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| Do you think conference tournaments should happen this season? |
| Yes |
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44% |
[ 12 ] |
| No |
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55% |
[ 15 ] |
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| Total Votes : 27 |
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019
Posts: 4701
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 Posted: 02/02/21 10:54 pm ::: Should conference tournaments happen this year? |
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Geno Auriemma speaks his mind again, this time as it pertains to holding the conference tournament this season:
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"Me, personally, if we didn't have [the Big East tournament], it wouldn't bother me one iota. It wouldn't bother me one bit," Auriemma said on a videoconference call with the media.
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"Some coaches might say, 'Yeah, well, because you think you're in the NCAA tournament, but we're not going to have a chance to play our way in.' What can I say to that? I don't know. You've had all year long to play your way in." |
Michigan State's Suzy Merchant shared the same thought earlier this week, while offering an alternative of sorts:
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| “What I think they should do, not that anybody's going to listen, but I don't think we should have our conference tournament,” Merchant said. “I think we should use that week right now and use that as makeup games and opportunities to spread some things out for the health and safety of our student-athletes. No. 1: because playing back to back as a lot, mentally and traveling. Then the other thing is putting a lot of teams together in one place right now is kind of like a petri dish for COVID, I'm not sure that's really something we want to contribute to.” |
What say you? And what (if anything) could/should replace conference tournaments this year if you don't want to see them happen?
Last edited by Stormeo on 02/03/21 7:13 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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SDHoops
Joined: 09 Nov 2007
Posts: 1183
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| Posted: 02/02/21 11:47 pm ::: |
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| No conference tourneys..if there is maybe top 4 teams instead of 8 up to 12 like usual and WNIT style: as teams advance, top team hosts.
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PUmatty
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 16358
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: 02/03/21 10:06 am ::: |
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| I'm pretty uninterested in conference tournaments in a normal year.
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ucbart
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: New York
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| Posted: 02/03/21 10:13 am ::: |
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| PUmatty wrote: |
| I'm pretty uninterested in conference tournaments in a normal year. |
A lot of people say this-can I ask why? I love conference tourney week. I think it's great mental preparation for the NCAA tourney and it adds some real spice to the season.
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Stormeo
Joined: 14 Jul 2019
Posts: 4701
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| Posted: 02/03/21 12:12 pm ::: |
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This year, instead of conventional conference tournaments, I'm all for just having make-up games, no games at all (skipping straight to the NCAA Tournament), or a single conference title game between the top-2 finishers in each conference in order to do formal qualifying bids. I want as few games as possible between the end of the conference season & the Big Dance.
In normal years, I find conference tournaments that invite every team from the conference – which might be all of them at this point? – pointless & unnecessary. Just invite the top 4, 6, or 8 teams to make it only a 2- or 3-day affair (or again – a single conference title game). If you finished in the bottom of your conference schedule, you shouldn't be allowed a single chance to make it to the Big Dance via the conference tournament, no matter how unlikely it is you'll come out the winner. A spot in any 'postseason' tournament should be earned.
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summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013
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| Posted: 02/03/21 12:48 pm ::: |
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| PUmatty wrote: |
| I'm pretty uninterested in conference tournaments in a normal year. |
+1
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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Location: OREGON (in my heart)
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| Posted: 02/03/21 2:18 pm ::: |
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In a NORMAL year, I've always enjoyed them enough.
But now, I certainly could live without them. To me, the only real benefit is that some of the #5-#8 or so teams in a conference can always dream of a Cinderella run to make the Big Dance, but....that's such a rarity as to not even be a consideration. Of course, some of the Big Dance shoo-ins might hope for a fab conf tourney run to improve their tournament seedings but still, not a real factor.
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
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| Posted: 02/03/21 2:36 pm ::: |
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| They're a huge money-loser, which is an issue this year more than ever, and I really hate it when a team that proves itself over the course of a long season gets knocked out of the tournament by a bad team playing its best game of the year.
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summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013
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| Posted: 02/03/21 4:31 pm ::: |
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| ClayK wrote: |
| They're a huge money-loser, which is an issue this year more than ever, and I really hate it when a team that proves itself over the course of a long season gets knocked out of the tournament by a bad team playing its best game of the year. |
^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^ Exactly this. It is most unfair to the one bid conferences, but it's still unfair to others. And it screws up the seeding besides.
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myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008
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| Posted: 02/03/21 5:23 pm ::: |
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I think I would like to see top 4 teams play. If teams have met earlier with part of their players missing, it gives them and everyone else an opportunity to see them (hopefully) at full strength. And especially for young teams, how they play at the end of the season is not the same as how they play earlier.
But I also see the point of just playing makeup games.
And I see why Geno wouldn't want one anyway, since they would win it with hands tied behind their backs, so it's just another possible place to catch covid.
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myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008
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| Posted: 02/03/21 5:29 pm ::: |
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| Maybe my opinion is skewed by the P12, since I think realistically any of the top four could win it, and I would love to see it played out.
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ucbart
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: New York
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| Posted: 02/03/21 5:33 pm ::: |
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| ClayK wrote: |
| They're a huge money-loser, which is an issue this year more than ever, and I really hate it when a team that proves itself over the course of a long season gets knocked out of the tournament by a bad team playing its best game of the year. |
Can't the conference easily change that rule? Is there a rule stating that the conference tournament champion has to be conference reprsentative?
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ripleydc
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 4778
Location: Washington, DC
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| Posted: 02/03/21 6:55 pm ::: |
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| myrtle wrote: |
I think I would like to see top 4 teams play. . . . .
But I also see the point of just playing makeup games. |
A 4 team tournament is appealing, but I’m not really sure how we can even figure out who the top 4 teams are in some conferences. For example, the B1G standings have Michigan in 2nd place, while teams that have won more games than Michigan has played are ranked behind.
I normally love tournament week, but using the time for make up games make more sense to me.
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Marquette Fan
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
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mzonefan
Joined: 15 Oct 2005
Posts: 4878
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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| Posted: 02/04/21 9:16 am ::: |
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| ripleydc wrote: |
| myrtle wrote: |
I think I would like to see top 4 teams play. . . . .
But I also see the point of just playing makeup games. |
A 4 team tournament is appealing, but I’m not really sure how we can even figure out who the top 4 teams are in some conferences. For example, the B1G standings have Michigan in 2nd place, while teams that have won more games than Michigan has played are ranked behind.
I normally love tournament week, but using the time for make up games make more sense to me. |
I asked someone at Michigan this week if they had any idea 1. How the B1G was going to seed teams in the tournament due to the disparity of games played and 2. How the postponed games were going to be rescheduled, if all all. No idea to both. I think they’re just blindly trying to get through what’s right in front of their faces.
I will really miss going to the conference tournament this year. I’ve only missed one since 1997. I love seeing all of the different teams in one place; watching the players progress through their four years; hanging out with our friends; talking with the players’ families; and seeing the close games. I rarely go to the first day (teams 11-14) anymore, as it's too much more money to stay downtown and eat out another day for less interesting games.
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
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| Posted: 02/04/21 10:37 am ::: |
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| ucbart wrote: |
| ClayK wrote: |
| They're a huge money-loser, which is an issue this year more than ever, and I really hate it when a team that proves itself over the course of a long season gets knocked out of the tournament by a bad team playing its best game of the year. |
Can't the conference easily change that rule? Is there a rule stating that the conference tournament champion has to be conference reprsentative? |
Interesting question ... I think the conferences do designate their league winner to the NCAA, so they could give the automatic berth to the regular season champ.
If they did, though, the one-bid conference tournaments would be pretty meaningless (and still lose money). For the P5, it would work, I'd think, because it would give teams a chance to make the tourney with a good showing. Still, though, it negates a full season of work in one game for a team that gets upset and knocked out.
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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| Posted: 02/04/21 10:57 am ::: |
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| They're not cancelling the men's conference tournaments, which leads me to believe the conferences are using the pandemic as an excuse to do things Title IX wouldn't allow them to do otherwise.
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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Location: OREGON (in my heart)
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| Posted: 02/04/21 12:18 pm ::: |
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| pilight wrote: |
| They're not cancelling the men's conference tournaments, which leads me to believe the conferences are using the pandemic as an excuse to do things Title IX wouldn't allow them to do otherwise. |
Hmmm. This might be a case where equality is less desirable than the alternative, when one considers all the sensible reasons listed above regarding why the women should NOT hold a tourney. I was thinking of how the conference tournaments might also further the risk of Covid exposures, and how that could squash a team's ability to play in the first or second round of the NCAA tourney.
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GlennMacGrady
Joined: 03 Jan 2005
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| Posted: 02/04/21 12:49 pm ::: |
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I've long entertained the never-discussed view that the regular season champ should get the conference's primary NCAA bid, and if a different team wins the conference tournament, that team should get a second bid for that conference. Such a situation would eliminate an NCAA at-large slot or, depending on how one looks at it, would be an objective way to fill that at-large slot.
I think the conference tournaments should be held if there is time, place and money to do so, and if that would increase the total games played this season by the conference. |
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Queenie
Joined: 18 Nov 2004
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| Posted: 02/04/21 2:00 pm ::: |
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| Are conferences going to push for a conference tournament to try to pack in extra games so that teams are eligible for the tournament?
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mzonefan
Joined: 15 Oct 2005
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calbearman76
Joined: 02 Nov 2009
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Location: Carson City
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| Posted: 02/04/21 8:29 pm ::: |
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| pilight wrote: |
| They're not cancelling the men's conference tournaments, which leads me to believe the conferences are using the pandemic as an excuse to do things Title IX wouldn't allow them to do otherwise. |
Title IX is the main reason for conference tourneys so I think it would be difficult to hold the men's tourney but not the women's, even this year. For the major conferences that play their tournaments and then have nearly 2 weeks off, a third week could be problematic. Get healthy maybe, get stale maybe
As for tournaments in general, I enjoy them. I have become a regular at the Pac 12 tourneys even though it is a 400 mile (to Las Vegas) or 750 mile (to Seattle) trip. I have made some friends for that one week each year. It is generally a great atmosphere, competitive and spirited but generally very friendly. Indeed I believe the atmosphere is better for the women because it is generally more collegial .
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awhom111
Joined: 19 Nov 2014
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| Posted: 02/05/21 12:37 am ::: |
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| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
I've long entertained the never-discussed view that the regular season champ should get the conference's primary NCAA bid, and if a different team wins the conference tournament, that team should get a second bid for that conference. Such a situation would eliminate an NCAA at-large slot or, depending on how one looks at it, would be an objective way to fill that at-large slot.
I think the conference tournaments should be held if there is time, place and money to do so, and if that would increase the total games played this season by the conference. |
That would create the perverse incentive of making your top seed lose though, especially for low majors on the men's side where you would be at least doubling their NCAA payout. When the men's tournament expanded to 68, I did believe that they should just expand to 96 and give each conference two bids to allocate however they wanted.
I am agnostic on conference tournaments, but given the number of conferences with unbalanced schedules, it does seem the better way to determine a champion. |
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GlennMacGrady
Joined: 03 Jan 2005
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| Posted: 02/05/21 11:46 am ::: |
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| awhom111 wrote: |
| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
I've long entertained the never-discussed view that the regular season champ should get the conference's primary NCAA bid, and if a different team wins the conference tournament, that team should get a second bid for that conference. Such a situation would eliminate an NCAA at-large slot or, depending on how one looks at it, would be an objective way to fill that at-large slot.
I think the conference tournaments should be held if there is time, place and money to do so, and if that would increase the total games played this season by the conference. |
That would create the perverse incentive of making your top seed lose . . . . |
Since I've never heard any discussion on this proposal, thank you for offering a rebuttal argument. However, I don't believe many college players or coaches would deliberately lose (throw) a game. For one thing, it could be illegal.
I'm primarily motivated by the way conference tournaments intrinsically demean and diminish the importance of the entire regular season. If playing all the teams in your conference, perhaps twice, in the long regular season is not for the purpose of determining the "winner" for NCAA purposes, what is the purpose?
I recall the days when only the ACC in men's basketball had a tournament. Everywhere else, the regular season winner's prize was entry into the NCAA tournament. And, as a general rule of my unimportant life, I liked the world of the 1950's and some of the 1960's better than any time later for just about everything. |
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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| Posted: 02/05/21 12:02 pm ::: |
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| A team might not throw a tournament game, but if you've got that tournament bid in your pocket maybe you rest some players with minor ailments that you might otherwise play.
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. But even if it weren't the case I tend to agree that conference tournaments don't make a lot of sense this year.