NCAA Championship Game...what was that?

by **Mitch McConnell** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:32 pm

I turned it off at the half and could have cared less who won. I guess Connecticut did.

The game, which needs help to begin with, did itself no favors with that clunker.

I like college hoops. But this was brutal.

by **Buddha** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:53 pm

I'm all for good defense, but fewer than 100 points COMBINED?

The NBA has been brutal since Magic and Bird retired, and the college game has gone down the crapper ever since the NBA welcomed every high school kid who could jump. The one-and-done rule has done nothing to help the game, either. I'm glad SMU shows signs of progress, but tonight was a horrific display.

by **hoopmanx** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:42 am

it was one game in a great tournament. What I find funny is the media folks who want to throw a season under the bus, b/c of a bad shooting final

by **GiddyUp** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:50 am

Definitely a brick fest - one of the worst I can remember since that Maryland awful final

by **Pony!Poni!Pone'!** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:52 am

Someone said the next cba could be such that nba newcomers would be the equivalent of having completed their junior season, vs frosh as now.

by **hoopmanx** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:33 am

GiddyUp wrote:Definitely a brick fest - one of the worst I can remember since that Maryland awful final

ha, the common denominator is the hoosier state. When Jimmy Chitwood goes cold

by **RGV Pony** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:20 am

which is why the 'real' Jimmy Chitwood was sitting pretty last night...owns a bar in Broad Ripple, which is kind of the upper Greenville of Indy. Stayed at his bar, so when the shooting went cold, I'm assuming he pulled himself a beer and enjoyed the packed house.

I'd say last night in a strange way gives SMU fans cause for optimism...even on our worst night shooting, I don't think we were 19%.

Hate to say it, but college hoops needs a dastardly team like 90 UNLV or the 05 Carolina (ugh) team of Doh's recruits to run all over the field and polarize basketball nation one way or another.

by **Mitch McConnell** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:43 am

hoopmanx wrote:it was one game in a great tournament. What I find funny is the media folks who want to throw a season under the bus, b/c of a bad shooting final

IMO it wasn't just a bad shooting night, it was everything. I thought the ball handling was terrible and players were just out of position and reaching and grabbing. I'm only commenting on the first half since I dropped off. I was embarrassed for the game.

The spin national media is talking about how UConn's defense really clamped down on Butler. OK, the Huskies got some blocks. But from what I could tell, Butler appeared to get most of the shots it wanted -- and virtually missed everything. Now, they were dominated inside from a points perspective but it wasn't like the looks weren't there.

Pretty sad when your MOP is 5-19 from the field, has no assists and commits two turnovers. Why didn't Lamb win it?

Connecticut won because it sucked less. Those guys only shot 34 percent to Butler's 19 so it's all relative as far as I'm concerned.

It was a terrible terrible game.

For sure a fun tournament, but college basketball is at a pretty important time where it needs some good to follow it. I'm really concerned that its national relevancy is starting to drift toward crisis mode.

Monday night was the perfect opportunity to give the game a lift -- and it did anything but do that. Fair or unfair, that's how the casual public will perceive it. When the traffic guy on KSCS is talking how bad it was, that's not good.

by **hoopmanx** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:50 am

RGV Pony wrote:which is why the 'real' Jimmy Chitwood was sitting pretty last night...owns a bar in Broad Ripple, which is kind of the upper Greenville of Indy. Stayed at his bar, so when the shooting went cold, I'm assuming he pulled himself a beer and enjoyed the packed house.

I'd say last night in a strange way gives SMU fans cause for optimism...even on our worst night shooting, I don't think we were 19%.

Hate to say it, but college hoops needs a dastardly team like 90 UNLV or the 05 Carolina (ugh) team of Doh's recruits to run all over the field and polarize basketball nation one way or another.

I guess as a diehard, I'm ecstatic to see more teams w/a better shot in hoops. I understand that UNLV & Carolina polarize the sport, but I just don't care about non-diehards and what they are drawn to. Its fleeting. I'd rather expand the field, get more alums excited about their programs, than worry about rogue programs capturing the attention of the random fan.

The sports strength should be parity, unlike college football, which is all about BCS programs and rightfully so. That's one reason I don't get hot n bothered by TCUs success in football, cause I just don't believe it. No way a non-bcs school goes even two rounds in a football playoff.

by **Monkeystang** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:51 am

I think Butler broker a record for having the worst FG % in a final game. I think they were south of 20%. They also only shot 3's.

by **NickSMU17** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:55 am

I'm curious as to what the rating were last night...I would imagine they were better than the past couple of years, people love the Cinderella...

I only enjoy college basketball because of the equality it gives, so whether you didn't enjoy watching the game it was nice to see a small school like butler play with UCONNvict....

Even though both teams played terrible, the amount of hustle made up for it for me...

by **hoopmanx** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:01 am

NickSMU17 wrote:I'm curious as to what the rating were last night...I would imagine they were better than the past couple of years, people love the Cinderella...

I only enjoy college basketball because of the equality it gives, so whether you didn't enjoy watching the game it was nice to see a small school like butler play with UCONNvict....

Even though both teams played terrible, the amount of hustle made up for it for me...

yea, they went after it hard defensively. There wasn't any easy look all game for either team. UConn closed out like it was their job, and Butler defended the pick'n'roll masterfully. Its funny, I don't know a ton in the basketball industry that even watch the finals. They've all moved on to vacation, or are already grinding for next season.

by **GiddyUp** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:20 am

good overall tournament, too bad the final was so bad.
Anyone in CUSA would have been on that night, too bad for Butler

by **GiddyUp** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:56 pm

Mitch McConnell wrote:
hoopmanx wrote:it was one game in a great tournament. What I find funny is the media folks who want to throw a season under the bus, b/c of a bad shooting final

For sure a fun tournament, but college basketball is at a pretty important time where it needs some good to follow it. I'm really concerned that its national relevancy is starting to drift toward crisis mode.

Monday night was the perfect opportunity to give the game a lift -- and it did anything but do that. Fair or unfair, that's how the casual public will perceive it. When the traffic guy on KSCS is talking how bad it was, that's not good.

Why does it matter? Crisis mode?
I'm not following you. Millions of people tune in every year. $18B TV, $700m a year contract. It was one bad game. I could care less what the casual fan thinks. Overall a pretty good tourney. I would like to see a more dominant program in place but that won't change b/c of the NBA money. Would love to see them go by NFL rules.

by **Mitch McConnell** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:55 am

Giddyup,
If you read the column by John Feinstein that Water Pony posted, it follows my thinking. In a column you have to generalize a little bit because you only have so much space. I think Feinstein generalized the AAU factor. Hoopmanx may know it to be different and that's fine. But the perception -- fueled by Feinstein and others -- is out there that the AAU has a bad name, even if it's unfair.

I don't doubt there are some good people running AAU teams. But it appears that the trend is growing that AAU people have more influence over where a kid winds up than a high school coach. Personally, no one in the AAU or High School should ever have influence. They can help provide information but beyond that? No thanks because it would suggest that the kid going to school X fulfills the AAU/HS coach's agenda and not the kid himself.

And yes, that's too pollyanna for that.

As for the casual fan, I understand your point. In essence, the season is built for the BB geeks like us and the alumni.

However, I still think the game needs to find a way to draw in the casual fan more than it cares to admit. I couldn't tell you how it can go beyond the TV packages or something like that. Maybe it just works better in college towns than major metro areas.

But I am concerned that if most of the casual fans think the college basketball season is just 3 weeks in March and a bunch of bracket rackets, then it devalues the game. When you can't follow a team for 3 seasons because everybody is leaving after one season, that hurts. No one can identify with the players. And yes, college BB is a coaches game, but they're changing programs as quickly as the kids.

Brandon Knight is ready for the NBA? Are you kidding?

I've written far beyond OTP's attention span (LOL) but I am concerned. I love the game as much as you do. A given. But it's going in the wrong direction.