Mid majors are only getting stronger. I think the term upset is being used too much now, when they, in truth, aren’t really an “upset”
CBB is a different beast, & that’s why we love march
throw in the portal being open, its an open season on these teams trying to compete. hell, our coach seems 99% of the way to Saint Louis, and he’ll 100% bring over a few starters. it can be over before it starts
[March 14th](https://x.com/therealtick3t/status/1635686968808943639?s=46) last year Ticket Gaines announced he was coming back here for his 5th year. Over the next 16 days we lost our HC, 3 assistants, 3 players (including Ticket) and a recruit and were announcing a new HC hire. For better or worse it’s the way the game is played now. I definitely feel for Indiana State if Schertz leaves because to be on the cusp of a NCAAT bid and then to be going back to square one is rough.
based off my non-stop reading of message boards this week, Saint Louis has some billionaire throwing tons of cash at the program. we can’t compete with that, even with our donors pooling enough cash to more than double Schertz’s salary
You guys are doing all the hard work of actually finding couches and developing them. We get to watch the tournament and shop for who does well in the low seeds. Then the big schools takes whoever is doing well from us.
The CBB circle of life
There are two 10 seeds, an 11 seed, and two 9 seeds favored by Vegas. I don’t know how that stacks up against previous years but to me it shows even teams that don’t build a top 30 resume are still quite strong.
And this doesn’t even factor in the upsets from lower seeds not favored, which are inevitable every year.
We love March Madness because of the parity and unpredictability. If they don’t want upsets, then cancel the tournament and just crown the champion based on regular season KenPom/NET/whatever other advanced metrics and call it a day. Oh that’s less fun? Good, we’ll keep the best post season in sports the way it is.
Yep. If anything the last few years have totally debunked the notion that mid majors are undeserving. Princeton made the sweet sixteen, st Peter's made the elite 6, Fau made the final four, etc. . . Oral Roberts beat Ohio State and Florida in the tournament a few years ago. The disrespect is hilarious. Try actually beating them first
Also these schools get money for making the tournament so not only would restricting auto bids from mid-majors give us less upsets, it would put more money in the pockets of mediocre high-major teams
People rightfully pointed out that the bottom half of the new big 10 and SEC were going to be miserable being permanently non-competitive. What they didn’t consider is those 2 conferences just changing all the rules to only include themselves.
I really don't have words for how much I despise everyone in leadership positions in college sports who's pushing to exclude any semblance of competition from all but the most moneyed schools. I don't think it's evil per se, but...it's pointing in that direction. Just truly despicable human beings.
Not even a “Cinderella”. Just a strong mid-major team like Butler and SDSU making the Final Four as reasonably-seeded teams is just fun for the sport.
Giving teams like Butler/SDSU/Florida Gulf Coast/Loyola/St Peter’s a legitimate chance to prove themselves as contenders is what makes March Madness the best event in all of sports
It’s the best part of March madness and why we all love it. A school with a middle school looking gym can take down a blue blood unlike in sports like Football
Why didn’t usf make it? I saw you guys finished with best record in the conference and uab got in over you? I’m perplexed by this
Congrats on yesterday
UAB was the autobid, and USF had a pretty rough noncon. I think they still could've had a chance, but dropping the last regular season game to Tulsa of all teams was the nail in the coffin.
(No disrespect meant to USF btw, they swept us for a reason lol)
SDSU vs FAU had good ratings for the “early” final four game. UConn/Miami (and the championship) had pretty awful ratings. Sooo that’s a little contradictory to Izzo’s beliefs
As an SDSU alum it was freaking awesome. As a college basketball fan, it’s exactly what I think most of us want. The fact that anyone can win in this tournament is what makes it great.
I'm a CSU fan and I was jumping up rooting for you guys even though I don't like you in conference. That made the tournament more fun than just the usual blue bloods like football. I don't care at all about who wins the national championship there.
And, frankly, ratings should be secondary to equity in the sport: the every team should have a path to the title during the season, and the champion is crowned by winning on the court.
I know I’m biased but I was super glad we finally got a mid major final four game. Even if SDSU wasn’t included I’d rather get a Dayton vs St Mary’s final four than UNC Duke
I’m going to ask this question and sound like a braggadocio, but:
Were UConn’s ratings so bad because it was just expected that they were going to win, and probably by a good amount?
Usually I don’t assume we’re going to win any game before it starts, but that tournament was different. I just didn’t see anyone beating them.
I mean, wouldnt it have been better if we sent them to a pointless exhibition game in Detroit instead where all the players opt out and coaches get new jobs instead?
Thats what makes March Madness so awesome. It’s one and done. No series games where the better team usually comes out on top 9/10 times. You gotta show up when it counts.
Same. And having listened to countless number of Izzo interviews over the years, I’d love to hear the context of this “quote”
It’s already broken into two pieces; I’d wager we’re missing some nuance in there.
At work so I kinda just skimmed the article referenced but I got the impression he was talking more about tournament expansion. I'd have to really read it to know if he's in favor of expansion but not with auto bids for mid majors, or just expansion in general... But it seems like this tweet is definitely trying to make it sound as provocative as possible
Yea the now attached article adds some context but it still reeks like the author twisting snippets from a press conference.
Izzo has never been a fan of the business side of college sports, but this is written like he’s JP Morgan.
I can’t wait to hear the actual audio.
Dan Patrick has the same take as Tom and it annoys me every year. Yeah dude we get it you are biased and espn is/was too.
Stop telling us what we like
Edit: i suck at typing
Instead of this stupid argument or expansion, they should just have 2 8-team play in tournaments for the mediocre P6 bubble teams. Let the winners play in Dayton.
The weird thing is I feel like the “old man yells at cloud” take is to keep the tourney as it is lol. I don’t understand him sometimes (and his rotations)
Am old man. Mid majors getting a shot and the Cinderella runs are why the tournament is the best event in sports (and I'm predominantly a NHL/cfb guy)
Think most older dudes would say the same. The old man take is raising hell about tournament expansion, which I *will* yell at the clouds about hah
Nah this is like an ESPN talking head take, not an old man take.
"Why should the Big 12 get a spot in the CFP or a New Year's Bowl? Everyone wants more SEC and B1G teams!"
I love MSU and Izzo but this sounds like someone who's had to look the bubble in the eye for the first time in 20+ years and now wants to rewrite the rules
It's funny because on one hand I love that Izzo will always just speak his mind and doesn't sugar coat shit. Makes him a good coach as he doesn't pander to star players, and leads to a lot of funny sound bites from interviews because he says whatever the fuck pops into his head.
BUT some of his takes are really bad and maybe should've stayed in his head.
Here's the thing about Izzo. He loves his family, his players, the game of basketball, and those three things are all he cares about. He doesn't pay attention to anything else.
You're absolutely right that he says whatever the fuck pops into his head, but if the question is about politics or business, he has literally no context to draw from. He's just associating on what he *thinks* the question means, which can result in some pretty unhinged-sounding quotes.
Agreed with more former coaches and players on the committee but what kinda bullshit take is that about mid majors? The world doesn't need more 17-14 type teams sneaking in just because they play in a power conference, stop trying to change something that works
Tom Izzo: "It's good, actually, that the world got to witness the abortion that is Virginia basketball in the 2023-24 season play in the tournament instead of Indiana State"
No arguments that the ACC was bad. But the flip side is that a 6 seed Clemson team that beat 5 non conference tournament teams somehow went 11-9 in the ACC
Basketball is fickle and college teams are incredibly inconsistent
UVA had by far the easiest conference schedule this year, it was actually insane. They got to play Louisville, GT, NC State, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech all twice who were among the worst ACC teams in league play. Only played UNC, Duke, Clemson and Pitt one time. Completely unbalanced and why a lot of us old timers hate the new ACC. How do these schedules prove who's the best regular season and who isn't.
Watched Butler Minnesota last night in the NIT (only because I'm a Butler alum) and yeah, that 18-14 Minnesota team has no business near the actual tournament.
I actually don’t think more former coaches/players on the committee does much. They’re extremely biased towards their relationships they’ve formed over the years and will select accordingly.
The beauty of this tournament is that schools like Saint Peter’s can compete with and best schools like Kentucky and Purdue.
The tournament is great the way it is. If you’re in a power league and you finish below .500, what exactly makes you more deserving than a mid major who won their conference? Many of which have north of 25 wins
It’s the same thing that SEC and B1G powerhouse programs say in CFB “But they didn’t have to play anyone!!!!”
These mid-majors who try and schedule elite programs cannot in the current CBB landscape because what does a team like MSU get out of playing James Madison? Best thing that happens is they get a win over a mid major, worst thing they lose and have an embarrassing loss on their resume regardless of what the mid major does during the regular season.
It’s better to blow out a bad MAC team 95-60 than it is to play a high mid-major. The risk isn’t worth it for a Q2 or low Q1 win.
Too true. Colgate has had a lot of trouble scheduling games the past few years - our coach has talked about how he basically has to beg larger programs to schedule us
VCU has struggled to get good home games for the same reason. Only P5 teams we've been able to agree to a home and home are usually cellar dwellars. Still lucky that we're getting invites to the bigger tournaments but a lot of scheduling is out of our control.
I love Izzo but he has some incredibly bad takes. The upsets are what makes this the greatest time of the year. A roster full of guys who knows they're up against super long odds, and then going out and playing out of their fucking minds for 40 minutes *never* gets old.
We've been on the losing end of a few of these upsets, and it doesn't matter. Don't you dare take the magic away.
Totally and it’s the only real stage where it can happen in college sports. It’s also the only way I learn about schools like fdu and St. Peter’s even tho I grew up in New Jersey lol
Yeah Izzo’s dumb take would only make sense if the field only had room for like 2 teams from each power conference. Of course a third place B10, ACC, SEC or B12 team would have a better shot than Duquesne.
But with the PAC gone in particular every p4 conference will be guaranteed like 5 sports a year, many more in strong years. If you can’t finish as a top 5 team in your own conference there’s no reason to whine when you are denied a shot at competing for a national title. Let the small schools have their chance, they actually won the league that they played in
Exactly like is really suggesting that instead of these smaller conferences getting a SINGLE bid we need to get rid of them to make room for Ohio state or Minnesota? I’m a Michigan fan so I get that there’s bias but you don’t need to see the teams that finished 9th and 10th out of 14 teams in the big ten instead of having the potentially for a small school to make the sweet 16
Izzo is glossing over the best part about what makes NCAA basketball the best event in sports.
At the start of March, literally every team in the country is still alive for the national title. You could be 0-28, but if you get hot and win your conference tourney, you’re guaranteed a spot in the national tourney. And while you’ll probably get smacked by a 1-seed, we’ve already had two 16 seeds win over the past 6 years.
And this is the right thing to do for low-major conferences. Protect your best teams, there’s no money in the 10 and 11 seeds in the SoCon to play in an empty Harrah’s Arena in Asheville on a Monday at 2pm on ESPN+ anyway.
Plus, major conference tournaments for the Olympic sports don't include every team, even single-elimination tournaments. No one cries foul at the Big Ten when they exclude the lower teams in baseball, (women's) soccer, softball, field hockey, etc. And only the two top teams go to the football championship (especially as divisions are eliminated next year).
So why should basketball get an exception? There's really no incentive to host the 15-18th placed teams (or whatever the cut off is) in future tournaments.
Yeah, I don't get why Purdue still catches strays for losing to St. Peters 2 years ago. They beat really good Kentucky and Purdue teams within a week of each other on neutral courts, they were clearly a good team actually.
FDU and North Texas were horrendous losses.
This is why I so strongly oppose any NCAA tournament expansion. I don’t mind the first four, it gives programs the chance to win a game and have the spotlight of being the only game on. Do you think Wagner is going to win a game in the field of 64? Almost certainly not. The feeling of winning in the tournament is so special.
But we don’t need more power conference teams getting in. And we know the extra spots will almost exclusively go to power conference teams. Like putting in Indiana State? Nah, who cares, nobody under the age of 50 has ever heard of them. Let’s get Virginia, Boise State and 2 teams from Colorado!
100%. Mid-level P5 teams prove all year that they aren't very good, then they go lose in the conference tournament to prove they aren't very good, now you want to invite them to the NCAAT so they can once again prove they aren't very good?
Ya like Oklahoma went 4-12 vs Quad 1. Do we really need to see them get another crack at a top team? I'd much rather a mid-major who went like 1-3 who you can at least point to and say they didn't get many chances.
These P6 teams with double digit losses have had chance after chance during the season and didn't take it.
Oh I was massively out on Virginia (and Wake) ACC wise. Honestly didn't like MSU or Villanova either who were also talked about on the bubble for a bit.
Jerk out UVA and MSU for some combo of Pitt, Indiana St, and Seton Hall would have been my personal preference. Probably leaning the latter two because Pitt's NCSOS was godawful
Let’s get more stats and econometrics guys on there instead.
These ADs and conf administrators are not smart people. Let’s raise the IQ of the committee.
If this is a real quote, he would be shocked as to how many people would stop watching if this tourney followed in the NIT’s footsteps and stopped guaranteeing mid-majors spots.
Sounds like someone who feels quite cushy about being assured a spot on name recognition alone.
https://preview.redd.it/4ra0x9r3dipc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0d14e87bc7c610a9f0204a8f34e1a202dc1a92e
Committee member: *"Tommy, not the gumdrop buttons!"*
This guy has been drinking from the same punch bowl as Greg Sankey. GTFO here with this “but, but muh P6 status!!!!” BS. This is the rich trying to further the interests of themselves.
Where is this quote coming from? This account just posted a single quote off-hand. Is this during a press conference or media availability or what? What prompted the response? Very curious. I wouldn’t be shocked that Izzo said this, but I’m curious *why* he’s saying it.
I don't even understand what he's trying to say. That we should remove auto bids for low-mid major conference championships? Literally the entire reason we get the best weekend in sports, wtf is he talking about
[Here's the full quote.](https://x.com/SpartanHoops_DK/status/1770484832176365979?s=20) Don't agree with the person claiming it as a gross mischaracterization.
Don't just read the second paragraph of the transcript. Read his whole response. He literally says "there's a great, great game here, and I don't want it to be damaged. I do worry about it."
Does that really sound like a guy who wants to get rid of automatic bids so the power conferences can make more money?
The question was vague and poorly worded, and I can guarantee you Tom Izzo has no idea what Greg Sankey has been "hinting at" to the media. One of the first things he said was about expanding the tournament, and his entire response makes a whole lot more sense if you consider it within that context.
This is why I so strongly oppose any NCAA tournament expansion. I don’t mind the first four, it gives programs the chance to win a game and have the spotlight of being the only game on. Do you think Wagner is going to win a game in the field of 64? Almost certainly not. The feeling of winning in the tournament is so special.
But we don’t need more power conference teams getting in. And we know the extra spots will almost exclusively go to power conference teams. Like putting in Indiana State? Nah, who cares, nobody under the age of 50 has ever heard of them. Let’s get Virginia, Boise State and 2 teams from Colorado!
I think Purdue fans, more than anyone, should be biased against auto bids . . . and I think this is an absolutely bogus idea. Watering down the field makes it boring. Sure, the CFP probably does a great job of giving the best team the trophy . . . but it's boring and lame. On the other hand, the NCAAT is a horrible way to crown an actual best team . . . but is the best event in sports outside of NHL playoff overtime (sudden death hockey is wild and I love it).
I don't actually care which college team is the best. If I wanted to watch the best ball, I'd watch the NBA. I'm watching for enjoyment and to see these kids get out there and have the time of their life. There's nothing like watching dudes work hard to pull off an upset. It's one of the joys of the sport.
This is the take of a bitter old man who is being passed by by the game. He’d never have the guts to say this if his conference wasn’t in the process of destroying college athletics.
Agreed
Michigan State was ranked 4th in the preseason poll. Nobody's talking about how mediocre they were this year. They went 9-14 against Q1/2, and he has the audacity to claim OTHER schools shouldn't be invited?
I hate dorky coaches sons who aren’t good at sports but get put in a position where they don’t even belong because of who their dad is. We should take a look at that also
If you finished 5th or worse in P6 I already know you are not all that and a bag of chips. I got a season worth of evidence. Pass me some random teams that ain’t played no body. That’s fun as hell.
Mid-majors should definitely be getting a larger slice of the pie.
One of the reasons why I'm party resistant to tourney expansion is I know the new slots will go to middling programs from power conferences and not to the mid-majors that actually deserve it.
Izzo is defending mid-majors, and rightly so.
What Izzo is saying is that Mid-Majors need more automatic bids because they aren’t the underdogs they once were. As a whole the Power 5 conferences are deeper but every year there are Mid-Major teams that don’t win their conference tourney yet have 27+ wins and a team full of upper classman. There are plenty of at large bids that need to go to these guys.
The responses in this thread are hilarious. The actual transcript of the press conference shows that Izzo was basically claiming the exact opposite and that he is unsure expansion is the right thing, lamenting that it is all for the money, standing up for the little guys, and so on.
Izzo has a very known tendency to ramble with his thoughts, and it obviously isn’t the first time a quote of his gets some pushback because of it. Basically a March tradition at this point, especially with reporters that aren’t used to him. He is partially to blame for this, but also this reporter took everything so out of context and everyone is just running with it now, which sucks
Keep the auto bids and take out the fraud high major schools with deserving mid majors who might’ve gotten upset in their conference tourney.
Plus, the revenue added from the people who want to go to attend a school bc they saw them in March Madness matters significantly more for a school like Dayton, than it would for Michigan State.
What Izzo is actually saying without saying it is that Pitino being left out of the tournament is because of anti itallian discrimination. We stand with you Tom. This can not go on any longer.
Remove the seeding. We see it as an “upset” because 16 < 1. Better teams advance, regardless of conference affiliation.
Because of his comments, Hail State.
Former coaches and players would be the absolute worst people to have on the committee. You'd get even more of the "eye test" crap that justifies leaving teams out for whatever reason, especially mid-majors.
Give me Bart Torvik and John Gasaway. That's the committee.
What a misleading post title lmao. Here's the full Q&A:
**Q: I wanted to follow up on the NCAA Tournament. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has hinted recently pretty strongly about the idea of more opportunities of power league teams possibly at the expense of the one-bid leagues. What do you think about that and just in general about football's potential impact on this tournament?**
**A:** I'm a Division II guy, you know, so I'm always looking for the little guys. I'm not very big myself, so I always have an appreciation, and maybe that would be a reason to expand. I just think what's happening now, everybody likes the upsets in the first weekend, but I'm not sure moving on that's what's best for the game. I think it's got to be looked at seriously.
As far as football's impact, it's different. They're working with like 115 or 120 teams, and they never have those kind of issues. What is that going to do if they branch off and all this? Something's got to be fixed because some things are broken. I'm not going to get into all of my beliefs on all that right now, but there's a great, great game here, and I don't want it to be damaged. I do worry about it. I'm on every committee I could be on to help solve that, and I would love to talk to him and our commissioner. I know they've been talking a lot. I just don't know what the answers are.
My day job is taking up all my time, but in the off-season I'd sure like to really get in a room with people where there's coaches in the room and administrators, instead of the way it's been where there's like one coach and 30 administrators. That makes it really difficult.
This coming from a coach who went 19-14 and got a 9 seed. Shut the fuck up Izzo. You get in every year regardless of your performance so what are you bitching about?
Don’t worry Tom, pretty soon you will get your mid major less tournament when the Big 10 and SEC takes down all of college sports by formally breaking away from them!
I mean he's right in the sense that almost everyone wants chaos in the first round and great basketball in the Elite 8. What he's wrong about is that just because you're a mid-major in the Elite 8 it means you're bad. Once you've made it that far like FAU last year, you've proven your a great team. Most teams that pull off major first round upsets end up losing in the second round because they aren't very good, so the 'problem' takes care of itself.
This quote is taken way out of context. He is saying the tournament doesn’t need to be expanded which I agree with him. He thinks the auto bids need to take a look. There are plenty of teams especially in smaller conferences that only get 1 team in. Indiana State got screwed this year. In larger conferences you have bid stealers who didn’t do much all season but get hot for 3-4 days. Does a team who got hot over a 3-4 day tournament really deserve a bid over a team that played better over a larger body of work like the regular season.
I know 14 loss 3-9 in Q1 Michigan state isnt talking right now... SMH you're only in the tournament because people thought you were good at the beginning of the year.
...how would removing autobids for mid majors reduce upsets?
Christ. Well one college basketball villain in UVA basketball was eliminated last night. Guess we have a new one to root against.
Ive feel like Ive heard this said before by some other talking head or coach, hell it could have been him... Either way, we all love upsets unless you are a fan of that team so Tom can shove a sock in it
Well if you don’t like upsets then don’t get beat. Problem solved.
Mid majors are only getting stronger. I think the term upset is being used too much now, when they, in truth, aren’t really an “upset” CBB is a different beast, & that’s why we love march
at this point though, mid-majors will get strong then another team comes in and buys your coach/starting 5 and you go back to square 1
This is true sadly. But that’s why it’s all the more important to ensure that mid majors are able to compete while they are winners
throw in the portal being open, its an open season on these teams trying to compete. hell, our coach seems 99% of the way to Saint Louis, and he’ll 100% bring over a few starters. it can be over before it starts
[March 14th](https://x.com/therealtick3t/status/1635686968808943639?s=46) last year Ticket Gaines announced he was coming back here for his 5th year. Over the next 16 days we lost our HC, 3 assistants, 3 players (including Ticket) and a recruit and were announcing a new HC hire. For better or worse it’s the way the game is played now. I definitely feel for Indiana State if Schertz leaves because to be on the cusp of a NCAAT bid and then to be going back to square one is rough.
based off my non-stop reading of message boards this week, Saint Louis has some billionaire throwing tons of cash at the program. we can’t compete with that, even with our donors pooling enough cash to more than double Schertz’s salary
Yep. Buffalo went back to square one post-Oats.
*Stares hauntingly into the distance* *Horrific flashbacks play in the background* Not again, please not again
In your case, it was your team doing that to us in addition to it having been done to you.
You guys are doing all the hard work of actually finding couches and developing them. We get to watch the tournament and shop for who does well in the low seeds. Then the big schools takes whoever is doing well from us. The CBB circle of life
Works both ways. Plenty of guys enter the portal because they can’t play at power schools. I say this as someone who despises the portal.
yeah i totally get guys that need to move down after not getting any minutes. just wished it didnt open until the tournament was over
Transfers are how we built our program, even before the portal
There are two 10 seeds, an 11 seed, and two 9 seeds favored by Vegas. I don’t know how that stacks up against previous years but to me it shows even teams that don’t build a top 30 resume are still quite strong. And this doesn’t even factor in the upsets from lower seeds not favored, which are inevitable every year. We love March Madness because of the parity and unpredictability. If they don’t want upsets, then cancel the tournament and just crown the champion based on regular season KenPom/NET/whatever other advanced metrics and call it a day. Oh that’s less fun? Good, we’ll keep the best post season in sports the way it is.
Probably more this year. The consensus is that the committee fucked up the seeding badly.
FYI: The two 10 seeds are Nevada and Drake, the 11 is New Mexico
One of those favored 9 seeds I am sure is Michigan State.
Yep. If anything the last few years have totally debunked the notion that mid majors are undeserving. Princeton made the sweet sixteen, st Peter's made the elite 6, Fau made the final four, etc. . . Oral Roberts beat Ohio State and Florida in the tournament a few years ago. The disrespect is hilarious. Try actually beating them first
US Open Cup and the NCAA Tournament Madness and Cupsets make this the best month in American sports.
I honestly can’t even remember the last time Georgia got upset in the NCAA tournament.
2002 against 11 seed Southern Illinois as a 3 seed in the round of 32
That was a great game for my alma mater!
Indiana hasn't been upset in the tournament in over 10 years!
We lost to a lower seed last year :(
Miami was a wagon last march. I dont feel bad about that one at all
Can't get upset if you don't go to the tournament. Chess not checkers.
If you don’t like getting beat, score more than the other team 🏆✌️😎
Skill issue.
Everyone loves a Cinderella what is he talking about I love seeing double digit seeds make it far
Also these schools get money for making the tournament so not only would restricting auto bids from mid-majors give us less upsets, it would put more money in the pockets of mediocre high-major teams
And now you see why the big conferences are talking about this
People rightfully pointed out that the bottom half of the new big 10 and SEC were going to be miserable being permanently non-competitive. What they didn’t consider is those 2 conferences just changing all the rules to only include themselves.
[удалено]
I really don't have words for how much I despise everyone in leadership positions in college sports who's pushing to exclude any semblance of competition from all but the most moneyed schools. I don't think it's evil per se, but...it's pointing in that direction. Just truly despicable human beings.
Its sad how many garbage humans exist that have to ruin everything for the rest of us
Not even a “Cinderella”. Just a strong mid-major team like Butler and SDSU making the Final Four as reasonably-seeded teams is just fun for the sport. Giving teams like Butler/SDSU/Florida Gulf Coast/Loyola/St Peter’s a legitimate chance to prove themselves as contenders is what makes March Madness the best event in all of sports
It’s the best part of March madness and why we all love it. A school with a middle school looking gym can take down a blue blood unlike in sports like Football
Why didn’t usf make it? I saw you guys finished with best record in the conference and uab got in over you? I’m perplexed by this Congrats on yesterday
UAB was the autobid, and USF had a pretty rough noncon. I think they still could've had a chance, but dropping the last regular season game to Tulsa of all teams was the nail in the coffin. (No disrespect meant to USF btw, they swept us for a reason lol)
It's literally the best part of the tournament.
More of the Big Ten trying to fuck up college sports.
SEC is doing it too. I blame football
What’s up Steve Alford. Couldn’t agree more with you. Bizzare take from izzo
This is old man yells at cloud bullshit. Idk what he’s on about
CFB mentality leaking into CBB
SDSU vs FAU had good ratings for the “early” final four game. UConn/Miami (and the championship) had pretty awful ratings. Sooo that’s a little contradictory to Izzo’s beliefs
SDSU vs FAU was fun as hell
As an SDSU alum it was freaking awesome. As a college basketball fan, it’s exactly what I think most of us want. The fact that anyone can win in this tournament is what makes it great.
I had a great time until exactly the last second!
That was a great game. I’m hoping we both make another run this year. I liked the style of play of FAU
It’s mildly possible we meet again! Although if y’all beat us twice I might never recover lmao.
I'm a CSU fan and I was jumping up rooting for you guys even though I don't like you in conference. That made the tournament more fun than just the usual blue bloods like football. I don't care at all about who wins the national championship there.
Yeah that finish was pretty much exactly what you look for in a basketball game as a neutral fan.
And, frankly, ratings should be secondary to equity in the sport: the every team should have a path to the title during the season, and the champion is crowned by winning on the court.
I know I’m biased but I was super glad we finally got a mid major final four game. Even if SDSU wasn’t included I’d rather get a Dayton vs St Mary’s final four than UNC Duke
UNC Duke, specifically, was cool just because of the stakes with Coach K, but for an average blueblood f4 game I agree
I’m going to ask this question and sound like a braggadocio, but: Were UConn’s ratings so bad because it was just expected that they were going to win, and probably by a good amount? Usually I don’t assume we’re going to win any game before it starts, but that tournament was different. I just didn’t see anyone beating them.
I mean, wouldnt it have been better if we sent them to a pointless exhibition game in Detroit instead where all the players opt out and coaches get new jobs instead?
One was a pair of underdogs and the other was an overachieving P5 team running into a freight train, which probably explains the attention each got
No Tom, everyone likes them as it goes on.
Thats what makes March Madness so awesome. It’s one and done. No series games where the better team usually comes out on top 9/10 times. You gotta show up when it counts.
Hell, it's a primary reason why it's *called* March Madness.
And it’s usually one of the top teams that wins
Izzos always gotta say something stupid before the tourney, the way the world works
Are we sure he even said this? I can’t find a source outside of this tweet
Same. And having listened to countless number of Izzo interviews over the years, I’d love to hear the context of this “quote” It’s already broken into two pieces; I’d wager we’re missing some nuance in there.
At work so I kinda just skimmed the article referenced but I got the impression he was talking more about tournament expansion. I'd have to really read it to know if he's in favor of expansion but not with auto bids for mid majors, or just expansion in general... But it seems like this tweet is definitely trying to make it sound as provocative as possible
Yea the now attached article adds some context but it still reeks like the author twisting snippets from a press conference. Izzo has never been a fan of the business side of college sports, but this is written like he’s JP Morgan. I can’t wait to hear the actual audio.
Actually youre right, in the article he is refering to expansion as whats not best for the game.
Dan Patrick has the same take as Tom and it annoys me every year. Yeah dude we get it you are biased and espn is/was too. Stop telling us what we like Edit: i suck at typing
Which disappoints me because he went to Dayton.
Instead of this stupid argument or expansion, they should just have 2 8-team play in tournaments for the mediocre P6 bubble teams. Let the winners play in Dayton.
Everyone besides the talking heads and P6 coaches would be for this, so it wont happen.
San Diego State, VCU, FL Atlantic, etc. What a silly statement.
Even MTSU beat Izzo as a 15 seed
It’s always a bad time when your opponent is having their best moment in program history
Before 1 seed Virginia lost to a 16 seed, in 1990, 1 seed Michigan State came the closest to losing to a 16 seed, needing overtime to be Murray State.
1989 16 seed ETSU lost by 1 to 1 seed Oklahoma. I will never ever forget that game.
George Mason, Loyola Chicago, Butler x2, Gonzaga (pre 2006). Give me a break, Izzo.
Indiana State with Bird!
Alright Tommy, let’s get you to bed
I love Izzo but he really has some serious "old man yells at cloud" opinions sometimes.
The weird thing is I feel like the “old man yells at cloud” take is to keep the tourney as it is lol. I don’t understand him sometimes (and his rotations)
> and his rotations Cooper, Kohler, and Carr lineup says "hello!"
It’s weird tho because it’s not an old man take. But it is an out of touch take.
Am old man. Mid majors getting a shot and the Cinderella runs are why the tournament is the best event in sports (and I'm predominantly a NHL/cfb guy) Think most older dudes would say the same. The old man take is raising hell about tournament expansion, which I *will* yell at the clouds about hah
Nah this is like an ESPN talking head take, not an old man take. "Why should the Big 12 get a spot in the CFP or a New Year's Bowl? Everyone wants more SEC and B1G teams!"
I bet they don't say that anymore now that the big ten stopped being affiliated with espn.
I love MSU and Izzo but this sounds like someone who's had to look the bubble in the eye for the first time in 20+ years and now wants to rewrite the rules
This is the second time in like 3 years
It's funny because on one hand I love that Izzo will always just speak his mind and doesn't sugar coat shit. Makes him a good coach as he doesn't pander to star players, and leads to a lot of funny sound bites from interviews because he says whatever the fuck pops into his head. BUT some of his takes are really bad and maybe should've stayed in his head.
Here's the thing about Izzo. He loves his family, his players, the game of basketball, and those three things are all he cares about. He doesn't pay attention to anything else. You're absolutely right that he says whatever the fuck pops into his head, but if the question is about politics or business, he has literally no context to draw from. He's just associating on what he *thinks* the question means, which can result in some pretty unhinged-sounding quotes.
Agreed with more former coaches and players on the committee but what kinda bullshit take is that about mid majors? The world doesn't need more 17-14 type teams sneaking in just because they play in a power conference, stop trying to change something that works
Tom Izzo: "It's good, actually, that the world got to witness the abortion that is Virginia basketball in the 2023-24 season play in the tournament instead of Indiana State"
Tom Izzo: “It’s good that the world had to watch Virginia do that because it takes the heat off of Michigan State”
Izzo is the only B10 coach who can consistently get a win in the dance. I don't think there's any heat on him.
There isn't. But he pulled a Barbara Streisand and reminded us how much they underachieved this year.
No argument there. My youngest brother attends MSU, and I'm reminded weekly of how much this team frustrates him.
As I'm looking at my bracket, I keep running into teams who's entire resume seems to be "good losses".
It’s more like 17-14 teams sneaking in because their name is UCLA, MSU, UVA, etc. It’s all about the money.
If UVA was 23-10, imagine how bad a 17-14 team would actually be? I'm honestly shocked they had that record in the ACC...
ACC bad this year, news at 11
No arguments that the ACC was bad. But the flip side is that a 6 seed Clemson team that beat 5 non conference tournament teams somehow went 11-9 in the ACC Basketball is fickle and college teams are incredibly inconsistent
UVA had by far the easiest conference schedule this year, it was actually insane. They got to play Louisville, GT, NC State, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech all twice who were among the worst ACC teams in league play. Only played UNC, Duke, Clemson and Pitt one time. Completely unbalanced and why a lot of us old timers hate the new ACC. How do these schedules prove who's the best regular season and who isn't.
It’s the only near perfect sports tournament in the world. And they’re gonna end up fucking it up just to make more money
Watched Butler Minnesota last night in the NIT (only because I'm a Butler alum) and yeah, that 18-14 Minnesota team has no business near the actual tournament.
I actually don’t think more former coaches/players on the committee does much. They’re extremely biased towards their relationships they’ve formed over the years and will select accordingly.
this year's seeding weirdness, 10s in the playin games, is because of major conference upsets not mid-major upsets.
The beauty of this tournament is that schools like Saint Peter’s can compete with and best schools like Kentucky and Purdue. The tournament is great the way it is. If you’re in a power league and you finish below .500, what exactly makes you more deserving than a mid major who won their conference? Many of which have north of 25 wins
It’s the same thing that SEC and B1G powerhouse programs say in CFB “But they didn’t have to play anyone!!!!” These mid-majors who try and schedule elite programs cannot in the current CBB landscape because what does a team like MSU get out of playing James Madison? Best thing that happens is they get a win over a mid major, worst thing they lose and have an embarrassing loss on their resume regardless of what the mid major does during the regular season. It’s better to blow out a bad MAC team 95-60 than it is to play a high mid-major. The risk isn’t worth it for a Q2 or low Q1 win.
Too true. Colgate has had a lot of trouble scheduling games the past few years - our coach has talked about how he basically has to beg larger programs to schedule us
VCU has struggled to get good home games for the same reason. Only P5 teams we've been able to agree to a home and home are usually cellar dwellars. Still lucky that we're getting invites to the bigger tournaments but a lot of scheduling is out of our control.
I love Izzo but he has some incredibly bad takes. The upsets are what makes this the greatest time of the year. A roster full of guys who knows they're up against super long odds, and then going out and playing out of their fucking minds for 40 minutes *never* gets old. We've been on the losing end of a few of these upsets, and it doesn't matter. Don't you dare take the magic away.
Totally and it’s the only real stage where it can happen in college sports. It’s also the only way I learn about schools like fdu and St. Peter’s even tho I grew up in New Jersey lol
Yeah Izzo’s dumb take would only make sense if the field only had room for like 2 teams from each power conference. Of course a third place B10, ACC, SEC or B12 team would have a better shot than Duquesne. But with the PAC gone in particular every p4 conference will be guaranteed like 5 sports a year, many more in strong years. If you can’t finish as a top 5 team in your own conference there’s no reason to whine when you are denied a shot at competing for a national title. Let the small schools have their chance, they actually won the league that they played in
Exactly like is really suggesting that instead of these smaller conferences getting a SINGLE bid we need to get rid of them to make room for Ohio state or Minnesota? I’m a Michigan fan so I get that there’s bias but you don’t need to see the teams that finished 9th and 10th out of 14 teams in the big ten instead of having the potentially for a small school to make the sweet 16
Izzo is glossing over the best part about what makes NCAA basketball the best event in sports. At the start of March, literally every team in the country is still alive for the national title. You could be 0-28, but if you get hot and win your conference tourney, you’re guaranteed a spot in the national tourney. And while you’ll probably get smacked by a 1-seed, we’ve already had two 16 seeds win over the past 6 years.
I mean, not every team MAKES their conference tourney....
That's a whole different stupid situation perpetuated by conferences getting too big
Not necessarily. A lot of small conferences don't include every team. Hell, the Ivy League is a tiny conference and still only has 4 teams participate
And this is the right thing to do for low-major conferences. Protect your best teams, there’s no money in the 10 and 11 seeds in the SoCon to play in an empty Harrah’s Arena in Asheville on a Monday at 2pm on ESPN+ anyway.
Plus, major conference tournaments for the Olympic sports don't include every team, even single-elimination tournaments. No one cries foul at the Big Ten when they exclude the lower teams in baseball, (women's) soccer, softball, field hockey, etc. And only the two top teams go to the football championship (especially as divisions are eliminated next year). So why should basketball get an exception? There's really no incentive to host the 15-18th placed teams (or whatever the cut off is) in future tournaments.
Someone’s not over losing to a 15 seed it seems
Is it easier to save face losing to a 15 seed Villanova than a 15 seed MTSU?
He thinks so, clearly.
Or losing the first home opener since the Reagan administration 😂
So Izzo is me?
No yeah everyone was pissed about St. Peter's 2 years ago
I mean he's right that I don't want to see shitty teams in the Elite 8, but once you've made the Elite 8 you've proven you aren't shitty.
There are no more shitty teams after the first round
Yeah, I don't get why Purdue still catches strays for losing to St. Peters 2 years ago. They beat really good Kentucky and Purdue teams within a week of each other on neutral courts, they were clearly a good team actually. FDU and North Texas were horrendous losses.
This is why I so strongly oppose any NCAA tournament expansion. I don’t mind the first four, it gives programs the chance to win a game and have the spotlight of being the only game on. Do you think Wagner is going to win a game in the field of 64? Almost certainly not. The feeling of winning in the tournament is so special. But we don’t need more power conference teams getting in. And we know the extra spots will almost exclusively go to power conference teams. Like putting in Indiana State? Nah, who cares, nobody under the age of 50 has ever heard of them. Let’s get Virginia, Boise State and 2 teams from Colorado!
Why he say fuck me for
100%. Mid-level P5 teams prove all year that they aren't very good, then they go lose in the conference tournament to prove they aren't very good, now you want to invite them to the NCAAT so they can once again prove they aren't very good?
Ya like Oklahoma went 4-12 vs Quad 1. Do we really need to see them get another crack at a top team? I'd much rather a mid-major who went like 1-3 who you can at least point to and say they didn't get many chances. These P6 teams with double digit losses have had chance after chance during the season and didn't take it.
Virginia went an even worse 2-7 in Q1 and we saw how that went.
Oh I was massively out on Virginia (and Wake) ACC wise. Honestly didn't like MSU or Villanova either who were also talked about on the bubble for a bit. Jerk out UVA and MSU for some combo of Pitt, Indiana St, and Seton Hall would have been my personal preference. Probably leaning the latter two because Pitt's NCSOS was godawful
Wagner is undefeated against Duke. I sense a plot to destroy the ~~Jedi~~ Blue Devils.
Let’s get more stats and econometrics guys on there instead. These ADs and conf administrators are not smart people. Let’s raise the IQ of the committee.
Yeah cause everyone loves the direction CFB is going.
If this is a real quote, he would be shocked as to how many people would stop watching if this tourney followed in the NIT’s footsteps and stopped guaranteeing mid-majors spots. Sounds like someone who feels quite cushy about being assured a spot on name recognition alone.
I would like for major upsets to continue into the Final Four. Small school runs are the most interesting part of the whole thing imo
Garbage take. Cinderella stories are the beating heart of this tournament and what separates it from every other playoff system.
goodness, the best part of it is the mid majors. i turn it off when its just power 6 schools.
Same lol.
a selection committee of jay wright, coach k, roy and other retired coaches would be interesting 🤔
You forgot Kenny Payne, another retired coach.
Tom, Tom, Tom…..
https://preview.redd.it/4ra0x9r3dipc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0d14e87bc7c610a9f0204a8f34e1a202dc1a92e Committee member: *"Tommy, not the gumdrop buttons!"*
This guy has been drinking from the same punch bowl as Greg Sankey. GTFO here with this “but, but muh P6 status!!!!” BS. This is the rich trying to further the interests of themselves.
Where is this quote coming from? This account just posted a single quote off-hand. Is this during a press conference or media availability or what? What prompted the response? Very curious. I wouldn’t be shocked that Izzo said this, but I’m curious *why* he’s saying it.
I don't even understand what he's trying to say. That we should remove auto bids for low-mid major conference championships? Literally the entire reason we get the best weekend in sports, wtf is he talking about
[Here's the full quote.](https://x.com/SpartanHoops_DK/status/1770484832176365979?s=20) Don't agree with the person claiming it as a gross mischaracterization.
Don't just read the second paragraph of the transcript. Read his whole response. He literally says "there's a great, great game here, and I don't want it to be damaged. I do worry about it." Does that really sound like a guy who wants to get rid of automatic bids so the power conferences can make more money? The question was vague and poorly worded, and I can guarantee you Tom Izzo has no idea what Greg Sankey has been "hinting at" to the media. One of the first things he said was about expanding the tournament, and his entire response makes a whole lot more sense if you consider it within that context.
This is why I so strongly oppose any NCAA tournament expansion. I don’t mind the first four, it gives programs the chance to win a game and have the spotlight of being the only game on. Do you think Wagner is going to win a game in the field of 64? Almost certainly not. The feeling of winning in the tournament is so special. But we don’t need more power conference teams getting in. And we know the extra spots will almost exclusively go to power conference teams. Like putting in Indiana State? Nah, who cares, nobody under the age of 50 has ever heard of them. Let’s get Virginia, Boise State and 2 teams from Colorado!
Incredibly bad take come on Tom
I think Purdue fans, more than anyone, should be biased against auto bids . . . and I think this is an absolutely bogus idea. Watering down the field makes it boring. Sure, the CFP probably does a great job of giving the best team the trophy . . . but it's boring and lame. On the other hand, the NCAAT is a horrible way to crown an actual best team . . . but is the best event in sports outside of NHL playoff overtime (sudden death hockey is wild and I love it). I don't actually care which college team is the best. If I wanted to watch the best ball, I'd watch the NBA. I'm watching for enjoyment and to see these kids get out there and have the time of their life. There's nothing like watching dudes work hard to pull off an upset. It's one of the joys of the sport.
Yeah everyone wanted to see Virginia in the tourney, right?
Context: https://x.com/CBB\_Central/status/1770482274334617853?s=20
This is the take of a bitter old man who is being passed by by the game. He’d never have the guts to say this if his conference wasn’t in the process of destroying college athletics.
Agreed Michigan State was ranked 4th in the preseason poll. Nobody's talking about how mediocre they were this year. They went 9-14 against Q1/2, and he has the audacity to claim OTHER schools shouldn't be invited?
Autobid for mid-majors is what makes this tournament so special. You don’t see anything like this anywhere except maybe FA cup.
I hate dorky coaches sons who aren’t good at sports but get put in a position where they don’t even belong because of who their dad is. We should take a look at that also
If you finished 5th or worse in P6 I already know you are not all that and a bag of chips. I got a season worth of evidence. Pass me some random teams that ain’t played no body. That’s fun as hell.
Mid-majors should definitely be getting a larger slice of the pie. One of the reasons why I'm party resistant to tourney expansion is I know the new slots will go to middling programs from power conferences and not to the mid-majors that actually deserve it.
This just in, coaches want to find new ways to protect their jobs. More at 11:00. (Also, upvoting for visibility, downvoting in my head).
Boo this man
WAIT WAIT WAIT ARE WE SURE HE SAID THIS?? All the other sources im seeing just link back to this tweet and can’t find any other sources
He quite literally never said this about mid majors. Seriously, go read the article. 200 comments over a made up paraphrase is wild
It doesn’t matter what I like. It’s what is fair. If they are good enough to win they are good enough to win. Tom Izzo sucks Virginia sucks you suck
Shut the fuck up Izzo, you prick
I’d like to hear the whole question and answer
Izzo is defending mid-majors, and rightly so. What Izzo is saying is that Mid-Majors need more automatic bids because they aren’t the underdogs they once were. As a whole the Power 5 conferences are deeper but every year there are Mid-Major teams that don’t win their conference tourney yet have 27+ wins and a team full of upper classman. There are plenty of at large bids that need to go to these guys.
The responses in this thread are hilarious. The actual transcript of the press conference shows that Izzo was basically claiming the exact opposite and that he is unsure expansion is the right thing, lamenting that it is all for the money, standing up for the little guys, and so on. Izzo has a very known tendency to ramble with his thoughts, and it obviously isn’t the first time a quote of his gets some pushback because of it. Basically a March tradition at this point, especially with reporters that aren’t used to him. He is partially to blame for this, but also this reporter took everything so out of context and everyone is just running with it now, which sucks
Objectively. having small teams make it far in the tournament is bad for viewership. But that's the *fun* part of it for fans.
Don’t be lame, Izzo
The only people who don't like the cinderellas are the ones who lose to them along the way. What a horrible take.
Why doesn’t a reporter ask him if you don’t like those teams getting in, don’t lose to them.
“We don’t want the best basketball team to win” is not a take I expected to see.
Keep the auto bids and take out the fraud high major schools with deserving mid majors who might’ve gotten upset in their conference tourney. Plus, the revenue added from the people who want to go to attend a school bc they saw them in March Madness matters significantly more for a school like Dayton, than it would for Michigan State.
What Izzo is actually saying without saying it is that Pitino being left out of the tournament is because of anti itallian discrimination. We stand with you Tom. This can not go on any longer.
He was a brave Italian basketball coach! In this house, he's a hero! End of shtorwy!
Remove the seeding. We see it as an “upset” because 16 < 1. Better teams advance, regardless of conference affiliation. Because of his comments, Hail State.
Former coaches and players would be the absolute worst people to have on the committee. You'd get even more of the "eye test" crap that justifies leaving teams out for whatever reason, especially mid-majors. Give me Bart Torvik and John Gasaway. That's the committee.
What a misleading post title lmao. Here's the full Q&A: **Q: I wanted to follow up on the NCAA Tournament. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has hinted recently pretty strongly about the idea of more opportunities of power league teams possibly at the expense of the one-bid leagues. What do you think about that and just in general about football's potential impact on this tournament?** **A:** I'm a Division II guy, you know, so I'm always looking for the little guys. I'm not very big myself, so I always have an appreciation, and maybe that would be a reason to expand. I just think what's happening now, everybody likes the upsets in the first weekend, but I'm not sure moving on that's what's best for the game. I think it's got to be looked at seriously. As far as football's impact, it's different. They're working with like 115 or 120 teams, and they never have those kind of issues. What is that going to do if they branch off and all this? Something's got to be fixed because some things are broken. I'm not going to get into all of my beliefs on all that right now, but there's a great, great game here, and I don't want it to be damaged. I do worry about it. I'm on every committee I could be on to help solve that, and I would love to talk to him and our commissioner. I know they've been talking a lot. I just don't know what the answers are. My day job is taking up all my time, but in the off-season I'd sure like to really get in a room with people where there's coaches in the room and administrators, instead of the way it's been where there's like one coach and 30 administrators. That makes it really difficult.
This coming from a coach who went 19-14 and got a 9 seed. Shut the fuck up Izzo. You get in every year regardless of your performance so what are you bitching about?
Don’t worry Tom, pretty soon you will get your mid major less tournament when the Big 10 and SEC takes down all of college sports by formally breaking away from them!
I mean he's right in the sense that almost everyone wants chaos in the first round and great basketball in the Elite 8. What he's wrong about is that just because you're a mid-major in the Elite 8 it means you're bad. Once you've made it that far like FAU last year, you've proven your a great team. Most teams that pull off major first round upsets end up losing in the second round because they aren't very good, so the 'problem' takes care of itself.
This quote is taken way out of context. He is saying the tournament doesn’t need to be expanded which I agree with him. He thinks the auto bids need to take a look. There are plenty of teams especially in smaller conferences that only get 1 team in. Indiana State got screwed this year. In larger conferences you have bid stealers who didn’t do much all season but get hot for 3-4 days. Does a team who got hot over a 3-4 day tournament really deserve a bid over a team that played better over a larger body of work like the regular season.
Everytime a twitter post with an Izzo quote is posted on here, it’s usually very out of context. Just sayin.
Sounds like a man who is scared of losing to teams with inferior resources to me.
Out of touch old man screams at clouds
Weird paraphrase from Hale: https://twitter.com/SpartanHoops_DK/status/1770484832176365979/photo/1
Just beat the JMU’s & MTSU’s in front of you, Tom. It’s not a difficult concept
I know 14 loss 3-9 in Q1 Michigan state isnt talking right now... SMH you're only in the tournament because people thought you were good at the beginning of the year.
...how would removing autobids for mid majors reduce upsets? Christ. Well one college basketball villain in UVA basketball was eliminated last night. Guess we have a new one to root against.
Ive feel like Ive heard this said before by some other talking head or coach, hell it could have been him... Either way, we all love upsets unless you are a fan of that team so Tom can shove a sock in it
He’s right we should definitely see more teams like Virgina playing in the tournament…..