Reaction to the weekend's games; is college basketball unwatchable?

by Joel Hollingsworth on Jan 11, 2010 12:00 PM EST in Rocky Top Talking Points

Around the SB Nation today:

Bucky's 5th Quarter says that Wisconsin knocking Purdue from the ranks of the undefeated merely keeps the Badgers in the heart of the Big Ten title race. Hammer and Rails reacts to the end of the Boilermaker's quest for perfection.
Carolina March, on the Tarheels' 78-64 victory over Virginia Tech. Whether cause and effect or coincidental timing, Hokies blog Gobbler Country says that college basketball has become unwatchable.
Maryland blog Testudo Times can't imagine the 76-68 win over Florida State going much better.
With Ryan Mallett returning, Arkansas Expats turns to other questions surrounding the Razorback football program.

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Ridiculous story on Gobbler County

Points out nuances in the game that have changed and somehow made the sport unwatchable. I watch the games to support my alma maters first and foremost. I imagine that’s why most fans watch the games. If you’re more bothered by the style of the game than just being happy and/or satisfied watching your team play, then I think the problem starts with you.

Cannons... fire them.

Buc'Em - SBNation's home for discussion of all things regarding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

by Craig T on Jan 11, 2010 12:45 PM EST reply actions

Yea

And to say the NBA is a more watchable product…

"I can't hear you, Rocky Top is playing."

by Getoffmyvols on Jan 11, 2010 12:53 PM EST up reply actions

i think it's more like Virginia Tech basketball is unwatchable

by golfballs03 on Jan 12, 2010 9:20 AM EST up reply actions

I found yesterday's game very watchable.

Lou Brock loves Lamp.

by birdjam on Jan 11, 2010 1:02 PM EST reply actions

Imminently watchable!

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti

by sddbaker on Jan 11, 2010 1:33 PM EST up reply actions

I really don't know what he's talking about

College basketball isn’t the sport I follow most, by any means. It’s probably fourth behind baseball (pro, of course….he’s right that college baseball is entirely unwatchable) and both types of football, but every time I watch a game, I find the sport imminently watchable. The NBA, on the other hand, is the epitome of “unwatchable.” No teamwork of any kind, no passing… It’s just people repeatedly running up and down the floor shooting fallaway jump shots and making them. It’s almost sensory overload. The players are so athletic and ridiculous that it’s not actually interesting at all. I would watch a random game (not involving my team) from almost any sport before I would watch a random NBA game.

I also don’t watch nearly as many random college basketball games as I used to, but it’s a product of me not having nearly as much time on my hands as I used to. Back when I watched a giant amount of college basketball, I was in junior high and early high school and really had nothing better to do with my time on the weekends. At this point, the only games that are appointment viewing for me in any sport are games involving my team, unless it’s the Super Bowl or the World Series or something. Even with college football. In early November, I wasn’t saying to myself that I had to drop everything and go watch the LSU-Alabama game, for instance.

by nirwin on Jan 11, 2010 2:30 PM EST reply actions

It seems to be a matter of taste more than anything else.

I’m still more partial to watching the Lady Vols than even the men’s team – even after handing the Bradshaw/Lofton work ethic down to McBee. I’m a huge team sport kinda guy. In basketball, the amount of teamwork necessary seems to decrease as you go from NBA to men’s college to women’s college, which explains my preference. That’s also why I like football so much; if you try to rely on one guy too much, the other team can always find a way to take him out of the equation (excluding injuries). And you absolutely have to rely on the other 10 players on the field to do their job right, even if it means a wide receiver blocking downfield.

But I understand the appeal to raw athleticism that drives NBA interest. He’s entitled to his preference, and I’m ok with that. But I still have zero interest in NBA basketball myself.

And hockey is highly underrated.

by David Hooper on Jan 11, 2010 2:58 PM EST reply actions