2024-25 College Basketball Thread

[dixiehack]

Dude, harp away. Perspective from other parts of the country is what makes the thread interesting.

There are quite a few AAC fans who want to see the league poach VCU and Dayton but I don't how those schools benefit, especially if Memphis dips out. Plus Fort Worth for a conference tournament is a helluva letdown from Brooklyn.

 

[Cosmo]

I think VCU's dream destination is the Big East. Dayton's too. The Big East is at 11 with UConn back in the fold, and the Huskies seem to want to stay there rather than chase football. The Big East could do worse than adding VCU, Dayton and Saint Louis, none of whom play scholarship football (Dayton plays non-skolly Pioneer League football). But does the Big East gain anything from that? TV markets aren't the end-all they used to be. The only potential blowback is that VCU isn't a religious school like most of the Big East, but neither is UConn.

 

[Batman]

Another problem mid-majors have is that no matter who they schedule out of conference, they don't get to add very many Quad 1 wins after New Year's because most of those leagues aren't that deep. Think of the WCC over the years, which had Gonzaga and Saint Mary's as legit aces — and Gonzaga plays a Top 25 non-conference schedule every year — and then maybe one other team like San Francisco beyond them. It's not their fault. It's an inherent flaw in the system.
I also think of SWAC schools who play a murderer's row in November and December. A lot of them play eight or 10 P5 teams on the road in non-conference body bag games and no home games until January. Hypothetically, if one of them ever decided to bankrupt themselves on NIL and bring in a bunch of five-star ringers, they could probably win enough of those to be a decent seed in the tournament. But they still aren't adding to their resume for the last two months of the season.

 

[dixiehack]

I think VCU's dream destination is the Big East. Dayton's too. The Big East is at 11 with UConn back in the fold, and the Huskies seem to want to stay there rather than chase football. The Big East could do worse than adding VCU, Dayton and Saint Louis, none of whom play scholarship football (Dayton plays non-skolly Pioneer League football). But does the Big East gain anything from that? TV markets aren't the end-all they used to be. The only potential blowback is that VCU isn't a religious school like most of the Big East, but neither is UConn.

They would need to get their life back together first, but Wichita State would be another good fit, plus a travel partner for Creighton. In general it helps a league to have more games (i.e. inventory) to sell to its broadcasters.

 

[YMCA B-Baller]

Sorry to harp on VCU, but as one of the few non P5s that have a shot, just wanted to break down their schedule.

First off, the only way they'll ever get a P5 school to come to Richmond is if said P5 school poaches VCU's coach. That's how they got Texas (Shaka) and LSU (Will Wade) to visit. Penn State has to visit at some point. Virginia too if they pluck Odom this offseason, which is a rumor going around.

They played Boston College at a neutral site and whooped them, but BC is terrible so that's a Q4 win. They inexplicably lost to Seton Hall in the Charleston Clashic, and instead of playing Villanova next and perhaps Drake in the final, they got stuck with Nevada (loss) and Miami (win). Only Miami is plum awful and that win means nothing. They do have a decent neutral win against Colorado State and played New Mexico in a true road game.

Basketball is by far the biggest money maker at the school, so they can't just go the route of playing a bunch of road games against P5s. They need non-conference home revenue. I remember a story a few years back talking about home scheduling philosophy, and it was better to load up with terrible home teams rather than playing teams in the 76-160 range at home. That's why they play Bellarmine and Merrimack instead of say, ODU and Liberty, which would be much better games and much bigger tests. You don't get much of a bounce by beating a Q3 at home, but you sure as ship will get punished for losing to one. So if you're VCU, you schedule sure wins against Penn and Georgia Southern rather than roll the dice with someone like High Point (87) or UNCW (108). Win gets you minimal gain, a loss is a disaster.

Just to be clear, in posting my list, VCU was the team that stood as an example for my argument. I didn't intend to lump them in with the power conference detritus because they're not power conference.

They have nearly as many or more Q1 wins than the teams around them ... while only having access to two Q1 games. Yet they sit on the bubble with the likes of power conference flotsam. It's total horseship.

 

[YMCA B-Baller]

They would need to get their life back together first, but Wichita State would be another good fit, plus a travel partner for Creighton. In general it helps a league to have more games (i.e. inventory) to sell to its broadcasters.

Wichita State got pashed over the first time because they are not an institutional fit for the Big East. Big, public school with a mediocre academic rep vs. private schools a world away. Add in a small market not inside their footprint and I don't think WSU would ever be in the cards.

Saint Louis would be the much better fit and much bigger market for the Big East. SLU has been pining for that invite for ages.

 

[Cosmo]

Just to be clear, in posting my list, VCU was the team that stood as an example for my argument. I didn't intend to lump them in with the power conference detritus because they're not power conference.

They have nearly as many or more Q1 wins than the teams around them ... while only having access to two Q1 games. Yet they sit on the bubble with the likes of power conference flotsam. It's total horseship.

Not only that, but the Q1 win could go away at any minute since Dayton is sitting right at 75. You're right, the quadrant system can be dumb at times.

 

[dixiehack]

They did not mind Pitt or UConn in the first golden age. They didn't mind the middling school rankings of Louisville or West Virginia when the first big expansion came. And frankly none of the schools except Georgetown are particularly prestigious. Private school does not automatically mean better.

 

[Twirling Time]

Still have my Lithuania Olympic basketball-themed shirt from 1992. h/t Grateful Dead.

That's where the tie-dye look came from and I guess the Lithuanians stuck with it. darn, that took me back to the day.

 

[dixiehack]

Fox has Michigan-Michigan State in a matchup of the top teams in the Big 10 not named Wisconsin. And Gus Johnson isn't on the call. Maybe there actually is something to this AI learning.

 

[dixiehack]

"Please don't say over-juiced when working with an Irishman

Bill Raftery remains a national treasure.

 

[YMCA B-Baller]

They did not mind Pitt or UConn in the first golden age. They didn't mind the middling school rankings of Louisville or Weat Virginia when the first big expansion came. And frankly none of the schools except Georgetown are particularly prestigious. Private school does not automatically mean better.

Totally different leadership in today's Big East, and more to the point, totally different plurality of league presidents calling the shots.

Probably not the primary reason, but one of the reasons Dayton was supposedly not considered? They are Marianist, not Jesuit, and Jesuit Xavier didn't want to have anything to do with them, even though it would have balanced the league better geographically over adding far-flung Creighton.

That's kind of dynamic you're dealing with. Only reason UConn got in is that they're a national championship brand and geographically close.