New Commish First Question

[GemParty]

Why the Hell can't UConn play in the BET this yr?

 

[CL82]

"Because the league presidents decided that they are unwilling to give up the conferences automatic berth to a school that is eligible for the NCAA tournament. Next question."

 

[AtlHusky]

"Because the league presidents decided that they are unwilling to give up the conferences automatic berth to a school that is eligible for the NCAA tournament. Next question."

Which is udder Bull5h1t. When was the last time a team team won the BET that wasn't already headed to the tourney by the time it made the finals? Even if we did win it, we wouldn't be taking a spot we can't fill from any team otherwise not already going.

 

[champs99and04]

"Because the league presidents decided that they are unwilling to give up the conferences automatic berth to a school that is eligible for the NCAA tournament. Next question."

So just give the AQ to the runner-up in the case UConn wins the tournament. Problem solved.

 

[Dann]

guys we got banned from the post season, whats so hard to swallow about that? the be bid would be screwed if uconn won it. we were punnised for what we did. if they let us play in any postseason stuff then our punnishment would be a joke. you can't do that to the league. usc fball couldn't play in the ship game for the pac last year and they had to send a 6-6 team to that game instead. its how it works... no nit, no cbi or w/e its called and no bet. until the ban gets lifted. cuse is already designing the banner for its last year in the league, it sucks but we can't do anything.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

I have a lot of complaints for the BE, but keeping us out of the BE tournament is not one of them. We need to take off our husky glasses for a second. If we are ineligible for the postseason, we should not be elibible for the BE tournament. Our gripe should be with the NCAA and the ban to begin with...I have no ill will towards the BE on this one.

 

[champs99and04]

guys we got banned from the post season, whats so hard to swallow about that? .

hmmm...just about everything? Just because this has been the protocol in the past does not make it logical. If the Big East's logic behind banning UConn from the tournament is that they want to protect the integrity of the bid, then I think that's pretty silly. If UConn wins they can give it to the runner-up. Besides, there is a 99% chance UConn either does not win the tournament, or beats a team in the finals that would have otherwise gotten into the tournament anyway.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

hmmm...just about everything? Just because this has been the protocol in the past does not make it logical. If the Big East's logic behind banning UConn from the tournament is that they want to protect the integrity of the bid, then I think that's pretty silly. If UConn wins they can give it to the runner-up. Besides, there is a 99% chance UConn either does not win the tournament, or beats a team in the finals that would have otherwise gotten into the tournament anyway.

You are blinded by your UConn glasses on this one. You are looking at it only from the UConn perspective. It sucks that we got this ridiculous punishment from the NCAA for a bogus measure. But we must live with it. Criticizing the BE for this is absurd.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

hmmm...just about everything? Just because this has been the protocol in the past does not make it logical. If the Big East's logic behind banning UConn from the tournament is that they want to protect the integrity of the bid, then I think that's pretty silly. If UConn wins they can give it to the runner-up. Besides, there is a 99% chance UConn either does not win the tournament, or beats a team in the finals that would have otherwise gotten into the tournament anyway.

It's not just about who we would play in the finals. Say Seton Hall is on the bubble next year and we're matched up with them in our first BET game. What good does it do the conference for us to win that game? We'd knock Seton Hall off the bubble and the win doesn't mean anything to us.

 

[willie99]

I don't believe we should be banned either. The protect the integrity of the bid argument is just plain silly.

When will adults stop perpetuating a wrong doing initiated by other adults against a school and a group of kids and a fan base for all the wrong reasons. Bureaucracy at it's best, they all live in some dense fog.

Time to be mature Mr Presidents, think about something sometime

 

[CL82]

So just give the AQ to the runner-up in the case UConn wins the tournament. Problem solved.

Yeah, this is the answer but I do think that they are sucking up to NCAA.

 

[AJC88]

It's not just about who we would play in the finals. Say Seton Hall is on the bubble next year and we're matched up with them in our first BET game. What good does it do the conference for us to win that game? We'd knock Seton Hall off the bubble and the win doesn't mean anything to us.

Exactly.

 

[Taco]

Or you get in by beating us - kind of the point isn't it - EARNING your way in.

 

[Fishy]

I can't imagine why the Big East would let UConn play in the postseason tournament.

Ultimately, the tournament is to decide the conference's champion and automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. Why chance UConn winning it and punting the automatic bid into the ocean?

On a personal note - UConn would be the lead story going in and that story would get louder and uglier every time UConn wins a game - until they lost and then the gloating and grave dancing would be at a fever pitch.

No thanks - I'd just as soon sit that out.

 

[VAHuskyFan]

I have no problem with the Big East's decision on this. If we were to win the tournament, the Big doesn't get to just to decide to confer BE tourney champion status on someone else. Fishy is right -- the auto bid just gets punted into the ocean.

There will also be BE teams needing a win or two either to lock up an automatic bid or improve their seeding -- the Big East does not need us upsetting other teams' apple carts by beating them in the BE tournament. Letting us into the tourney would be a made-to-order disaster for the conference.

 

[Ts5034]

This is the only choice the Big East had as soon as word came out that UConn wasnt eligible for the NCAA. They cant have a scenario where they will just give the bid to the runner up if we were to win the tournament. If that was the case the opposing team could take the night off and play all walk ons since it wont matter if they win or lose.

 

[champs99and04]

It's not just about who we would play in the finals. Say Seton Hall is on the bubble next year and we're matched up with them in our first BET game. What good does it do the conference for us to win that game? We'd knock Seton Hall off the bubble and the win doesn't mean anything to us.

That doesn't make any sense because it's just as likely that a bubble team could be helped by UConn's inclusion in the tournament. Say UConn goes 11-7 in the Big East and finishes the season ranked in the AP poll, earning a 6 seed in the Big East Tournament. A potential bubble team like Seton Hall could be vaulted into the tournament with a marquee victory over UConn that they otherwise wouldn't have gotten the chance to get had UConn not been included in the tournament.

There is always the chance UConn beats a team and knocks them out of the tournament. Then again, there is a chance that it could happen in the regular season too. From a PR standpoint it makes sense to disclude UConn from the BET. But it would be nice if the BE showed some balls, some loyalty, and decided to defend one of its better conference members.

As some of you may remember, UConn saved the Big East from an absolute tournament disaster two years ago, when they lost nine of eleven teams in the first weekend. Maybe the Big East could send UConn a "thank you" gift for winning the National Championship two years ago by defending them against the lunatics in the NCAA offices.

Is that likely to happen? Of course not. It's not just me being blinded by my "Huskies glasses", it's the right thing to do, and I'd tell you the same thing if Syracuse or Providence was banned under these ridiculous circumstances.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

That doesn't make any sense because it's just as likely that a bubble team could be helped by UConn's inclusion in the tournament. Say UConn goes 11-7 in the Big East and finishes the season ranked in the AP poll, earning a 6 seed in the Big East Tournament. A potential bubble team like Seton Hall could be vaulted into the tournament with a marquee victory over UConn that they otherwise wouldn't have gotten the chance to get had UConn not been included in the tournament.

In your scenario, if you take us out of the tournament then Seton Hall would just play another very good team instead and they'd still have their chance to get a marquee victory. If you hang around until Wednesday, and especially Thursday, of the BET it's pretty hard not to play somebody good.

Again, the point is that any game that we win in the BET is bad for the league. It hurts whoever we beat, and the wins that we accumulate don't help us or anybody else. Sure, we could lose our first game to a bubble team and help them out - but do you really think the league wants to take that chance? "Hey, let's let Uconn play in the tournament and just pray that they lose. I'm sure it will work out great!"

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Questioningly:

• Why have I read this thread? I'm flouting my personal post-season Boneyard ban this year.
• It took some time, but finally Fishy answered my "What does 'AQ' stand for?' question.
• Before today, I'd never seen the word "disclude". What's next, "excqualified"?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blo...iminate-a-word-from-the-english-language.html

 

[AtlHusky]

I can't imagine why the Big East would let UConn play in the postseason tournament.

Ultimately, the tournament is to decide the conference's champion and automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. Why chance UConn winning it and punting the automatic bid into the ocean?

My point above is the BE wouldn't be punting their AQ bid if UConn won it all, because the BE has never sent a team (that I can remember) to the tourney only because they won the BET.

 

[Fishy]

My point above is the BE wouldn't be punting their AQ bid if UConn won it all, because the BE has never sent a team (that I can remember) to the tourney only because they won the BET.

Syracuse won the Big East Tournament in 2006 as a nine seed - they were 7-9 in conference and not going anywhere without the BET run. (They beat UConn in overtime along the way.)

 

[AtlHusky]

Syracuse won the Big East Tournament in 2006 as a nine seed - they were 7-9 in conference and not going anywhere without the BET run. (They beat UConn in overtime along the way.)

Good example. But you could argue that by the time they reached the finals that year, they had a resume that was going to get them a bid. Win or lose in the BET final, they had a about 4 or 5 top 25 wins, and had more than likely already punched their ticket to the dance.

 

[Taco]

I mistakenly put this in another thread, but how will the BET be bracketed with 15 teams? The bottom 8 go on D1, 4 advance, then the next 4 lowest seeds play them, 4 advance and then the top 4 seeds plat them on D3 - then the semis on D4 & the finals on D5. Minus a team, someone will have to get a walkover - to keep the format the same. Will the #1 seed not play until the semis? Will the seed who would have played UCONN get a walkover (which would not help them tourney wise but would in fact give them a harder 1st game. Maybe I'm being dense, but having an odd # of teams seems like it would diminish the tourney.