illini are very lucky

1. Member of B10 paying out $+60M in 2025
2. Solid coaches in FB, MBB, and WBB who seem to be thriving in $NIL transfer portal environment
3. Great AD in JW
4. Good alumni donor support - Mr .Gies

While we may not be OSU, Oregon, Michigan or Penn State football level we are definitely in next tier of B10

1. Desire-able metro TV markets - Chicago, St Louis
2. Recently upgraded facilities
3. Good attendance
 
#63      
the juiceman cometh
#65      
Fighter of the Nightman
Very random post here, but I was talking to a friend about the CFP and it potentially expanding ... and it got me thinking about what the CFP would look like in recent years for the basketball side of things.

2025
First Round / Sweet Sixteen - Home Games
#9 Texas Tech at #8 St. John's (NY)
#12 Wisconsin at #5 Tennessee
#10 Iowa State at #7 Michigan State
#11 Kentucky at #6 Alabama

Quarterfinals / Elite Eight - Neutral Site Games
8/9 vs. #1 Auburn (Atlanta, GA)
5/12 vs. #4 Florida (San Francisco, CA)
7/10 vs. #2 Duke (Newark, NJ)
6/11 vs. #3 Houston (Indianapolis, IN)

Final Four - San Antonio, TX

2024
First Round / Sweet Sixteen - Home Games
#9 Baylor at #8 Iowa State
#12 Illinois at #5 Tennessee
#10 Creighton at #7 Marquette
#11 Kentucky at #6 Arizona

Quarterfinals / Elite Eight - Neutral Site Games
8/9 vs. #1 UConn (Boston, MA)
5/12 vs. #4 North Carolina (Los Angeles, CA)
7/10 vs. #2 Houston (Dallas, TX)
6/11 vs. #3 Purdue (Detroit, MI)

Final Four - Glendale, AZ

2023
First Round / Sweet Sixteen - Home Games
#9 Baylor at #8 Marquette
#12 Xavier at #5 UCLA
#10 Gonzaga at #7 Arizona
#11 Kansas State at #6 Texas

Quarterfinals / Elite Eight - Neutral Site Games
8/9 vs. #1 Alabama (Louisville, KY)
5/12 vs. #4 Purdue (New York, NY)
7/10 vs. #2 Houston (Kansas City, MO)
6/11 vs. #3 Kansas (Las Vegas, NV)

Final Four - Houston, TX

2022
First Round / Sweet Sixteen - Home Games
#9 Wisconsin at #8 Duke
#12 Texas Tech at #5 Auburn
#10 Tennessee at #7 Villanova
#11 Purdue at #6 Kentucky

Quarterfinals / Elite Eight - Neutral Site Games
8/9 vs. #1 Gonzaga (San Francisco, CA)
5/12 vs. #4 Baylor (Philadelphia, PA)
7/10 vs. #2 Arizona (San Antonio, TX)
6/11 vs. #3 Kansas (Chicago, IL)

Final Four - New Orleans, LA

2021
First Round / Sweet Sixteen - Home Games
#9 Arkansas at #8 Houston
#12 Kansas at #5 Alabama
#10 West Virginia at #7 Iowa
#11 Texas at #6 Ohio State

Quarterfinals / Elite Eight - Neutral Site Games (Using Originally Planned Sites)
8/9 vs. #1 Gonzaga (Denver, CO)
5/12 vs. #4 Michigan (Brooklyn, NY)
7/10 vs. #2 Baylor (Memphis, TN)
6/11 vs. #3 Illinois (Minneapolis, MN)

Final Four - Indianapolis, IN

Just a fun exercise, but we would have two CFP appearances in the last five years, with a close miss in 2022 (we were the #14 overall seed). And these would have been our paths...

2021
Elite Eight: vs. #6 Ohio State or #11 Texas in Minneapolis, MN
Final Four: vs. #2 Baylor, #7 Iowa or #10 West Virginia (Indianapolis, IN)

2024
Sweet Sixteen: at #5 Tennessee
Elite Eight: vs. #4 North Carolina (Los Angeles, CA)
Final Four: vs. #1 UConn, #8 Iowa State or #9 Baylor (Glendale, AZ)

Our actual 2024 path to the Elite Eight was definitely better, IMO, getting to play Iowa State on a neutral floor ... and I doubt we were getting through UConn no matter what, lol. However, that 2021 path of being guaranteed a Sweet Sixteen appearance, playing OSU (who we had recently beat twice) or Texas (who ended up going down in the First Round to Abilene Christian...) to get to the Elite Eight and a presumed rematch with Baylor or POSSIBLY a game vs. Iowa or West Virginia to make the Final Four in front of an Illini home crowd in Indy?? What could have been! Lol.
 
#66      
Illinisnake
#67      
Calvin
the juiceman cometh said:
Don't think of myself as a puritan, but I am not a fan of this. I predict in a few decades society will recognize the near universal embrace of sports gambling by sports leagues and associations to be a mistake.
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Not sure what you mean by mistake. There are definitely downsides. A lot of people get crushed before they learn that professional bookies are better at handicapping than they are. For the sport as an industry, betting brings a lot more interest and data into it which translates into revenue. As far as scandals go, the betting industry is pretty good at monitoring itself and using analytics to investigate cheating. They are very good at making sure they always come out on top.
 
#69      
pruman91
#70      
The Galloping Ghost
Calvin said:
Not sure what you mean by mistake. There are definitely downsides. A lot of people get crushed before they learn that professional bookies are better at handicapping than they are. For the sport as an industry, betting brings a lot more interest and data into it which translates into revenue. As far as scandals go, the betting industry is pretty good at monitoring itself and using analytics to investigate cheating. They are very good at making sure they always come out on top.
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As far as scandals go, there's a pretty darn big one unfolding just this morning...
https://twitter.com/x/status/1981330580693537006
https://twitter.com/x/status/1981336049935888700
https://twitter.com/x/status/1981339077116100739
And in case you think this is just an NBA problem, don't forget...
https://twitter.com/x/status/1981331222132343282
But yeah, no, not a mistake. Just the price of doing business...
 
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#72      
Oracle21
21ChampaignSt said:
More arrests to be announced at 9 cst.

ftw.usatoday.com

FBI sports gambling probe: Recap of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups news

The FBI sports gambling investigation is resulting in arrests.
ftw.usatoday.com
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Rozier seems really guilty. A guy bet a $13,000 parlay that would have paid out $281,000 on 5 prop under bets on a Rozier game in which Rozier took himself out of the game after playing only 10 minutes to ensure it won.

With computers all analyzing these bets in real time it’s impossible to beat the sportsbooks. They will flag anything that is suspicious
 
#73      
Grandpa
Wow! Not a good look for Portland when the head coach is in an illegal gambling deal tied into the Mafia.
 
#74      
OrangeBlue98
I was (in a twisted way) hoping to see a gambling ad on one of these articles. The irony would have been too much.
 
#75      
the juiceman cometh
Calvin said:
Not sure what you mean by mistake. There are definitely downsides. A lot of people get crushed before they learn that professional bookies are better at handicapping than they are. For the sport as an industry, betting brings a lot more interest and data into it which translates into revenue. As far as scandals go, the betting industry is pretty good at monitoring itself and using analytics to investigate cheating. They are very good at making sure they always come out on top.
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For one, go to CNN.com, NYTimes.com, or FoxNews.com and check out the lead story.

Also, gambling can be addictive and ruin lives. Of course that doesn't mean we go back to making it illegal. But maybe we don't have professional sports leagues actively promoting it and making it part of the gameday experience we push on sports fans, a broad group of people that includes people as young as elementary school kids. Maybe we take the betting lines off of sports broadcasts, and go back to the days where you have to physically enter a licensed gambling venue and verify your age by showing your license before you can place a bet. And I think yes, we should go back to the days where, if you're going to have the privilege of playing in X sports league (whether collegiate or professional) you're just going to have to abstain from sports gambling.
 
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