Better season - Creighton or Wichita State?

[Ali]

The fact that Creighton leaves the Valley forever with both the regular season and Arch Madness titles makes those a bit more important maybe.

[indymoon]

Both teams had (or are still having) great years. I’ve always placed additional emphasis on winning a regular season conference championship for several reasons. First, it has to be the team’s #1 goal at the start of the year because teams play to win every game. Second, these are rival teams, played twice a year on a home/away basis so the teams know each other. Sure, players graduate and move on but teams always have returning players and a similar style of play. Third, it’s a 2-3 month test that really challenges a team. Can the team learn from a close game? Will the team bounce back from a tough loss? Who will step up when the star has a rough shooting night or foul trouble?

Another factor is that teams in a conference indicates similar standards for admission and athletics. That’s not necessarily the case in the NCAA tournament where there's a much broader spectrum.

[shoxrox]

Says the mid-major fan. Talk to the average Kentucky fan. They don't know who won the MVC or that WSU was in the S16 in 2006. Neither matters next year. Whoever said Final Fours are all that matters is correct.

The average fan, one that only pays attention around tournament time remembers Butler and VCU, maybe George Mason but even that run is forgettable now.

WSU has had the better season but neither season means anything yet.

I think you guys can make a Final Four run but you won't have any long term returns coming your way yet.

I dunno. I still hear national pundits talk about SIU's run in the 2000's. And they're not even relevant anymore.

So SIU's run was pretty much meaningless?

Some of you people are really downplaying playing into the second weekend of this thing. The media attention between last week and this week is not even comparable. Valley titles are nice but everybody plays for what happens in the NCAA's. That's not debatable.

[AndShock]

The "average" UK fan probably can't name any of the national champions over the last 10 years besides Kentucky. College basketball fans definitely know Wichita State had a run a few years ago and like Fever mentioned, they know that SIU had a great run in the 2000s.

[uniftw]

Give it a week or so and honestly I think MVC Titles for regular season and Conf Title trump one more win in NCAA's. Here's why. Right now of course we would rather trade spots with you because we would (like you guys do now) have a chance to advance in the NCAA. However, if you guys lose your next game against La Salle, you will be just as dissapointed as Jays fans are right now. With the taste fresh in our mouths, it is easy to say WSU's win to get to the sweet 16 was more important than our 2 Titles...However, lose your next game and your last win will not feel so sweet anymore. Kind of like Creighton's win against Cincinnati, not so sweet anymore, all we remember now is our loss against Duke. Same concept. Your win is sweet now, but lose to La Salle, It's all for nothing in a sense. You can't take Creightons Championships away from them, they are already set in stone. The truth is the season always ends on a downer, unless you either 1- Win the National Championship or 2. Make it as far as you thought realistically possible and lose to a team you felt you had no realistic chance of beating. Otherwise you will always think man we could of beat them, and be dissapointed with the loss.

It's not over yet though, win one or two more games and then you will have sealed this discussion. As an Elite 8 or Final Four for sure would be satisfying, even if you were to lose in the Final 4.

I'll gladly give the 2009-2010 regular season conference title to any team that wants it....I'll keep the S16 from that season.


WSU wins.

[uniftw]

Says the mid-major fan. Talk to the average Kentucky fan. They don't know who won the MVC or that WSU was in the S16 in 2006. Neither matters next year. Whoever said Final Fours are all that matters is correct.

The average fan, one that only pays attention around tournament time remembers Butler and VCU, maybe George Mason but even that run is forgettable now.

WSU has had the better season but neither season means anything yet.

I think you guys can make a Final Four run but you won't have any long term returns coming your way yet.

I dunno. I still hear national pundits talk about SIU's run in the 2000's. And they're not even relevant anymore.

So SIU's run was pretty much meaningless?

Some of you people are really downplaying playing into the second weekend of this thing. The media attention between last week and this week is not even comparable. Valley titles are nice but everybody plays for what happens in the NCAA's. That's not debatable.

I've seen the Ali Farokhmanesh shot about 15 times in the last 2 weeks....know how many I've seen highlights from Creightons regular season conference title? Outside of talking about the WSU/CU match up during the CU games...none.

[shocktheheart]

Says the mid-major fan. Talk to the average Kentucky fan. They don't know who won the MVC or that WSU was in the S16 in 2006. Neither matters next year. Whoever said Final Fours are all that matters is correct.

The average fan, one that only pays attention around tournament time remembers Butler and VCU, maybe George Mason but even that run is forgettable now.

WSU has had the better season but neither season means anything yet.

I think you guys can make a Final Four run but you won't have any long term returns coming your way yet.

I dunno. I still hear national pundits talk about SIU's run in the 2000's. And they're not even relevant anymore.

So SIU's run was pretty much meaningless?

Some of you people are really downplaying playing into the second weekend of this thing. The media attention between last week and this week is not even comparable. Valley titles are nice but everybody plays for what happens in the NCAA's. That's not debatable.

I've seen the Ali Farokhmanesh shot about 15 times in the last 2 weeks....know how many I've seen highlights from Creightons regular season conference title? Outside of talking about the WSU/CU match up during the CU games...none.

Totally agree. I remember where I was when Farokhmanesh hit that shot and I'm not even a UNI fan.

[rlh04d]

I'll gladly give the 2009-2010 regular season conference title to any team that wants it....I'll keep the S16 from that season.

WSU wins.

I honestly didn't even remember that UNI won the regular season that year. But I'll never forget your Sweet 16 run.

It makes complete sense that Creighton fans would be confused on this issue ... they've never been there, so they don't know the benefits. Most other MVC fans have enjoyed this same level of success, so they know exactly what it means. And UNI more than anyone ... knocking off Kansas as a 1 seed was legendary. I'm not sure advancing to the Elite 8 tonight would out-do that.

Here's the thing: Wichita State has probably received more press and TV coverage in the last week than Creighton did in the entire season combined. And that's with a POY candidate and being ranked for most of the year. Take away those and just have a "normal" MVC regular season championship year and they're not even comparable. We've been on ESPN every single day. We've had articles in the New York Times. I've read dozens of articles on the team in the last week, and I don't think I've even scratched the surface.

[agrinut]

I'll gladly give the 2009-2010 regular season conference title to any team that wants it....I'll keep the S16 from that season.

WSU wins.

I honestly didn't even remember that UNI won the regular season that year. But I'll never forget your Sweet 16 run.

It makes complete sense that Creighton fans would be confused on this issue ... they've never been there, so they don't know the benefits. Most other MVC fans have enjoyed this same level of success, so they know exactly what it means. And UNI more than anyone ... knocking off Kansas as a 1 seed was legendary. I'm not sure advancing to the Elite 8 tonight would out-do that.

Here's the thing: Wichita State has probably received more press and TV coverage in the last week than Creighton did in the entire season combined. And that's with a POY candidate. Take away McDermott and the amount of coverage isn't even comparable.

Agreed
WSU > Doug
Doug > CU
CU > BU + DU + UNI + SIU + ISUr + ISU + MSU + UE

[rlh04d]

I can name every mid-major team that's made the Sweet 16 since 2006 off the top of my head.

Says the mid-major fan. Talk to the average Kentucky fan. They don't know who won the MVC or that WSU was in the S16 in 2006. Neither matters next year. Whoever said Final Fours are all that matters is correct.

The average fan, one that only pays attention around tournament time remembers Butler and VCU, maybe George Mason but even that run is forgettable now.

WSU has had the better season but neither season means anything yet.

I think you guys can make a Final Four run but you won't have any long term returns coming your way yet.

That's absurd.

Of course the average Kentucky fan can't name the mid-major Sweet 16 teams. But every single year, the underdogs in the Sweet 16 are hyped. I could literally link you more than 100 articles that have been written about WSU in the last week.

As I said, the average fan on the street can't name the Sweet 16 teams from last year. Almost all of them can name the Sweet 16 teams from THIS year, though. And the average fan on the street doesn't even know the MVC exists. There's no doubt a Final Four has more lasting importance ... no on would ever argue that. But to say that a Sweet 16 isn't very important for the national prestige of a team is insane for a fan of a team that is only remembered today because of two Sweet 16 teams in the last decade.