POLL: BTT title vs 2nd Rd exit

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

So we all have heard enough about the Sweet 16 argument. And a BTT title and a 1st Rd exit will obviously trump a 1st Rd exit and no BTT title.............so let's make it a little more interesting.

Which would you, the fan, rather have?

2022 BTT championship and disappointing 1st Rd NCAA Tournament exit?

-or-

Win first game, and lose in the 2nd Rd, like say to Providence (or last year vs Oregon, or in 2019 vs Tennessee).......and no BTT title?

You only get one for the rest of your life................

 

[TRHawkeye145]

I said BTT and 1st round exit...

Now if the question was.... No BTT and win 1st round with a chance to win 2nd.... I would take that every year no question.

There's been several threads/discussions over the years about Iowa not getting a favorable draw in the dance. I felt like this year was a good draw....which added to the frustration/disappointment with the early exit.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

You did make it more interesting, EvilMonkey. But I just can't muster a lot of interest in the BTT as a stand alone accomplishment. For me, I see it as either a way to improve seeding for the NCAA tourney or for a team to play their way into the NCAA tourney if they haven't already locked down a spot.

 

[LarryMullenJr.]

I've put too much thought into this, but:
If you've won the BTT you've most likely had a good/very good year and are a highly regarded team. Therefore the title would make the first round loss sting more/be more embarassing.
However, is there much difference between losing in the first round and losing in the second round? I mean really, all you get out of it is to say "yeah, but we won a game in the tournament", so in your scenario, I'll take the title and the first round exit. It sucks maybe a tad worse, but at least you have something to show for it.

Now, if you say BTT or second weekend, I'll drive to Iowa City right now and smash that damned trophy to be playing this Thursday or Friday.


Oh, and BTW, give me the regular season title over the conference tournament every friggin year!

 

[hawkjt]

No trophies for 2nd round exit.
Give me 4 great wins and cutting down nets over 1 great win and then disappointment.

 

[Win5002]

I have felt a conference tournament championship was equivalent to a sweet sixteen season. You win more games to get to a CCG and usually beat a higher ranked team to achieve this than you do a lot of times in advancing to a sweet sixteen spot- its only two games.

I also think a regular season conference championship is somewhere between an elite 8 and Final Four. Again, in an elite 8 you win 3 games and sometimes its due to a favorable draw, even a final 4 is only 4 wins. Following a team for a whole season and dominate is a lot of fun and rewarding for a fan.

 

[Rudolph]

So we all have heard enough about the Sweet 16 argument. And a BTT title and a 1st Rd exit will obviously trump a 1st Rd exit and no BTT title.............so let's make it a little more interesting.

Which would you, the fan, rather have?

2022 BTT championship and disappointing 1st Rd NCAA Tournament exit?

-or-

Win first game, and lose in the 2nd Rd, like say to Providence (or last year vs Oregon, or in 2019 vs Tennessee).......and no BTT title?

You only get one for the rest of your life................

What you did here is just deepen my conviction that the B1G shouldn’t have a tournament. The real champion, IMO, is still the regular season champion.

It’s a helluva money grab, though. So it shall remain.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

What you did here is just deepen my conviction that the B1G shouldn’t have a tournament. The real champion, IMO, is still the regular season champion.

It’s a helluva money grab, though. So it shall remain.

That's the problem. The P5/6 don't really need the conference tournaments, but they do bring in a ton of revenue and to do away with them would have to be a unanimous decision.

I just don't see certain conferences, Big East and ACC in particular, ever wanting to give that up.

 

[nbanflfactory]

Going 1 and 1 in the tourney means very little imo

 

[BonzoFury]

Sweet 16 gets your more National pub and program boost. It also means you're a defacto Top 20 team.

Going 1 and 1 in the tourney means very little imo

I think he means getting to the second weekend (Sweet 16). Some call that the second round even though it's actually the third round of games.

 

[TampaHawkfan]

Ok I changed my vote to no BTT title and 2nd round loss.

Man, losing in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament just REALLY sucks. It pretty much torched my interest in the rest of the Thursday/Friday games this year. It's a shame, because I love the first round with all of the games going on, upsets rolling in, etc. I missed Kentucky going down!

At least winning the first round game, making it to the weekend, and having the hope of winning that one and getting to the Sweet 16 or further is nice. I'd prefer to get to the Sweet 16 or better obviously, but that wasn't the question being asked.

I did not enjoy the Gonzaga '15, Villanova '16, or Oregon '21 bloodbaths. Taking 2nd seed TN to OT in '19 was exciting, although with a disappointing ending. I at least felt good about the effort. Being competitive in a 2nd round loss I can deal with. Fran has only delivered one of those to this point, though.

The BTT title is not meaningless. Far from it. But I place far more emphasis on the NCAA Tournament than I do 3-4 games in a conference tournament. Losing in the conference tournament is a bummer, but it doesn't end the season. There's still hope for a good NCAA showing. An NCAA loss ends it all.

 

[FWIW4922463]

Here's a solution: Keep the Big Ten Tourney--MONEY, as many of you have noted, make that inevitable. BUT drop to an 18-game conference schedule (deleting the December games), and play the tournament a week earlier. That way you can play hard for three or four or even five days, go deep or win the BIG Tourney, then have about 10 days off to rest and heal up before the NCAA begins. And the champ has time to savor that special achievement. Most mid-majors use that timing. So I don't see why the BIG couldn't have its cake and eat it too. WIN-WIN.

 

[rfgiowa]

Getting bounced in the 1st round is never going to get my vote. Cheers and GO HAWKS!

 

[Win5002]

That's the problem. The P5/6 don't really need the conference tournaments, but they do bring in a ton of revenue and to do away with them would have to be a unanimous decision.

I just don't see certain conferences, Big East and ACC in particular, ever wanting to give that up.

If you really want to make revenue you do away with conference tournaments and instead do a double elimination NCAA tourney. I'm guessing 64 teams might be too many for double elimination but maybe start double elimination at the round of 32 or 16. heck I would do away with a couple of regular season games to see that. Think how much more valuable the NCAA tourney tv revenues would be. The smaller leagues can still get an invite its just their regular season champ.

 

[VerbumDei]

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but the Big 10 Tournament Title does not mean much to me, and the regular season title is a MUCH bigger accomplishment. We have not sniffed one since 1979, so moving on in the NCAA tourney means more to me.

 

[the24fan]

So we all have heard enough about the Sweet 16 argument. And a BTT title and a 1st Rd exit will obviously trump a 1st Rd exit and no BTT title.............so let's make it a little more interesting.

Which would you, the fan, rather have?

2022 BTT championship and disappointing 1st Rd NCAA Tournament exit?

-or-

Win first game, and lose in the 2nd Rd, like say to Providence (or last year vs Oregon, or in 2019 vs Tennessee).......and no BTT title?

You only get one for the rest of your life................

If you don’t get to the sweet 16 what’s the point? At least you have the B1G tourney win to look back on. 7 of the 9 B1G teams could care leas about playing one extra game. Don’t mean anything.

 

[Rudolph]

Here's a solution: Keep the Big Ten Tourney--MONEY, as many of you have noted, make that inevitable. BUT drop to an 18-game conference schedule (deleting the December games), and play the tournament a week earlier. That way you can play hard for three or four or even five days, go deep or win the BIG Tourney, then have about 10 days off to rest and heal up before the NCAA begins. And the champ has time to savor that special achievement. Most mid-majors use that timing. So I don't see why the BIG couldn't have its cake and eat it too. WIN-WIN.

I suggested in another thread that even just ending the B1G on Friday would be huge. Two extra days to reset and regroup and prep and all that—huge.

 

[CO_hawk]

I've been ragging on the program for not winning anything. Well the won something. Being an Iowa fan is hard, but I can still brag about something.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

All I know is that I had a great time watching and winning the BTT. Revenge against RU, squashing the dreams of IU and PU on what amounted to their home court. It was a blast!

Winning the game against Richmond would have been "a relief". Some joy, but not much. Then losing to Providence would have been painful, albeit less embarrassing and painful than the loss to Richmond.

For nothing more than pure entertainment and joy, I'll take the BTT championship over a 2nd round exit every day.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Sweet 16 gets your more National pub and program boost. It also means you're a defacto Top 20 team.

I think he means getting to the second weekend (Sweet 16). Some call that the second round even though it's actually the third round of games.

No. I meant what I said. I made it pretty clear.

Also, 2nd Round is the Round of 32, but I'm calling it the 2nd Round regardless of what the NCAA or anyone else wants to call it.

 

[NI hawk]

Winning the BTT did get Iowa recognition this year. I wear Hawkeye clothing quite regularly. Amazing the number of people who talked to me about Iowa basketball this past week while in Phoenix.
Of course iowa then lays a huge turd.
Ran into Jeff Hornecek outside of airport while waiting for a ride. Told him I was at 1986 NCAA game when he hit the game winner at buzzer. Asked for a picture and he agreed to it despite my hawkeye clothing.

 

[red/green hawk]

How about only have a conference tourney for the top 12 teams. Why the hell should a team that goes 2 -16 in conference get to play for a conference championship? 1-4 get a bye. Start the tourney on a Tuesday and end it on Friday or start Wednesday and end Saturday at the least. Playing the last game of the regular season right before the selection show does nothing for the B1G. A couple analysts said the selection team basically had it figured out Saturday night anyways....that said I could give 2 sharts about a BTT tourney title now. Regular season title is more impressive IMO. Just give me the opportunity to think they have a shot at the 16 as opposed to hating college bball for the rest of the weekend.

 

[nbanflfactory]

Sweet 16 gets your more National pub and program boost. It also means you're a defacto Top 20 team.

I think he means getting to the second weekend (Sweet 16). Some call that the second round even though it's actually the third round of games.

Nah he's talking about losing to prov and last year to oreg

 

[F5n5]

I would take the Big Ten Title over a 2nd place finish in the NCAA tournament.

 

[Bearhawk0505]

The poll question in general represents a losing mentality.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

The poll question in general represents a losing mentality.

It's meant to have to make a difficult decision, and nothing more. I'm sorry you don't like your options, but hey guess what.........you're gonna f***ing deal with it.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Right now the sting is so fresh that it’s hard for me to get behind any option that includes us losing first round. In a month I’ll probably have calmed down enough to acknowledge that beating Richmond means very little and we just beat two teams in the Sweet 16 (Purdue neutral court and Michigan on the road) so all we really proved with the tourney is that there is a reason they call it March Madness and 12-5 upsets happen every year, it just sucks when it’s against us.

 

[Knothole Hawk]

All I know is that I had a great time watching and winning the BTT. Revenge against RU, squashing the dreams of IU and PU on what amounted to their home court. It was a blast!

Winning the game against Richmond would have been "a relief". Some joy, but not much. Then losing to Providence would have been painful, albeit less embarrassing and painful than the loss to Richmond.

For nothing more than pure entertainment and joy, I'll take the BTT championship over a 2nd round exit every day.

Totally agree, four games in four days, and taking out two teams that got us in the regular season was awesome. I'd take a regular season title first, but finally getting some hardware was great. That's why I love basketball. The entertainment.

 

[BonzoFury]

No. I meant what I said. I made it pretty clear.

Also, 2nd Round is the Round of 32, but I'm calling it the 2nd Round regardless of what the NCAA or anyone else wants to call it.

Can't imagine someone would prefer 1 NCCA win over the BTT title. 2 wins and a Sweet 16 yes...you get a week of National pub and a big stage game on the second weekend.

 

[IBurnEasy]

Final Four > Regular Season Conference Championship > Elite 8 > BTT Championship > Sweet 16

 

[Mohawkeye]

The Sweet 16 would be great, but winning 4 straight to the claim the BTT is pretty awesome too. Definitely better than one NCAA win, which no one remembers. I’ll tell you this, as nice as the sweet 16 and elite 8 are, the final four is the shizzle. Those memories stick with you. That 1980 run is the greatest sports memory I have. Making the elite 8 is almost cruel, though. So close. Losing to Vegas still hurts.

 

[TritonHawkeye]

I played along though it was a pretty limited poll. I am proud of how this team played in the BTT but am incredibly disappointed with this same team and their play in the NCAA.

I don"t fault the players as much as the coaches for the loss, the players kept executing the game plan and sometimes shots just don't fall. The failure is on the coaching staff they didn't make adjustments, didn't try new things, or work to make Richmond uncomfortable. It seemed to me that Fran assumed at some point the shots would just start falling...and they never did.

We will never know if playing 5 min of full court could have disrupted the game, if putting JT, TP and AU on their teams guards would have caused turnovers. We stayed the course and the staff failed to make in game adjustments. That game was winnable on the poorest of shooting nights, Richmond was not that good but they won.

 

[longliveCS40]

I would take the non-BTT 2nd round exit. That would mean that we won a first round game and had a chance to move on against a good team.

The BTT champs doesn't mean as much to me as the possibility of a deep run in the tourney.

 

[Suterman]

Here's a solution: Keep the Big Ten Tourney--MONEY, as many of you have noted, make that inevitable. BUT drop to an 18-game conference schedule (deleting the December games), and play the tournament a week earlier. That way you can play hard for three or four or even five days, go deep or win the BIG Tourney, then have about 10 days off to rest and heal up before the NCAA begins. And the champ has time to savor that special achievement. Most mid-majors use that timing. So I don't see why the BIG couldn't have its cake and eat it too. WIN-WIN.

While I would be in favor of this, that's what the Iowa Women did and they lost in the 1st Round anyway so I'm not sure how much would be gained.

 

[ketelmeister]

Next to the Super Bowl, March Madness is the biggest sporting event of the year. It’s the most fair to everyone and gives the best a chance to earn the title. In fact, more teams were added, not less several years ago. Bottom line, if your team wins its great, if they lose…the losers complain. No one bitched when the Hawks barely made it in a few years ago.

 

[HawknBadgerLand]

Ok I changed my vote to no BTT title and 2nd round loss.

Man, losing in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament just REALLY sucks. It pretty much torched my interest in the rest of the Thursday/Friday games this year. It's a shame, because I love the first round with all of the games going on, upsets rolling in, etc. I missed Kentucky going down!

At least winning the first round game, making it to the weekend, and having the hope of winning that one and getting to the Sweet 16 or further is nice. I'd prefer to get to the Sweet 16 or better obviously, but that wasn't the question being asked.

I did not enjoy the Gonzaga '15, Villanova '16, or Oregon '21 bloodbaths. Taking 2nd seed TN to OT in '19 was exciting, although with a disappointing ending. I at least felt good about the effort. Being competitive in a 2nd round loss I can deal with. Fran has only delivered one of those to this point, though.

The BTT title is not meaningless. Far from it. But I place far more emphasis on the NCAA Tournament than I do 3-4 games in a conference tournament. Losing in the conference tournament is a bummer, but it doesn't end the season. There's still hope for a good NCAA showing. An NCAA loss ends it all.

Same here. When I saw we played early on Thursday, I was worried about it. I told a friend I wish we had Wisconsin's time slot. Play late Friday, and worst case scenario (if Iowa's loses), you still got to look forward to the game all of Thursday and Friday, and enjoyed most of the first round. A loss on Sunday, and you made it through most of the first weekend without being disappointed. The early Thursday game is the worst.

 

[NI hawk]

Same here. When I saw we played early on Thursday, I was worried about it. I told a friend I wish we had Wisconsin's time slot. Play late Friday, and worst case scenario (if Iowa's loses), you still got to look forward to the game all of Thursday and Friday, and enjoyed most of the first round. A loss on Sunday, and you made it through most of the first weekend without being disappointed. The early Thursday game is the worst.

Losing the early Thursday game is the worst. I couldn't turn the TV on after Iowa lost. At least until until I heard Kentucky was losing. Turned it on then.

 

[Iafootballfan]

I bet these poll results would be much different if it was posted BEFORE we lost in the first round.

 

[HawknBadgerLand]

While I would be in favor of this, that's what the Iowa Women did and they lost in the 1st Round anyway so I'm not sure how much would be gained.

Good point about the girls team, but I agree with 18 game scenario. By the end of the big ten season, who really wants to play Purdue for the third time? It's a grind. I'm just tired of it by then, aren't you? Also, had Iowa had an extra week to enjoy the championship win, build some more buzz, and maybe even jump a spot in the seeding (since the committee would have had more time to discuss it, it might have helped us this year). Most years it doesn't matter since we typically don't make it past game 2 in the tourney.

 

[Suterman]

Good point about the girls team, but I agree with 18 game scenario. By the end of the big ten season, who really wants to play Purdue for the third time? It's a grind. I'm just tired of it by then, aren't you? Also, had Iowa had an extra week to enjoy the championship win, build some more buzz, and maybe even jump a spot in the seeding (since the committee would have had more time to discuss it, it might have helped us this year). Most years it doesn't matter since we typically don't make it past game 2 in the tourney.

You make some very good points and yes I think 18 conference games are a gracious plenty. The Women play 16 and I think that's a pretty good number also.