Is Uconn the worst/most surprising team to ever win the title?

[HOFCeluck]

The tournament sucks and is a terrible way to crown a champion*







*Except 2003 or any other year we maek a deep run.

 

[Cuseman78]

If you saw UConn play over the last few weeks and didn't think they were "one of the best teams" then you simply don't know what you're watching.

I'll just assume you didn't watch them in their 30 point loss to Louisville or their loss to Houston, or 2 losses to SMU, all which occurred during the regular season. If you think they performed as "one of the best" throughout the year, I'm not sure you watched them at all during the regular season. And you apparently didn't need to because it was meaningless. Kind of my point.

 

[orangenirvana]

I'll just assume you didn't watch them in their 30 point loss to Louisville or their loss to Houston, or 2 losses to SMU, all which occurred during the regular season. If you think they performed as "one of the best" throughout the year, I'm not sure you watched them at all during the regular season. And you apparently didn't need to because it was meaningless. Kind of my point.

That's how the sport is played. Build your team throughout the regular season, peak in March, play for all the marbles in a 64-team one-loss-go-home tournament. 40 minutes to beat your opponent and advance. That's how it's been played for decades. You act like it's something new. If you don't like it then stop watching.

 

[Cuseman78]

That's how the sport is played. Build your team throughout the regular season, peak in March, play for all the marbles in a 64-team one-loss-go-home tournament. 40 minutes to beat your opponent and advance. That's how it's been played for decades. You act like it's something new. If you don't like it then stop watching.

Thanks for the patronizing "Idiots guide to CBB" refresher course. It wasn't necessary though -- I'm aware of how its set-up and played. Apparently that means I'm not allowed to comment on whether I believe its the best way to crown a champion (in comparison to other sports)? I'll duck out of this thread as I've beat my point to death (or tried to at least). See you on the football board.

 

[sufandu]

Utter nonsense. Its decided by a random 3 week tourney. You can slog your way through a season (as Uconn did) and just get hot at the right time. The tourney is a great spectacle, but it certainly doesn't always crown one of the best teams. That happened to be the case this year.

I know it sounds like sour grapes (and certainly I don't like that it was Uconn who did it), but personally I want the champion crowned in any sport I follow to at least be one of the best teams throughout the course of the year. Probably why I'm more partial to college football and the EPL. Every single stinking game means something in those sports. A Saturday showdown in December with Nova at the Dome? Means zippo in the grand scheme of things.

A system where a bunch of coaches that watch none of the games and a group of so called experts voting on who is the best, despite very few of the top teams playing against each other, was a much better system.

 

[DoctorBombay]

As a Giants fan I've had to listen to sour grapes similar to those of the OP, after Eli won those last 2 Super Bowls.
The formula is always the same: Give no credit & call them lucky, undeserving, and the whole "system" sucks because the "best team didn't win".
Its a stupid and embarrassing rationale, IMO- and more worthy of a 2nd grader who wants to take his ball and go home.
I hate UConn w/ a passion- but they got/get it done when it mattered...and you have to respect that.
Some of our fans need to grow the f'k up and deal with it. Pathetic.

 

[sufandu]

Bama was one of the best 3 teams in the country. Thats all I ask is that the champion be "one of the best". There is no mistaking that in CFB, one of the best teams in the country always wins the national title. Thats the way it should be, IMO. A fringe top 25 teams with blow-out losses to Houston shouldn't be cutting down nets. The regular season is absolutely meaningless otherwise. Complete opposite in CFB

Except if not for a lucky kick return by Auburn, Alabama is playing for the NC this past year, yet they got their butts handed to them by Oklahoma in the bowl game. Maybe if more OOC games were played during the season, and not just at the beginning of the season, we'd find out some teams aren't quite at dominating as we all assume. I'm glad football has finally gone to the beginnings of a playoff. It's long overdue.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I'll have to go back and look for Cusemans posts from last year about how bad the tourney was.

 

[Cuseman78]

I'll have to go back and look for Cusemans posts from last year about how bad the tourney was.

Give it a rest. I'm a NYG fan and we won 2 titles recently off mediocre seasons. I'm not afraid to admit that. We weren't the best team, made a run, and won Super Bowls. I'm certainly not giving those back. Uconn fans feel the same way this AM. No one can take away the fact that they are going to hang a banner next year. Props to them for making a run. Doesn't mean that I believe its the best way to crown a champion.

 

[alexd.]

Actually I think Villanova '85 was extremely lucky. I mean didn't they shoot something like 80% from the floor that game? Also UConn's win in 2011 was pretty lucky as well - they were what, 15-15 before the BET? If they don't win that, they don't get in.

UCONN was 21-9 going into the 2011 BET. They did not lose an OOC game that season.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Give it a rest. I'm a NYG fan and we won 2 titles recently off mediocre seasons. I'm not afraid to admit that. We weren't the best team, made a run, and won Super Bowls. I'm certainly not giving those back. Uconn fans feel the same way this AM. No one can take away the fact that they are going to hang a banner next year. Props to them for making a run. Doesn't mean that I believe its the best way to crown a champion.

Then why are you acting all butt hurt? Ignoring your criticisms (which may actually be valid) I dont rememeber you complaining about how the tournament was awful last year when we made the final four, and I sure as hell dont remember anyone complaining when a team that got swept by Uconn and lost to Rutgers won the national championship.

Your timing is just interesting.

 

[Cuseman78]

Then why are you acting all butt hurt? Ignoring your criticisms (which may actually be valid) I dont rememeber you complaining about how the tournament was awful last year when we made the final four, and I sure as hell dont remember anyone complaining when a team that got swept by Uconn and lost to Rutgers won the national championship.

Your timing is just interesting.

I didn't know you followed my posting history so closely that you would remember what I said a year ago. I'll take it as a compliment. And did you not just read my NYG example? I'm certainly not butt-hurt. My feelings wouldn't change one iota if it were us cutting down the nets last year. And again, I wouldn't give back 2003 and Uconn isn't giving back 2011 or '14. I just personally don't prefer the way this particular sports champion is decided and the complete irrelevance of the season's regular season. Nothing more, nothing less. If you don't like my timing, oh well.

 

[sufandu]

I didn't know you followed my posting history so closely that you would remember what I said a year ago. I'll take it as a compliment. And did you not just read my NYG example? I'm certainly not butt-hurt. My feelings wouldn't change one iota if it were us cutting down the nets last year. And again, I wouldn't give back 2003 and Uconn isn't giving back 2011 or '14. I just personally don't prefer the way this particular sports champion is decided and the complete irrelevance of the season's regular season. Nothing more, nothing less. If you don't like my timing, oh well.

If the regular season is irrelevant, how did 36 teams receive at large bids? If it's irrelevant how is it that a team like Virginia can look so bad early and, through practice and coaching, improve enough to win the ACC? Just because it doesn't crown a national champion, doesn't make the regular season irrelevant. It just doesn't hold the relevance you would like.