Mark Bradley: College basketball stinks

It's difficult... Because there are only a few places where there is going to be a lot of interest in college hoops when college football is still going on...

I think if the December games were better, that might change. There's no college football to compete with, so why not load up Saturdays with games that people actually want to see?

 

My idea to make college basketball more fun to watch is to allow one time out a half. The game is stopped every four minutes anyway for television so get your commercials in at that point. For example I watched the last "minute"of UNC-NC State amd it must have taken 20 minutes. I hate ivesting 90 minutes in a game and then have the last minute take 20 minutes, most of which is spent watching huddles.

 

You're probably right. Honestly, that was simply a list of college basketball players -- big time or not -- that I could list off the top of my head. I don't profess to be a college basketball expert or anything, but I do enjoy it. Mainly after football season is over. And despite my lack of being able to name the best 25 players in the country or whatever.

Typically, the only games I'll watch in full are George Mason games. Other than that, I'll catch 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there of top 25 games. Until the tournament, of course, where I'll watch a lot of games in full.

Oh, and I forgot Erick Green. Duh.

 

Bowl games are fine. The more the merrier for me because I go in with low expectations.
I watch tend to watch the lower tier bowl games differently that I watch regular season games. I might focus on an individual player who has been highly touted or I might focus on offensive scheme and how defense defends. I find it keeps my interest.

I started really following college football in 1966 and have always thought the system was fine as it was with AP National Champion. I do not feel the need to have a 1 game outcome that will crown a National Champion.

 

For a small size of stats of players I mentioned:

Ewing: 12.7/7.5/63.1, 17.1/10.2/57.0, 16.4/10/65.8, 14.6/9.2/62.5
Laettner: 8.9/4.7/72.3, 16.3/9.6/51.1, 19.8/8.7/57.5, 21.5/7.9/57.5
O'Bannon: 16.7/7.0/53.9, 18.2/8.8/48.4, 20.4/8.3/53.3

Again, these are some of players we remember as "big-time" college basketball players.

I watch enough college hoops every year, but I really don't connect with any program anymore because it's difficult to connect with players who leave after 12 games, it seems.

 

I'm just waiting for someone to come on here and say how great basketball is today. Sure, the NBA is going strong, but the college game isn't half of what it used to be.

And unless you remember the Big East and ACC of the 1980s, you are not allowed to comment on state of college basketball today.

 

1- This guy needs to start watching the B1G. If you think college basketball is boring you weren't watching MSU-IU yesterday or UM tOSU last week.

2- He looks at scoring numbers as if that's the end-all-be-all. Look at offensive efficiency. Wisconsin routinely scores 20 points in a half and they're 23rd in the nation in efficiency. And while we're at it, college basketball sucks because Tennessee, Vandy and N. Illinois had bad halves? Try watching good teams. The same day as the Vandy-Arkansas game he bemoans, IU scored 52 int he first half against Minny.

3- If any change needs to happen, it should be to get rid of the conference tourneys and go back to the regular season champs.

 

The official timeout every 4 minutes is terrible. How about we let these 18- to 22-year-olds go at it for 7 or 8 minutes at a time, if that's how the game is being played out. Four minutes. Stupid.

 

TV-

 

Who was the last great college basketball player? I mean a guy who stayed 3-4 years who you were 99 percent sure would be a stud in the NBA?

Tim Duncan?

 

I wrote TV at first but didn't know if it is officially called TV or official -- but same point.

It's too herky-jerky.

 

I think the NFL is proof that you can have it both ways... Right now, it's really the only sport that keeps most people's interest from kickoff of the first game all the way through the Super Bowl.

It's not a fair comparison. Especially when baseball plays 162 games and the NHL and NBA play 80+ games, but it is the only sport that manages to pull it off.

The thing is, college football could do it too...