The Big 12 Commissioner Announcing They Aren't Adding UConn To The Conference Is The Best Thing To Happen To College Basketball
Let me be very clear, I'm speaking on this strictly as a fan, as someone who loves college basketball probably too much. But the Big 12 commissioner coming out and saying they aren't adding UConn (and Gonzaga) to the conference is the best thing to happen to college basketball. Why? Because it keeps conferences the way it's supposed to be, relatively. I'm talking about the Big East specifically here.
It's the one conference that remains to make sense. It's a true round robin. You have rivalries that have been rivals forever with UConn, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall, Providence, etc. Yes, they expanded and added Xavier, Creighton and Butler, but those teams have worked out. It hasn't diminished the league. But getting UConn back after the split only for them to leave immediately after winning a title would be fucking stupid. Again, I understand it from a money aspect for UConn, but fuck that. We're fans here. We're not worried about how much money a school gets.
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This isn't saying the Big 12 wouldn't have been an awesome conference, we would have rarely seen anything like it if they added these teams. I just want games to matter. That's the biggest battle with college basketball for casual fans. They all scream about how the regular season doesn't matter. Losing rivalry games or conferences that make sense would be awful. I would have preferred Gonzaga in the Big 12 just so we wouldn't have the same argument with them every year, but it also would have killed the WCC.
Not to be nostalgic but I miss the old days. I miss the 9-team ACC. I miss when the Big 10 meant there were 10 teams in the conference. I miss west coast basketball already. But the Big East is the one conference that feels the closest to how it's supposed to be. It's still not right to not have Syracuse, Boston College, etc there. But it's still a round-robin. It still has rivalries. It feels like a basketball conference. You have national title winners. You have the names. That's all I want. I'm a fan and don't ask for much. Just stop realignment now after this news.