Re: Big East Conference Realignment v2018
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:30 pm
GumbyDamnit! wrote:gtmoBlue wrote:Let's leave the 20 game schedule out for a moment.
18 games...
Nova 15-3
Xav 14-4
Those 27 wins come from everyone below them, with maybe a split between the 2 teams-
Prov and SH rose due to coaching AND less better teams above them...no S'cuse, Pitt, L'ville, UConn, others. Now only Nova and Xavier above them in a given year.
Gumby, my man. You want DePaul back AND for Nova to stay in the top 2...same as I want StJ back ANd for the Jays to stay in the top 4.
Look at what the bottom 3 are doing lately - reeking havok on the 3-7 teams...even Nova and X have taken a couple of hits. If Depaul- StJ- Gtw
n where firing on all cylinders, and were rising to the top, this would merely be the beginning of the carnage. The current middle would become the new bottom.
You guys are wwwaaayyyyy off base here. It’s a losers mentality. Instead of demanding more of your own program and earning your success, you’d prefer for others to wallow in mediocrity so you can feel better about yourself? No thanks.
Let’s look at TCU in the B12. Before Dixon they struggled. Now they seem to on a better course. They’re winning games OOC, they’re pushing conference mates to be focused and sharp. You think it’s better for B12 success for them to just roll over? Nonsense. You think SJU hurt Nova long term with that win? Not in the least. It exposed weakness and gave JW more things to work on. We prob don’t win at X without the lessons learned vs SJU and PC. I am 100% convinced that had SHU not knocked us off in the BET Championship we would not have won the NC.
You seemingly don’t understand the importance of a strong conference slate for March success. You need the conference to sharpen your skills and to test your mettle. If SJU and DePaul went undefeated in OOC, would that be a good or bad thing? Would they not be 4 more top tier games on your schedule? I would absolutely prefer Nova finishing 12-6 in conference if the league had 10 teams in the top 50 instead of 5 teams and finishing 16-2. UConn finished in 8th place as a .500 team one year in the BE and won the NC. They were hardened and tested because they played a dozen games that year versus teams that had a legit shot at a FF. That’s what we need. Please, please, please, let’s not settle for mediocrity anywhere in this conference.
Git, no offense but you’re starting to sound like you miss the old days where CU had one tough conference game and then skated into the tourney. As fun as those 25+ win seasons were, they never got you closer to the FF than you are today.
This.
As Bill Marsh wrote: "If the BE finds it necessary to expand, they should only do so by considering quality programs."
And as I'll now offer as amplification: never, NEVER dilute a superior product. Why would anyone ever consider such a strategy in this specific (i.e. collegiate basketball conference composition) case?
There are 3 fundamental reasons to consider expansion, as I see it:
1. Conference as it stands is underperforming, and it needs new blood to bolster it's standing (hard to do, btw).
2. Television partner kinda, sorta - absolutely - demands an addition for inventory reasons.
3. Conference must respond to P5 movement towards 20-game conference schedule for positioning reasons (NCAAT).
Forget #1 for the Big East, as we are killing it as a conference at this point.
I'd offer to forget #2 at this point, as Fox has loaded in B1G games to go along with its other inventory; we seem to be in good shape on that one.
Re #3, perhaps the jury is out on that one right now. Were it to happen with the BE, it probably happens by going to 11 and not 12 to protect the Round Robin. If anyone here doesn't see the value of the Round Robin at this point, there is no helping you. I suspect the triggering point on this one at this time is movement on the part of the B12. And I don't see them responding to this issue; I don't see them expanding to 11 at this time due to football-driven matters.
So, bring on the bloodshed. Make it even crazier with Georgetown, St. John's and DePaul becoming powerful again.
The last thing I would want for Xavier is to have to be in a position as a fan where I would have to justify dominating a watered-down A10 at this point. That is all the A10 has become - a true mid-major mess with no name programs comprising it.
Just look at Gonzaga's interest in the BE, even with its domination of the WCC, and even given the logistical issues involved. Who wants to be in position of having to run roughshod over a crap conference on a sustainable basis as a means of attempting to stay relevant in this version of the highest level collegiate basketball environment?