WH

"It is what it is," all right -- unfair.

You obviously don't care that Syracuse and others like it have an unfair advantage in college hoops, and that's fine. Like you said, it is what it is, and what it is is unfair.

No complaint from me, though. I'd do the same in Syracuse's position. Boheim's job is to look out for No. 1, and that's what he does, no matter all the sniping about the program's noncon sked from the likes of Dickie V. It wouldn't bother me except to see Boheim cry when his team doesn't get an at-large bid. Credit to you kickman for not crying about it.

Yet this talk about how wonderful the Orangemen are to provide pay days for all those small schools is laughable. The system is rigged in favor of BCS teams such as Cuse. Why pretend otherwise?

Obviously, you don't care about your school being fair, just like I don't care about the Sox being fair. You take every advantage you can get in the system that exists.

Personally, I wish baseball were like football, and it would not bother me at all if the Sox had to compete with the same salary cap as any other team.

I'd like to see the same sort of fairness in the NCAA, but the chance of that happening is no greater than the chance of Syracuse going on the road more than once or twice to visit a nonconference opponent, especially on their court.

Aint gonna happen.

ktabz16

i think umass played more games away from home LAST year.

it'll be fun kicking your *** in the dome. with your zone and our shooting, you could be in trouble. or we could shoot 5-26 and you'll win by 20.

and btw, who the **** plays basketball in a dome and expects some respect???

Bounced

"The RPI was updated in 2004 to account for differences in home and away games. A home win now counts as 0.6 win, while a road win counts as 1.4 wins."


Ratings Percentage Index

kickball

What system ??? Syracuse has drawn over 1/2 million fans in a season and it's always +350,000 fans every season. Syracuse & Boeheim take a chance to build a Dome stadium and become an orginal member of a Conference that people laughed at. Any yes, it does help area Upstate schools. Win your games and the NCAA bid follows. SU's record speaks for itself with 1706 wins at a 0.686 winning pct with a NCAA current high 37 consecutive winning seasons. In fact, Boeheim was b*tching to expand the NCAAs way before selection Sunday last March. Talk to CBS and ratings.

kickball

btw .... 945 of those 1706 wins have included Boeheim as either a player, assistant Coach or head Coach.

clark1

Lets petition the Big East conference to allow Syracuse to play only home games, no road league games. Then, lets hear what's fair and righteous!


Ghost of Mo Money!

Free Quebec

And therein lies the real reason Boeheim doesn't play on the road OOC -- he's as cowardly as cowardly can be.

He's afraid of losing.

He simply can't compete OOC without the home court edge, and on the road he'll never play a mid-major. Ever.

I honestly don't think there's ever been a more cowardly coach in NCAA basketball history.

And I'm saying this as a GW fan who's coach doesn't like to play mid-majors, but at least Hobbs plays more than 1 tough road game a year and will actually go on the road to play teams like BU or Binghamton, where there is a significantly heightened possibly of an embarrassing loss. And at least GW's fans are upset about the apparent no mid-majors scheduling philosophy. By comparison Syracuse's fan base seems as cowardly as their coach.

The bottom line: Jum Boeheim is afraid to play on the road because he's a coward and because he's not a good enough coach to win consistently on the road.

clark1

Boeheimophobia = fear of true OOC road games. Afflicts major college programs, known as the bcs, happens usually around November/December. By January its gone. A similar disease is Calhounophobia, slightly different, same time of the year.

Ghost of Carry On, NCAA.

Dr. Jack

Why is everyone jumping on poor Jimmy B? After all, he actually plays way more road games than Pitt...

waggy

Of even more note is that every one of those road games is against a BCS conference school. The ACC/Big 10 Challenge is just more of the same BS.

Ghost of Keeping it in the Family.

WH

Maybe college basketball doesnt have an official system like college football with the BCS, but a "system" of sorts has developed in college basketball, too. That's why most of the basketball schools that are members of BCS football leagues also got most of the NCAA at-large bids.

I find it curious, kickman, that you simply cannot admit the system, or setup, or nature of NCAA college basketball is patently unfair and benefits schools such as Syracuse, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, UNC and Michigan State. Instead you talk about how the Orangemen are doing smaller schools financial favors or talking about the big "risk" Syracuse took in building the dome. Some risk. Every big BCS school has a big stadium or arena. I suspect Cuse built the Dome more for football than basketball, but you would know better.

If I thought of college basketball as anything other than a game -- I don't, which is why I don't complain about the system - it's antithetical to the American Way.

It's not at all a Democracy or even a Republic where everyone is supposed to have a say or at least a chance at equal opportunity (however unfully realized). It's much more like a Royal system with a few members entrenched in the Aristocracy and the rest of the people a bunch of commoners, only a few of whom ever get the chance to rise about their station (lately Gonzaga).

All I can gather is, you think you are a fair person and that your school is fair when it comes to athletics. If that's the case, you sure do have an odd definition of fair. But like you say, it is what it is.

Palestra1

When the state, through a grant, not a loan or bonds, covers more than half the cost ($15MM out of $27MM total) of construction, I wouldn't exactly consider that "taking a chance".

The rest of your argument is a simply an attempt to rationalize the competitive advantage that teams in BCS conferences have over schools that are not in BCS conferences. First you attempted to claim that SU specifically doesn't have an advantage because of the allegedly large number of OOC road games they play. Of course, your assertion is nonsense since SU has for years played few OOC road games. I understand it's in SU's interest to do so, but it doesn't negate the fact that it does provide them with an advantage. Then you make the "it's a meritocracy" argument, citing the risks SU took investing in the Carrier Dome and the fact that SU has in fact run a very successful program. The problem is it isn't a meritocracy. It's oligarchy and membership has depended in some instances on simply "being there". UCONN, for example, was not a power in either football or basketball at the time the BE was formed. Good for them that they have used BE membership to develop a strong BB program, but investment and success came AFTER BE membership not before.

It's ultimately a pointless debate since the scheduling practices of SU and other BCS schools aren't going to change any time soon. I probably shouldn't have responded, but I thought that someone ought to point out the facts about SU's risk exposure regarding the Dome.

kickball