March Madness is Great, But......

• Prescott

  in the Final Four we want a little sanity.
  
  Would you rather see Kansas and UK in the final??
  
  Are you ok with a Duke or WVU versus Butler or a Michigan State team without Kalin Lucas?
  
  I'm not sure. I like to watch talent and this Final Four may not have an NBA lottery selection on any roster.I love the upsets, but I also want a high level championship game.
  
  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/paul_daugherty/03/29/final.four/index.html?eref=sihp
• devil1197

  Well these teams have earned to be there, especially Butler and WVU who took down those teams loaded with AA and high NBA talent.
  
  I'd rather watch very good TEAMS instead of very good individual talent.
• gorocks99

  

  I care about the games being exciting and watchable. A 20-point blowout where it looks like the Harlem Globetrotters vs the Washington Generals is terrible, whereas a close game with two good-to-great teams is likeable.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Personally I'd rather see Kansas vs. Kentucky in the Finals, but I'll watch the games regardless. It's hard to not love a story like Butler or a coach like Izzo in the Final game.
• THE4RINGZ

  

  It will be a good Final Four. You just have to look beyond the headlines of the big programs like UK or Kansas to find some great story lines and make this one a fun one to watch. Any team could end up winning this year, that adds some excitement.
• ytownfootball

  

  I love the underdogs that play exceptional team oriented ball. Sans a couple alli oops, it's just as entertaining if not moreso to watch fundamental basketball that also includes defense.
• Prescott

  There is no doubt that there are some great story lines. But, great stories don't always translate into great games.George Mason and LSU were a great stories in 2006, but both lost in the semis by substantial margins.
• SportsAndLady

  

  Sure I would love to see two heavy weights go at it for the title, but that doesn't mean the teams there aren't good...I mean if you're in the Final Four, you're a good freakin team.
  
  And also, how could you not foot for a team like Butler to win the championship? I mean it's incredbile to me. Obviously, I wouldn't want this Final Four every year, but every now and then is more than acceptable in my mind.
• WebFire

  This really is kind of a pointless thread, isn't it? What is the point of the tournament if only the few elite teams should play in the final four?
• Red_Skin_Pride

  

  Prescott wrote: I'm not sure. I like to watch talent and this Final Four may not have an NBA lottery selection on any roster.I love the upsets, but I also want a high level championship game.
  
  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/paul_daugherty/03/29/final.four/index.html?eref=sihp

  Then the "talent" shouldn't have gotten beat, and they would be there. Same rules for everybody, most lost, these four won.
  
  Boohoo. Always next year for Kansas and Kentucky. Once in a lifetime run for Butler, probably even WVU. I for one am in favor of NOT seeing the same teams play in the big games all the time. I love college football but this is precisely why it needs a playoff. Name me ONE person who had Butler in the final four at the beginning of the season, or hell, even the week before the tournament. Nobody, that's who. I can guarantee you that I can name you 10 teams off the top of my head RIGHT NOW that will be playing in a BCS game come January, and I'll be right with at least 6 of them. That's extremely repetitive and boring. That's why I've said for years that college football has the better regular season under their current system, but college basketball has- BY FAR- the better postseason, because you have to PLAY your way to the NC, you aren't given it based on what a bunch of old geezers who are more interested in making money that seeing who wins, think.
• Azubuike24

  

  Prescott's whole motive for this thread was to do the following:
  
  A) make sure he made it be said that Duke doesn't have any elite NBA prospects
  B) make sure he got a knock in on the level of teams in the Final Four
• mattinctown

  ^^^^ THAT
• sportswizuhrd

  Kansas and Kentucky should have played in the title game.
  
  The other top 40 teams should have been paired up and played at neutral sites.
  
  The other top matchups would have been..
  
  Ohio State vs Washington.
  West Virginia vs Kansas State
  Duke vs Syracuse
  Butler vs New Mexico
  
  All schools lower than a mid major-(lower than WAC, MWC, C-USA, A-10, MAC, Horizon, WCC) would have formed a 16 team tournament to crown their winner calling it whatever they wanted to.
  
  End of story.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ^...That is why March Madness is GREAT.
• KobeStopper

  Azubuike24 wrote:Prescott's whole motive for this thread was to do the following:
  
  A) make sure he made it be said that Duke doesn't have any elite NBA prospects
  B) make sure he got a knock in on the level of teams in the Final Four

  Don't forget continuing to degrade Duke's path to Indy. If only they had played a real team along the way, they wouldn't be here.
  
  Solid post, though, Azubuike24.
  
  Thread = shit. The SI writer states that Duke is "not compelling." I'm no Duke fan, but to say the Blue Devils are not compelling is a dumb remark. Duke is a polarizing program, perhaps the most polarizing in the college game, and its players play as fundamentally sound and smooth a game as any in the country. They play excellent man-to-man pressure defense, shoot the ball as well as Hickory's Jimmy Chitwood some nights and, most importantly, play team basketball. They can be quite fun to watch.
• lhslep134

  

  We didn't see the Duke fans act like this a year ago when UNC made their run did we?
  
  I'm not asking sarcastically, I really don't remember.
• KobeStopper

  ^^No.
  
  But it is to be expected from those aficionados of Duke hating. If anyone watched Sports Nation today with Colin Cowherd, you'd know it is still a cherished American pastime.
• Heretic

  

  Yeah, I know. I just totally hate it that a mid-major team from a conference that only got one bid has a chance to win a title. Or a #5 and #2 missing key players are in the same position, as well as a #1 that is either close to proving it is a great team or that it benefited greatly from being in a region that was populated with questionable highly-seeded teams.
  
  Personally, I can't wait until Saturday to watch these Final Four games. It's been an unpredictable tournament with a number of FF teams that weren't commonly picked to make it this far. This is what March Madness is all about and if people don't watch because their favorites aren't there...that's their loss.
• KobeStopper

  ^^Exactly.
  
  As I have said before, even if Duke doesn't win, I will gladly cheer Butler on to the victory. Go Bulldogs!
• KobeStopper

  Oops. Let's see if that is noticed.
• ytownfootball

  

  rec
• friendfromlowry

  So you want the final four to be more like last year, where:
  -Michigan State beat UConn by 9
  -UNC beat 'Nova by 14
  --UNC beat Michgan State by 17
• Prescott

  Prescott you are at a new low.

  I didn't write the article. I just posted it. It got a few insightful comments and then yours. That is the way message boards work.
• Prescott

  A) make sure he made it be said that Duke doesn't have any elite NBA prospects
  B) make sure he got a knock in on the level of teams in the Final Four

  I disagree, Duke has NBA level talent. It may not be elite, but no team in the Final Four has elite NBA talent. Singler and Mason Plumlee are mentioned in most mock drafts and could have productive NBA careers..During this tournament,Nolan Smith might have helped his NBA stock more than any other player.Scheyer might surprise because he can shoot it and his basketball IQ is very high. WVU has Butler and Ebanks. MSU has Lucas, although it is unfortunate that he isn't playing. Butler has Heyward and,maybe, Mack.
  
  
  If it is knock on the teams in the Final Four to want the heavyweights in the Finals, then I plead guilty. I would much rather watch a healthy Syracuse battle Kansas than MSU and Butler.That is why the Duke-vs-WVU is a little more attractive from my standpoint.
  
  I would bet that CBS is on my side.
  
  According to the Nielsen Company, Butler’s Elite Eight game attracted roughly 7.4 million viewers, a Nielsen rating of 4.8, while the West Virginia-Kentucky game drew more than 12 million viewers, earning a 7.3 rating. Sunday’s game between Duke and Baylor University garnered even more fanfare, with an 8.7 rating, approximately 13.8 million viewers.
• Nate

  It could be worse. There could be a BCS type of formula to figure out who should play for the Championship. I like it the way it is.
• Prescott

  I like it the way it is.

  I also like it the way it is and pray that it isn't expanded to include 96 teams. I would just prefer that more star power be in the finals.