2023-2024 B1G Basketball Thread

[medinabuckeye1]

If Nebraska made it to the round of 32, it would be the best season in school history. They're the only P5 team that's never won an NCAA tournament game.

That is astonishing.

and embarrassing

I'll add that it is weird because while they certainly aren't a Basketball powerhouse, they've had eight appearances and I believe that in most of those they were the higher seed or at least in games that *SHOULD* have been winnable.

Ok now I'm curious so I'll look it up, 0-8:
1986:
#9 seed lost to #8 WKU by 8, 67-59.
1991:
#3 seed, lost to #14 Xavier by 5, 89-84.
1992:
#8 seed lost to #9 UCONN by 21, 86-65.
1993:
#10 seed lost to #7 NMST by 14, 93-79.
1994:
#6 seed lost to #11 Penn by 10, 90-80.
1998:
#11 seed lost to #6 Arkansas by 9, 74-65.
2014:
#11 seed lost to #6 Baylor by 14, 74-60.
2024:
#8 seed lost to #9 aTm by 15, 98-83.

So they have:

• 1 #3 seed
• 1 #6 seed
• 2 #8 seeds
• 1 #9 seed
• 1 #10 seed
• 2 #11 seeds

For comparison, on average since 1985 those seeds would result in:

• 4.1 first round wins.
• 1.6 S16's.
• 0.7 E8's.
• 0.3 F4's.

[CatsbyAZ]

But getting to the S16 is a good outcome for basically any program. For many, that's about the ceiling of what they can reasonably expect--there are a lot of programs, even in the B1G, for whom a S16 run is a great year. And there are programs beyond them (I'd argue both Purdue and MSU are here, IU should be, and we can probably throw UW/Illinois/UM/OSU in) for which a S16 is a good year, and some years you're going to go farther and some years getting knocked out before that is a disappointment. 

This is how I cope with my Wildcats coming up short of the Final Four for what feels like forever now. Arizona has still made many S16s the past 20 years and that's still a great outcome for 99% of the college basketball world.

To make an analogy to our football program, we celebrate pretty much any bowl we get the bid for. Especially if the Cats win. That's what the basketball program has become for me. I celebrate Sweet Sixteen appearances as though they are the equivalent Bowl bid, and if we win it's on the the Elite Eight. I've given up on Final Fours at this point, treating it with the same limits our underwhelming Football program has in winning a conference championship.

[rolltidefan]

I was surprised to hear during the broadcast yesterday that Tennessee has never been to the Final Four. And then the next factoid, that they're the team with the most tournament appearances (25) without going to the Final Four, made sense.

that's not right. bama had 24 prior to this year and we were never listed as such. looked it up and byu (31), xavier (29), and Mizzou (28) all have more.

[betarhoalphadelta]

that's not right. bama had 24 prior to this year and we were never listed as such. looked it up and byu (31), xavier (29), and Mizzou (28) all have more.

Thanks. You're correct. 

BTW Tennessee had 25 prior to this year, and this year is 26, so they would always have been one ahead of Bama. 

[utee94]

Which would you perfer for your team:

NIT Championship  or  Sweet Sixteen, and a loss there.

Definitely Sweet 16.  Horns won the NIT just a few years back in 2019, and simply getting to the S16 last year was way better.

[medinabuckeye1]

Thanks. You're correct.

BTW Tennessee had 25 prior to this year, and this year is 26, so they would always have been one ahead of Bama.

Ok, but when you quoted that from the broadcast I thought the same thing. Did we both hear them wrong?

[betarhoalphadelta]

Ok, but when you quoted that from the broadcast I thought the same thing. Did we both hear them wrong?

Maybe. I was trying to think that maybe I missed some qualifiers (i.e. major conference teams or SEC teams) but Mizzou violates both, so it couldn't have been that. And I can't think of any other qualifiers that I'd have missed that would go.

It's possible that they said fourth-most number of appearances w/o a F4 and I simply missed the word "fourth" in there.

I'm not really sure how I got my wires crossed, or if they were just wrong.

[medinabuckeye1]

Maybe. I was trying to think that maybe I missed some qualifiers (i.e. major conference teams or SEC teams) but Mizzou violates both, so it couldn't have been that. And I can't think of any other qualifiers that I'd have missed that would go.

It's possible that they said fourth-most number of appearances w/o a F4 and I simply missed the word "fourth" in there.

I'm not really sure how I got my wires crossed, or if they were just wrong.

What makes it weird to me is that apparenyly somehow we both made the same mistake. I thought I heard exactly what you said initially. If I would have heard it differently, I would have commented when I saw your post. I didn't correct it because I thought I heard the same thing, most appearances without a F4.

[ELA]

I believe they have the 2nd most wins without a Final 4.  Only Xavier has more.  

[bayareabadger]

Which would you perfer for your team:

NIT Championship  or  Sweet Sixteen, and a loss there.

My team made the NIT Final Four last year, and from the first game, I would've preferred they lose by 30 in Dayton.

I don't say that to be dramatic or snarky. I just ... I want to be in the real thing. 

[FearlessF]

[OrangeAfroMan]

I guess that's why every entity tries to bring in those marginal fans, most often at the expense of the die-hards and/or the good of the game itself.

I haven't watched any of the tournament.  I have no idea where my interest in basketball went, but it's dead and buried.

[Hawkinole]

I know it's will be be considered weird here, but I have followed Iowa WBB since the 1970s (my little sister played for the Hawkeyes - she says, no one came to our games -- she was referring to me) 

Caitlin Clark's following is amazing. She is willing this team to win. This tribute is really cool:
B-Ball Wizard (The Caitlin Clark Song) (youtube.com)

[GopherRock]

Clark was on a heater for the ages Monday night. 

As my username may suggest, I've traditionally been no fan of Iowa, but watching her do her thing was a lot of fun. It also helped that the LSU team they disposed of was among the most unlikable teams ever assembled at any level of any sport. 

IMHO the storylines and game play of this year's women's tourney are better than the men's. 

Many of us are worried about what the portal and NIL will do to football. It has made the men's basketball game borderline unwatchable.