No One Cares about the Final Four Now
- Thread starter bignish
- Start date
You thought that was funny, but it made no sense. Back to the drawing board.
I am one of the folks on here that hates Duke, but I sure can appreciate the hurt a good Duke fan would be feeling now.
It is very similar to how I felt in 2015 when Wisconsin beat Kentucky. It was a 1 out of 10 deal.
It is very similar to how I felt in 2015 when Wisconsin beat Kentucky. It was a 1 out of 10 deal.
I played golf last August. Does that count?
Well said. Not a fan of Duke at all, but I understand the let down and dealing with nonsense afterwards.
So we're clear, you're whining about:
- Having to face 1 seeds in the Elite 8;
- Having to face a #2 seed in the Elite 8 that was marginally tougher than another #2 seed (and whose coach was 1-11 against Duke);
- Having to face a 7-seed (#24 in KenPom after their tournament run), South Carolina;
- Having to play that 7-seed in a location that is well within driving distance for both Duke and South Carolina.
I think you're just making shit up. MSU has been in at least one Top-10 most viewed NCAA regular season game every season for years now. And the "huge dropoff" isn't backed up by the numbers either. Here are 2019's most watched non-NCAAT games:
"Michigan played in four of the top 14 games this season, more than any other team except for Duke (eight). Three of those four Michigan games, it should be noted, were against Michigan State."
That's only for pre-NCAAT. Duke was definitely the biggest draw this year (and most years), but how could they not be when all ESPN and other networks would talk about was ZION. Not sure Arizona or UCLA are ever in the Top-10. Kansas usually isn't either. UNC and UVA didn't have a single Top-10 viewed game that was NOT against Duke.
The MSU Duke Elite 8 game last week had over 16m viewers, the highest in years:
Sunday’s Michigan State-Duke NCAA Tournament regional final earned a 9.4 rating and 16.20 million viewers on CBS, up 3% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (Kansas-Duke: 9.2, 15.44M) and up 6% and 5% respectively from 2017 (UNC-Kentucky: 8.9, 15.47M).
The Spartans’ upset win ranks as the highest rated and most-watched basketball game, outside of the NBA Finals or Final Four, since 2005. That year, Michigan State-Kentucky had a 10.4 and 17.91 million in the Elite Eight.
The previous highs were 9.2 for Kansas-Duke last year and 16.0 million for Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals.
Probably not a good time to say Zion > MSU.
Dukes path wasn’t that difficult till the Elite 8. And bringing up that kind of talk that happened 6-7 years ago won’t erase what happened last weekend.
Of course not; don't be dumb. But let's get to the issue: what's easy for you? What I see now is a Duke fan complaining (and you agreeing) that Duke had a "hard" path because it (i) had to face good teams in the Elite 8 and (ii) drive another hour and a half to the arena to see a second round game against a vastly inferior opponent. If those normal situation are your "hard," then your "easy" is, what, a bye week?
That was worse Bert. UK wins the title 95/100 times that year. Such is the problem with a one and done scenario unfortunately. I for sure didn't watch the title game that year though.
I played golf yesterday. Sick and shot a 97. First round of the year and seems like I 3 putted everything. I’ll take it.
The NCAA has done us no favors lately. We were the #1 Overall Seed this year and our #4 Seed was VT which is #11 in KenPom and we had to play them in DC. Then, we had to play KenPom #5 MSU in the Elite 8 instead of Kentucky or Michigan or Tennessee.
Did UT end up as #5 on the S Curve? I'm shocked how the committee disrespected Michigan State.
Seemed to work out great for them. Same as when we were 8 seed against undefeated Wichita St.
Without Poythress? I think Wisconsin and Duke would play you close every single time because those teams were that good.
You guys barely beat ND in the Elite 8. UK 2015 another media created juggernaut that grew tamer as opponents figured them out. Fans of these media driven teams start believing in their own hype like we did.
The only thing that was impressive at the end was the absolute domination of West Virginia in the Sweet 16. Those assholes shouldn't ran their mouth before the game.
I wish Tillman and Winston had talked about how they were going to dominate Zion and RJ before Sunday's game. That would've probably motivated them more than Coach K's nonexistent coaching.
It sucks for the higher seed that has to play teams that are peaking at the right time.
Anyone with half a brain knew that Texas Tech, MSU, FSU and Auburn would be dangerous in this tournament.
You're preaching to the choir. People mocked UK fans for saying the same thing.
Yes without Poythress. UK beats Duke by 15. Notre Dame played really well and had real quick guards that gave UK problems. I said before the tournament the only 2 teams I were worried about were Notre Dame and Wisconsin. Wisconsin had an elite offense and hit a bunch of tough shots but UK was up 6 I believe before Cal shit down his leg, the team had back to back shot clock violations and the no call (fvck you Higgins) on a clear shot clock violation for Wisconsin that gave them 2 points.
That's not to take away from Duke by the way. You guys turned it on and were really good in March. But matchups matter.
MSU likely should've been a 1-seed this year. Should not have had to play a rematch (Minnesota or Louisville) in the 2nd game. Should've been in a closer pod than Des Moines, which was only 250 miles from Minnesota and Bradley (and almost 600 miles from East Lansing).
Fortunate for how things have played out and getting to the Final Four, but the committee didn't really do us any favors this year. Won the B1G regular season, B1G Tournament Title, had the most Quad 1 wins in the country, only had 6 losses, and played a Top-10 SOS. Rewarded with having to play the #1 overall seed, and the first 2 games being as close to "home" games as possible for our first 2 opponents.
Speaking of viewership and crowds. Didn't MSU play in front of the largest cbb crowd ever?
found it.
UK @ MSU @ Ford Field.
The announced crowd of 78,129 set a record for verified[2] attendance at a basketball game in history.[1] While the record was broken at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, which drew 108,713 to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas,[3] the Basketbowl still holds the record for attendance at a college basketball game.
The previous record of 75,000 was held by the Harlem Globetrotters during their exhibition game at Berlin, Germany's Olympic Stadium.[4] The 2010 NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium drew a crowd of 108,713, which shattered the all-time attendance record for the sport set by Michigan State and Kentucky in 2003.
Also note.
The Syracuse-Duke basketball game on Saturday night (Feb 23 2019) set a new on-campus attendance record with 35,642 fans, the largest attendance possible in the country.
The mark broke the previous record of 35,446, which had been set by Syracuse and Duke on both occasions that the teams previously have played in Syracuse on Saturdays. Those previous meetings took place in 2014 and 2015.
found it.
UK @ MSU @ Ford Field.
The announced crowd of 78,129 set a record for verified[2] attendance at a basketball game in history.[1] While the record was broken at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, which drew 108,713 to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas,[3] the Basketbowl still holds the record for attendance at a college basketball game.
The previous record of 75,000 was held by the Harlem Globetrotters during their exhibition game at Berlin, Germany's Olympic Stadium.[4] The 2010 NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium drew a crowd of 108,713, which shattered the all-time attendance record for the sport set by Michigan State and Kentucky in 2003.
Also note.
The Syracuse-Duke basketball game on Saturday night (Feb 23 2019) set a new on-campus attendance record with 35,642 fans, the largest attendance possible in the country.
The mark broke the previous record of 35,446, which had been set by Syracuse and Duke on both occasions that the teams previously have played in Syracuse on Saturdays. Those previous meetings took place in 2014 and 2015.
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It's amazing how many UK fans forget how important Poy's injury was. He was the only wing defender with size (Trey Lyles was playing the 3, which is absurd), which was sort of a big deal going up against Wisconsin; Hayes and Dekker murdered us (Hayes continually abused Booker on switches). UK matched up better against Duke than Wisconsin for that reason, and I would have had UK as about 4/5 point favorites over Duke (implied 65%-ish odds of winning).
And UK was a 5 point favorite against Wisconsin in the Final Four (it opened at 6 and was bet down by sharps), which implies that UK wins that game about 65% of the time, maybe less if you consider that UK is a public team and the line is artificially high for that reason. The people saying things like UK wins 95/100 times are why sports books make money. And 2015 was loaded at the top 4 spots, not quite like 2008 but close.
My man, DC is almost the exact same distance from Blacksburg, VA (267 miles) as it is to Durham, NC (258 miles). That's twice you've bitched about the unfairness of playing games within driving distance of Duke.
Zomg no. That's a 4/5 point line at best. UK matched up better with Duke than with Wisconsin, but Duke was a bit better than Wisconsin overall, and UK was favored by 5 over Wiscy. Matchups matter, but only to a point.
Wow. 38-1?
Let me know the next time Duke wins their first 38 games so I can tell you how easy some other teams could beat them.
By the way: Duke has never won 38 games in a row. Geeze.
They've never won 38 games total. Only 3 teams have achieved that.Only one won 38 and a title.
True college basketball fans love this FF.
Michigan State: Big Ten Regular Season Co-Champ and Big Ten Tournament Champ
Texas Tech: Big 12 Regular Season Champion
Virginia: ACC Regular Season Champ
Auburn: SEC Tournament Champ
This FF is loaded. Can’t wait. I hope MSU wins it all but any team that does will deserve it.
Michigan State: Big Ten Regular Season Co-Champ and Big Ten Tournament Champ
Texas Tech: Big 12 Regular Season Champion
Virginia: ACC Regular Season Champ
Auburn: SEC Tournament Champ
This FF is loaded. Can’t wait. I hope MSU wins it all but any team that does will deserve it.
