Villanova #1 on Monday?

[stever20]

Oh, I grasp the concept that march matters.

I have seen my team play in the elite 8 multiple times. I have attended elite 8 games live. I know all about how gr8 a good tourney run is. Don't act like villanova fans don't understand the enjoyment and respect of a deep tourney run. Villanova has a dozen elite eights, the most in the big east (gtown has 9, marquette has 7, johnnies have 6), and 7 of nova's elite 8's were during my lifetime.

But you need regular season respect too. Power conferences have to have their teams considered the best In America during the regular season. We can't just have a bunch of 1997 providence style teams that make Cinderella runs to the elite 8. Cinderella runs are great, but if that's all we have we might as well just be the colonial conference with VCU and George mason.

I think you overestimate the value of a trip to the second weekend. You seem to treat it like it is a final four. Dayton was in the elite 8 in 2014. Outside of big time hoops fans, people have already forgotten. Villanova had a Cinderella run to the sweet 16 in 2008, I doubt more than 30% of these board could name the teams they beat, if they even remember that tourney run at all.

St. johns v georgetown regular season games as the top teams in the nation in 1985 are still more visible and respected and more valuable to their programs than mike Jarvis' run to the elite 8 fifteen years later.

Sorry you can't grasp that.



And before you post again, nobody is saying we don't need to win tourney games. We need both.

You bring up 1985. What mattered in 1985 wasn't the regular season St John's/Georgetown games(which were great), but rather the Final 4 with 3 Big East teams in there. You can see on ESPN Classic the Final 4 games from that year- but you never see regular season games.

What the tourney does though is it validates the regular season. If Villanova and Xavier crap the bed in the tourney, what are folks going to say? That the Big East was overrated and should never have been so high in the polls. When they played real teams, they crumbled.

And also, you don't think it would matter if they said Villanova and Xavier both advance as the first 2 teams of the New Big East to the elite 8? That is what would get folks attention about the Big East. Way more than a regular season rating where a lot of folks still aren't paying attention to college basketball.

[NJRedman]

Look at that, 2 top 5 teams from the Big East.

I was no math major, but I believe that is 83% of the top 5. Woot.

You're not a math major and it's 40% of the top 5.

Not sure but I think he was using a recurring joke by Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother.

Ooooooooooooh...I didn't watch that show.

[Westbrook#36]

stever pulls off another thread jack without a hitch, he should be on the FBI's most wanted list. Turns a thread about a BE team being ranked #1 into, yet another the BE isn't a good league because of a lack of success in March thread. Congratulations, stever. BTW, how is it that a "fan" of Georgetown is leading this brigade since you know, they're probably one of the leading culprits in this anti-BE type of view??

[NovaBall]

No, when you see 1985 highlights they often show the regular season game between the johnnies and gtown. That was the classic one.

If nova and Xavier advance to the final four, that would be huge. No doubt. Bigger than having the number one team. But elite 8 and sweet 16? Nice accomplishments, but not earth shattering. Look, you are a Dayton troll, and to Dayton trolls a Cinderella run to the elite 8 is the best you have had in many, many years. So I get why you overvalue the accomplishment.

Anyway, you also seem to be saying that I don't value March. I do. But I also understand that sometimes donyell Marshall doesn't go to the final four, but a guy and team like that is still as important to the growth of the league as Scottie Reynolds.

You seem to be saying the regular season doesn't matter. You want a bunch of VCU and George masons making Cinderella runs.

go to a college basketball game and poll people, who is the only 15 seed to make the second weekend? Some will know the answer, many will not, and many others will answer, "oh yeah, I forget their name, but the team that beat Georgetown..."

[Doge McDermott]

Anyone else see Nova's mention in the WSJ today? It's been covered, but I thought it was interesting that Nova has never been #1 before.

Congrats guys.

[NovaBall]

Anyone else see Nova's mention in the WSJ today? It's been covered, but I thought it was interesting that Nova has never been #1 before.

Congrats guys.

Great exposure for the league.

You really can't call yourself a power conference if you go too long without housing the #1 team in the nation. Such an important monkey to get off our collective backs at this point.

Nova #1 this year. Xavier #1 pre-season next year (who knows, maybe if they run the table they hit it this year?)

This is how we rebuild our image.

[billyjack]

No, when you see 1985 highlights they often show the regular season game between the johnnies and gtown. That was the classic one.

Right, and even last night I think Georgetown had a t-shirt giveaway (or at least a bunch of Hoya students were wearing the t-shirt).... it was the brown t-shirt with the red and blue chevrons that John Thompson (the father) wore during the regular season MSG game, as a joke to match Louie's sweater.

[stever20]

No, when you see 1985 highlights they often show the regular season game between the johnnies and gtown. That was the classic one.

If nova and Xavier advance to the final four, that would be huge. No doubt. Bigger than having the number one team. But elite 8 and sweet 16? Nice accomplishments, but not earth shattering. Look, you are a Dayton troll, and to Dayton trolls a Cinderella run to the elite 8 is the best you have had in many, many years. So I get why you overvalue the accomplishment.

Anyway, you also seem to be saying that I don't value March. I do. But I also understand that sometimes donyell Marshall doesn't go to the final four, but a guy and team like that is still as important to the growth of the league as Scottie Reynolds.

You seem to be saying the regular season doesn't matter. You want a bunch of VCU and George masons making Cinderella runs.

go to a college basketball game and poll people, who is the only 15 seed to make the second weekend? Some will know the answer, many will not, and many others will answer, "oh yeah, I forget their name, but the team that beat Georgetown..."

I'm not saying the regular season doesn't matter. It does. I think if I were putting percentages on things, I'd say like 40% regular season 60% tournament. Maybe even 35/65.

And elite 8's I'm sorry but those don't grow on trees. Nova's been to 2 last 25 years. Same as Georgetown. You can act like that's not a big deal- but elite 8's are definitely a big deal....

[NovaBall]

Stever,

So if you put the reg season at 40% and post season at 60% in terms of national perception (which I might agree with), what the heck are you arguing here? Power conferences need to have the top team once in a while in the regular season. We just accomplished that goal.


Anyway, my team has 7 elite 8's in my lifetime. I have never seen them ranked #1 in the season. Go ahead and try to convince us it is meaningless.

Interesting tidbit from the Wall Street Journal article, but since the 1985 Nova title, only one other team has won it all without being ranked #1 at some point in program history. The Maryland team that won fifteen years ago.

[ChelseaFriar]

No, when you see 1985 highlights they often show the regular season game between the johnnies and gtown. That was the classic one.

If nova and Xavier advance to the final four, that would be huge. No doubt. Bigger than having the number one team. But elite 8 and sweet 16? Nice accomplishments, but not earth shattering. Look, you are a Dayton troll, and to Dayton trolls a Cinderella run to the elite 8 is the best you have had in many, many years. So I get why you overvalue the accomplishment.

Anyway, you also seem to be saying that I don't value March. I do. But I also understand that sometimes donyell Marshall doesn't go to the final four, but a guy and team like that is still as important to the growth of the league as Scottie Reynolds.

You seem to be saying the regular season doesn't matter. You want a bunch of VCU and George masons making Cinderella runs.

go to a college basketball game and poll people, who is the only 15 seed to make the second weekend? Some will know the answer, many will not, and many others will answer, "oh yeah, I forget their name, but the team that beat Georgetown..."

I'm not saying the regular season doesn't matter. It does. I think if I were putting percentages on things, I'd say like 40% regular season 60% tournament. Maybe even 35/65.

And elite 8's I'm sorry but those don't grow on trees. Nova's been to 2 last 25 years. Same as Georgetown. You can act like that's not a big deal- but elite 8's are definitely a big deal....

Agree on Elite 8s. I still have random people bring up the '97 team to me when they learn I'm a PC graduate and fan. Probably helps that they were a 10 seed and had an unusual name like God Shammgod on the roster, but it's been almost 20 years and people still remember that team.

It is definitely great for the league to have a team at #1 and teams in the Top 10. But to be honest I'd have to stop and think for a minute to even remember all of the teams ranked #1 this season. The key is that leagues get teams in the Top 10 year after year.

Also agree on the point about Donyell Marshall. Similar to a guy like Doug McDermott. Doug was huge for the league, especially given the timing. To a lesser extent Dunn brings solid publicity to the league as well.