AAC basketball post UConn?

[Tiamat7]

Yawn. It was a down year for the Big East during a national pandemic. Nova, Creighton, Seton Hall and us should all be pretty good next year. I suspect our "ranking" will bounce back up.

Agreed about Nova and Seton Hall. But Creighton will be down after losing essentially their entire starting lineup and a 5 star decommit.

Xavier and Butler should be better. Perhaps PC.

 

[freescooter]

...but the AAC, actually buoyed by a F4 team, is a far cry from this "non-elite" conf, in prestige, bid quality, essentially everything. How can you explain that without hacking your stupid "ZBE" nonsense to pieces?

You're the delusional one here, pining for re-entry to ye olde CUSA.

Everything except quality of the teams...the New Big East gets bids because of the legacy of the original. And the performance of those teams demonstrate that it’s typically over seeded. Again excepting the only real program, Villanova, the league’s post season “success” is laughable. Teams regularly get bounced by higher seeds, usually in the first weekend. Creighton was the 2nd Big East team not named Villanova to get past the Round of 32. But man, so much prestige.

I get why the decision was made. It’s true the guys who pay for the expensive seats wanted it. And I also suspect it is true that UConn needed to change the discussion from a declining program so it took a page from GE and Aetna. It moved its “headquarters” so to speak. Of course GE isn’t close to a Fortune 500 company any more and Aetna is owned by a drug store. Neither finished their planned shiny new headquarters. But it took eyeballs off their declines. That was UConn’s model I suspect. Everybody will be so excited about the shiny new conference that they will not notice that the program, like the new league, is nothing like what either one was.

We’re #6! We’re #6! Whoopee!

 

[freescooter]

The AAC never showed us the respect that the only school from that misfit conference to win a title deserved. We were mostly met with hostility as the only Yankees in Hickville. Why anyone is still pining for that is beyond me.

Yeah, that’s it. We deserved respect for:
A. Never winning the conference title
B. Making 1 additional trip to the NCAA tournament.
C. Treating teams that regularly kicked our butts like they didn’t deserve to be allowed to play us.
D. Not even making a modest effort to support the conference tournament when it was played in Hartford, even when UConn was playing.

And just a side note. Orlando, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Cincinatti, Memphis are all bigger, more sophisticated cities than Hartford. Not sure they are the hicks...

 

[UCSouth]

Yeah, that’s it. We deserved respect for:
A. Never winning the conference title
B. Making 1 additional trip to the NCAA tournament.
C. Treating teams that regularly kicked our butts like they didn’t deserve to be allowed to play us.
D. Not even making a modest effort to support the conference tournament when it was played in Hartford, even when UConn was playing.

And just a side note. Orlando, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Cincinatti, Memphis are all bigger, more sophisticated cities than Hartford. Not sure they are the hicks...

Please change your avatar to Jeff Dunham's character Walter...then it would explain your disposition.

 

[uconnfan68]

The AAC never showed us the respect that the only school from that misfit conference to win a title deserved. We were mostly met with hostility as the only Yankees in Hickville. Why anyone is still pining for that is beyond me.

Need to earn respect, and we didn’t.

 

[freescooter]

Please change your avatar to Jeff Dunham's character Walter...then it would explain your

I love the way the Big East cheer squad argues facts.
Me: The New Big East has failed to perform in the NCAA tournament.
Cheer Squad: you’re mean.OH And MSG
Me: Villanova has won or shared the league title virtually every year
Cheer Squad: MSG. And you’re mean.
And so it goes.

 

[buddy]

UConn went into the AAC thinking it was better than anyone else. UConn was a bust for that conference. Now, it is a big fish in the small pond which is the new big east. The good news is that if the PAC 12 expands, which it appears probable, they will likely poach from the Big 12, and the Big 12 will likely poach from the AAC, which will leave it in an even worse position. Then UConn would have been in that conference without a Cinci, Houston, or UCF possibly as they would be likely candidates for the Big 12 and then UConn would have had to leave the AAC for the big east anyways. So the joining of the big east would have been inevitable anyways once the AAC was poached.

 

[kobe]

shut up and delete this thread right now

 

[Waquoit]

Need to earn respect, and we didn’t.

Bringing 3 titles and winning a 4th doesn't earn respect? Bringing what little juice this pathetic league ever had doesn't earn respect? Look at those drooling over a semi-final loss. We won the damn thing. Putz.

 

[The Shot]

Everything except quality of the teams...the New Big East gets bids because of the legacy of the original. And the performance of those teams demonstrate that it’s typically over seeded. Again excepting the only real program, Villanova, the league’s post season “success” is laughable. Teams regularly get bounced by higher seeds, usually in the first weekend. Creighton was the 2nd Big East team not named Villanova to get past the Round of 32. But man, so much prestige.

I get why the decision was made. It’s true the guys who pay for the expensive seats wanted it. And I also suspect it is true that UConn needed to change the discussion from a declining program so it took a page from GE and Aetna. It moved its “headquarters” so to speak. Of course GE isn’t close to a Fortune 500 company any more and Aetna is owned by a drug store. Neither finished their planned shiny new headquarters. But it took eyeballs off their declines. That was UConn’s model I suspect. Everybody will be so excited about the shiny new conference that they will not notice that the program, like the new league, is nothing like what either one was.

We’re #6! We’re #6! Whoopee!

 

[hank970]

The AAC's biggest issue is that the bottom 4 or 5 teams continually drag the conference down.

Substitute any conference name for AAC in that sentence and you've stated a universal truth. By definition, half the members of every cohort (except the students in Lake Wobegon) are below average. Applies not only to the AAC but also to the ACC, B1G, Pac 12, Big XII, SEC, and even the exalted New Big East. It doesn't matter if you're talking about hoops, football, tiddlywinks, fencing, ladies' chess, or whatever. In the hen-house, it's called a pecking order.

 

[prankster]

Substitute any conference name for AAC in that sentence and you've stated a universal truth. By definition, half the members of every cohort (except the students in Lake Wobegon) are below average. Applies not only to the AAC but also to the ACC, B1G, Pac 12, Big XII, SEC, and even the exalted New Big East. It doesn't matter if you're talking about hoops, football, tiddlywinks, fencing, ladies' chess, or whatever. In the hen-house, it's called a pecking order.

Your statement is true, when speaking of the small cohort, only.

But, in fact, the issue is seldom that the lower half of your conference is below the median for the conference (small cohort). But it is where they rank in the large cohort, all of the D-1 teams.

That large cohort consideration is where the numbers become meaningful for conference strength.

Once upon a time the Big East (old) landed 50% of its teams in the Tournament. Large cohort spoke to the overall strength of that league, that year. Small cohort still would have landed 50% below the median.

 

[hank970]

Your statement is true, when speaking of the small cohort, only.

But, in fact, the issue is seldom that the lower half of your conference is below the median for the conference (small cohort). But it is where they rank in the large cohort, all of the D-1 teams.

That large cohort consideration is where the numbers become meaningful for conference strength.

Once upon a time the Big East (old) landed 50% of its teams in the Tournament. Large cohort spoke to the overall strength of that league, that year. Small cohort still would have landed 50% below the median.

True, but then I was responding to a post which stated that, "The AAC's biggest issue is that the bottom 4 or 5 teams continually drag the conference down." The more overarching title of the thread notwithstanding, that particular post referred only to a small cohort, not the AAC's strength relative to the larger cohort of other conferences.

The overall strength of a conference may confer an advantage to its front-runner if in-conference competition is more rigorous and better prepares it for the NCAA tournament. Were Houston's NCAA bid and performance in the tournament adversely impacted because some of its conference mates supposedly dragged the AAC down? I doubt it. Could the AAC improve its overall standing relative to other conferences? Absolutely. And how about the New Big East? Has it reached some pinnacle of performance that's the envy of college sports? Hardly.

UConn is perhaps in a good place as regards hoops. In football, it's at the bottom of the pecking order with little to no hope of ever climbing out. Meanwhile, three of its former AAC conference mates were ranked in the top 25 last year.

 

[Jbirdp5]

True, but then I was responding to a post which stated that, "The AAC's biggest issue is that the bottom 4 or 5 teams continually drag the conference down." The more overarching title of the thread notwithstanding, that particular post referred only to a small cohort, not the AAC's strength relative to the larger cohort of other conferences.

The overall strength of a conference may confer an advantage to its front-runner if in-conference competition is more rigorous and better prepares it for the NCAA tournament. Were Houston's NCAA bid and performance in the tournament adversely impacted because some of its conference mates supposedly dragged the AAC down? I doubt it. Could the AAC improve its overall standing relative to other conferences? Absolutely. And how about the New Big East? Has it reached some pinnacle of performance that's the envy of college sports? Hardly.

UConn is perhaps in a good place as regards hoops. In football, it's at the bottom of the pecking order with little to no hope of ever climbing out. Meanwhile, three of its former AAC conference mates were ranked in the top 25 last year.

I don’t think you are realizing the way the bottom of the AAC drags the metrics down of the conference. You cannot put every league in that same boat. Having teams ranked in the 200s kills your computer rankings. That’s what the post you were responding to was talking about. Bad teams with terrible out of league schedules will do that. It’s an AAC problem not a big 12 or big East problem

 

[freescooter]

I don’t think you are realizing the way the bottom of the AAC drags the metrics down of the conference. You cannot put every league in that same boat. Having teams ranked in the 200s kills your computer rankings. That’s what the post you were responding to was talking about. Bad teams with terrible out of league schedules will do that. It’s an AAC problem not a big 12 or big East problem

But that is a result of a metric that is by design intended to raise some leagues and lower others. Any formula that puts lots of weight on strength of schedule makes bad teams look better than they are. See the Big 10 last season. Or DePaul any season. And it starts with pre season rankings/opinions. So a Big East bottom feeder can gets ranked higher than an awful A10 team not because it is less awful but because it loses to better teams, or at least teams that people thought were better in October.

 

[CL82]

I love the way the Big East cheer squad argues facts.
Me: The New Big East has failed to perform in the NCAA tournament.
Cheer Squad: you’re mean.OH And MSG
Me: Villanova has won or shared the league title virtually every year
Cheer Squad: MSG. And you’re mean.
And so it goes.

You mean since 2013 right not the OBE.

So out of six years, they only won a natty twice. Wow, talk about your slackers.

 

[freescooter]

Bringing 3 titles and winning a 4th doesn't earn respect? Bringing what little juice this pathetic league ever had doesn't earn respect? Look at those drooling over a semi-final loss. We won the damn thing. Putz.

Yeah everybody should have knelt and kissed our sneakers. Instead mostly they kicked our assets. How much respect did you show any of them. Temple who won NITs when it was way more prestigious than the NCAA. Much tougher fields too. Cincinatti with 2 NCAA titles of its own. So this is all about the league not showing any respect...we down graded every other program and we are now a perfect New Big East member. Got an NCAA bid. Got over seeded because of the league and got our butts kicked by a worse seed in the first round.

 

[Jbirdp5]

But that is a result of a metric that is by design intended to raise some leagues and lower others. Any formula that puts lots of weight on strength of schedule makes bad teams look better than they are. See the Big 10 last season. Or DePaul any season. And it starts with pre season rankings/opinions. So a Big East bottom feeder can gets ranked higher than an awful A10 team not because it is less awful but because it loses to better teams, or at least teams that people thought were better in October.

Last season can’t be used to judge because the lack of out of conference games was too small to give a valid sample size. Gaming the numbers is a real thing that definitely happens and you are correct there can be teams that’ll and leagues that use it to their advantage. However there are many metrics, recruiting rankings, eye test etc and the bottom of the AAC is horrible no matter what prism you choose to look at it. You accuse people of looking at the big East with rose colored glasses and your optics are so far the other way you are even less realistic. Moving to the big East was a step up in competition a step up in relevance and more meaningful for the fans.

 

[LIUCHusky]

Yeah everybody should have knelt and kissed our sneakers. Instead mostly they kicked our assets. How much respect did you show any of them. Temple who won NITs when it was way more prestigious than the NCAA. Much tougher fields too. Cincinatti with 2 NCAA titles of its own. So this is all about the league not showing any respect...we down graded every other program and we are now a perfect New Big East member. Got an NCAA bid. Got over seeded because of the league and got our butts kicked by a worse seed in the first round.

Will someone please fix this broken record?

 

[freescooter]

You mean since 2013 right not the OBE.

So out of six years, they only won a natty twice. Wow, talk about your slackers.

No I’ve been perfectly clear that Villanova is in its own class. Far far above the rest of the mediocrity that is the zNew Big East. I love how Houston goes to the final four but it doesnt mean the AAC is at least improving while Villanova’s success prove the NBE is a power league... Villanova is really good. They regularly outperform the league. Just as Gonzaga does its league. The NBE is probably overall deeper than the WCC or the A10 but frankly Providence St John’s seton hall DePaul and Georgetown are pretty much interchangeable with the upper echelon of those leagues.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I prefer to look forward, not backwards

 

[CL82]

No I’ve been perfectly clear that Villanova is in its own class. Far far above the rest of the mediocrity that is the zNew Big East. I love how Houston goes to the final four but it doesnt mean the AAC is at least improving while Villanova’s success prove the NBE is a power league... Villanova is really good. They regularly outperform the league. Just as Gonzaga does its league. The NBE is probably overall deeper than the WCC or the A10 but frankly Providence St John’s seton hall DePaul and Georgetown are pretty much interchangeable with the upper echelon of those leagues.

No your absolutely right; it is amazing how bad a league is if you disregard its national championships.

 

[Jbirdp5]

No I’ve been perfectly clear that Villanova is in its own class. Far far above the rest of the mediocrity that is the zNew Big East. I love how Houston goes to the final four but it doesnt mean the AAC is at least improving while Villanova’s success prove the NBE is a power league... Villanova is really good. They regularly outperform the league. Just as Gonzaga does its league. The NBE is probably overall deeper than the WCC or the A10 but frankly Providence St John’s seton hall DePaul and Georgetown are pretty much interchangeable with the upper echelon of those leagues.

I think you answered your own question saying the middle to bottom of our league is interchangeable with the top of the leagues your comparing it to.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

The rumor is the AAC is adding
Boise State/ SanDiego State
plus
UNLV
Pretty much destroys the MW, I’m not sure what it does to the AAC
It can’t be good news for the Eastern Teams as the weight shifts further West.
It’s is probably a good football move as there no one even close in G5 status and that has finical implications however it doesn’t solve a couple of your big
basketball problems.
Apparently the NCAA is dragging their feet on a waiver for the team qty required for a championship game.
I understand Air Force was was considered but Navy shot them down
( pun intended)

 

[freescooter]

No your absolutely right; it is amazing how bad a league is if you disregard its national championships.

Right. The Big East has 1 more than the American. And another Final Four team. So pretty close. Using your logic. the WCC must be pretty good too. Gonzaga has been to lots of final fours. Let me say this one more time. Villanova is really good. The rest of the league is pretty average. Villanova won 2 titles. The rest of the league has had 2 teams get to the 2nd weekend. Villanova=good. Rest of league=not that good. Clear?