OT: Objectively one of the more boring championship games of the past 25 years?

[Travelman6]

This was on too late for people across the pond to watch, but from the looks of it, what I have seen written in various places and clips/highlights seemed like a pretty non-competitive game.

Where does this rank as far as one of the worst championship matchups of the past 25 years?

Other "boring"/noncompetitive matchups
UNC/MSU 2009
Florida/UCLA 2006
Nova/Michigan 2018

Probably the worst 3 since 95 but this one could possibly replace one of those three. Maybe 2000 was top 5 worst?

Objectively speaking, you could add Butler/UConn and Gtech/UConn to round out the top 5 or 6. Obviously exciting for we UConn fans, but objectively not great games or competitive.

Other than 2018 and this year, games have been very good since 2013 (even 2012 was not too bad and had some drama when Kansas cut it to 62-57).

So between 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2018, and this year, what was the least competitive game or, objectively most boring game? Or was there another game in the past 25 years you'd rank higher?

I still think Duke/UNLV 1990 will always be the ultimate stream roll and likely won't be topped but perhaps this 2021 game was just as bad as Duke/Michigan 1992.

 

[uconngb]

2004 Champ game was a snooze fest. We could have named the final score. G Tech hit a barrage of 3s at the end but that game was over at the 8 minute mark of the 1st half.

 

[boog204]

I have a hard time hating on other championship games when we were the star of the worst one ever in 2011. That first half was putrid for both teams and while we can laud the defense, it does not make for an overly entertaining watch to culminate a season. As stated above, 2004 was also over pretty early and was just a run out the clock scenario.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Even though it was a shellacking, I didn’t think it was a snoozefest.

Mostly just marveled how well Baylor played on nearly every front. Their offensive movement was impeccable and their defense stymied Suggs, Kispert and Ayayi.

Sure, it was hard to pay attention in the last ten minutes, but I enjoyed watching Baylor put on a clinic.

 

[Zissou]

Hmmm, I was into this game. Baylor was incredible, yet the Zags cut it to 10 at the half. It was still a game.

The second half felt like a strangle. Baylor matched every little run.

It was an entertaining game even though the game wasn’t close for most of the 2nd half.

 

[HCCForever]

I didn't find this game boring either. It might have been non-competitive for parts of the game with the end result never in doubt, but it still held my interest. I enjoyed watching Baylor play and react to Gonzaga's runs. I turned it off with a few minutes left in the game but I round it entertaining.

 

[Lefty2one]

I didn't find it boring. I thought Gonzaga would make a run and every time they started to Baylor answered. I didn't think the game was over until 8 minutes to go. So yeah, no drama and it was a blowout, but I found it reasonably entertaining.

 

[Palatine]

I went to bed with over 10 minutes left. Of course, I'm old.

 

[Get a Job]

I also found last night's game to be pretty entertaining. In addition to the long ball, chicks dig made baskets. There were plenty of those to be had last night.

The most boring final I remember seeing was UConn vs. Butler. There were probably worse ones, but I don't recall them because they were, well, boring.

 

[Pudge]

There was a Duke v UNLV NC game ... before your time?

 

[RichZ]

I have to admit that I enjoyed the game, although it didn't keep me glued to the screen. I like to watch bball played well, and Baylor certainly played well. So did the zags, in spurts. But compared to the Houston/Zag game, it was a let down. In that respect, it was a bit like '04, when the UConn/Duke game was thrilling, even for fans of the game without a rooting interest for either school, and the championship game was one sided. '04 did have just a smidge of intrigue going into the game, as GT had beaten us rather handily in the Preseason NIT. Last night the undefeated aspect added that little extra interest, until it became obvious that Baylor was not only a better team, but Drew was outcoaching Few.

Who was the coach that said something to the effect of, "It's easier to be a great coach when you have really good players."?

 

[Kitaman]

If we weren't playing, I would have rather watched Jeopardy back in 2011. The 1st half was like the worst basketball ever in a Championship Game. 22 to 19, then 19 to 34.

 

[HooperScooper]

There was a Duke v UNLV NC game ... before your time?

The OP was going for the last 25 years. Duke-UNLV was before that. But yeah, that one was an absolute non-contest. And I enjoyed it!

 

[KingAG]

This was on too late for people across the pond to watch, but from the looks of it, what I have seen written in various places and clips/highlights seemed like a pretty non-competitive game.

Where does this rank as far as one of the worst championship matchups of the past 25 years?

Other "boring"/noncompetitive matchups
UNC/MSU 2009
Florida/UCLA 2006
Nova/Michigan 2018

Probably the worst 3 since 95 but this one could possibly replace one of those three. Maybe 2000 was top 5 worst?

Objectively speaking, you could add Butler/UConn and Gtech/UConn to round out the top 5 or 6. Obviously exciting for we UConn fans, but objectively not great games or competitive.

Other than 2018 and this year, games have been very good since 2013 (even 2012 was not too bad and had some drama when Kansas cut it to 62-57).

So between 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2018, and this year, what was the least competitive game or, objectively most boring game? Or was there another game in the past 25 years you'd rank higher?

I still think Duke/UNLV 1990 will always be the ultimate stream roll and likely won't be topped but perhaps this 2021 game was just as bad as Duke/Michigan 1992.

Many could and would say the same about our 2004 and 2011 championship games. We enjoyed them because we won. But objectively they weren't all the fun to watch from a non fan perspective. We had a walk in the park against GTech and the Butler game was as disgusting of an offensive display as you'll see

 

[auror]

I didn't find it boring. I thought Gonzaga would make a run and every time they started to Baylor answered. I didn't think the game was over until 8 minutes to go. So yeah, no drama and it was a blowout, but I found it reasonably entertaining.

Exactly. There's a little different feeling when it's a blowout when the team behind is the favorite and has a potent offense. They could absolutely go off and catch up. When they went zone and cut it to 9 in the 2nd half I thought they'd get it under 5. But then Teague made 3 shots in a row and it was out of reach again.

 

[auror]

To answer the question, 2011 was unquestionably the most boring championship game of a long, long time.

The teams last night scored almost as many points at halftime. Nobody likes seeing teams just miss shots (10-43 3pt combined, Butler 3-31 from 2) and the game was over with 12 minutes left.

 

[UCTitleTown]

UConn-Butler sucked. Game never in doubt from the tip and poor shooting. Ugly game.

 

[nomar]

2004 Champ game was a snooze fest. We could have named the final score. G Tech hit a barrage of 3s at the end but that game was over at the 8 minute mark of the 1st half.

Yeah that was a terrible game to watch 😁

In all seriousness, yes, it wasn't an exciting game but at least it was well played. The 2011 game, OTOH, yikes. There was a great article in SI afterwards about how great the defense was, which is true, but man I felt bad for everybody watching that snoozefest without a vested interest in UConn.

 

[HooperScooper]

UConn-Butler sucked. Game never in doubt from the tip and poor shooting. Ugly game.

I don't remember it like that. It was definitely ugly but it was pretty close until UConn went on a run in the middle of the 2nd half.

UConn 53-41 Butler (Apr 4, 2011) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the UConn Huskies vs. Butler Bulldogs NCAAM game, final score 53-41, from April 4, 2011 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[ConnZag3]

I'm also a Gonzaga fan and I think it was the worst title game since the UNC beatdown of Villanova in 09. The 2011 UConn/Butler game was ugly, but it was competitive. Last night's game was never really in doubt even when Gonzaga went on a small run you just knew Baylor was gonna chuck in another 3 and another 3...

 

[Zissou]

The 2009 game was a semifinal game, and the reference wasn’t necessary. PTSD was cured in 2016, mostly.

 

[Pudge]

Yeah that was a terrible game to watch 😁

In all seriousness, yes, it wasn't an exciting game but at least it was well played. The 2011 game, OTOH, yikes. There was a great article in SI afterwards about how great the defense was, which is true, but man I felt bad for everybody watching that snoozefest without a vested interest in UConn.

I still blame the rims. Just that whole weekend: amazing shooting percentages for 3 games ...

 

[Get a Job]

Are we just going to ignore the OP's egregious misuse of the word "objectively"?

 

[August_West]

I have a hard time hating on other championship games when we were the star of the worst one ever in 2011. That first half was putrid for both teams and while we can laud the defense, it does not make for an overly entertaining watch to culminate a season. As stated above, 2004 was also over pretty early and was just a run out the clock scenario.

It's universally recognized as the worst title game ever.


I dont care. Im a UConn fan.

 

[auror]

I'm also a Gonzaga fan and I think it was the worst title game since the UNC beatdown of Villanova in 09. The 2011 UConn/Butler game was ugly, but it was competitive. Last night's game was never really in doubt even when Gonzaga went on a small run you just knew Baylor was gonna chuck in another 3 and another 3...

Butler shot 3/31 from 2. Less than 10%. Gonzaga was over 50%. There are limits to how much you can appreciate a relatively close game when the play is that bad (and it didn't stay close, so then it was worst of both worlds). Gonzaga was down 10 at halftime and 9 with 14 minutes left, that's definitely not over. Their offense had been scoring the ball at a good clip (1.14ppp to that point in the game), so they just needed a few more stops to get back in it.

I was watching the Butler game at a bar with some sports fans but not college basketball fans and we basically stopped watching. I was honestly a little embarrassed to have organized and subjected my friends to it.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Considering the facts of the build up, I'm not sure I've seen a worse championship game.

I've seen blowouts. That's not new. But this was the preseason #1 vs #2. They both represented themselves well throughout the tournament. All evidence pointed to a pretty solid game. Obviously it wasn't. A bit shocking and disappointing.

 

[nomar]

Are we just going to ignore the OP's egregious misuse of the word "objectively"?

I'd argue he used "objectively" more properly than you employed "egregious."

As I said in earlier in the thread, the 2004 title game was well enough played but it wasn't competitive or exciting in any way. The 2011 title game was awful, unless you have a fetish for offensive incompetence.

I've probably re-watched the '04 game once since it happened. (OTOH, I've re-watched the Duke and Alabama games repeatedly.) I've never re-watched the 2011 title game and I can't imagine I'd ever want to.

 

[Brochacho]

You can't make a list of boring title games without 2011 being #1 on the list.

 

[Get a Job]

I'd argue he used "objectively" more properly than you employed "egregious."

As I said in earlier in the thread, the 2004 title game was well enough played but it wasn't competitive or exciting in any way. The 2011 title game was awful, unless you have a fetish for offensive incompetence.

I've probably re-watched the '04 game once since it happened. (OTOH, I've re-watched the Duke and Alabama games repeatedly.) I've never re-watched the 2011 title game and I can't imagine I'd ever want to.

Oh no you didn't!

Merriam-Webster defines objective as "expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations." The very concept of boringness is based on someone's feelings and interpretations. Therefore, the idea of something being objectively boring to an audience of more than one person makes little to no sense.

The same source defines egregious as "CONSPICUOUS especially : conspicuously bad : FLAGRANT." The OP's repeated incorrect usage of the word easily meets that definition in my opinion, especially since he even emphasized one instance using bold type. Now, admittedly, judging something as egregious or not is certainly a subjective thing. (See what I did there?)

 

[nomar]

Oh no you didn't!

Merriam-Webster defines objective as "expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations." The very concept of boringness is based on someone's feelings and interpretations. Therefore, the idea of something being objectively boring to an audience of more than one person makes little to no sense.

The same source defines egregious as "CONSPICUOUS especially : conspicuously bad : FLAGRANT." The OP's repeated incorrect usage of the word easily meets that definition in my opinion, especially since he even emphasized one instance using bold type. Now, admittedly, judging something as egregious or not is certainly a subjective thing. (See what I did there?)

Thank you for copying and pasting the dictionary definitions of "objective" and "egregious."

You seem to think that someone shouldn't use the word "boring" in the place of "uncompetitive" and "poorly played." Perhaps you think it's a "subjective" opinion to think UNLV whipping Duke by 30 points was "not competitive." And maybe you think saying a game with the final score of 53-41 had "bad offense" is "subjective." I don't. Those are all facts, not opinions. We live in a world where a lot of people refuse to acknowledge facts. I'm not one of those people.

They were both objectively non-competitive basketball games. The 2011 game was an objectively terrible basketball game. I have no problem with someone using the phrase "objectively boring" to describe a game that as a matter of fact was non-competitive and/or poorly played. (We're posting in the midst of a thread where there is universal agreement among the fans of the team who won the titles that the games were boring.) So I don't think he misused it at all, certainly not "flagrantly," but then again I don't engage in pedantry on message boards even though IRL I tend to be a grammar/spelling fanatic.

Can you point me to a single fact or metric that supports the conclusion that the 2011 title game was exciting? Is there someone disputing it? There might be someone out there who's not bored by John Cage's 4'33" but can you find someone who was riveted by the 2011 title game? I'd think that the only people who weren't bored to death watching the game were people who bet on the spread (anybody who bet on the over-under turned the channel at halftime).