At this point, I would take anything except the MAAC. We need broader exposure that the MAAC just does not provide in NYC area. We need exposure in Boston, Wash, and Philly. CAA, A10, and Patriot provide all of that.
Apparently Jimmy Patsos wouldn't. However, the PL Championship game in Boston had 2,633 fans (almost 1,000 more than at the MAAC Championship game) at BU's Agganis Arena with American going to the NCAA Tournament and BU going to the NIT.
I would hardly say that Loyola was re-building this year. They started 2 seniors and one junior, who were all prominent players on their Championship team. Plus they still had Dylon Cormier on the team, who was All MAAC and All Patriot.
I knew that Loyola would sink when they went to the Patriot, but I did not think it would happen so quickly this year. Two direct signs of this decline was Patsos leaving, and them drawing only 300 for the Patriot League Tourney game. It is likely that their program will fall below Holy Cross and Fordham, two programs who fell after they joined the Patriot. Boston Univ is still loaded from their days in the A-East, but they will be successful for 2 more years before they fall.
And for BU to have a home game for the Patriot Championship for an NCAA berth, and only draw as much as Fairfield’s Senior night..... kind of says it all.
Apparently Jimmy Patsos wouldn't. However, the PL Championship game in Boston had 2,633 fans (almost 1,000 more than at the MAAC Championship game) at BU's Agganis Arena with American going to the NCAA Tournament and BU going to the NIT.
Well they should get 2,633 at BU. It was on their home court. And if Iona as the higher seed had hosted Manhattan, you think the atmosphere would have been off the charts for that championship game? I do. Yes I know some people love the tournament being played all at one place so they can spend a few days and party and have fun watching a series of important games, especially if they are not so myopic that a Stag game is the only thing they care about. I get that and I love going to tournaments. However the home seed setup in these mid level tournaments certainly has a couple of advantages over the one location idea, not the least of which is the aforementioned electricity that comes across to all those in attendance and watching on television. And quite frankly this setup is much more fair and rewarding to the team that has had the better record during the regular season. All that said there obviously is a great chance for the home side to get bounced as BU last night, and Robert Morris in the NEC a couple nights earlier, unfortunately found out the hard way.
Had the MAAC followed the PL format of playing on campus games at the higher seed over 9 days rather than at the 7,331 seat Mass Mutual Center then the 2014 MAAC Tournament would have looked like this:
First Round: Monmouth at Rider Fairfield at St. Peter's Niagara at Marist
Quarter Final Round: Rider at Iona (2,611 sell out ?) Siena at Canisius (2,176 sell out ?) St. Peter's at Manhattan (2,345 sellout ?) Niagara at Quinnipiac (3,000 ?)
Semi Final Round: Canisius at Iona (2,611 sell out) Quinnipiac at Manhattan (2,345 sellout)
MAAC Championship game: Manhattan at Iona (2,611 sell out)
Home Court Advantage: Iona - 3 of all 3 games Manhattan - 2 of the 3 games
I'm sure that Jimmy Patsos can't wait for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 MAAC Basketball Tournaments to be played on his home court and in front of their usual 6,500+ Siena Saints fans.
Post by curioustag on Mar 13, 2014 13:42:16 GMT -5
Joe Stag, it was a packed arena with energy. Forget the #'s....the Palestra holds less than AYH. Wouldn't you want to play where there is a vibe? The MAAC Tourney looks like a joke on TV. American had students go to Boston yet Manhattan had a handful go to Springfield.
Respectfully, the PL #'s are better and the environment was better.
I like the Patriot League tourney format. Not only does the higher seed get the home game, but they also put some time between the games. Thus a team doesn't need to win games on three or four consecutive days.
That being said, I agree that Loyola will likely sink like a stone in basketball. Patsos, for all of his flaws, brought an energy to the games and the crowd (not to mention very strong connections in MD from his days with the Terrapins). His departure set them back quite a bit.
One could arguably say the same thing about Cooley's departure. Nothing against Johnson, but Ed brought an energy to the table that few recent Fairfield coaches had. I think there is something to be said for guys like Cooley and Patsos. They inject a certain level of intensity and toughness that is hard to duplicate after they leave.
Post by brokenboat on Mar 13, 2014 14:25:23 GMT -5
Would I trade places with Loyola? Answer: YES!
Yet, I still think the MAAC is a superior basketball conference in every conceivable way. PL fan bases are truely apathetic. That being said, the rest of the sports are superior in the PL and there is a much wider gap in the academic and perception levels. PL all day every day.
The admin has made it known they are not aiming for a PL invite for whatever reason, I am hopeful the CAA can squeeze us in in the next year or two. (Siena & FF package deal?)
Last Edit: Mar 13, 2014 14:26:00 GMT -5 by brokenboat
Joe Stag, it was a packed arena with energy. Forget the #'s....the Palestra holds less than AYH. Wouldn't you want to play where there is a vibe? The MAAC Tourney looks like a joke on TV. American had students go to Boston yet Manhattan had a handful go to Springfield.
Respectfully, the PL #'s are better and the environment was better.
I thought the MAAC finals were much better. I must have been watching a different BU game, as it was not packed, and BU fans seemed to be sitting on their hands waiting for a hockey goal to be scored. American made a nice showing, but just because they brought a few hundred fans, does not mean there is any sort of interest in Patriot Basketball. For Boston University to have so few fans there for home game that meant an NCAA Bid...... speaks volumes.
For the MAAC being on ESPN in prime time, means that they had 10 times as many fans watching, than a BU-American game being played on CBS Sportsnet
Post by curioustag on Mar 13, 2014 14:41:30 GMT -5
But...Joe Stag, they had 1,700 people for a MAAC Final where there were NO STUDENTS. Massiello asked where the fans were in his postgame speech??? How is that better??
I love you man but you seriously have this one wrong. Springfield looked like a dead zone and only the final was on an ESPN channel not accessible by the internet.
Didn't we go 1-2 vs. the PL this year? Not sure how we are attractive to the CAA, other than in Lax, but what do I know.
We also went 1-0 vs the CAA this year.... that means nothing, just like going 1-2 vs the Patriot means nothing. Having a Bad season certainly hurts our chances, but the CAA will look at our Program and our entire body of work, not just one season's results. Loyola is in a dead end situation. They made the decision and they now have to suffer the consequenses.