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GunnerFan Offline
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I Root For: GT, Cuse
Location: Chicken City, GA
Post: #1
 
First off, to make sure the praise deserved gets delivered, props to TexanMark for his tailgating guides. Takes some time and love to put it all together and we're all the better for it. Thanks Mark.

Obviously we all share some love for BE basketball. But we're also general college hoops fans and by virtue of living across the country and thanks to 21st media we have the opportunity to watch hoops from all across the land. So, who else do you watch and why? Or more exactly, how do you rate other conferences and programs in terms of actually follwing their performance and/or making the effort to watch them play?

For sensitivity reasons I'll leave the ACC off my discussion. :D

I thought CUSA was pretty good the past couple of years and find myself actually searching for another league to kind of fill that spot in the rankings. Unlike how the realignment affected football conferences, I think basketball suffered in essentially losing a quality conference. No matter what UTEP, UAB and Memphis throw out there the depth of last year's CUSA is gone, not to mention the level of fanaticism inherit at the lost programs. I've no particular favorites here, though, save a small warm spot for Tulane. I may watch some but have no idea where I'll actively look forward to a match-up other than Memphis at UTEP.

I really enjoy the A10 and feel that conference will be very strong with Charlotte and St. Louis in the mix. Not sure if this equals the new CUSA (in terms of conference strength) but that is a deep pool of quality mid-major programs. St. Joseph's recent improvements has raised the stakes of the Big Five, Xavier and Dayton are stout programs and overall A10 fans do a good job of showing up for conference games. I really liked Charlotte while they were in CUSA and will have to see if my affinity follows them with the transfer.

I'm not buying the MAC, for some strange reason. They've some decent programs that draw 4-6k fans, and I was among those who felt the league deserved 1-2 more tourney bids last year, but I just can't sit through the typical MAC contest. Now that Buffalo is doing better, though, I might take notice. I am a NY native, after all. MAC play just seems slower.

The Big Ten? I love the fans in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and considering how poor the league has been sometimes they remain the kings in attendance. (I know, I'm still trying to figure it out.) Indiana exists only to give basketball a bad guy, IMO. I don't know if their fans are the most arrogant, but they warrant a spot on the ballot for that honor. Still, you have to hand it to them for the loyalty. Yet Big Ten play overall resembles the power football the conference is known for: Obvious, plodding and physical. Very much akin to BE play but much slower and generally fewer shooters. Adopted Wisconsin as a favorite here several years ago and often make efforts to watch them play.

As for the Big 12 I'm growing more appreciative of the work that has gone into building decent basketball programs in football mad places like Oklahoma and Texas. Much better impersonation of BE tenacity and inside power than the Big Ten, on average. OSU and Kansas fans are admirably loyal and their contests are usually very entertaining. I think the Big 12 is the conference I watch the most after ACC and BE.

Obviously I'm an east coast guy and can't offer much on teams out west. Been to and have friends and family in beautiful Seattle and Oregon, so I have a passing interest in UW. I do appreciate Arizona fans though, and have found myself watching more of their games than I would rightfully predict.

B12 and A10 will catch a lot of my attention this year and I'll be looking into BE match-ups with schools from these conferences. How about everyone else?
08-03-2005 01:31 PM
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CardinalEmpire.com Offline
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Post: #2
 
I wish they would play more MVC games on regional broadcasts or even nationally. With programs like Creighton, Southern Illinois, Wichita State, and Northern Iowa (and at one time Evansville), the MVC is a pretty nice conference which should only get better as more kids recognize that a good product is being put together there.

Same with the Horizon... it will be interesting to see if UWM can replace Bruce Pearl. I know the guy personally and can tell you it will be a difficult task... he's the best salesman and program cheerleader I have ever met. Illinois State, Butler, and Detroit are all ready to take over if the Panthers can't maintain through another coaching change.
08-03-2005 03:07 PM
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