What's the point of conference tournaments?

[skurey]

Thinking about the loss of AO and our 2nd national championship

Really what is the point of them? I know they are fun and exciting but they don't exactly prove much especially when we've already seen who the better teams are for 18 games of conference play.

The answer is C.R.E.A.M. but others can provide insight too.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Money.

 

[Dcuse]

Thinking about the loss of AO and our 2nd national championship

Really what is the point of them? I know they are fun and exciting but they don't exactly prove much especially when we've already seen who the better teams are for 18 games of conference play.

The answer is C.R.E.A.M. but others can provide insight too.

How about they are the 2nd most exciting sporting event in the world surpassed only by the NCAA tournament. For the life of me I can't figure out what peoples problem with these tremendous post season games which serve as a second chance for teams and most certainly will be our only hope to get into the dance. Please help me understand.

 

[cuse2013]

2006?

 

[Zippy1808]

How about they are the 2nd most exciting sporting event in the world surpassed only by the NCAA tournament. For the life of me I can't figure out what peoples problem with these tremendous post season games which serve as a second chance for teams and most certainly will be our only hope to get into the dance. Please help me understand.

Read: Money.

 

[orangehomer]

my favorite part about conference tourneys is how everyone says they don't matter, and then the tourney starts and everyone loses their mind about how important the games are. the big east tournament was the best thing ever and will never be matched, and Syracuse was a big part of it.

 

[jncuse]

Money

But at the same time conference regular season titles to a certain degree have lost their importance due to unbalanced schedules. So a tournament may be just as good a way to crown a champ.

 

[Dcuse]

Read: Money.

Read: Where do I pay?

 

[RandygoCuse]

How about they are the 2nd most exciting sporting event in the world surpassed only by the NCAA tournament.

Really?

 

[Frozen]

 

[Eric15]

I personally love conference tournaments. It's like a delicious handful of bacon-wrapped scallops before your entree.

Being in New York for the BET was as exciting as it gets for sports fandom. Obviously the ACCT isn't on that level, but Brooklyn could be cool.

 

[Forloveoforange]

The games are too close together and too close to the NCAA tournament. It seems like winning the conference tournament will put you at a disadvantage for the NCAA tournament, no? Well, this year, it might be the only way to get in, but still a disadvantage, especially if you're not deep.

 

[Eric15]

It seems like winning the conference tournament will put you at a disadvantage for the NCAA tournament, no?

It will boost your NCAA seed which gives you a statistical advantage of advancing further in the tourney. I don't buy the fatigue factor, 4-5 days is plenty of time to rest.

 

[Eric15]

Money.

That's certainly true -- but you could say that about any aspect of big-time college athletics. We don't send our players to the Maui Invitational or bowl games to enhance their academic experience.

 

[RandygoCuse]

The games are too close together and too close to the NCAA tournament. It seems like winning the conference tournament will put you at a disadvantage for the NCAA tournament, no? Well, this year, it might be the only way to get in, but still a disadvantage, especially if you're not deep.

I would say the tournament is more valuable to teams on the bubble. Winning is not necessarily important (unless you are in a one-bid conference) and I agree that it may lead to fatigue heading into the tournament.

 

[Eric15]

I agree that it may lead to fatigue heading into the tournament.

But wouldn't you say there is almost certainly a positive correlation over college basketball history between how far a team advances in their conference tourney and the NCAA tourney?

I feel like Syracuse is a weird outlier in the sense that we never seem to have seasons where we excel in both tournaments.

 

[orangecuse]

For a lot of teams it's their last hurrah/the final chance to get in the 'Dance' for what otherwise may be considered a rather disappointing season. This year it appears...can you say Syracuse!

 

[joct]

But wouldn't you say there is almost certainly a positive correlation over college basketball history between how far a team advances in their conference tourney and the NCAA tourney?

I feel like Syracuse is a weird outlier in the sense that we never seem to have seasons where we excel in both tournaments.

Certainly most years for sure. The exception could be 2013, when they went on a run to the BET final, which gave them a chance to snap out of a funk, where they lost 4 of 5. I think that had a big role in making the Final Four that year.

 

[Knicks411]

Money.

I'm glad this was the first response.

 

[RandygoCuse]

But wouldn't you say there is almost certainly a positive correlation over college basketball history between how far a team advances in their conference tourney and the NCAA tourney?

I feel like Syracuse is a weird outlier in the sense that we never seem to have seasons where we excel in both tournaments.

There may be a correlation, but I'm not sure there's causation. Teams that are good enough to perform well in their conference tourney are generally stronger teams. Thus it makes sense they would perform well in the NCAAT as well. But even if there weren't any conference tournaments, they may have advanced through the NCAAT at the same rate.

 

[TheGov3304]

I personally am not a fan of conference tournaments. Especially for the small schools such as Colgate. You could finish first in the regular season and some team could come out of no where and get the automatic bid. It negates your entire conference regular season, idk just doesn't make too much sense.

Of course, the counter argument is that it gives everyone a chance. I can see both sides, but it isn't that logical to me.

 

[Eric15]

I personally am not a fan of conference tournaments.

Your avatar represents the most exciting 4-day stretch of basketball in Syracuse history (in a conference tournament).

 

[TheGov3304]

Your avatar represents the most exciting 4-day stretch of basketball in Syracuse history (in a conference tournament).

This is true, I guess I was more referring to the smaller conference tournaments than anything. For instance, if UNC doesn't win the ACC tournament this year, they will still be in the NCAA. The team that doesn't win in a league such as the Patriot League would very rarely, if ever get a bid to the tourney.

 

[Eric15]

This is true, I guess I was more referring to the smaller conference tournaments than anything. For instance, if UNC doesn't win the ACC tournament this year, they will still be in the NCAA. The team that doesn't win in a league such as the Patriot League would very rarely, if ever get a bid to the tourney.

Yeah, I see it both ways if you're a small league. You want your regular season champ to make the Dance because they're the team with the chance of going the furthest, but at the same time having a conference tournament is an opportunity for small leagues to get attention and TV time in March.

If I was a low-major league I would have the conference tourney played on the home floor of the #1 seed as opposed to a neutral venue.

 

[TheGov3304]

Yeah, I see it both ways if you're a small league. You want your regular season champ to make the Dance because they're the team with the chance of going the furthest, but at the same time having a conference tournament is an opportunity for small leagues to get attention and TV time in March.

If I was a low-major league I would have the conference tourney played on the home floor of the #1 seed as opposed to a neutral venue.

That's a great point, I know at the D3 level they use that system. I don't like the idea of a neutral venue either for small leagues.