That's four for CMP

[arcb102000]

In the last 5 NCAA tournaments, Gonzaga has gone to the Final Four and played in the National Title game 2 times, the Elite 8 once, and the Sweet 16 twice. We would kill for those two National title games.

Gonzaga plays in a weak conference but they have a lot of success in the tournament. Certainly, getting Number 1 seeds 4 out of those 5 tournaments have made their life easier but they have performed pretty well in support of those seed lines. I am confident they would have had a much tougher time getting those number 1 seeds had they played in the Big Ten or the Big 12 though.

I was educated by the Jesuits. My kids were educated by the Jesuits. I am generally sympathetic to Jesuits' schools of which Gonzaga is one.

Gonzaga has the benefit of playing in a conference that they have historically dominated. It has gained them a lot of prominence and they have performed well in the NCAA for the past few years.

I have thought about this and tried to reason why this is. Their record of consecutive appearances is large and that helps recruiting. But their conference does as well. Since they win the conference almost every year, they are able to give their players more rest during the season yet still win their games. Compare that to the Big Ten where it is very physical and even the lower standing teams can beat those on top in any given game. Essentially, even the best teams cannot really take a night off. That wears you down over a season; fatigue becomes a factor and injury is positively correlated with fatigue; especially at season's end.

Gonzaga has the advantage of coming into the tournament fresher than many other teams. I think that helps their performance a great deal.

Now you can posit that a weak conference hurts you if you do not win it or the conference championship tournament , but Gonzaga has dominated so much that it is less of a factor in their case. They get in based on reputation and record even if upset.

 

[delarno]

I was educated by the Jesuits. My kids were educated by the Jesuits. I am generally sympathetic to Jesuits' schools of which Gonzaga is one.

Gonzaga has the benefit of playing in a conference that they have historically dominated. It has gained them a lot of prominence and they have performed well in the NCAA for the past few years.

I have thought about this and tried to reason why this is. Their record of consecutive appearances is large and that helps recruiting. But their conference does as well. Since they win the conference almost every year, they are able to give their players more rest during the season yet still win their games. Compare that to the Big Ten where it is very physical and even the lower standing teams can beat those on top in any given game. Essentially, even the best teams cannot really take a night off. That wears you down over a season; fatigue becomes a factor and injury is positively correlated with fatigue; especially at season's end.

Gonzaga has the advantage of coming into the tournament fresher than many other teams. I think that helps their performance a great deal.

Now you can posit that a weak conference hurts you if you do not win it or the conference championship tournament , but Gonzaga has dominated so much that it is less of a factor in their case. They get in based on reputation and record even if upset.

Good perspective. I think the grind of the Big Ten vs the (mostly coasting) that Gonzaga does through the WCC season is an important point to make. Some people say it should not matter for college players due to their youth but I believe that thought process is wrong. Getting worn down in the Big Ten is a thing that hurts our conference. It is not the only thing though. The Big Ten seems to have less basketball talent on its rosters than some of the other conferences. I think Recruiting rankings will back that up. The Big Ten has great players but I think the depth of talent on the rest of the team is less than some other conferences.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

The Big Ten seems to have less basketball talent on its rosters than some of the other conferences. I think Recruiting rankings will back that up.

A lot of kids want to play basketball. Not Rassle-Ball.

 

[purduepat1969]

A lot of kids want to play basketball. Not Rassle-Ball.

Yep, this is the problem I have with Big Ten basketball. It's ridiculous how physical the play is allowed to be. And it absolutely impacts the teams in March...

 

[bonefish1]

Good perspective. I think the grind of the Big Ten vs the (mostly coasting) that Gonzaga does through the WCC season is an important point to make. Some people say it should not matter for college players due to their youth but I believe that thought process is wrong. Getting worn down in the Big Ten is a thing that hurts our conference. It is not the only thing though. The Big Ten seems to have less basketball talent on its rosters than some of the other conferences. I think Recruiting rankings will back that up. The Big Ten has great players but I think the depth of talent on the rest of the team is less than some other conferences.

I would tend to agree with this. There are some B10 schools that tend to have better athletes across the roster (MSU, Maryland, OSU, sometimes UM) but then there are some that look like they recruit right off the farm (Iowa, Wisc, NU).
This tends to lead to more possession type games but also slowing games down with defense, which leads to physical play.