It’s easy to simply say, “The NCAA Tournament,” when asked what’s best about college basketball. However, the sport which will once again become a part of our lives through early April is about more than just the Dance.
Yes, casual sports fans view college basketball as a March-only entity, but those who love the sport love it for everything it offers… and accept the flaws because the charms are so intoxicatingly sweet.
We convene a roundtable — the first of many — as part of our 2015-2016 college hoops preview here at The Student Section. Lead college basketball columnist Joseph Nardone joins staff writer Ryan Palencer and yours truly, as we give you three views on the sport before its new season begins:
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Q: What is the best thing about college basketball?
JOSEPH NARDONE
The sense of urgency in each game. As a fan of a team which is regularly (though only slightly) below-average, the balance of the season is weighed every time that team takes the court. That is missing in the professional ranks and is only matched by college football. For me, at least, every game feels more like a special event than it does a singular game between two programs. That sense of importance in the air makes my insides feel warm.
The passion of the fan bases is something to enjoy as well. Atmosphere isn’t something we should brag about liking, because it is the sport we should celebrate, but there’s nothing like soaking in the environment of fans going bonkers for games.
RYAN PALENCER
The drama and the passion of each big game. There is nothing better than watching a primetime game between two bitter rivals on national television. Even without being in the building itself, you can just feel the nervous energy with each possession and situation. Then, down the stretch, the tension builds until it’s nearly unbearable. While other sports have the same type of energy, basketball is supreme in this regard, because the speed of the game allows the momentum to swing very quickly. Abrupt 7-0 or 9-2 runs happen that decide a game in an unexpected way.
There is just nothing like being in a packed house watching history unravel that way.
Much as the tension and passion builds during a game, that same escalation of suspense occurs when the season schedule advances into conference play and then the conference tournaments. There’s so much to like about the sport even before you get to the NCAA tournament.
MATT ZEMEK
The NCAA tournament is so easily separated from the rest of college basketball, viewed as the only thing that matters by a lot of fans… and understandably so.
Yet, the sport is bigger than that. What’s really the best element of this sport, in a way which transcends the Big Dance itself?
I would say this: In college basketball, more than in football, teams with dramatically different levels of resources can unite in saying they had a successful season.
Did losing to Wichita State sting Kansas? Without question. Yet, winning the Big 12 with one of Bill Self’s more limited and flawed rosters represents a very special accomplishment for the Jayhawks. They had a successful season under the circumstances.
Stephen F. Austin rolled through the Southland again, even though everyone in the league was gunning for the Lumberjacks. That’s a successful season.
North Carolina Central went 16-0 in the MEAC regular season. That’s a success, even with the Eagles’ subsequent loss in the conference tournament. I have said, by the way, that if a team goes unbeaten in its conference, it deserves a protected at-large berth. The winner of the MEAC tournament goes to the Big Dance, but NCCU does as well… instead of an underachieving seventh-place team in a power conference.
Excellence can be recognized and appreciated more in college hoops. In college football, a couple of 6-6 teams play in a bowl game. College basketball possesses more competitive virtues along those (comparative) lines.