It will be a successful 1st year in the NBE if my team...

[MUBoxer]

Apparently BE coaches have similar priorities. Here's Lavs talking with Zags:

"For us it’s about the next step. It’s about making the NCAA Tournament and winning the BIG EAST Conference Tournament, it’s why we all came here. It’s always the same goals every year but this year we’re in position to do something special and that’s what we’re working towards every day."

http://zagsblog.com/articles/lavin-says-st-johns-goal-is-to-win-big-east-tournament/

Check the entire article too, there's no mention of a "regular" season title/championship. Like its been said before, it doesn't have to make sense, you don't have to like it, it's not a knock to the regular season, however it is the essence of BE bball. Can't wait to get to MSG for the BET next year!

Congrats if that's what Lavin wants. As a fan I prefer to see my team win the most games and if that means a regular season title over a be tournament title then ill live.

[FriarJ]

This is how the coaches feel because playing in the BET at MSG is one of the big recruiting sells. We can go around and around some more on this but it's pretty obvious you are not changing your mind no matter what you and who you hear it from.

[MUBoxer]

This is how the coaches feel because playing in the BET at MSG is one of the big recruiting sells. We can go around and around some more on this but it's pretty obvious you are not changing your mind no matter what you and who you hear it from.

So one coach here suddenly reflects the entire mindset? And I know MSG, as a boxer I'd kill to fight there so you don't need to tell me about the recruiting sell. I don't wanna go around on this any more it's annoying. My view is set winning it is a BFD I'd be glad to see MU win it. Given the choice between a 30 win season where MU cleans up the conference or wining a few games in a couple of days ill always chose the 30win season. I'm sorry if this continues to upset everybody.

[MUSeashells&Balloons]

This is how the coaches feel because playing in the BET at MSG is one of the big recruiting sells. We can go around and around some more on this but it's pretty obvious you are not changing your mind no matter what you and who you hear it from.

So one coach here suddenly reflects the entire mindset? And I know MSG, as a boxer I'd kill to fight there so you don't need to tell me about the recruiting sell. I don't wanna go around on this any more it's annoying. My view is set winning it is a BFD I'd be glad to see MU win it. Given the choice between a 30 win season where MU cleans up the conference or wining a few games in a couple of days ill always chose the 30win season. I'm sorry if this continues to upset everybody.

I have to agree as well. Though my choice would be both

[nathanhm]

I think of a BET Title as slightly more valuable than a Big East Regular Season title. Probably because so many years the schedule was unbalanced and the title wasn't exclusive for instance last year Georgetown, Marquette, and Louisville shared the regular season title.

If I could rank season accomplishments it would be as follows:

1. National Title
2. Runner Up
3. Final 4
4. Elite 8
5. BET
6. Big East Regular Season Champ (solo)
7. Sweet 16
8. Big East Regular Season Champ (shared)

[MUBoxer]

I think of a BET Title as slightly more valuable than a Big East Regular Season title. Probably because so many years the schedule was unbalanced and the title wasn't exclusive for instance last year Georgetown, Marquette, and Louisville shared the regular season title.

If I could rank season accomplishments it would be as follows:

1. National Title
2. Runner Up
3. Final 4
4. Elite 8
5. BET
6. Big East Regular Season Champ (solo)
7. Sweet 16
8. Big East Regular Season Champ (shared)

I don't think we can standardized it because I feel like if Depaul were to come out of nowhere and make the sweet16 it'd mean more than if they were either type of the big east Champs. You know? It's all relative

[nathanhm]

I think of a BET Title as slightly more valuable than a Big East Regular Season title. Probably because so many years the schedule was unbalanced and the title wasn't exclusive for instance last year Georgetown, Marquette, and Louisville shared the regular season title.

If I could rank season accomplishments it would be as follows:

1. National Title
2. Runner Up
3. Final 4
4. Elite 8
5. BET
6. Big East Regular Season Champ (solo)
7. Sweet 16
8. Big East Regular Season Champ (shared)

I don't think we can standardized it because I feel like if Depaul were to come out of nowhere and make the sweet16 it'd mean more than if they were either type of the big east Champs. You know? It's all relative

Different fan bases may have different priorities, that being said if DePaul won the Big East or made the Sweet 16 I think their fan base would be pretty excited with either result.

[TheHall]

Every team has a different set of priorities (ie..realistic goals) year to year...but the overall standard of high achievement in the league isn't subjective. Also Lavs is one of the respected coaches in the league & not just some simpleton spewing to the local rag. Lavin wasn't representing one coach, he was just stating the obvious tradition of the league he now coaches in. And Lavs isn't a BE lifer like Pitino was. You notice the article wasn't asking "what about the regular season title?"

To the respected Marquette fans, I'm not trying to go around and around about something aimlessly by bringing this up, I'm just joining the chorus of BE fans who respect & still cherish our traditions. I understand traditions change, so if your view of the BET prevails going forward it won't be without a fight (debate ) from those of us that know what the league has always been about. I would hope anyone that values the tradition of the league wouldn't just think this is a typical BE debate void of facts & emotion.

I used to get in conversations like this with ACC fans which I do get, but that was envy. I never thought this would be an intra-BE debate, but if this is a by product of years of realignment then I welcome it.

[Hall2012]

Been reading this for a while but never posted before. Anyway, I was intrigued by this debate and decided to throw my 2 cents in.

In terms of having a successful overall body of work, the regular season is obviously far more important. If my team could have a great run in one of the 2, but fall short of the title (say, 2nd place) I'd prefer the regular season because it shows sustained success and would most likely mean an NCAA Tournament bid.

However, when it comes to winning the championship- lifting the trophy- the story changes. The prestige of the two trophies (at least in my opinion) isn't comparable.

The question I ask is: Which championship has the bigger gap between 1st and 2nd place?

It's the tournament-- If you win- You're the champion. You're celebrating in MSG on national TV. You're guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament and a shot at the National Championship regardless of what you did pre-tournament, even if you didn't win a single game. If you come in 2nd place- nothing. You're the first loser- that's all.

In the regular season-- If you win- You won a lot of games, finished with a great (in-conference at least) record, you get a trophy, celebrate maybe in front of your own fans, maybe in another schools gym. The season may or may not even actually be over. You're probably going to the NCAA Tournament. If you come in 2nd place- You won a lot of games, finished with a great (in-conference at least) record. You're probably still going to the NCAA Tournament, and you still have a Big East Championship to play for at the Garden. The same thing pretty much goes for 3rd and probably 4th place.

If my team, Seton Hall, finished in 2nd place during the Big East regular season by 1 game, I'd still be really happy. If they lost in the Championship Game of the Big East Tournament, I'd be crushed.

[Daffron24]

Been reading this for a while but never posted before. Anyway, I was intrigued by this debate and decided to throw my 2 cents in.

In terms of having a successful overall body of work, the regular season is obviously far more important. If my team could have a great run in one of the 2, but fall short of the title (say, 2nd place) I'd prefer the regular season because it shows sustained success and would most likely mean an NCAA Tournament bid.

However, when it comes to winning the championship- lifting the trophy- the story changes. The prestige of the two trophies (at least in my opinion) isn't comparable.

The question I ask is: Which championship has the bigger gap between 1st and 2nd place?

It's the tournament-- If you win- You're the champion. You're celebrating in MSG on national TV. You're guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament and a shot at the National Championship regardless of what you did pre-tournament, even if you didn't win a single game. If you come in 2nd place- nothing. You're the first loser- that's all.

In the regular season-- If you win- You won a lot of games, finished with a great (in-conference at least) record, you get a trophy, celebrate maybe in front of your own fans, maybe in another schools gym. The season may or may not even actually be over. You're probably going to the NCAA Tournament. If you come in 2nd place- You won a lot of games, finished with a great (in-conference at least) record. You're probably still going to the NCAA Tournament, and you still have a Big East Championship to play for at the Garden. The same thing pretty much goes for 3rd and probably 4th place.

If my team, Seton Hall, finished in 2nd place during the Big East regular season by 1 game, I'd still be really happy. If they lost in the Championship Game of the Big East Tournament, I'd be crushed.

I see where you are coming from and I agree with most of what you said, but what if you won the regular season and lost the BET Championship game. Would you still be crushed or just be disappointed? I see why everyone loves the BET, and I love it as well. It's a few days on National television to potentially win the best tourney in America. The regular season is a long long time so the excitement is there, but it isn't the same rush as playing back to back to back days from the BET Championship. I think the regular season means so much to some fans, myself included, is because if you have a great year you know you're going dancing. And yes the BET is awesome and I would love if my team won, but if my team, Marquette, won the BE regular season and the BET Championship and lost in the first (second?? w/e it is) I'd be crushed and consider it a disappointing season. That's just my opinion, but at the end of the day America cares about who performs in the NCAA tournament and not their conference tournament. The BE may view this differently but not the rest of America. People are going to remember Georgetown losing to FGCU in the first round not that they won a share of the BE regular season or how they did in the BE tourney. When journalists and "experts" talk about college basketball they talk about how they performed in the NCAA tourney and not the conference tournament. When people talk about the best programs of the history of the NCAA they talk about how they performed in the NCAA tournament. When I talk to my KU friends they don't talk about their 12 straight (i believe) conference championships, they talk about their 14 final fours and 3 championships. I hope Marquette can win the BE regular season and the BET, but at the end of the day I want to go deep in the tourney.