AAC Tourney

[CMJ]

The geography of the league is such that I wouldn't even how there the center would be.  Tennessee?

[greenminer]

2 hours ago, wardly said:

Guts,don't get your panties in a bunch but I would like your opinion on FT.Worth as the continuing location of the AAC tournament in March. [Disclaimer: at 81 I don't drive to night game games]. Looking at the very sparse attendance in a very nice 14,000 seat venue [ I have been to daytime basketball games there] during the cold weather in March is Dickies a good choice? I would think attendance might increase if our tournament was played in warmer climate and in a smaller venue. Just asking.

I personally love it at Dickies because it is 20 minutes away from me.  IMO it is also a fantastic venue for what we're trying to do*

But if attendance is a priority, they have to consider something more central to the entirety of the league.

*Billboard Mag end-of 2023 rankings has Dickies as the best venue in the world for for seating 10,001-15,000 capacity.

https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/2023/11/30/dickies-arena-fort-worth-billboard-top-venue/#:~:text=30%2C 2023 CST-,Dickies Arena ranked No.,capacity of 10%2C001 to 15%2C000.

[outoftown]

That game reaallly hurt FAUs metrics. Down to 39th from 33rd in NET. Those metrics were really one of the main argumnets in their favor. (apart from that win over Arizona). Frankly it would have been less dangerous had they lost a round earlier to UNT, as at least that would have been a Q2 rather than a Q4 loss. If the commitee really wants to get rid of them, they now gave them a good excuse with a third loss below Q2. If Temple wins, that really is the worst case for the conference.

[CMJ]

4 hours ago, outoftown said:

That game reaallly hurt FAUs metrics. Down to 39th from 33rd in NET. Those metrics were really one of the main argumnets in their favor. (apart from that win over Arizona). Frankly it would have been less dangerous had they lost a round earlier to UNT, as at least that would have been a Q2 rather than a Q4 loss. If the commitee really wants to get rid of them, they now gave them a good excuse with a third loss below Q2. If Temple wins, that really is the worst case for the conference.

Yeah, I actually wouldn't be stunned if FAU were left out to be honest.  Quad 4 losses are brutal.

[wardly]

9 hours ago, greenminer said:

I personally love it at Dickies because it is 20 minutes away from me.  IMO it is also a fantastic venue for what we're trying to do*

But if attendance is a priority, they have to consider something more central to the entirety of the league.

*Billboard Mag end-of 2023 rankings has Dickies as the best venue in the world for for seating 10,001-15,000 capacity.

https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/2023/11/30/dickies-arena-fort-worth-billboard-top-venue/#:~:text=30%2C 2023 CST-,Dickies Arena ranked No.,capacity of 10%2C001 to 15%2C000.

I agree on the ranking of Dickies but it didn't appear that we had a total of 14,000 fans for the entire men's tournament. I watched a number of tournaments this week and of the one's I saw ours looked the worst.

[Tommy Gadberry]

10 minutes ago, wardly said:

I agree on the ranking of Dickies but it didn't appear that we had a total of 14,000 fans for the entire men's tournament. I watched a number of tournaments this week and of the one's I saw ours looked the worst.

We had a lot of fans for the FAU game.  I was there.

[CMJ]

Even for the FAU game, the crowd was sparse looking on TV when compared to most leagues like ours.

 

 

Speaking of FAU, they fell to last four in in nearly every projection I've seen this morning.  That means they very likely could get booted.  Geez, if Temple wins today what a catastrophic tournament this will have been for the league.

[BigWillie]

2 hours ago, CMJ said:

Yeah, I actually wouldn't be stunned if FAU were left out to be honest.  Quad 4 losses are brutal.

Doesn't that hurt us more for NIT? Even if it was already a long shot.

[CMJ]

Just now, BigWillie said:

Doesn't that hurt us more for NIT? Even if it was already a long shot.

We are NOT getting into the NIT.  

[BigWillie]

3 minutes ago, CMJ said:

We are NOT getting into the NIT.  

Yeah, I know. Just trying to dream I guess.

[greenminer]

Complete forgot to factor in that Q4 loss for FAU.

Talk about a dagger to the heart.

[Andrew]

Gotta be rooting Temple on! Always love the underdog. 

[CMJ]

Temple getting the bid with a losing record would be an embarrassment for the conference.  Especially if FAU doesn't get in (which at this point I feel like has a 35-40% chance of happening).  

Edited March 17 by CMJ

[Andrew]

5 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Temple getting the bid with a losing record would be an embarrassment for the conference.  Especially if FAU doesn't get in (which at this point I feel like has a 35-40% chance of happening).  

I’m almost always an underdog rooter.

 

FAU and Memphis are the top two teams in the conference. With them out not sure it matters much. 

Edited March 17 by Andrew

[CMJ]

You should root for the league.  If we only get in one team, who may end up as a 16 seed....the AAC looks like a lower tier SWAC type of conference.  

Edited March 17 by CMJ

[wardly]

So being generous with our average home attendance being only 4,000 I'll give you half 0f that.

[Venson]

https://www.si.com/college/2024/03/17/amid-gambling-investigation-temple-mens-basketball-could-earn-ncaa-tournament-bid

There is a gambling investigation of Temple. I am usually not a conspiracy theorist, but hear me out. If this ends up being legit, it may explain the refs choking on their whistles in our game against FAU. The money was not to be made in Temple beating North Texas. The money was to be made in Temple beating FAU because they were a final four team last year. The amount of money one stands to win if Temple beat FAU was probably astronomical. The refs had to make sure that game happened. They couldn't let North Texas spoil that. There is no way Temple went from being trash all season to playing in the AAC Tournament championship game. Someone needs to look into friends, relatives, and acquaintances of these refs and see if someone won big during this tournament. Now my conspiracy rant is over.

[CMJ]

I mean, way back in the day NT made the SLC title game with like 6 wins (and that's with three wins in the conference tournament!).  Sometimes a team who has been bad all year gets on a roll.

[Big Z]

UAB up 63 to 43 with 11 mins left in the game 

[Matt from A700]

Since the low attendance at Dickies is getting widespread criticism on social media, I went and looked at what the midpoint of our weird 13-team league would be.

According to geomidpoint.com, the midpoint of our conference is in the sticks of Pickens County, Alabama, right on the state border with Mississippi, 100 miles west of Birmingham. The closest gym is New Hope High School in Columbus, MS. So I present to y'all the next host of the AAC Conference Tournament!:

Ironically, if you leave out Temple Island, you end up at Geyser Falls Waterpark in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

[MCMLXXX]

12 hours ago, outoftown said:

That game reaallly hurt FAUs metrics. Down to 39th from 33rd in NET. Those metrics were really one of the main argumnets in their favor. (apart from that win over Arizona). Frankly it would have been less dangerous had they lost a round earlier to UNT, as at least that would have been a Q2 rather than a Q4 loss. If the commitee really wants to get rid of them, they now gave them a good excuse with a third loss below Q2. If Temple wins, that really is the worst case for the conference.

More Bracketology with FAU in as 9 seed..

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/stadium-s-final-ncaa-tournament-projections/ar-BB1k3nZQ?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=fc1342f3b0e74b3c8a46b2b15b078fa5&ei=6

Edited March 17 by MCMLXXX

[CMJ]

32 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

Since the low attendance at Dickies is getting widespread criticism on social media, I went and looked at what the midpoint of our weird 13-team league would be.

According to geomidpoint.com, the midpoint of our conference is in the sticks of Pickens County, Alabama, right on the state border with Mississippi, 100 miles west of Birmingham. The closest gym is New Hope High School in Columbus, MS. So I present to y'all the next host of the AAC Conference Tournament!:

Ironically, if you leave out Temple Island, you end up at Geyser Falls Waterpark in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

I was thinking somewhere in Tennessee might be as centralized as we can get.  Maybe Knoxville just so Memphis wouldn't have homecourt advantage.

[Matt from A700]

2 minutes ago, CMJ said:

I was thinking somewhere in Tennessee might be as centralized as we can get.  Maybe Knoxville just so Memphis wouldn't have homecourt advantage.

Yeah if it had to be in one of the school's markets, undoubtedly Memphis would have the best attendance. But Memphis and even Birmingham aren't exactly glorious cities on the rise.

Other centralized cities in the Appalachians like Chattanooga or Asheville scream minor league. Asheville already hosts the SoCon. I would love Nashville if it didn't already host the SEC Tourney.

I would be fine with Atlanta. For those who couldn't drive, it's a big hub for Delta, my preferred airline.

If we want it to be a destination where people would be fine spending their Spring Break, I was thinking somewhere like Pensacola but then saw that's where the Sun Belt has it lol. Maybe NOLA or Savannah.

[greenminer]

Why did they move it to FW in the first place? The only reason I can think of is, the AAC offices are in DFW.

[CMJ]

That was the reason apparently.