Big East basketball on FoxSports

[FriarJ]

Two things on that article. First, until I see the financials I am just going to assume that FoxSports demanded additional content from the BigEast as they come to grips with how much they overpaid. And second, selling tickets to MSG is not a significant news story if the schools bought the tickets to resell to students and alumni, which I assume is the case here.

Bloomberg has the story as well and it's a little more then them demanding this contract. You will never know the amount unless the BE invites VCU but all parties say it's very lucrative. The rationalizations on this board are amazing. It's ok to say the BE has done well for themselves without denigrating your own school.

 

[upstater]

Two things on that article. First, until I see the financials I am just going to assume that FoxSports demanded additional content from the BigEast as they come to grips with how much they overpaid. And second, selling tickets to MSG is not a significant news story if the schools bought the tickets to resell to students and alumni, which I assume is the case here.

This: the BET was 100% sold out regularly.

 

[FriarJ]

This: the BET was 100% sold out regularly.

Not this early

 

[upstater]

Not this early

Of course it was. Season ticket holders sourced their tix through schools. You seem like a good fan, I'm sure you've been to the BET as often as I have. You know how this works. The BE had absolutely no choice but to buy all those tix ahead of time.

Seriously, are you saying demand is up? You lose Pitt, UConn, Cuse & Louisville and demand is up? This strikes me as beyond preposterous.

 

[ctchamps]

Maybe it's just me but I'm hoping the BE does really well for Fox. And I hope the AAC can do more than just tread water in football and really make a statement in basketball. The BE is not UConn's enemy. If they do well for Fox and the AAC does well then there will be at least two networks bidding for the AAC in six years should UConn have to remain in the AAC.

 

[FriarJ]

Of course it was. Season ticket holders sourced their tix through schools. You seem like a good fan, I'm sure you've been to the BET as often as I have. You know how this works. The BE had absolutely no choice but to buy all those tix ahead of time.

Seriously, are you saying demand is up? You lose Pitt, UConn, Cuse & Louisville and demand is up? This strikes me as beyond preposterous.

No, I'm not saying that obviously it's a big difference without UConn and Cuse. Pitt is not the massive loss for the tournament that many here are making them out to be. Creighton on the other hand has a crazy passionate fan base and I expect them to attend in large numbers, rivaling what Cuse has done.

 

[FriarJ]

One other point, I'm not concerned about this year, the level of enthusiasm is very high right now at all the schools. I more concerned with the 3-5 years down the road when all this has settled down a bit.

 

[Jerry1714]

There is no collection of arguments that you can make that we are better off in terms of conference and television exposure than they are.

Um considering the ratings of FS1 compared to ESPN and the amount of games we have on the ESPN channels, the argument about exposure is very easy. The exposure we have is better, a lot better.

As for conference that is a probably a different story. All I know is right now more AAC teams are ranked than Big East.

 

[Husky25]

For all of its faults, 'Cuse is within driving distance of NYC. Creighton University is 94 miles from its nearest major airport and a round trip ticket is north of $500. Assuming all ten Big East teams make the conference tournament, means that two teams get a first round bye, which also means a 4 day event. Whether, Creighton is in the top two seeds or not, to make the trip worthwhile, I think that Creighton has to make at least the semifinal and the average fan would have to procure tickets to all sessions in which their games are played, which further means they have to purchase games that do not involve Creighton. I assume that the Final game will be played on Saturday night (like past BETs.), which means potentially 4 hotel nights in NYC as well. So there is another G. I don't know about you, but I'm wouldn't count on Creighton to fill up the Garden...

No, I'm not saying that obviously it's a big difference without UConn and Cuse. Pitt is not the massive loss for the tournament that many here are making them out to be. Creighton on the other hand has a crazy passionate fan base and I expect them to attend in large numbers, rivaling what Cuse has done.

 

[FriarJ]

For all of its faults, 'Cuse is within driving distance of NYC. Creighton University is 94 miles from its nearest major airport and a round trip ticket is north of $500. Assuming all ten Big East teams make the conference tournament, means that two teams get a first round bye, which also means a 4 day event. Whether, Creighton is in the top two seeds or not, to make the trip worthwhile, I think that Creighton has to make at least the semifinal and the average fan would have to procure tickets to all sessions in which their games are played, which further means they have to purchase games that do not involve Creighton. I assume that the Final game will be played on Saturday night (like past BETs.), which means potentially 4 hotel nights in NYC as well. So there is another G. I don't know about you, but I'm wouldn't count on Creighton to fill up the Garden...

Well, they are coming this year at least as they have purchased more tickets than any one school ever has. I have a different take on them staying if eliminated, they are travelling to the greatest city on the planet many probably for the 1st time. I bet they stay the whole time, at least this year anyway.

 

[Husky25]

Well, they are coming this year at least as they have purchased more tickets than any one school ever has. I have a different take on them staying if eliminated, they are travelling to the greatest city on the planet many probably for the 1st time. I bet they stay the whole time, at least this year anyway.

I don't know what the Big East ticket allotment policy is. You very well may know more than I. My comment was more aimed toward future years (I see you concede that). The Big East could guarantee the attendance of 'Cuse and UConn fans over and above their schools' allotment each and every year.

I guess we also have differing opinions on NYC as well. I'm good for about 24 hours. After that, I'm ready for fresh air again (or at least the promise thereof).

 

[upstater]

No, I'm not saying that obviously it's a big difference without UConn and Cuse. Pitt is not the massive loss for the tournament that many here are making them out to be. Creighton on the other hand has a crazy passionate fan base and I expect them to attend in large numbers, rivaling what Cuse has done.

Be prepared to be disappointed.

Now, Pitt does nothing for me as a fanbase, or really in their performance as a BE team. They showed up a year or two late, blocked Penn State, and did nothing much over their tenure. That being said, hordes of them showed up at MSG for the BET. Over the years, UConn has had the biggest fanbase at the BET with Cuse second. Creighton is not going to travel fans from Nebraska every year to pack the garden. The early games are always sparsely populated. When Creighton loses (and they are likely to lose earlier at this level) the fans are going to sell their tix.

 

[FriarJ]

I guess we will see. If the games are competitive it will still be an event. If there is a half empty arena for the semifinals on Friday then I will be very disappointed.

 

[FriarJ]

Husky25,for you and I who have probably been there a million times, 4 days is a loooong time there, for people from Nebraska who have never been, the tourist attractions alone will eat up the time.

 

[Husky25]

This year, Absolutely. What about next year, the year after that, and/or the years that Creighton is terrible? In years that 'Cuse and UConn were less than good, their fans still filled the building. The same cannot be said for Seton Hall or St. Johns in down years. At best their fans go to MSG for their own teams' games, which have been few and far between in recent years. Now that all teams are eligible for the tournament, it may be different...And yes, 4 days is indeed a long time in The City.

Husky25,for you and I who have probably been there a million times, 4 days is a loooong time there, for people from Nebraska who have never been, the tourist attractions alone will eat up the time.

 

[FriarJ]

Can't disagree with that. I guess we will see. I expect with PC's re-emergence they will have decent attendance, but Cuse and UConn are massive losses for attendance. There is a fair number of NYC money folks who attend the event and I expect that to continue if the games are good.

 

[upstater]

This year, Absolutely. What about next year, the year after that, and/or the years that Creighton is terrible? In years that 'Cuse and UConn were less than good, their fans still filled the building. The same cannot be said for Seton Hall or St. Johns in down years. At best their fans go to MSG for their own teams' games, which have been few and far between in recent years. Now that all teams are eligible for the tournament, it may be different...And yes, 4 days is indeed a long time in The City.

Creighton has to up their recruiting game. This school's dirty little secret is that they have feasted on the sisters of the poor for decades. Have a look at their NCAA tourney performance. Not pretty.

Of the new additions, I have the most faith in Xavier.

 

[UConnJim]

I guess we will see. If the games are competitive it will still be an event. If there is a half empty arena for the semifinals on Friday then I will be very disappointed.

I wish the BE good luck and I would love to play some of the teams in the future.

Selling out the Garden has never been a problem for the BE Tournament as schools were allotted at most ~1000 tickets/school. In the New BE, allotments will be higher due to fewer schools in the BE, but each school should buy their allotment.

The real issue is the secondary market as any of us who have gone to many BE Tournaments understand. You don't get 8k UConn or Syracuse fans in the Garden without substantial secondary market purchases. The packed crowds in the semis and finals are due to people selling their tickets either after their teams lose or it's time to go home. Before the BE Tournament moved to Saturday night, the Sunday finals would sometimes have subpar actual attendance.

So, the Garden will be a sellout, but will the BE schools have enough fans in the NYC area willing to purchase tickets on the secondary market to pack the stands for every game, especially the championship game that only includes 2 teams? We don't have real good history as the current Big East has only had 4 spots (Georgetown 3x, St. John's 1x) in the championship game since 2000. That is 4 spots out of 28!!

 

[UConnJim]

One other point. If the BE Tournament were held today and the top 2 ranked BE teams were in the Championship, the game would be #23 Creighton vs #25 Marquette. This would not be good for attendance or casual interest in the game.

 

[Husky25]

Creighton has to up their recruiting game. This school's dirty little secret is that they have feasted on the sisters of the poor for decades. Have a look at their NCAA tourney performance. Not pretty.

Of the new additions, I have the most faith in Xavier.

I mentioned the same thing in a post on page 4/5 or thereabouts.

 

[Husky25]

I guess we will see. If the games are competitive it will still be an event. If there is a half empty arena for the semifinals on Friday then I will be very disappointed.

Competitive basketball does not mean it is good or entertaining basketball. Case in point: UConn's 2011 Championship game vs. Butler. It was a close throughout between supposedly the best two teams in the country (certainly the hottest) but it was without a doubt one of the worst basketball games, in terms of entertainment value that I've watched in probably 20 years. Outside of CT, western MA, and Indianapolis, I can't imagine many fans enjoying that game and I think the overnight ratings proved that out, IIRC.

 

[upstater]

Competitive basketball does not mean it is good or entertaining basketball. Case in point: UConn's 2011 Championship game vs. Butler. It was a close throughout between supposedly the best two teams in the country (certainly the hottest) but it was without a doubt one of the worst basketball games, in terms of entertainment value that I've watched in probably 20 years. Outside of CT, western MA, and Indianapolis, I can't imagine many fans enjoying that game and I think the overnight ratings proved that out, IIRC.

Depends on what you look for. Luke Winn and Coach K. said that UConn put on an outstanding defensive clinic.

UConn had to pull multiple starters with 10 minutes to go in the first half. So many had 2 fouls. Even Kemba Walker sat out 7 the last 10 minutes. The 6 out there were Donnell Beverly, Niels Giffey, Okwandu, Roscoe, Coombs-McDaniel and Shabazz.

In the second half, UConn shot 50% until the last minute when they let clock wind down. They scored 34 points in the second half.

In the first half, they scored 3 FGs after the 13:00 minute mark, and no FGs after the 7:00 minute mark.

 

[FriarJ]

Competitive basketball does not mean it is good or entertaining basketball. Case in point: UConn's 2011 Championship game vs. Butler. It was a close throughout between supposedly the best two teams in the country (certainly the hottest) but it was without a doubt one of the worst basketball games, in terms of entertainment value that I've watched in probably 20 years. Outside of CT, western MA, and Indianapolis, I can't imagine many fans enjoying that game and I think the overnight ratings proved that out, IIRC.

You actually buy your tickets and attend before the bad basketball is played however.

 

[zls44]

Well, they are coming this year at least as they have purchased more tickets than any one school ever has. I have a different take on them staying if eliminated, they are travelling to the greatest city on the planet many probably for the 1st time. I bet they stay the whole time, at least this year anyway.

Again, that's because they were given more tickets than any other school ever was. It's basically a lie of a stat.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Lies, damn lies, statistics, PC fans.

 

[FriarJ]

One other point. If the BE Tournament were held today and the top 2 ranked BE teams were in the Championship, the game would be #23 Creighton vs #25 Marquette. This would not be good for attendance or casual interest in the game.

I have a different take on this, shocking I know. I think once again this hearkens back to the glory days of the BE (80's early 90's), when any team had a shot. SHU, UConn they all had a shot and it became an event because NY loved the chance at the upstart winning and the games were out of this world. Once the BE went to the large football schools and they dominated, it was just not the same, outside of the students and the fans of those particular schools, it seemed to me that a lot of the fans at center court were constantly on their smartphones checking their scores they bet on.

It's going to come down to if the 10 schools can create or re-create rivalries with the round robin format.

 

[FriarJ]

Again, that's because they were given more tickets than any other school ever was. It's basically a lie of a stat.

They have already sold 2,000 all game tickets to their fans. Say what you want but that school has crazy support.

 

[Husky25]

Depends on what you look for. Luke Winn and Coach K. said that UConn put on an outstanding defensive clinic.

UConn had to pull multiple starters with 10 minutes to go in the first half. So many had 2 fouls. Even Kemba Walker sat out 7 the last 10 minutes. The 6 out there were Donnell Beverly, Niels Giffey, Okwandu, Roscoe, Coombs-McDaniel and Shabazz.

In the second half, UConn shot 50% until the last minute when they let clock wind down. They scored 34 points in the second half.

In the first half, they scored 3 FGs after the 13:00 minute mark, and no FGs after the 7:00 minute mark.

If their National Semifinal games weren't so good, I would blame the venue. Very few basketball arenas have the background that a 90,000 seat mega-stadium does. Depth perception on both sides seemed to be a problem.

 

[Husky25]

You actually buy your tickets and attend before the bad basketball is played however.

You don't have to tell us. UConn Football season ticket holders bought 7 games x number of seats worth of tickets well in advance of this "entertainment." 2014 college football hot stove can't come fast enough?

 

[upstater]

If their National Semifinal games weren't so good, I would blame the venue. Very few basketball arenas have the background that a 90,000 seat mega-stadium does. Depth perception on both sides seemed to be a problem.

But then you're going to have to explain how they shot 50% the rest of the game? They only went cold when they pulled the starters.