Why is College basketball in decline? And...what...

[SoCalNYC]

The sport is in decline in terms of viewership. I know Bilas -- who I respect a ton-- commented on this a year ago.

There is no growth. Attendance is mediocre at many programs. The stock is just flattening.

Cfball is making all the money with CFP.

I used to love the product. But it seems stale and the current generation does not seem to care.

Any ideas? Remedies.

 

[lurkeraspect84]

10 to 1 this has to do with your favorite team.

 

[SoCalNYC]

10 to 1 this has to do with your favorite team.

LOL. It does not. But carry on.

 

[lurkeraspect84]

LOL. It does not. But carry on.

Thanks Eeyore.

 

[SoCalNYC]

Anyways, I remember Bilas bringing this up. And he went in depth in this issue.

Just something that stuck. But I dont see any changes.

 

[KyFaninNC]

Inconsistant officiating. Some refs have a clear bias against some coaches. Bad refs suffer zero penalties. Hapless NCAA will not enforce the rules equally. Refs running to the monitor every whip snitch and take 5 minutes to make a decision. It just isn't as fun to watch as it use to be, and all teams are not treated fairly. The system is stacked to favor certain teams.

 

[BasketBallJunkie-UK]

Eliminate fouls altogether. Full contact basketball. UFC version....

 

[SoCalNYC]

Inconsistant officiating. Some refs have a clear bias against some coaches. Bad refs suffer zero penalties. Hapless NCAA will not enforce the rules equally. Refs running to the monitor every whip snitch and take 5 minutes to make a decision. It just isn't as fun to watch as it use to be, and all teams are not treated fairly. The system is stacked to favor certain teams.

100 % AGREE.

Even in College football at least the refs will not steal the outcome like cbball.

I wont mention the teams (no bias) game years ago. But it was a Final Four and two teams I care for not.

But every national journalist was appalled at the refs.

The coach got his 8 on 5 and won the NC.

 

[LetsGoDuke301]

Inconsistant officiating. Some refs have a clear bias against some coaches. Bad refs suffer zero penalties. Hapless NCAA will not enforce the rules equally. Refs running to the monitor every whip snitch and take 5 minutes to make a decision. It just isn't as fun to watch as it use to be, and all teams are not treated fairly. The system is stacked to favor certain teams.

Dude...... There are games where officiating is pretty bad. No denying that. But it is only the people who are obsessed with blaming refs who claim the refs are ruining the game.

I would put more blame on recent scandals and how they are treated across the board. The fact that just about any player out of high school that is rated as a five star goes into college with the expectation of being there only one year. I think the college game has tried too hard to draw in professional fans by treating every five star as the next NBA all star. ESPCNN is a shithole network that focuses on individual players and hypes them up instead of advertising teams and matchups. We can focus on the rules changing and how that affects the way games are officiated, but I don't think that is the reason why there is a fall off in viewership. I would blame that more on the rise in popularity of soccer with the upcoming generation . And what particular program one follows leading to their opinions on where the game stands today.

 

[coryfly]

I don't think it is that complicated. People just love football and so don't pay much attention to basketball. Those who do love the NBA and so only watch college for the big time stars probably. I'm not sure the veiwership is down that much. Every single game in on TV so that makes it hard to judge. Are there less people watching the big games? That would be where we can truly judge the popularity. Maybe there is though.

Regardless, there isn't some reason like scandals or bias or anything like that. Only the extreme hardcore lunatic fringe fans even pay attention to that sort of thing.

 

[tw3301]

College football every game matters, college basketball only matters in March (for most people). There is your answer.

 

[SoCalNYC]

Dude...... There are games where officiating is pretty bad. No denying that. But it is only the people who are obsessed with blaming refs who claim the refs are ruining the game.

I would put more blame on recent scandals and how they are treated across the board. The fact that just about any player out of high school that is rated as a five star goes into college with the expectation of being there only one year. I think the college game has tried too hard to draw in professional fans by treating every five star as the next NBA all star. ESPCNN is a shithole network that focuses on individual players and hypes them up instead of advertising teams and matchups. We can focus on the rules changing and how that affects the way games are officiated, but I don't think that is the reason why there is a fall off in viewership. I would blame that more on the rise in popularity of soccer with the upcoming generation . And what particular program one follows leading to their opinions on where the game stands today.

I agree with many of your points in the second paragraph. I do think the soccer point is vastly underrated since it is a growth "cool" sport among millenials-- who the Prem. League etc.

BUT I do think among hardcore the ref bias for the elite really is terrible. THe second rung does not get a fair shot due to brand bias. And this coming from a ex- fan of cbball royalty.

Do you think soccer will rise up to top 3 sport nationally? Another thread but I hope it does. It could be a college sport to watch for too. I love it

 

[tw3301]

Do you think soccer will rise up to top 3 sport nationally? Another thread but I hope it does. It could be a college sport to watch for too. I love it

Lol... No.

 

[coryfly]

I don't know about that. I think often the refs actually favor the underdog. Generally, I think refs don't favor anyone though. They may get caught up in the home crowd or something but they don't call against teams. Better teams with better players generally should get fouled more. This isn't complicated. This idea about ref bias is just an excuse for people to feel better about losing.

 

[coryfly]

College football every game matters, college basketball only matters in March (for most people). There is your answer.

Right, which is why the only games to even look at for this argument would be the elite matchups. No one but all of us idiots on here are watching random games on Tuesday night.

 

[tw3301]

Right, which is why the only games to even look at for this argument would be the elite matchups. No one but all of us idiots on here are watching random games on Tuesday night.

Agreed.

 

[KisteK]

College basketball is so watered down.
And it used to be huge portions of P6+ coaches were loading up on cupcakes. Who tf would want to watch any of that garbage?
So glad they are attempting to shut that shlt down..

CFB is making bank and they won't allow UCF to sniff a chance at upsetting any top program in their coveted playoff.

CBB, however, gives no shlts about throwing their top teams to lesser schools.
And then for six months they sit around and wring their hands wondering why CBB is suffering.

Does anyone really think Loyola-Chicago helped college basketball last season?
I'd love to hear why.. how.

 

[TheDude1]

Inconsistant officiating. Some refs have a clear bias against some coaches. Bad refs suffer zero penalties. Hapless NCAA will not enforce the rules equally. Refs running to the monitor every whip snitch and take 5 minutes to make a decision. It just isn't as fun to watch as it use to be, and all teams are not treated fairly. The system is stacked to favor certain teams.

Oh good lord. Viewership isn’t down because casual fans, who don’t even know most of the rules of the game, are upset because of how some refs call games. That’s a very Rafters take.

There are fewer recognizable names that are built up over years. The NBA is more popular than ever. Games don’t really “matter” in a way. There’s a bunch of reasons.

 

[bkingUK]

All sports are in decline due to incline in other entertainment options.

 

[KyFaninNC]

100 % AGREE.

Even in College football at least the refs will not steal the outcome like cbball.

I wont mention the teams (no bias) game years ago. But it was a Final Four and two teams I care for not.

But every national journalist was appalled at the refs.

The coach got his 8 on 5 and won the NC.

1977 comes to mind when the refs literally gave Wooden his last natty.

 

[KyFaninNC]

I don't know about that. I think often the refs actually favor the underdog. Generally, I think refs don't favor anyone though. They may get caught up in the home crowd or something but they don't call against teams. Better teams with better players generally should get fouled more. This isn't complicated. This idea about ref bias is just an excuse for people to feel better about losing.

There is plenty of video to prove you wrong.

 

[WeAreDePaul]

my issue with CBB is the shot clock. It's too long. After watching a lot of NBA games I'm noticing how much quicker the game flows at that level with the 24 second clock and the new 14 second re-set on offensive rebounds.

They should go to that. They say in radio the worst thing you can have is dead air. The CBB equivalent of dead air is watching a PG dribble out a shot clock with the other 9 players on the court just standing around watching an waiting.

 

[coryfly]

There is plenty of video to prove you wrong.

And plenty of video would counter that as well. This is absurd. Some of you guys take paranoia to a pretty ridiculous level. Feed off each other all you want. Just don't do it here.

 

[hailtoyourvictor]

College basketball is so watered down.
And it used to be huge portions of P6+ coaches were loading up on cupcakes. Who tf would want to watch any of that garbage?
So glad they are attempting to shut that shlt down..

CFB is making bank and they won't allow UCF to sniff a chance at upsetting any top program in their coveted playoff.

CBB, however, gives no shlts about throwing their top teams to lesser schools.
And then for six months they sit around and wring their hands wondering why CBB is suffering.

Does anyone really think Loyola-Chicago helped college basketball last season?
I'd love to hear why.. how.

I don’t think Loyola-Chicago hurt basketball

 

[WeAreDePaul]

I agree with the others on here who say the most annoying thing about CBB is fans who blame everything on the refs. No ref is out to get your school, just STFU with that nonsense.

 

[IUfanBorden]

The sport is in decline in terms of viewership. I know Bilas -- who I respect a ton-- commented on this a year ago.

There is no growth. Attendance is mediocre at many programs. The stock is just flattening.

Cfball is making all the money with CFP.

I used to love the product. But it seems stale and the current generation does not seem to care.

Any ideas? Remedies.

Stopped reading right here.....Figured nothing good was coming of this.

 

[hailtoyourvictor]

I don't know about that. I think often the refs actually favor the underdog. Generally, I think refs don't favor anyone though. They may get caught up in the home crowd or something but they don't call against teams. Better teams with better players generally should get fouled more. This isn't complicated. This idea about ref bias is just an excuse for people to feel better about losing.

If coaches don’t have any influence over refs / calls then why do so many coaches in the refs ear throughout the game?

 

[coryfly]

If coaches don’t have any influence over refs / calls then why do so many coaches in the refs ear throughout the game?

I think it works on a small scale at times (never said anything about that). That has nothing to do with ref bias. It would be more in the 'get caught up in the crowd or something'. Those are things that human nature and emotion dictates. I think they are very small issues. A ref being biased and intentionally calling against a team would be a big issue. I do not think that exist.

 

[SoCalNYC]

my issue with CBB is the shot clock. It's too long. After watching a lot of NBA games I'm noticing how much quicker the game flows at that level with the 24 second clock and the new 14 second re-set on offensive rebounds.

They should go to that. They say in radio the worst thing you can have is dead air. The CBB equivalent of dead air is watching a PG dribble out a shot clock with the other 9 players on the court just standing around watching an waiting.

Solid suggestion

 

[IUfanBorden]

Inconsistant officiating. Some refs have a clear bias against some coaches. Bad refs suffer zero penalties. Hapless NCAA will not enforce the rules equally. Refs running to the monitor every whip snitch and take 5 minutes to make a decision. It just isn't as fun to watch as it use to be, and all teams are not treated fairly. The system is stacked to favor certain teams.

Officiating was just as bad, or good since, well---forever. Its just now its more public. 250 cameras, with 180 different speeds, angles, etc, etc...Social media has added to this. In other words, officiating is simply more visable today then it was back in the day.

Now I agree officiating is very inconsistent. I have spoken adamantly about this.

As for going to the monitor. They have to. If you don't like that---blame the NCAA rules committee. They are the ones who implemented it, and the guidelines.

System being stacked? Really? There are thousands of D1 officials. Seems if there were some type of system in place, one or two of these dudes would have let something slip. Especially a dude trying to move up. CBB officiating is big $$$. Some guys make upwards to $2500 or so, PER GAME. A guy could certainly move up the ladder if he had knowledge of this "system".

All teams aren't treated fairly? Oh have some balls, dude. Just say it.

 

[coryfly]

I'm not sure a six second difference would mean all that much. I like the shot clock the way it is in college.

 

[IUfanBorden]

If coaches don’t have any influence over refs / calls then why do so many coaches in the refs ear throughout the game?

Mostly due to missed calls...Or calls they feel are wrong. Or calls they feel they ain't getting. It sometimes works. I don't think saying coaches have an influence over officials is 100% accurate. I do think they can sometimes influence A CALL. But not A GAME. And TBH, sometimes it can work the total opposite. Coaches who complain ALL THE TIME? I just tune them out. But when you have a coach who sparingly complains, but then suddenly explodes? Well, you tend to listen a tad better. Odds are, you probably missed it.

 

[IUfanBorden]

my issue with CBB is the shot clock. It's too long. After watching a lot of NBA games I'm noticing how much quicker the game flows at that level with the 24 second clock and the new 14 second re-set on offensive rebounds.

They should go to that. They say in radio the worst thing you can have is dead air. The CBB equivalent of dead air is watching a PG dribble out a shot clock with the other 9 players on the court just standing around watching an waiting.

I think the shot clock is just fine. Its a perfect time for the COLLEGE game. IMO, taking out the closely guarded 5-second rule, has hurt the game.

Also, I hate the reset on an offensive rebound. Why? The offense just busted their ass to get a revound, and you wanna take 10 seconds away from them for doing that? Makes about as much sense as calling a timeout under your goa;, and getting the ball on the other side of half court....Ummm, why?

 

[KyFaninNC]

And plenty of video would counter that as well. This is absurd. Some of you guys take paranoia to a pretty ridiculous level. Feed off each other all you want. Just don't do it here.

You the board boss here? This is why most other fan bases consider you UNC guys such arrogant A-holes. The Carolina Way equals MY Way.

 

[coryfly]

And plenty of video would counter that as well. This is absurd. Some of you guys take paranoia to a pretty ridiculous level. Feed off each other all you want. Just don't do it here.

You the board boss here? This is why most other fan bases consider you UNC guys such arrogant A-holes. The Carolina Way equals MY Way.

Because I’m not delusional? That makes me arrogant? So be it then.

 

[hailtoyourvictor]

I'm not sure a six second difference would mean all that much. I like the shot clock the way it is in college.

The difference between 36 and 30 has been huge

 

[coryfly]

I'm not sure a six second difference would mean all that much. I like the shot clock the way it is in college.

The difference between 36 and 30 has been huge

Yeah, I agree. Was a big fan of it. I think cutting it to 24 would cause some issues at this level where the skill is not remotely comparable to the NBA. Maybe not though. Wouldn’t really impact my team but still would prefer it stays at 30.

 

[teenukfan15]

It's what others have said above. Casual fans only have to tune in during March. It's the only thing that matters.

I think the tourniment is the best thing about college basketball, but it has createst this problem where it's literally the only thing that will matter once the year is over. Games in December are just inconsequential for most fans.

 

[IUfanBorden]

The difference between 36 and 30 has been huge

Pretty sure you meant 35.... I think if you go to 24, you make a mess of the COLLEGE game. Some rules are pro rules, because well, its a pro game. A better product. If you go to 24, you are speeding the game up too much for college kids. JMO.

Rule I like to see back is the closely guarded rule.

 

[KyFaninNC]

All teams aren't treated fairly? Oh have some balls, dude. Just say it.

Kids parents getting multi million dollar homes for the kid to go to certain schools. 20 years of fake grades and depriving kids of an education. Some schools get hit hard with minor penalties, while some get away with anything. Bill Walton said he took a cut in pay when he went pro, yet the NCAA looked the other way, I could go on and on, but, you don't want to admit it. The NCAA is so crooked,that is understandable that the refs would be as well.

How many times has teams went into Allen Field house and watch a parade of KU players walk to the foul line 40 times while they shoot 3 FT.

I know what I see, video tape does not lie.