2026 NCAA Tournament

[AkronAlumnus]

[clarkwgriswold]

Interesting article here about the causes of the death of the Cinderella-

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball/article/ncaa-tournament-if-cinderella-is-dead-who-or-what-is-to-blame-here-are-the-biggest-culprits-183114570.html

[ZipForNow]

1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Interesting article here about the causes of the death of the Cinderella-

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball/article/ncaa-tournament-if-cinderella-is-dead-who-or-what-is-to-blame-here-are-the-biggest-culprits-183114570.html

Conference realignment was the eye-opener for me. 

[kreed5120]

I don't think there is anything that can alter the path we're heading down. The only hope is the continued globalization of the sport. That way the gap between the 1000 best player and 100 best player continues to shrink. That's the long game though.

[Illini Zip]

11 minutes ago, ZipForNow said:

Conference realignment was the eye-opener for me. 

There is no reason a conference needs to be that big other than to consolidate power. And logistically it doesn’t even make sense for USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington be in the Big Ten. Not a fan. 

[ZipForNow]

1 hour ago, Illini Zip said:

There is no reason a conference needs to be that big other than to consolidate power. And logistically it doesn’t even make sense for USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington be in the Big Ten. Not a fan. 

Absolutely. That’s what I am saying. The article points out how awful conference realignment has been.

[Illini Zip]

Good news. Bad news. Good news, I haven’t heard anything more about over-inflated basketball balls. Bad news, the horn was stuck for a long time during the Illinois vs Iowa game. 🙄

[AkronAlumnus]

 

[AkronAlumnus]

UA Managers lost 49 - 24 to Arkansas Managers 

[kreed5120]

1 minute ago, AkronAlumnus said:

UA Managers lost 49 - 24 to Arkansas Managers 

They probably had more NIL /s

[Let'sGoZips94]

4 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

UA Managers lost 49 - 24 to Arkansas Managers 

 

After seeing the video, this is the least shocking result. 

[AkronAlumnus]

 

 

[ZIPS96]

Arkansas had a player who played 8 years overseas and they won the tournament. Northern Iowa was the only other mid-major their, so we are the Mid-Major Manager Champs

[Let'sGoZips94]

This needs to be fixed going forward. 

[Blue & Gold]

Let me float a potential conspiracy theory... does over-inflating the balls make it more difficult on 3 point-shooting teams (e.g., no soft bounces off the rims)?  If so that's how most (all?) lower seeds upset higher seeds.

[Let'sGoZips94]

4 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Let me float a potential conspiracy theory... does over-inflating the balls make it more difficult on 3 point-shooting teams (e.g., no soft bounces off the rims)?  If so that's how most (all?) lower seeds upset higher seeds.

 

100% think you're onto something. 

[kreed5120]

It won't happen, but I wish they would quit playing Final Four games in NFL stadiums.