Is it just me or is it absolute BS that Memphis gets to play this tournament at home?

[Jerry1714]

Kind of ridiculous, no?

Would you complain about it being on a home court if it was played in Hartford?

I do not think its unfair. It was going to be on a home court and Memphis probably provides the best atmosphere for it right now.

 

[auror]

I do not think its unfair. It was going to be on a home court and Memphis probably provides the best atmosphere for it right now.

The premise that "it was going to be on a home court" is what bothers me. The fact that the conference couldn't host at a neutral site because of attendance woes is the most damning of all the damning things said about our new conference.

 

[Jerry1714]

The premise that "it was going to be on a home court" is what bothers me. The fact that the conference couldn't host at a neutral site because of attendance woes is the most damning of all the damning things said about our new conference.

I hear ya, but outside of LVille no team in this conference, us included, travels well.

 

[Husky25]

You're a little slow on the uptake, aren't you?

Apparently. Why don't you explain, Oh Clever One?

 

[UofMemphis]

It’s the Midwest and the South, people drive 100 miles (2 hours) just to get to the nearest Walmart. 500 miles (7 hours) is an easy weekend drive. Of course in the Northeast, it took me 7 hours once the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to get from Boston to Hartford, all 130 miles.

That's what I love about midtown...the folks here hate big box retail...no Walmart, no Target, no Sam's, no CostCo...you have to head for the burbs for that.

Of course, you can be anywhere in Memphis within 15-20 minutes.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Go to sleep.

I laughed out loud at this, I don't know why.

 

[UofMemphis]

I am looking forward to going. However -I think what they meant at the start of the thread is that the Fed Ex is going to be packed with 95% buzzed up U of M fans the first night- not exactly a neutral floor for a conference tourney game.

Not much the AAC could have done- best choice considering this is a marriage almost no one wanted ( besides maybe U of M)- but that 10 start is going to one huge hostil crowd of on Thursday. Reminds me of going to Detroit for the FF when we played MSU- I could have used an armed escort leaving that place.

Memphis wanted our old friends back...Louisville, Cincy, and Marquette...so no, we're not happy...we're simply accustomed to making lemons into lemonade.

 

[Slasher]

Remember, next year us and Memphis are going to be the only two prominent programs in the conference. Which means each game except the final is going to involve at least one team that isn't us, and at least two of the quarterfinals will involve two teams that aren't us.

Memphis is more prominent than Cincinnati? On what planet? Tournament history:

Memphis: 25 appearances, 3 final fours, 0 championships.
Cincinnati: 27 appearances, 6 final fours, 2 championships.

EDIT: And of course 2 of Memphis' 3 final fours were vacated by the NCAA.

 

[UofMemphis]

Memphis is more prominent than Cincinnati? On what planet? Tournament history:

Memphis: 25 appearances, 3 final fours, 0 championships.
Cincinnati: 27 appearances, 6 final fours, 2 championships.

EDIT: And of course 2 of Memphis' 3 final fours were vacated by the NCAA.

Titles from the early sixties and no since 1992...I have a lot of respect for Cincy, but their recent history isn't exactly epic.

 

[Slasher]

Titles from the early sixties and no since 1992...I have a lot of respect for Cincy, but their recent history isn't exactly epic.

There's no doubt that's true, but two ancient history titles is better than none. Cincinnati did make the sweet sixteen as recently as 2012 (Memphis most recent was 2009.)

 

[UofMemphis]

According to the AAC commish, Memphis is the front-runner for next years AAC tourney.

Q: The league holds a one-year option to re-up with Memphis as tournament host for 2015. Do you support doing that?

A: Memphis is the front-runner potentially for a second year ... There are a lot of things in Memphis to savor. We just want to make sure we have done our due diligence relative to points of interest elsewhere. It’s always possible we could make a decision coming out of our tournament but I just don’t know yet.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/new...nference-commissioner-lauds/?CID=happeningnow

 

[Danpisco12]

Gotta be New Orleans. I went to school there for 4 years and it is the perfect place for any type of event.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Gotta be New Orleans. I went to school there for 4 years and it is the perfect place for any type of event.

The advantage or disadvantage, depending how UConn does, of having the tournament in New Orleans is I would not likely remember how they did by the time I got home (if I got home).

 

[husky91]

I would rotate it between Memphis, Nola and Mohegan. 3 great spots to host it.

Gotta be New Orleans. I went to school there for 4 years and it is the perfect place for any type of event.

 

[John]

Kind of ridiculous, no?

eh, no biggie. St John's played home games for years. What's the big deal???

 

[auror]

eh, no biggie. St John's played home games for years. What's the big deal???

They were situated in a city with lots of competing interests and didn't have a lot of fans over the last 20 years, so it didn't matter. We're going to be playing a true road game, which is pretty annoying for a neutral conference tournament.

To illustrate the power of home court advantage: We finished higher in the AAC standings, have better KenPom and RPI rankings, most importantly swept the Tigers... and we're going to be ~3-point underdogs when the vegas lines show up.

 

[Husky25]

They were situated in a city with lots of competing interests and didn't have a lot of fans over the last 20 years, so it didn't matter. We're going to be playing a true road game, which is pretty annoying for a neutral conference tournament.

To illustrate the power of home court advantage: We finished higher in the AAC standings, have better KenPom and RPI rankings, most importantly swept the Tigers... and we're going to be ~3-point underdogs when the vegas lines show up.

Wow, is that revisionist history if I ever heard it. The only time St. Johns was not at lest a moderate power is the Brian Mahaney years (Between Lou and Fran Frascilla) and the 3rd year of Mike Jarvis's tenure, which happens to coincide with Big East Tournament eligibility changes and a bunch of scandals, which made the school reign in the basketball program. Beside Norm Roberts being a terrible head coach, any coach following Jarvis would have to accept having at least one hand tied behind his back.

MSG was to St. Johns what The Civic Center is to UConn. If the Tournament was to be held in Hartford, you can be sure that a bunch of opponents' fans would be saying the same thing. The only difference between now and the Big East Tournaments of old is that UConn fans are not a train ride away. It's a pretty big difference to us, but not to the set up of a conference tournament.

 

[UofMemphis]

The AAC may make an announcement as soon as Thursday regarding extending the tourney in Memphis.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/new...sh-american-tournament-tick/?CID=happeningnow

Aresco also called Memphis the "front runner" to get next year's men's tournament again, citing a one-year option the AAC can exercise, but said more "due diligence" remains. A decision could come as early as Thursday, however.

 

[auror]

Wow, is that revisionist history if I ever heard it.

I'm not sure how implying St. Johns has been bad/haven't had a lot of fans over the last 20 years is revisionist history. They've won the Big East tournament once in the last 20 years, and that was almost 15 years ago and have no regular season Big East championships in that timeframe. As for fans, they are 9th/10 of current Big East teams in 5-year attendance averages (and Butler is the only team behind them, but had a better attendance last year, so St. John's might soon be last), and were 13th in 5-year attendance in the old Big East.

 

[Fishy]

Memphis is the perfect place for it.

They're the only group that's actually enthused about the conference. It's not going to sell tickets anywhere else - it's not like the Big East Tournament where we were guaranteed to fill the place with UConn, SU, etc.

You need locals for this kind of tournament and you won't get that in Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, etc.

 

[rw005]

Hartford could work...men at the XL Center...women at the Casino arena.

I like the sound of that!

 

[Husky25]

I'm not sure how implying St. Johns has been bad/haven't had a lot of fans over the last 20 years is revisionist history. They've won the Big East tournament once in the last 20 years, and that was almost 15 years ago and have no regular season Big East championships in that timeframe. As for fans, they are 9th/10 of current Big East teams in 5-year attendance averages (and Butler is the only team behind them, but had a better attendance last year, so St. John's might soon be last), and were 13th in 5-year attendance in the old Big East.

So you're saying that because St. Johns has not won the Big East Tournament in 15 years, it was not played at St. Johns' secondary home court for almost the entirety of the Old Big East's existence.

Got it.

I disagree.

St. Johns' relevance has nothing to do with the fact that the BET was in fact played at MSG. That's like saying that it would be okay for the AAC Tournament to be played at FedEx Forum if Memphis was terrible. Either they are both okay, or both not. St. Johns' on campus gym is tiny and they used MSG a lot. Secondary court vs. primary court is irrelevant. It's their home arena and I'll bet Providence feels it tomorrow.

 

[John]

So you're saying that because St. Johns has not won the Big East Tournament in 15 years, it was not played at St. Johns' secondary home court for almost the entirety of the Old Big East's existence.

Got it.

I disagree.

St. Johns' relevance has nothing to do with the fact that the BET was in fact played at MSG. That's like saying that it would be okay for the AAC Tournament to be played at FedEx Forum if Memphis was terrible. Either they are both okay, or both not. St. Johns' on campus gym is tiny and they used MSG a lot. Secondary court vs. primary court is irrelevant. It's their home arena and I'll bet Providence feels it tomorrow.

I'm sure there's a suitable arena in, say, Montana that'd be happy to have our conference tournament, and that way it's fair to everyone because no one will be having a home game

 

[auror]

So you're saying that because St. Johns has not won the Big East Tournament in 15 years, it was not played at St. Johns' secondary home court for almost the entirety of the Old Big East's existence.

Got it.

I disagree.

What? I never said that. I said they had no fans there. It might've been secondary home court, but because nobody showed up, the other teams weren't disadvantaged.

 

[Husky25]

What? I never said that. I said they had no fans there. It might've been secondary home court, but because nobody showed up, the other teams weren't disadvantaged.

It's really not worth arguing about because that's exactly what you said. Fan support has exactly zero to do with the FACT that MSG is St. Johns' home court. Period. The end. Class dismissed.