omnicarrier Wrote:Most of the times I would agree with you, but the 2006 BET was something magical. If beforehand the basketball gods said its either those 4 days and a 1st round loss to a no-name program or a loss in the BE semis to G'Town and then a loss to either LSU or Duke - I'd definitely take those 4 days.
Yes, it *was* magical, because the Big East is, along with the ACC, one of the two conferences in which the conference tournament title is more prestigious than the regular season title. In the spotlight at Madison Square Garden, with rivals like SY/GT/St John's/UConn/Villanova going at it? Can't beat it.
Heck, i'm a Georgetown fan, and even though we haven't won the BE tourney in 17 years, i damn well know we've won 6 of them, while i don't have a clue as to how many regular season titles we've won. The loss to your Orangemen hurt last week precisely because of that. Likewise, McNamera's heroics were magnified.
And historically, winning the BE tourney was a stepping-stone to bigger things. All 3 times Georgetown made the final 4, they did so after winning the BE tourney. UConn's two national titles came on the heels of winning it as well.
Problem is, IIRC, this is the 2nd straight year Syracuse won the BE tourney then flopped in the first round of the NCAAs. That harms the conference, because it harms the prestige of the BE tourney, makes it look not so important from a national perspective. Sad ...