Big East Tournament Scenarios

[connVA]

The fact of the matter is that we CANNOT lose to Hall again as it would practically close the door to anything better than 8/9 in the Dance unless we win the BET

 

[gsmooth]

Perfect for us software coding types to understand !

(2a) can not happen . If UConn loses to SHU again on senior day, that would be really really disappointing going into the post season. Beat SHU and we are not a #4 seed.

The thought of losing to Seton Hall in Gampel on Senior Day just made me throw up in my mouth.

UConn needs to deliver a mammoth beatdown to Seton Hall this Saturday.

 

[HooperScooper]

The thought of losing to Seton Hall in Gampel on Senior Day just made me throw up in my mouth.

UConn needs to deliver a mammoth beatdown to Seton Hall this Saturday.

And even that wouldn’t rid the bad taste of that loss. I still can’t believe they lost to that crappy team. I’ll get over it at some point.

 

[ucp990411]

Wow, I guess they are “New York’s team”

Wait until they return to where they came from. Middle of the pack. And it won't be long.

 

[Travelman6]

We didn’t get this perk!

Fallon is incredibly unfunny, is it really a "perk"?

 

[BGesus4]

Fallon is incredibly unfunny, is it really a "perk"?

Hard to believe that the St. John’s basketball team registers as a thing for more the 5% of people that watch that show

 

[jibsey]

I don’t worry about any of this seeding because it means little. Marquette flew high 2 years ago, won the BE tournament, then flamed out in the NCAA which is the only tourney that actually is remembered. Yes it’s nice to win the BE tourney, yes it would be great to face and beat St. John’s and stick it to Pitino but I just want to see our team functioning at a high level which it appears we are.
We lose a very close BE tourney game it’s not a catastrophe.

 

[RuffRuff]

I don’t worry about any of this seeding because it means little. Marquette flew high 2 years ago, won the BE tournament, then flamed out in the NCAA which is the only tourney that actually is remembered. Yes it’s nice to win the BE tourney, yes it would be great to face and beat St. John’s and stick it to Pitino but I just want to see our team functioning at a high level which it appears we are.
We lose a very close BE tourney game it’s not a catastrophe.

Couldn’t agree more - conference tourneys are only remembered by fans of individual teams, not the national audience. Apart of seeding this year, I’d rather we get healthy. Last year it was meaningful as part of a dominant run, this year not as much. The only reason I’d like us to go on a run this year is to get off the 8-9 line. Whether you like it or not, 90% of the college hoops season memories are registered during the dance.

 

[superjohn]

Couldn’t agree more - conference tourneys are only remembered by fans of individual teams, not the national audience. Apart of seeding this year, I’d rather we get healthy. Last year it was meaningful as part of a dominant run, this year not as much. The only reason I’d like us to go on a run this year is to get off the 8-9 line. Whether you like it or not, 90% of the college hoops season memories are registered during the dance.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Couldn’t agree more - conference tourneys are only remembered by fans of individual teams, not the national audience. Apart of seeding this year, I’d rather we get healthy. Last year it was meaningful as part of a dominant run, this year not as much. The only reason I’d like us to go on a run this year is to get off the 8-9 line. Whether you like it or not, 90% of the college hoops season memories are registered during the dance.

True but by this logic only a final four/national championship matters to a national audience. Only a select few programs are final four or bust any given year.

 

[7774]

View attachment 107523

Agree. It's also not even true because one reason teams like Duke, Kentucky, & Kansas are always placed above us in program rankings is that they have dominated their conferences to a much higher degree than we have. So it does actually register nationally.

Some of my best memories are winning BE tournaments (and winning regular seasons outright). It's so lame how a giant percentage of people here **** on anything that's not a national title.

 

[RuffRuff]

True but by this logic only a final four/national championship matters to a national audience. Only a select few programs are final four or bust any given year.

I'd say we are there. In terms of keeping national momentum with what we've built, I'm far more invested in the big tourney. BET would be a nice to have this year. Last year it was meaningful to cap an all time season and because it's been so long. I get a tingle we'd be best suited to go on a run from a less assuming position.

 

[Get a Job]

Couldn’t agree more - conference tourneys are only remembered by fans of individual teams, not the national audience. Apart of seeding this year, I’d rather we get healthy. Last year it was meaningful as part of a dominant run, this year not as much. The only reason I’d like us to go on a run this year is to get off the 8-9 line. Whether you like it or not, 90% of the college hoops season memories are registered during the dance.

Who gives a flip about the national audience? We ARE fans of an individual team in the conference tournament in question. Are you saying you derive enjoyment from observing the accolades UConn collects from non-UConn fans, and not from the games and achievements of the team itself?

 

[superjohn]

Who gives a flip about the national audience? We ARE fans of an individual team in the conference tournament in question. Are you saying you derive enjoyment from observing the accolades UConn collects from non-UConn fans, and not from the games and achievements of the team itself?

There's no point in being a fan with his attitude. He's basing his rooting interest on what he thinks other fans may care about or remember in the future. As a fan I want "my" team to win every regular season game, win the conference championship, win the conference tournament, win the NCAA tournament.

Some of my favorite memories as a fan and some of the best games I've ever seen were in the conference tournament. I'm extremely happy I got to watch the UConn Georgetown Big East championship game where Ray hit the scissor kick runner in the lane. It's one of the best games I've ever seen. Taliek with the desperation three point bomb to bury Pitt in another title game classic. Kemba putting McGhee on skates and draining the long jumper for the win as time expired. One of the most iconic plays ever. The list goes on.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Couldn’t agree more - conference tourneys are only remembered by fans of individual teams, not the national audience. Apart of seeding this year, I’d rather we get healthy. Last year it was meaningful as part of a dominant run, this year not as much. The only reason I’d like us to go on a run this year is to get off the 8-9 line. Whether you like it or not, 90% of the college hoops season memories are registered during the dance.

I would rather win the Big East tournament and lose in the first round of the NCAA than lose in the Big East tournament but make the Sweet 16, maybe even the Elite 8. Trophies matter

 

[ctbro1999]

And even that wouldn’t rid the bad taste of that loss. I still can’t believe they lost to that crappy team. I’ll get over it at some point.

I don't think we've had a true blowout of any real (i.e. not Nov/Dec KP 300+ cupcake) team this season. I think tomorrow is the perfect time to hang a 30+ point rout on an opponent.

 

[navery12]

I would rather win the Big East tournament and lose in the first round of the NCAA than lose in the Big East tournament but make the Sweet 16, maybe even the Elite 8. Trophies matter

I don't doubt this, and I suspect others here will agree with you, but I couldn't disagree more. That's a wild mindset to me

 

[RuffRuff]

Who gives a flip about the national audience? We ARE fans of an individual team in the conference tournament in question. Are you saying you derive enjoyment from observing the accolades UConn collects from non-UConn fans, and not from the games and achievements of the team itself?

I

There's no point in being a fan with his attitude. He's basing his rooting interest on what he thinks other fans may care about or remember in the future. As a fan I want "my" team to win every regular season game, win the conference championship, win the conference tournament, win the NCAA tournament.

Some of my favorite memories as a fan and some of the best games I've ever seen were in the conference tournament. I'm extremely happy I got to watch the UConn Georgetown Big East championship game where Ray hit the scissor kick runner in the lane. It's one of the best games I've ever seen. Taliek with the desperation three point bomb to bury Pitt in another title game classic. Kemba putting McGhee on skates and draining the long jumper for the win as time expired. One of the most iconic plays ever. The list goes on.

I care about the national audience, because recruits are in that national audience. I'm invested in the sustainability of what this program has going on. Will anyone here give a S if Kentucky wins the SECT beyond the next year? Most conf tourney champs are long forgotten and don't register much in the history books.

As for the BET, I'm looking at this year over year, and I find this year to be delicate given injuries & matchups (StJ) and personally will always find it more rewarding to win games on the national stage of the NCAA tourney, than the BET. I love the BET and in most years if we were fully healthy, had a real chance to win it, I'd be all in. I'm not going to not enjoy if they did make a run and win it, I simply see value in bowing out and resting going into the dance and in a less assuming position this year.

You can talk about Ray's scissor kicks all you want, we and everyone discuss our 6 titles far more. Gonzaga has won their crappy tournament a number of years and no one gives a damn, but they're seen as a top hoops brand because of their performances in the tournament (and they've never even won it).

 

[RuffRuff]

I don't doubt this, and I suspect others here will agree with you, but I couldn't disagree more. That's a wild mindset to me

I would call this the vast minority of fans thinking. A run in the NCAA all but wipes out any disappointment in a conference tourney, you also get to extend your season a week. You get paid for advancing in the dance - no funds coming from winning the BET. Such a weird take. I love the BE purists, but it's highly ignorant to the macro view and economics of today. There is a large group of fans here who wish they could go back to 1994 and stay there forever.

 

[GlastonTim]

I would rather win the Big East tournament and lose in the first round of the NCAA than lose in the Big East tournament but make the Sweet 16, maybe even the Elite 8. Trophies matter

This is crazy talk. If we get to the Elite8 it will be a successful year. Losing in first round will be totally disappointing.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

True but by this logic only a final four/national championship matters to a national audience. Only a select few programs are final four or bust any given year.

If we don't qualify as part of the 'select few', nobody does.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I would rather win the Big East tournament and lose in the first round of the NCAA than lose in the Big East tournament but make the Sweet 16, maybe even the Elite 8. Trophies matter

This sounds like you would be willing to sacrifice a game in the big dance if it meant winning the conference tournament.

I personally prefer the way 2014 and 2023 turned out and there is no way in hell that anyone could convince me that it would have been beneficial to sacrifice an NCAA tournament game in each of those years to win our conference tournaments.

 

[metsfan2323]

I would rather win the Big East tournament and lose in the first round of the NCAA than lose in the Big East tournament but make the Sweet 16, maybe even the Elite 8. Trophies matter

Personally I would take the sweet 16 and definitely the elite 8, but to each his own.

Conference tournaments are important for seeding purposes, but the Big Dance is what I remember most about any given season.

 

[auror]

It's all relative to expectations and the actual circumstances rather than general hypotheticals. If we, as we are this year, are an 8 seed, a Sweet 16 run would be great because that means we beat a dominant one seed in the NCAAs. That would be awesome. That to me would be equivalent to a deep BET run.

But if we were like a 6 and beat an 11 and then a 3, give me the BET championship if it's against St. John's with a rocking MSG.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

It's all relative to expectations and the actual circumstances rather than general hypotheticals.

The "would you rather have..." exercise seems entirely useless to me for this reason