If your team made the cut for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, I offer congratulations. If your team made it to one of the lesser tournaments, you have my sympathy.
If you’re a serious college basketball fan, today you are either happy or sad. There isn’t such a thing as middle ground.
The NCAA tournament is the gold standard. All other postseason tournaments are just tournaments. If your team is in March Madness, anticipation is high. Teams in the lesser tournaments are feeling jealousy and disappointment.
If I’m a fan of a team that didn’t make the Big Dance (and I’m there), I would almost wish the season was officially over because in reality it feels like it is. They can promote all those lesser tournaments as much as they want, it’s only fluff.
I will be cheering for my alma mater Iowa State in the Big Dance. The Cyclones oppose Notre Dame Friday. Memo to Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg: spend some quality in practice on the defense. Thanks.
Showing posts with label Big Dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big Dance. Show all posts
Monday, March 18, 2013
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Iowa's Love Affair with Basketball Coach Fran McCaffery
Iowa desperately wants a winner in men’s basketball. That’s really the only logical reason the Hawkeye faithful are in love with Coach Fran McCaffery at this point in his Iowa career.
Iowa announced a contact extension for the coach yesterday. McCaffery received seven years and could earn $1.86 million per season if he takes the Hawkeyes to the NCAA tournament. Regardless of the NCAA outcome, he will receive an overall raise.
Now, if you were out of Iowa and the country and returned to read the above paragraph, you would think McCaffery had turned the program into a sleeping giant. But the answer is really “no.”
Iowa and McCaffery are still selling hope. In McCaffrey’s first season, Iowa finished 11-20. Last year, the Hawkeyes earned a NIT bid and ended the year at 18-17. That’s a two-year total of 29-37. Not exactly sleeping giant material.
As I mentioned in this blog before, I was surprised when Iowa fans celebrated their team’s NIT bid and was buying the hope. That tells you how low the Iowa basketball program has been in recent years. The Hawkeyes haven’t been to the Big Dance (NCAA Tournament) since 2006.
McCaffery may go on to record great results at Iowa. But selling hope will only last so long. It must show up in the victory column where the true standard is measured.
Iowa announced a contact extension for the coach yesterday. McCaffery received seven years and could earn $1.86 million per season if he takes the Hawkeyes to the NCAA tournament. Regardless of the NCAA outcome, he will receive an overall raise.
Now, if you were out of Iowa and the country and returned to read the above paragraph, you would think McCaffery had turned the program into a sleeping giant. But the answer is really “no.”
Iowa and McCaffery are still selling hope. In McCaffrey’s first season, Iowa finished 11-20. Last year, the Hawkeyes earned a NIT bid and ended the year at 18-17. That’s a two-year total of 29-37. Not exactly sleeping giant material.
As I mentioned in this blog before, I was surprised when Iowa fans celebrated their team’s NIT bid and was buying the hope. That tells you how low the Iowa basketball program has been in recent years. The Hawkeyes haven’t been to the Big Dance (NCAA Tournament) since 2006.
McCaffery may go on to record great results at Iowa. But selling hope will only last so long. It must show up in the victory column where the true standard is measured.
Monday, March 12, 2012
It's Been Too Long for Iowa State
The Iowa State Cyclones return to the NCAA tournament this season after a long absence. Iowa State last trip to the Big Dance was back in 2005.
Cyclone fans agree the wait has been too long. That might make this trip much sweeter.
Iowa State’s story is a feel good one in the college game. Former Cyclone star player Fred Hoiberg leads his alma mater back to the Big Dance with a bunch of transfers in only Hoiberg’s second season.
But the NCAA didn’t give Iowa State a break in the seeding. The Cyclones are No. 8 and play the defending national champion UCONN Huskies (No. 9). Obviously, the Huskies aren’t a national title threat this go around, but they are capable of winning some games in the tournament. And the No. 8-9 game is always a tough matchup because the committee deems the teams quite equal. And another difficult aspect this year is the winner gets the No. 1 overall seed Kentucky in round No.3.
It’s great that my alma mater is going back to the tournament. But I hope the Cyclones aren’t just happy with that. They need to go and collect wins and gain more national respect. The tournament is more than being happy to gain the field and pick up a participation ribbon. Once the tournament starts, people only remember you for the wins.
Cyclone fans agree the wait has been too long. That might make this trip much sweeter.
Iowa State’s story is a feel good one in the college game. Former Cyclone star player Fred Hoiberg leads his alma mater back to the Big Dance with a bunch of transfers in only Hoiberg’s second season.
But the NCAA didn’t give Iowa State a break in the seeding. The Cyclones are No. 8 and play the defending national champion UCONN Huskies (No. 9). Obviously, the Huskies aren’t a national title threat this go around, but they are capable of winning some games in the tournament. And the No. 8-9 game is always a tough matchup because the committee deems the teams quite equal. And another difficult aspect this year is the winner gets the No. 1 overall seed Kentucky in round No.3.
It’s great that my alma mater is going back to the tournament. But I hope the Cyclones aren’t just happy with that. They need to go and collect wins and gain more national respect. The tournament is more than being happy to gain the field and pick up a participation ribbon. Once the tournament starts, people only remember you for the wins.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Kansas Jayhawks Rise Above
The old saying, “The Big 12 Basketball Championship goes through Lawrence, Kansas” is certainly true. That proof was apparent Saturday.
Missouri had a 19-point lead over the Jayhawks in the second half. A Missouri victory would have tied Kansas for the Big 12 Conference lead. But the Jayhawks weren’t in a sharing mood.
They stormed back, forced overtime and finished the job in the extra period. Finals score: Kansas 87, Missouri 86.
Kansas’ victory clinched at least a tie for the league title (with a two-game lead). The Jayhawks should win both of their remaining games: tonight at Oklahoma State and Saturday night hosting Texas.
I was hoping the conference would have a different champion this season. Baylor looked good in the early going, but now has five losses. Missouri seemed a solid contender but recent slipups against Kansas State and Oklahoma State forged the Tigers into second place.
I have a feeling Kansas is indeed happy with its conference dominance. But in recent years, Kansas has been a flop in the NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks hope their league success this year will transfer to the Big Dance.
My gut feeling: don’t count on it.
Missouri had a 19-point lead over the Jayhawks in the second half. A Missouri victory would have tied Kansas for the Big 12 Conference lead. But the Jayhawks weren’t in a sharing mood.
They stormed back, forced overtime and finished the job in the extra period. Finals score: Kansas 87, Missouri 86.
Kansas’ victory clinched at least a tie for the league title (with a two-game lead). The Jayhawks should win both of their remaining games: tonight at Oklahoma State and Saturday night hosting Texas.
I was hoping the conference would have a different champion this season. Baylor looked good in the early going, but now has five losses. Missouri seemed a solid contender but recent slipups against Kansas State and Oklahoma State forged the Tigers into second place.
I have a feeling Kansas is indeed happy with its conference dominance. But in recent years, Kansas has been a flop in the NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks hope their league success this year will transfer to the Big Dance.
My gut feeling: don’t count on it.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Talking the NCAA Big Dance
We are approaching the stretch run of the college basketball season and anxiety and excitement fill the air.
If your team is on the NCAA Big Dance bubble, it’s anxiety. If your team is playing well and has racked up a number of wins, you’re feeling pretty confident and excited.
This time of year is a real indicator of how the post season will probably turn out. You want to secure a number of wins in a row and be playing at a high level. Michigan State is usually a team that reflects this case. Consequently, if you are struggling now and even make the NCAA tournament, chances are you won’t be making much noise there. Until last Saturday night, I would have said Creighton fits that bill. But it won a huge BracketBuster game and maybe turned the season around.
Conference tournaments start in the next 2-3 weeks. Bubble teams want to perform well and even win their particular league tournament. But the teams firmly already in the tournament really cannot improve their seeding that much. Of course, the below .500 teams are hoping for a conference tournament miracle but they probably will just be playing out the season.
You will hear of many different NCAA Big Dance predictions this time of year. But don’t believe them. How anybody can predict a No. 14 seed against a No. 3 seed in a particular region puzzles me. But I guess people read the stuff, so the predicators stay in business.
But I can wait until Selection Sunday. It will be all black-and-white on that day and then the fun really begins.
If your team is on the NCAA Big Dance bubble, it’s anxiety. If your team is playing well and has racked up a number of wins, you’re feeling pretty confident and excited.
This time of year is a real indicator of how the post season will probably turn out. You want to secure a number of wins in a row and be playing at a high level. Michigan State is usually a team that reflects this case. Consequently, if you are struggling now and even make the NCAA tournament, chances are you won’t be making much noise there. Until last Saturday night, I would have said Creighton fits that bill. But it won a huge BracketBuster game and maybe turned the season around.
Conference tournaments start in the next 2-3 weeks. Bubble teams want to perform well and even win their particular league tournament. But the teams firmly already in the tournament really cannot improve their seeding that much. Of course, the below .500 teams are hoping for a conference tournament miracle but they probably will just be playing out the season.
You will hear of many different NCAA Big Dance predictions this time of year. But don’t believe them. How anybody can predict a No. 14 seed against a No. 3 seed in a particular region puzzles me. But I guess people read the stuff, so the predicators stay in business.
But I can wait until Selection Sunday. It will be all black-and-white on that day and then the fun really begins.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Bubbles, Bubbles and More Bubbles
And you thought the political season was taking a rest.
Not so. The bids for 68 NCAA men’s basketball tournaments slots are available.
This is political. That’s why if you haven’t heard of the term “bubble” and you are anyway connected with college basketball, you have really been outside the United States.
For my foreign readers, the team “bubble” refers to teams hoping to land a spot in the NCAA tournament. Frankly, they are at the mercy of the NCAA selection committee.
The national sports press daily updates fans with teams squarely on the bubble, those beyond the bubble (expected to get in the tournament) and those off the bubble. It creates fan interest but also high anxiety for the bubble teams.
Bubble teams are usually ones who has an average or above average conference record. They also have respectable overall marks with some quality wins and some bad losses.
With the NCAA tournament only a couple weeks away, you listen to lots of campaign speeches. You will hear conference coaches praising other teams in hopes their league will get more teams in the tournament or “Big Dance” as it’s called. Conference commissioners will provide a similar speech. I even heard a couple conference announcers tell their world how wonderful a few of their teams were. I thought to myself…please.
But the bottom line is if teams take care of business on the court, they will impress the selection committee and earn a bid.
Unfortunately, we will continue to hear about the bubble until we are bubbled out.
Not so. The bids for 68 NCAA men’s basketball tournaments slots are available.
This is political. That’s why if you haven’t heard of the term “bubble” and you are anyway connected with college basketball, you have really been outside the United States.
For my foreign readers, the team “bubble” refers to teams hoping to land a spot in the NCAA tournament. Frankly, they are at the mercy of the NCAA selection committee.
The national sports press daily updates fans with teams squarely on the bubble, those beyond the bubble (expected to get in the tournament) and those off the bubble. It creates fan interest but also high anxiety for the bubble teams.
Bubble teams are usually ones who has an average or above average conference record. They also have respectable overall marks with some quality wins and some bad losses.
With the NCAA tournament only a couple weeks away, you listen to lots of campaign speeches. You will hear conference coaches praising other teams in hopes their league will get more teams in the tournament or “Big Dance” as it’s called. Conference commissioners will provide a similar speech. I even heard a couple conference announcers tell their world how wonderful a few of their teams were. I thought to myself…please.
But the bottom line is if teams take care of business on the court, they will impress the selection committee and earn a bid.
Unfortunately, we will continue to hear about the bubble until we are bubbled out.
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