What has The Tournament revealed

[MelroseHawkins]

I wish you would stop shouting in your posts.

You know what they say about the size of a man's font.

 

[ssckelley]

No, the BIG the past few years is touted as the best conference. Nobody said anything measuring how much they get blown out. It's about wins and stout defense. They shit the bed completely last year. They got 9 teams in this year, the most of any league. It's just that these other teams seem to be tougher teams many times. Will see if Purdue can make a run.

But these games are competitive,, I don't understand the theory that the NCAA tournaments define how competitive the conference is. They do well in non conference, ACC/B1G challenge.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Good take. I can't tell you how many times I screamed at my TV this weekend when flopping was rewarded. Many, many offensive fouls were called when it seemed to me that defenders were clearly moving or just flopping. I think I may have seen one flopping warning since the beginning of the tournament. May have missed a bunch but it seems like what they called during the season is not what is being called now.

There was a point in the Miami Auburn game where there were only a few fouls on Auburn late in the second and the refs called three consecutive fouls on Auburn in maybe 10 seconds of game time. They weren't trying to intentionally foul yet. It was obviously a makeup call for a totally blown call on the other end. This Auburn fan sitting by me about lost his shit.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

The tournament is fickle. Other than a few games in the first round, every team is capable of beating the other on any given night. We beat Richmond 8 out of 10 tries. It was their day (along with inconsistent officiating). Some coaches are better at getting their kids ready for the unique atmosphere of the tourney. Izzo and Coach k. But, we all know that 67 teams end with a loss in college MBB.

 

[BryceC]

No, the BIG the past few years is touted as the best conference.

I mean no disrespect by this, but where are you getting this? I haven't seen anybody claim the Big 10 was the best basketball conference for a long time.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I mean no disrespect by this, but where are you getting this? I haven't seen anybody claim the Big 10 was the best basketball conference for a long time.

i watch btn 12 hours a day and i have heard a lot of guys saying the big ten is the best conference ever. basically if it weren't for bad officiating and that stupid wilson ball i think we would have 6 big ten teams in the sweet 16. no need for you to walk around here like king shit just because your team got a soft path. you guys shouldn't have even been in the tournament. if rutgers had gotten your spot they would still be alive. there is a conspiracy holding the big ten down.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Iowa pretty clearly deserved to lose, for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with the refs, and this isn't sour grapes about why they lost. However, the officiating in this tournament (and for as long as I can remember in college) has been awful and renders many of the games unwatchable.

I watched the Baylor/UNC game through the end of regulation and, while UNC absolutely choked, the refs allowed Baylor to mug UNC on every press and trap during their comeback. Mayer from Baylor should have picked up his fifth foul many different times in regulation for grabbing, hip-checking, and humping every ballhandler into the out-of-bounds or half-court lines. And offensive foul calls throughout college basketball are atrocious. Flopping gets rewarded almost every single time. Jay Bilas tweeted criticism about this particular game's officiating and there also was a scathing opinion piece on USA Today's site about how bad it was.

But, to the point of this thread, I'd say this tournament has revealed or highlighted a few things that severely diminish NCAA basketball as a product and simultaneously pose problems for the Hawks:

1) The officiating is awful and rewards teams in the postseason that reach, grab, flop, and outright assault opponents. That's not playing "physical" defense, it's fouling. There are rules designed to prevent that, if the officials choose to enforce them consistently. But by trying to stay out of the way, swallow their whistles, and not be the story, refs inadvertently ARE becoming the story. Basketball sucks to watch (and play) when the less-skilled teams keep it close or even win simply because the refs allow them to turn every possession into a press-man coverage drill. Hell, football refs call more fouls for illegal contact than college basketball refs. The NBA realized this years ago and emphasized calling these types of fouls to increase freedom of movement, especially on the perimeter. Now, the NBA game is faster-paced, higher-scoring, and better to watch than when the Knicks and Pistons mugged their way through the playoffs back in the '90s and '00s and kept scores absurdly low. It's still very physical, especially in the post and on the boards, but it generally flows nicely and showcases the insane skills of its players. It's not perfect, of course, but it's better.

Iowa's offense resembles a lot of modern NBA teams, with its emphases on fast tempo, movement, and shooting. It's beautiful to watch when it's clicking, but it falls apart when the opposing team is allowed to stop that motion by reaching and grabbing all game. Teams that do this are being rewarded in this tournament and advancing, even when their offense is absolutely horrible. The only teams able to overcome this style are teams with elite talents throughout their rosters like Gonzaga and Duke, and even they might fall victim before long.

To be clear, while I don't like the way they do it, I can't really blame Iowa State or other teams for doing this. They're simply taking advantage of what the NCAA is allowing them to do and being rewarded for doing so.

2) The transfer portal has rendered program and player development virtually meaningless when it comes to the tournament. With the exception of minor-ish contributors like Rebraca, Fran has almost solely relied on homegrown players his staff has recruited and developed. I appreciate this about Fran and it makes it more rewarding when our players succeed, but it has its limits when there are clear needs on the roster, like this year's desperate need for better defense and dribble creation in a slugfest. A team like Iowa State was able to turn things around because they snagged a couple of free agents from the B1G (Brockington and Kalscheur) and emphasized "physical" defense to make up for horrible shooting and a lack of offensive cohesion. Why bother developing anyone anymore when you can just sign experienced players who are known quantities, then hack the shit out of opponents with impunity to keep games close? Hoiberg's ISU teams spearheaded the transfer trend, but now it's everyone's reality. Fran needs to adjust somewhat, or risk this same result every single year.

Most Excellent

 

[thedukeofearl]

i watch btn 12 hours a day and i have heard a lot of guys saying the big ten is the best conference ever. basically if it weren't for bad officiating and that stupid wilson ball i think we would have 6 big ten teams in the sweet 16. no need for you to walk around here like king shit just because your team got a soft path. you guys shouldn't have even been in the tournament. if rutgers had gotten your spot they would still be alive. there is a conspiracy holding the big ten down.

whar mighty font

 

[haydensly]

As for conference teams in the Sweet 16, here is a breakdown:

ACC - 3
Big 12 - 3
Big 10 - 2
Pac-10 - 2
Big East - 2
SEC - 1
WCC - 1
AAC - 1
MAAC - 1

So yes, the Big 10 has been disappointing in this tournament. But no single conference is dominant when you look at the distribution of teams. I would say that men's college basketball today is a lot of parity.

 

[okeefe4prez]

whar mighty font

i am reducing it until iowa makes it to the sweet 16. it is my form of protest.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

As for conference teams in the Sweet 16, here is a breakdown:

ACC - 3
Big 12 - 3
Big 10 - 2
Pac-10 - 2
Big East - 2
SEC - 1
WCC - 1
AAC - 1
MAAC - 1

So yes, the Big 10 has been disappointing in this tournament. But no single conference is dominant when you look at the distribution of teams. I would say that men's college basketball today is a lot of parity.

Record by conference​

Conference	Bids	Members	Record	Win %	FF	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG	NC
Big 12	6	10	9–3	.750	–	6	6	3
ACC	5	15	8–2	.800	1	5	4	3
Big Ten	9	14	9–7	.563	2	8	6	2
Big East	6	11	5–4	.556	–	6	3	2
Pac-12	3	12	4–1	.800	–	3	2	2
SEC	6	14	4–5	.444	–	6	3	1
WCC	3	10	3–2	.600	–	3	2	1
American	2	10	3–1	.750	–	2	2	1
MAAC	1	11	2–0	1.000	–	1	1	1
Atlantic 10	2	13	1–2	.333	–	2	1	–	–	–	–	–
Ohio Valley	1	10	1–1	.500	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
WAC	1	12	1–1	.500	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Mountain West	4	11	0–4	.000	1	3	–	–	–	–	–	–

 

[ajdwhs87]

We learned that the Big 12 is toughest conference but they showed it all year.

We learned that Arizona is for real first year coach and all.

We learned whether that Carolina - Duke last game was Duke players tight/choking during coach K's the last Cameron Indoor game or was NC rounding into shape. It was the latter more likely.

We learned that the transfer portal when used right makes a difference. Also Covid, when combined with talent, creates a team like Miami which has a bunch of tools: coach, athletes, and some experienced 6th year players. Richmond had 6 year players but not the talent part so Providence still wins by 50 points.

Think we learned perhaps the B1G could think about ending the conference tourney earlier like some other conferences.

 

[thedukeofearl]

i am reducing it until iowa makes it to the sweet 16. it is my form of protest.

"I am growing tired of you..."
- Jon D. Miller, 11.30.2010

"I am not a fan of ... [OK4P]"
- Jon D. Miller, 2.13.2008

Outstanding

 

[trj]

It is easier than ever for a non blueblood to get to the final four. Just adds to the frustration of Iowa’s inability to get out of the first weekend. This ISU team isn’t great, but you can see a realistic path to the final four.

 

[ssckelley]

whar mighty font

He's looking for attention.

 

[uihawk82]

Iowa pretty clearly deserved to lose, for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with the refs, and this isn't sour grapes about why they lost. However, the officiating in this tournament (and for as long as I can remember in college) has been awful and renders many of the games unwatchable.

Very good points. I used to watch a lot of the other, non-Hawk, bball games during championship week and the NCAA tourney and even watch some selected NIT games. But that has gone away for me exactly because of the mugging. Remember when hand checking was a point of emphasis and did get cleared out of the game. I and so many fans have endured some terrible officiating over the years rewarding bad defense by officials who 'let them play'.

Well the arm bars never went away, the chest bump is a huge defensive move rather than playing defense with really good footwork, and there it is amazing how players can rake over a ballhandlers arms and not draw a foul.

Remember, Richmond had 3 or 4 fouls called on them quickly and early in the game against Iowa in the first few minutes. In the second half they played really tough, close, hard defense and only had 5 fouls after about 18 minutes. Go figure.

 

[Seth53]

...
That seeding means little in a one-and-done environment....

....that Iowa's loss wasn't that unique after all.....

 

[trj]

As much as we gave "crap" to old man Jbo...there are a lot of 22,23,24 year old dudes playing college basketball right now.

 

[Tippett]

The teams with the better guards win.

 

[Grady]

Several takeaways from the first 3 rounds of the tourney:
1) The first 2 rounds included a bizarre # of fouls on 3 pt shots. These are obvious hacks...Just stupid, idiotic fouls, sometimes at the end of games which mattered. Hard to understand.
2) That said, I've never seen so many flops on 3 pt shots that are being called as fouls. Refs have to get that under control, because there are at least 4+ times every game now where a 3pt shooter falls down if anyone is close to them -- and half the time they get the call. I noticed the refs in the Sweet 16 games did NOT fall for that gambit...wonder if they are simply better refs.
3) Refs no longer call a fall on successful dunks. It's weird: if a guy's arm gets hammered when doing a dunk, no call. I guess they figure since the guy gets to celebrate a dunk, he doesn't need to get the 'and 1'.
4) I picked 0 BTen teams into the Elite 8 this year...it was clear watching other conferences that the BTen was not that great of a conference. Even the top teams lacked mental toughness.
5) It seems like defensive teams are doing damn well in this tourney: watching Houston, Iowa State, Miami play defense is amazing. It's like they play D with 6 players -- cover incredible amounts of space and never seem to be out of position. When Iowa prepares to play the Cyclones next year, I seriously suggest they practice vs 6 players.