9:30 pm is TOO LATE

[Monte]

"Time only matters if you are in prison."

If a person is retired, they should stay up late, and then sleep late the next morning........as a West Coast baseball fan, some games I watch don't end until around 2 AM.

 

[Dove]

I think it's bad for Uconn. By the time the game is over it will be around 11:30 PM effectively for Uconn's internal clock and only 8:30 PM for Stanfords. Big factor.

You're overthinking this. They are college kids with coaching staffs that have been doing this for years.

 

[Zinethar]

I guess it is good that the team doesn't have to play at 9:30. Where they are playing it will be 8:30 and of course for Stanford they might think it is too early to be playing at 6:30 their time! Pretty much the best time for the rest of the country to see our awesome women play!

 

[Husky25]

I think it's bad for Uconn. By the time the game is over it will be around 11:30 PM effectively for Uconn's internal clock and only 8:30 PM for Stanfords. Big factor.

The team basically got off the bus from Bridgeport and onto a waiting bus headed for Windsor Locks. They've been on Central time for 36 hours already, with about 60 to go before tip-off. Not to mention that jet lag is typically worse going West to East. This group of 19-22 year olds traveled West. I'm pretty sure they'll be able to adjust.

The bigger concern should be that they are basically skipping a week's worth of classes. Where is the concern about their performance on their midterms?

 

[Centerstream]

The team basically got off the bus from Bridgeport and onto a waiting bus headed for Windsor Locks. They've been on Central time for 36 hours already, with about 60 to go before tip-off. Not to mention that jet lag is typically worse going West to East. This group of 19-22 year olds traveled West. I'm pretty sure they'll be able to adjust.

The bigger concern should be that they are basically skipping a week's worth of classes. Where is the concern about their performance on their midterms?

Don't they have tutors for their academic endeavors?

 

[Biff]

Don't they have tutors for their academic endeavors?

Yes and in this situation they travel with the team.

 

[Zinethar]

I'm sure the coaches, especially UConn's who have experienced this many times, got to the site as early as possible and likely had already started to train the teams body clock for the game time. Heck I had an argument with Adam in the garden of Eden and I can reset my body clock easily given 3 days (usually takes 1).

 

[Husky25]

Don't they have tutors for their academic endeavors?

Of course they do, but theoretically tutors are allowed to answer as many questions as coaches are allowed to score points.

I was being purposefully glib, but I think I've come to realize a deeper point reemerging concerning college athletics after the fact. I am debating whether to expand on it here in this thread...

 

[JellyBean]

ESPN is at it again. They figure UConn can win the ratings, plus adding in the top West coast team Stanford.

The fact of the matter is if you are 60+ its too late.

All I gotta say is, take that pre-game nap if you are over 60 and want to watch the game. If not, set that DVR.

 

[Centerstream]

Of course they do, but theoretically tutors are allowed to answer as many questions as coaches are allowed to score points.

I was being purposefully glib, but I think I've come to realize a deeper point reemerging concerning college athletics after the fact. I am debating whether to expand on it here in this thread...

I have no idea what you mean. My post question was the result of your post. I assumed that tutors were there to help our student-athletes keep up with their academics so your answer makes no sense to me. But it could be because I didn't go to college or ever had any tutors in HS.

"The bigger concern should be that they are basically skipping a week's worth of classes. Where is the concern about their performance on their midterms?"

 

[Husky25]

I have no idea what you mean. My post question was the result of your post. I assumed that tutors were there to help our student-athletes keep up with their academics so your answer makes no sense to me. But it could be because I didn't go to college or ever had any tutors in HS.

"The bigger concern should be that they are basically skipping a week's worth of classes. Where is the concern about their performance on their midterms?"

So you wouldn't know that studying and taking college level exams can be just as distracting as missing a couple hours sleep, a time change, or playing a game at 8:30 instead of 7:00.

College basketball programs take a 7-10 day hiatus from games in mid-December in the interest of Finals. The NCAA has said in the past (I believe they've since backed off, but still...) that an FBS playoff tournament is near impossible because it would interfere with Finals (Of course FCS, Div. 2, and Div. 3 all have an NCAA sanctioned tournament). Even for us regular students, UConn established two completely empty "Study" days to prepare for Finals. We were on our own for midterms.

Yet the NCAA Tournaments are smack dab in the middle of midterms, which are worth a significant portion of the final grade (as much as the Final in many cases), and are paid little to no mind.

It's something that came to light for me in the early 2000s (I graduated in the late 90s and didn't even think of it then) during a CBS RttFF segment on Washington. A portion of the piece was devoted to following Nate Robinson around looking for a suitable place to take a midterm, while he was on the road. He evidently he only had a certain window of time in which to take it. Presumably to guard against "cheating."

 

[Beemer]

Because I’m in Europe, the game starts at 3:30 a.m. I definitely want to watch it live. I thought about trying to get a few hours sleep and waking up at 3:15, but I might just stay up, watch the game, and then go to bed. I don’t work on Saturday.

As for the players, I don’t know if the late game is a problem. At an elite level, even small changes can make a difference, but I have confidence that UConn will be ready.

Now this is devotion to a team right here!

 

[Bald Husky]

Let’s give Ed a break here. A little kvetching in the comments is par for the course. Blame the game time on UConn vs Stanford being considered the marquee match of the day. Louisville/SC kicks off here at 4, when people are still at work or school because it is not the draw that is the defending champs against the legendary program in NCAA Women’s Basketball.

The higher seed ( South Carolina ) always gets the early game no matter who the combatants are. That is why UConn, as the #2 seed, had to play the late game in Bridgeport and NCST, as the #1 seed, got to play the early game.

 

[Monte]

A REAL FAN, would stay up and watch the game if it started at 3:00 AM.

You can "rest" when the season is over!

 

[hoopsfan22]

During today's press conference Geno said it was unfair that the women had to have such a quick turnaround compared to the men because it gave very little time to prepare for the final four. He said the team got home at 2 AM Tuesday morning, slept, and then got on a plane to go to Minnesota, and only get a few days to get ready for the national semi-final game while the men get almost a whole week.

 

[Puppy Love]

My quibble with the late start is that is discourages kids in the 5 to 10 year old range from watching the game. I want those kids to see that young women can be athletes and superstars.

 

[Kaizen]

All I gotta say is, take that pre-game nap if you are over 60 and want to watch the game. If not, set that DVR.

Or watch @MJL243's replay here or in YouTube.

 

[triaddukefan]

The higher seed ( South Carolina ) always gets the early game no matter who the combatants are. That is why UConn, as the #2 seed, had to play the late game in Bridgeport and NCST, as the #1 seed, got to play the early game.

That's false. That wasn't the case in 2019 in either Greensboro or Albany. I'm sure there are other examples but that's the one that came to my head first.

 

[Carnac]

How dare ESPN not consult the Seniors from the east coast first when scheduling these games. I'm envious of Seniors from the west coast.

Yeah....that's 6:30 pm out here. It's still light outside, and it just around dinner time. Games don't start that late out here.

 

[Carnac]

We’re becoming a fan base of whiners

Whaddaya mean....becoming?

 

[cancontent]

My quibble with the late start is that is discourages kids in the 5 to 10 year old range from watching the game. I want those kids to see that young women can be athletes and superstars.

I think you're overlooking the fact the game is on a Friday night. Now, I know it's been a few decades for myself, but Fridays were the nights I could stay up late. Could be the same for this age group now.