Official Running NCAA/March Madness thread

As always, the answer is much more recent. It was 2017, with Gonzaga and South Carolina. With the added bonus of Oregon making its first appearance since the very first Final Four in 1939.

Before that, it looks like you have to go back to 1996 with Massachusetts and Mississippi State.

 

If Duke won, basketball would have followed the CFP with an all confederacy final. The West Coast and the Northeast need to get their act together. You can't tell me the ratings won't suffer.

 

Not sure who he matched up against in a regional final. And I think Pitino only got University 6 on probation.

 

I think Sean Miller and Will Wade would like a word.

 

I don’t think my Wahoos will exactly be a ratings bonanza, either. (Neither would Purdue or anyone else in that region.) CBS has to be pulling HARD for Sparty to make the final.

 

I’m kind of perplexed about the seeming hand wringing about TV ratings. I mean, really, who gives a shit if the ratings are piss poor? It’s not like the ratings affect any of us. If there are three good games left, that’s all I care about.

For a fairly chalky tournament, there have been compelling games that I was happy to watch — even without a dog in the fight. Except rooting against Duke. Always against Duke.

 

And frankly, I don't see why someone who would watch, say, Kansas or Kentucky would NOT watch Texas Tech or Auburn. For fans not of any of those schools, it's just a collection of players you've likely never heard of anyway. Only the KU/UK laundry lends some familiarity.

 

Probably not, but he'll get paid for a long time in Europe. Kid is a motherfucker.

 

I don't get why people care about the ratings and I work in TV. It comes up as a discussion topic in the playoffs for every sport. I absolutely don't give a shit if network execs are happy about a matchup.

 

Sparty is some massive draw? They're about the 6th most popular school in the B1G.

 

I had completely forgotten South Carolina made the Final Four -- all of two years ago. Shows how ephemeral the event is to fans who don't have a specific rooting interest. I care about it when it's happening, but it doesn't stick in my mind.