It's time for a midseason college basketball tournament

February 02, 2021

Tipoff: A Super Idea

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us, a time that traditionally marks the season when the casual sports fan turns attention from the goliath known as American football to the exquisite majesty of the sport of basketball. The lack of an NFL Pro Bowl this year left a wider-than-normal gap in the viewing options of sports fan. College basketball failed to capitalize as just two ranked teams - Houston and Ohio State - took the court this past Sunday. It is past time for college basketball to capture the attention of sports fans by making better use of the pre-Super Bowl lull. It is time for college basketball to adopt a mid-season tournament.

The idea of a mid-season tournament has been tossed around the NBA recently. The basic idea is to jazz up the middle of the regular season with a big event that means something more than an all-star game or dunk contest. In a college basketball version, the winning teams could get an automatic birth to the NCAA Tournament incentivize teams and fans alike. There are already preseason tournaments like the Maui Invitational and Preseason NIT. The PK80, a Nike-sponsored event held in November 2018 to celebrate the 80th birthday (just 10 months late!) of company founder Phil Knight gives another model. By expanding the mid-season tournament to include hundreds of NCAA teams in concurrent competitions, the event could take a whole week and fill the broadcasting whole before the Super Bowl.

Holding the mid-season tournament in late January would also give casual sports fans a primer on who’s-who. They would instantly get caught up on the good players and teams that season, a problem that results when the best players graduate or go pro at the end of each college basketball season. They might fall in love with a team like Drake, an underdog that got ranked in the AP Poll just this week for the first time in ages. It also gives them a chance to find out about the teams and players to watch when the NCAA Tournament begins in 6 weeks. This idea is almost too big to pass, which is also why the NCAA will completely ignore it. Prove me wrong, NCAA! It’s a good idea and I won’t even take the credit if you pull it off! Ask Phil Knight for help; he’s got another birthday coming up in a few weeks and might feel generous.

Weekly Recap

What happened in college basketball last week? We recap who won big, who lost, who got injured, and how did the landscape of college basketball change over the week.

  • John Chaney Passed Away: The former Temple Owls head coach was a legend and, along with John Thompson II, represented one of the pioneers for Black coaches in the college game. Chaney often recruited overlooked players from underrepresented neighborhoods. His teams were famous for playing tough while relying on the matchup zone defense. He had incredible success once he was able to get the opportunity to coach and had 5 Elite 8 appearances in the 1980’s through the early 2000’s, falling just shy of the elusive Final Four. He also was known for his fiery personality, such as the time he hung up the phone when the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame called to inform him that he was elected to the Hall or, more infamously, threatened to kill John Calipari after one game (the two later became friends).

  • Upset Saturday. Top 25 teams had a rough go of it as #8 Virginia, #9 Alabama, #11 West Virginia, #14 Wisconsin, #15 Kansas, #16 Florida State, and #21 Minnesota all lost. Kansas has now lost 4 of its last 5 games and finds itself at risk of falling out of the Top 25 for the first time since the week of January 26, 2009. The latest AP poll has KU at #23. The Jayhawks stretch of being ranked is the longest consecutive streak in college basketball history.

  • Jalen Johnson Submitted an Application for Dunk of the Year. The question, of course, is which Jalen Johnson? The one at Wake Forest? The one at Alabama A&M? The one at Mississippi State? Seriously, there are too many Jalen Johnsons! This time, it was the one at Duke. The former top 25 recruit and future NBA draft pick got the steal against Clemson, sized up PJ Hall running to the rim, and absolutely posterized the defender while drawing the and-1. Hall must have thought he had a chance to jump with Johnson. He miscalculated the situation (NSFW warning for both content and language).

Tuesday Superlatives

Each week, we will shine a light on a team and an individual player that has captured the hearts of the world of college basketball.

  • Team of the Week: IllinoisIt has been a bit of an up-and-down year for the Illini. The early-season brought a close loss to Baylor and then a big win over Duke on the road. That Duke win looks less impressive now that the Blue Devils have struggled much of the season. Illinois then went and lost to Missouri and had just a 5-3 record in the B1G entering last week. Brad Underwood’s team got a signature win last Friday night over Luka Garza and the Iowa Hawkeyes behind the efforts of Trent Frazier and Ayo Dosunmu, who scored 24 and 25 points, respectively. Iowa Head Coach was not in the mood to discuss the game afterwards.

  • Player of the Week: Isaiah LiversElsewhere in the B1G, senior forward Isaiah Livers has been on an absolute tear, hitting 70% of his 3-point attempts in the last week while averaging 21 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3 assists in wins over Maryland and on the road against Purdue. Livers has thrived playing for second-year head coach Juwan Howard and has had a productive senior year after suffering through injuries as a junior.

Four Point Play

Each Tuesday, we’ll check in with one of our podcast hosts and see what they’re up to in addition to producing compelling content for us at The Field of 68.

This week, we check in with former Purdue standout Robbie Hummel, co-host of The Goodman & Hummel podcast (available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts).

1. You are a 3-time member of the All-Big Ten Team at Purdue, an NBA veteran, and more recently a world-champion 3v3 basketball player for Team USA. Besides being a literal American Hero, what do you enjoy about the game with only 2 teammates compared to the traditional 5-man team? Is it just that you see the ball more often?

There are certainly big differences between traditional 5 on 5 and 3x3 basketball. I really enjoy the amount of space on the floor with only 3 players. You have a ton of space to play and the help defense isn't nearly as effective with all that room on the court. I do miss the officiating in 5 on 5 though, as I believe I've received more technical fouls in one tournament then I did in the first 28 years of my life.

2. What has been the highlight of working with Jeff Goodman on the Goodman & Hummel podcast? Bonus points if you share an embarrassing moment featuring Jeff.

Working with Jeff has been great on the Goodman & Hummel Podcast. He has an incredible rolodex of people he knows in the business in all facets whether it's media people, players, coaches, you name it. The only downside of working with him is his constant hatred of my athleticism. I cannot wait for the summer when we meet up to have our decathlon of events. I promise to everyone I will crush his spirit in all ten whatever they are.

3. What do you think would be tougher, playing on the road when both teams are fighting for a #1 seed and their stadium is packed with rabid fans or playing an NCAA Tournament game in Lucas Oil Stadium with empty seats? It has got to be mentally challenging, either way. Pick your poison.

I think it's no question that playing in an empty Lucas Oil Stadium for an NCAA tournament game would be way more challenging than taking on a road atmosphere of two great teams fighting for a #1 seed. Playing on the road is fun. You get an incredible rush of playing in environments like that. Having to play in a stale AAU like game for an NCAA Tournament is a challenge I would never want to face. If you don't create your own energy you're going home. I'll take a hostile environment every day of the week.

And one!

4. You and I are both natives of Valparaiso, Indiana, aka The Region. What's your last meal, a lace-grilled burger from Schoop's or a bowl of neon yellow lemon chicken rice soup from Round the Clock?

Hmm my last meal in Valparaiso, Indiana is a tough call. I can't narrow it down to one, so I'm gonna give you three. If I'm feeling like it needs to be a quick meal the pork tacos at El Amigo are second to none. If italian food is the play, I'm going to Pesto's for their seafood alla vodka. And even though this is in Porter and not Valparaiso, Wagners has the best Ribs I've ever had. Those three places you can't go wrong.

The Mixtape 

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

  • Rob Dauster and Da’Sean Butler held their own college basketball all-star draft. Rob kicked things off by selecting future NBA lottery pick and current Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham #1 overall while Da’Sean went with experience and took Iowa center and favorite for college’s National Player of the Year awards Luka Garza for his first choice. I have to admit I favor Da’Sean’s team in this one. See if you agree.

  • Former Syracuse standout Demetris Nichols and play-by-play announcer John Fanta of the Demetris and a Splash of Fanta Podcast had an in-depth interview with Rutgers guard Ron Harper, Jr. The guard shares a double burden of living up to the name carried by his famous father and helping carry the hopes of Rutgers fans and, by extension, the state of New Jersey. What’s it like shouldering all those burdens? Catch the interview.

  • On Inside the Mind of Miles, former Nebraska and Colorado State head coach Tim Miles sat down for an interview with Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young. The two basketball lifers cover tons of topics, including Young’s time at Wofford and his current approach in the ACC. Young might end up as this year’s ACC Coach of the Year following a big win over rival Virginia this past weekend. Check out the full interview on the podcast or YouTube.

  • Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman ask one of the biggest questions in college basketball this season: Is Baylor better than Gonzaga? The two top teams have separated themselves from the pack this year. Fans were robbed of seeing the heavyweight matchup of the season when their 2020 matchup was cancelled due to COVID concerns. Who would have the edge if the Bears and Bulldogs met on the court for real?