Take this coming from a person who LOVES the tourney and watches almost every minute of it, but let's be honest...the NCAA does not come close to matching the play and intensity of the NBA playoffs.
First and foremost you have serious crowd involvement in most EVERY SINGLE GAME. No games in Utah pitting a Big East team against an SEC team, no games in New Orleans with 500 people in the stands. Virtually no games in the NCAA where fans HATE the other team. You have that A LOT in the NBA.
Also, basketball was just not meant to be played in football stadiums. I'm sorry, there is minimal intimacy and atmosphere in those gigantic stadiums. I cannot even imagine watching a basketball game from the upper deck of a football stadium, and some of that comes through on TV as well.
While the 'one and done' aspect of the NCAA is part of the excitement, it gives you no time to develop any animosity against the other team. So many six and seven game NBA series have been absolutely epic by the time they were done. You just don't have that in the NCAA, where games come and go at times in a total of 72 hours.
The NBA doesn't rely on gambling like the NCAA does. Admit it, part of the reason everyone is glued to the TV for the first and second rounds is because at that time EVERYONE is still alive in their March Madness pools, and still has dollar signs floating through their head. Who else would care about a 6-11 matchup between two teams where you cannot even name one player on either team?
Look at the posts from the early rounds of the NCAA tournament thread here. More people are commenting on how their bracket sheet is doing than are commenting on the games themselves. There are precious few who don't gamble on it, and watch the tournament only for what it is.
Level of play. The NBA is so far superior to the NCAA in skill level that it is almost staggering. Truth be told, while there are obviously future NBA impact players who just played in the NCAA, percentage wise not a lot of the players we just watched in March will even be able to hang in the NBA as a 12th man. Many are headed for the D-league, Europe, a desk, or are hoping to catch on as an assistant coach somewhere.
History. Part of the magic of the NBA is the possibility of rematches from year to year, both individual and team. Deep-seated hatred has the chance to ferment. The Spurs/Mavericks series has been building up to this point for years. You have Laker fans on this forum who hate Lebron based on years of regular seasons, even though they have not even met in the playoffs yet. If/when they do, it will be special.
The Duke team next year will be totally different than last year's Duke team. Kentucky will be unrecognizable. North Carolina will have a ton of new players...and probably be in the final four with a bunch of guys only die-hard recruiting fanatics have even heard of.
Would love to have seen a John Wall/Evan Turner matchup in the NCAA tournament. But it didn't happen, and it will never happen. Actually, it will...in the NBA!
Sandra
First and foremost you have serious crowd involvement in most EVERY SINGLE GAME. No games in Utah pitting a Big East team against an SEC team, no games in New Orleans with 500 people in the stands. Virtually no games in the NCAA where fans HATE the other team. You have that A LOT in the NBA.
Also, basketball was just not meant to be played in football stadiums. I'm sorry, there is minimal intimacy and atmosphere in those gigantic stadiums. I cannot even imagine watching a basketball game from the upper deck of a football stadium, and some of that comes through on TV as well.
While the 'one and done' aspect of the NCAA is part of the excitement, it gives you no time to develop any animosity against the other team. So many six and seven game NBA series have been absolutely epic by the time they were done. You just don't have that in the NCAA, where games come and go at times in a total of 72 hours.
The NBA doesn't rely on gambling like the NCAA does. Admit it, part of the reason everyone is glued to the TV for the first and second rounds is because at that time EVERYONE is still alive in their March Madness pools, and still has dollar signs floating through their head. Who else would care about a 6-11 matchup between two teams where you cannot even name one player on either team?
Look at the posts from the early rounds of the NCAA tournament thread here. More people are commenting on how their bracket sheet is doing than are commenting on the games themselves. There are precious few who don't gamble on it, and watch the tournament only for what it is.
Level of play. The NBA is so far superior to the NCAA in skill level that it is almost staggering. Truth be told, while there are obviously future NBA impact players who just played in the NCAA, percentage wise not a lot of the players we just watched in March will even be able to hang in the NBA as a 12th man. Many are headed for the D-league, Europe, a desk, or are hoping to catch on as an assistant coach somewhere.
History. Part of the magic of the NBA is the possibility of rematches from year to year, both individual and team. Deep-seated hatred has the chance to ferment. The Spurs/Mavericks series has been building up to this point for years. You have Laker fans on this forum who hate Lebron based on years of regular seasons, even though they have not even met in the playoffs yet. If/when they do, it will be special.
The Duke team next year will be totally different than last year's Duke team. Kentucky will be unrecognizable. North Carolina will have a ton of new players...and probably be in the final four with a bunch of guys only die-hard recruiting fanatics have even heard of.
Would love to have seen a John Wall/Evan Turner matchup in the NCAA tournament. But it didn't happen, and it will never happen. Actually, it will...in the NBA!
Sandra
Last edited:
