Poor attendance - I thought Arky...

[OklaSooners]

College basketball is a waste of time because everyone makes the post season tournament. It doesn't matter at all what happens during the regular season. That's why college football is, and will always be superior. College basketball is a one week sport. They need to cut the tournament in half and the regular season would be more important.

 

[Sawyer]

College basketball is a waste of time because everyone makes the post season tournament. It doesn't matter at all what happens during the regular season. That's why college football is, and will always be superior. College basketball is a one week sport. They need to cut the tournament in half and the regular season would be more important.

Interesting comment considering the past few years in Norman...

68 teams make the NCAA tournament. Maybe a third of those teams have realistic title aspirations. That's less than 20 percent making the postseason and about 7 percent with a shot at a title.

Contrast that with football. 124 teams. 35 bowl games. More than half make the post-season.

The regular season absolutely matters for teams hoping to win a title. Every loss potentially affects seeding, which affects the likelihood of a title run. Not really that much different from football.

 

[WaymanFan]

College basketball is a waste of time because everyone makes the post season tournament. It doesn't matter at all what happens during the regular season. That's why college football is, and will always be superior. College basketball is a one week sport. They need to cut the tournament in half and the regular season would be more important.

I have to respectfully disagree. What hurts college basketball is that there are about 75 players or so every year who should be playing it, but instead are sitting at the end of NBA benches, playing in the D-league, or are playing in a foreign country.

College football (FBS) is hardly the role model of how to run a sport. Personally, I watch the bowl game OU is in, the natinal title game, and maybe one or two more. I generally don't waste time watching games which have no national championship impact. With the NCAA Tournament, EVERY GAME could potentially impact who wins the national championship. That's what is so great about the month of March - survive and advance...go to a sports bar during the first Thursday or Friday of the NCAA Tournament and tell me the "bowl season" generates that much excitement.

 

[skyvue]

I have to respectfully disagree. What hurts college basketball is that there are about 75 players or so every year who should be playing it, but instead are sitting at the end of NBA benches, playing in the D-league, or are playing in a foreign country.

College football (FBS) is hardly the role model of how to run a sport. Personally, I watch the bowl game OU is in, the natinal title game, and maybe one or two more. I generally don't waste time watching games which have no national championship impact. With the NCAA Tournament, EVERY GAME could potentially impact who wins the national championship. That's what is so great about the month of March - survive and advance...go to a sports bar during the first Thursday or Friday of the NCAA Tournament and tell me the "bowl season" generates that much excitement.

There's no doubt March Madness is more exciting than bowl season. I wouldn't even compare the two -- aside from the title game, bowl games are just exhibitions. That's why I've always found it absurd that Bob Stoops was criticized for losing "big games." Because the "big games" referred to were generally BCS bowl games, which aren't big games at all. They're just not. They're merely the equivalent of what used to be called "major bowls," and no coach was ever judged primarily by how he did in those. But the talking boneheads on ESPN and elsewhere randomly decided that BCS bowls are big games, and they often focus more on those than on regular season wins, which is beyond silly.

All that said, in the era of the 64-team hoops tourney, the college football regular season has been more exciting than the college basketball season because it has mattered more. For teams with title aspirations, every game is vital. Every game.

That's why some of us never wanted a football playoff. A four-team setup won't impact the regular season terribly much, but they won't stick with four teams; they'll eventually expand it. And it won't solve anything -- four teams, eight, sixteen, there will always be controversy over who got in and who was left out, just as with the basketball tourney.

 

[redfirecracker]

Womens basketball seems to be the bigger draw in communities among retirees, alumni, casual fans, etc. A few reasons might be:

- The coach has been at the program longer
- The program has done more to connect with the community via service projects and participation in community events
- The players don't leave early for the pros and do not transfer/quit as often
- The tickets are more affordable
- The games are not scheduled at odd times to benefit TV
- The games are not televised as often, encouraging attendance
- Less off-court issues that alienates fans from the program/players/coaches

I think this is a really interesting question and you raise some logical points. Definitely alienation imho. My guess is more on-court aggressive antics in the mens game (think Osby this year) do not help. I think that is why we have seen a shift to more humorous / goofy basketball videos lately -- an attempt to make the players look more approachable and relatable and less intimidating. I know my wife's favorite players are usually follow the Cade / Hollis profile.

 

[steverocks35]

I think a big problem is the one-and-done rule. It allows powerhouses like Kentucky, Duke, and North Carolina to put together a "fab five" every year and go out and steamroll everyone. Top high school players want to go to these schools because they know that the players ahead of them are all going to clear out for the NBA and they can go in, play their one year, have a great chance at a title, and get great exposure for the NBA. Nobody outside of Kentucky or North Carolina wants to see these stacked teams roll everyone else all year. Why bother watching?
It would be beneficial to college basketball if the NBA would either let guys go straight to the league out of high school again or institute the three year rule like the NFL.

 

[Sawyer]

For what it's worth, there have been 28 underclassmen who declared for the 2011 or 2012 draft who would still be in college with a rule like the NFL's (this doesn't include players who would be seniors this year).

Those players include:
Tobias Harris - Tennessee

Kyrie Irving - Duke
Austin Rivers - Duke

Cory Joseph - Texas
Tristan Thompson - Texas

Brandon Knight - Kentucky
Anthony Davis - Kentucky
Terrence Jones - Kentucky
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - Kentucky
Doron Lamb - Kentucky
Marquis Teague - Kentucky

Josh Selby - kansas

Harrison Barnes - UNC
Kendall Marshall - UNC

Will Barton - Memphis

Bradley Beal - Florida

Andre Drummond - UConn
Jeremy Lamb - UConn

Maurice Harkless - St. John's

Perry Jones III - Baylor
Quincy Miller - Baylor

Meyers Leonard - Illinois

Fab Melo - Syracuse
Dion Waiters - Syracuse

Tony Wroten - Washington
Terrence Ross - Washington

Jared Sullinger - Ohio State

Royce White - Iowa State

Imagine college basketball with all those guys still around. Damn.

 

[mict085]

There was less than 3,000 at the ucla-tx game in Houston. That's very bad attendance and very surprising, all things considered.

 

[JBaker]

There was less than 3,000 at the ucla-tx game in Houston. That's very bad attendance and very surprising, all things considered.

Not super surprising because Texas always draws poor crowds at home, the game was at a random off-site location 2.5 hours off campus, and they suck this year.

 

[OklahomaLibertarian]

A 4 team college football playoff will NOT hurt college football.

Teams still need to win all your games.

I also think football has more staying power because of tradition and fewer games.

College basketball has become very disparate and niche.

But there are just so many games it might as well be the next baseball.

 

[skyvue]

A 4 team college football playoff will NOT hurt college football.

Teams still need to win all your games.

First of all, it likely won't stay at four teams for long, and with each expansion of the number of teams in the playoffs, the importance of the regular season is lessened.

And no, you don't need to win all your games. If there were a playoff this season, there'd be just one undefeated team in the field. And if there were an eight-team playoff this season, there'd be two-loss teams in the field. And we OU fans would be livid because we wouldn't be among them.

 

[Sid]

This is happening all over the country. College basketball is dying as a draw.

If it wasn't for March Madness college basketball would be dead. There is not much difference between the men's game and the women's game at the collegiate level. That is why people are staying home.

If college football refuses to expand the four team playoff, it will be in the same boat with college basketball. Northern Illinois taking on FSU in the Orange Bowl is a public relations nightmare. The television ratings for the bowl games will take another hit this year.

Washburn!? Central Oklahoma!? Louisina-Monroe!? Joe C should pay people to watch that rubbish.

 

[SoMuchDramaInTheLNC]

While we're talking about improving the product on the floor, here are two easy things college basketball could do to better itself:

1. Cut the shot clock down to at least 30 seconds, if not the NBA's 24. I don't see the advantages with 35. Offenses shouldn't be allowed to take 34 seconds to produce--that results in a lot of stalling and standing around. Defenses aren't rewarded either--they could play lockdown D for a very long time, then get burned 34.7 seconds in. With a shorter shot clock, offenses would be forced to become more efficient and less stalling, and defense wouldn't be so taxing. I appreciate a good defense as well as a good offense, so why not make both more efficient?

2. We have the 4 TV timeouts per half. That's fine; I get it. But when a team calls timeout at 11:58 or whatever, just make that timeout double as the TV timeout! That's what kills the flow of games as much as anything: the timeout, followed by the one play whistled dead, then another long break.

 

[Sawyer]

Agree on the shot clock. I don't know if I'd go all the way to 24, but I do think the game would benefit from something less than 35. This is the sort of change that's actually realistic, too.