March Madness 23

[randylahey]

I don't get it those who do not enjoy it. The basketball on my tv has been close games, super skilled team play, playing all out. I don't care about your brackets and bets. This is good entertainment. Multiple interviews coming up lately saying they are playing for the love of the game.

Yeah I dont understand it either. Been a tourney where anyone can beat anyone. The basketball purists have loved it

[randylahey]

it's all fun and games until you get a ff consisting of: fau, sdsu, uconn and miami

thanks transfer portal and nil.

Whats your logic here

[jhawks99]

If we're not in it, it's kinda cool that a bunch of 1st timers are in. No dook, no unc, no uk.

[NewtonHawk11]

UConn being in it and likely a good shot at winning it is really annoying.

They would go ahead of us in the count.

[jfish26]

I don't get it those who do not enjoy it. The basketball on my tv has been close games, super skilled team play, playing all out. I don't care about your brackets and bets. This is good entertainment. Multiple interviews coming up lately saying they are playing for the love of the game.

Yeah I dont understand it either. Been a tourney where anyone can beat anyone. The basketball purists have loved it

Depends on what "purist" means. I would think that a particular kind of "purist" does not like that the so-called championship doesn't do a good job at all of identifying the best team.

[jfish26]

UConn being in it and likely a good shot at winning it is really annoying.

They would go ahead of us in the count.

And this is the folly of using tournament titles as a proxy for greatness, right? Michigan State and San Francisco both have two titles; are they equal?

[NewtonHawk11]

UConn being in it and likely a good shot at winning it is really annoying.

They would go ahead of us in the count.

And this is the folly of using tournament titles as a proxy for greatness, right? Michigan State and San Francisco both have two titles; are they equal?

Obviously not, but to the casual fan who Wikipedias for their CBB knowledge, it will suck to deal with.

[randylahey]

I don't get it those who do not enjoy it. The basketball on my tv has been close games, super skilled team play, playing all out. I don't care about your brackets and bets. This is good entertainment. Multiple interviews coming up lately saying they are playing for the love of the game.

Yeah I dont understand it either. Been a tourney where anyone can beat anyone. The basketball purists have loved it

Depends on what "purist" means. I would think that a particular kind of "purist" does not like that the so-called championship doesn't do a good job at all of identifying the best team.

Were you mad about it last year? Cause KU sure as hell was not the best team last season

[jfish26]

Yeah I dont understand it either. Been a tourney where anyone can beat anyone. The basketball purists have loved it

Depends on what "purist" means. I would think that a particular kind of "purist" does not like that the so-called championship doesn't do a good job at all of identifying the best team.

Were you mad about it last year? Cause KU sure as hell was not the best team last season

I'm not "mad" about it now. It's part of the deal with following this sport. It's like a macro version of ending the World Cup with PKs.

[pdub]

Or, even more simply, if the NBA playoffs were single game elimination.

Teams in 2000:

Only 7 possible champs that were champs: 2000 Lakers, 2002 Lakers, 2008 Celtics, 2010 Lakers, 2014 Spurs, 2015 Warriors, 2017 Warriors.

And for Gutter's Bools:

91 Bulls - nope. Loose in the championship.
92 Bulls - nope. Loose in the e8.
93 Bulls - yes!
96 Bulls - yes!
97 Bulls - yes!
98 Bulls - no! Loose in the championship.

[Sparko]

It is all about match ups. I haven't liked the quality of the games this year. The 50 foul disqualifier still chafes.

[InfiniteJ]

Yeah I dont understand it either. Been a tourney where anyone can beat anyone. The basketball purists have loved it

Depends on what "purist" means. I would think that a particular kind of "purist" does not like that the so-called championship doesn't do a good job at all of identifying the best team.

Were you mad about it last year? Cause KU sure as hell was not the best team last season

Overall, who was better? Gonzaga? Arizona?

[pdub]

Perhaps both those teams.
Houston too ( I know they were a 5 seed ).
Hell Nova if they hadn't lost their best/2nd best player.

But I was much more confident last season in being a top 5 team - like a legit contender - than this.

[InfiniteJ]

Perhaps both those teams.
Houston too.
Hell Nova if they hadn't lost their best/2nd best player.

But I was much more confident last season in being a top 5 team - like a legit contender - than this.

I agree. I can honestly say, KU was ARGUABLY the best team in college basketball last season.

[jfish26]

Perhaps both those teams.
Houston too.
Hell Nova if they hadn't lost their best/2nd best player.

But I was much more confident last season in being a top 5 team - like a legit contender - than this.

It’s definitely the case that you’d get a lot truer of a champion if you started to do three game series from/after the Sweet 16 (or whatever).

(REALLY - if you were really interested in having a truer champion, but didn’t want to go to series for the whole tournament, you’d actually get the most bang for your buck out of making the Round of 64 a best of three).

[pdub]

Solution that both earns MORE MONEY BABY MORE TEAMS MORE MONEY!!!! and maybe better determines champion.

Give me 16 teams on bye.
64 teams play single elimination weekend. Th, F, Sa, Sun.
16 teams advance from that and are reseeded.

Weekend 2 starting Wednesday, best of 3 to get to S16.

Weekend 3 starting Wednesday, best of 3 to get to e8.

Weekend 4 starting Wednesday, best of 3 to get to final four.

Weekend 5 Final Four back to single elimination.

You still get your madness in that first weekend. Great teams are rewarded a chance to not get knocked out after one bad game and have a bye.

[Back2Lawrence]

I don't get it those who do not enjoy it. The basketball on my tv has been close games, super skilled team play, playing all out. I don't care about your brackets and bets. This is good entertainment. Multiple interviews coming up lately saying they are playing for the love of the game.

If you were to invent things from scratch, you might do this tournament over the holidays, and then a much more focused (8-16 teams, series of at least three games) championship at the end of the season.

The tournament is great fun, but it doesn't do a very good job of identifying the best team in the sport.

thank you! maybe the winner gets a qualification into the end of season championship round?

You all know that football is about to occupy a solid month of playoffs. And how are smaller schools going to represented in this early season tournament? I get the idea, and understand this tournament doesn’t necessarily lead to the best teams playing at the end….but that’s what makes it awesome.

[Back2Lawrence]

Yuck dub. I thin’ you were joking, but this sounds like the MLS format from a bit ago. Icky.

[randylahey]

Perhaps both those teams.
Houston too.
Hell Nova if they hadn't lost their best/2nd best player.

But I was much more confident last season in being a top 5 team - like a legit contender - than this.

I agree. I can honestly say, KU was ARGUABLY the best team in college basketball last season.

I dont even think KU was the best team in their own conference this season

[twocoach]

If you were to invent things from scratch, you might do this tournament over the holidays, and then a much more focused (8-16 teams, series of at least three games) championship at the end of the season.

The tournament is great fun, but it doesn't do a very good job of identifying the best team in the sport.

I don't think it's designed to do that. Because there are so many teams from so many different conferences (with such radically different schedule strengths) all you can do is create a tourney weighted via seedings to try to give props to those who "accomplished" more in the season and let them fight it out for the title. It's the most exciting tourney in sports in my opinion because it isn't about crowning the best. It's all about giving teams a chance to prove who is best equipped to handle such a wildly unpredictable tourney right now.

Oh I absolutely agree. All I'm saying is that there might actually be a place for BOTH the madness, AND the crowning of a more-true champion.

Games played in November/December should absolutely not determine whether or not you are eligible to play in the end of year tourney. I don't support that at all.