College Basketball Invitational: What's the Point?

Bailey Jones — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:55:51 -0400

There are 340 Division I men's basketball programs that competed in 30 conferences in the 2007-2008 for the chance at playing in the coveted NCAA Basketball Championship. Each conference (except the Ivy League) hosts a tournament that crowns the winner with an automatic bid to the "Big Dance". Those teams not composed enough to win three or so games in as many days have to sweat out the selection committee for an at-large bid.

The point behind this madness (some might say "March Madness) is to have a compilation of the elite teams from each conference and around the country competing for the ultimate shelf decoration—a used-cut net and some cheap t-shirts. I am in no way patronizing the event, it is the most glorious three weeks of basketball (Has anyone done a study on the correlation between March Madness and potato chip consumption? That's beside the point.). And as the famous saying goes, "second place is the first loser" (or if you prefer Ricky Bobby's testament "if you ain't first, you'r last!"). Teams that fail to make the "Big Dance" get a chance to be a spectator.

A year prior, big brother, a.k.a NIT, was birthed and now gives way to younger, smart, more attractive and appealing to the ladies brother, NCAA Basketball Championship. The NIT had one year of spot light, co-existed peacefully for a decade or so, and then like the older brother (more affectionately called "March Sadness"), who is balding and socially awkward, took a back seat to the prominent more affluent younger brother, the "March Madness".

The NIT is a feel-good tournament for those teams who like to say "if", "shoulda or coulda" ("If we won that game", "We shoulda beat Duke", "We coulda beat them in the first round", etc.). The NIT is also another excuse to watch more college basketball. It is kind of like the non-January college football bowls (Insight.com bowl, SeeHowManyWordsCanFitInATitle Bowl, and the likes); no one really cares, but they enjoy getting together and watching sports.

All-in-all the NIT is not too terribly bad and for the most part, peacefully co-exists with the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.Then the Gazelle Group (mystery corporation) comes along and decides that college basketball post-season needs something more. Something that "March Madness" and "March Sadness" is not. Maybe a "March Gladness" or a "March Badness"—since it’s the inaugural year we will not know until April.

Nonetheless, the Gazelle Group has taken it into their own hands to award even more bad teams the opportunity to play (synonymous with lose) more games--College Basketball Invitational (CBI; in the analogy of the brothers, the CBI is the horribly awkward neighbor kid that wants to play with the brothers, but the brothers end up throwing mud at him)

What's the catch? The home-team gets to pay $60,000 to host the game they play. If they win the first round game, they get to pay another sixty grand to play another sub-par team for a chance to win a post-season championship that means about as much as eating a box of cracker jacks in one sitting.

So what is the Gazelle Group trying to accomplish? Maybe lining their pockets with some green paper, while sub-par college teams that refuse to believe they are not "worthy" duke it out for a less-than prestigious chance at competing in a best-of-three championship round! That is not an error. A home and home series for the championship. Trying all night to fathom something more ridiculous, nothing pursued (except for I thought, wouldn't it be great if Will Farrell starred in a movie portraying a semi-professional basketball player?)

The icing on the cake is that the CBI announced an exclusive partnership with Fox College Sports to broadcast the games. More than likely, the majority of sports fans will not catch a whiff of the games on the TV.

In conclusion, maybe in a few years so genius will combine the three tournaments so that the winner's of the tournaments can play a three-way game of Slam Ball (anyone remember this? Trampolines and basketball?). Then college basketball would have its real champion.

Bravo, Gazelle Group. Bravo.

Adieu, LSU Tigers of 2007

Bailey Jones — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:40:03 -0500

“Heroes get remembered but legends never die,” said Babe Ruth in the classic children’s film The Sandlot (1993).

There are twenty-four seniors parting ways with arguably one of the best Bayou Bengal squads to play in Death Valley since LSU has played football in Southeastern Conference.

Scanning the roster reveals many special players besides the remarkable senior class.

Twelve senior full-time starters (five on offense, six on defense and one from special teams) led the Tigers to a 6-0 start, before falling to Kentucky in triple overtime at Lexington. With no off-week to heal and rest, the seniors finished their 2007 campaign wining the next six out of seven, earning a much-needed month's rest before the BCS championship. The rest is history.

What do tiger fans have to look forward to in 2008? The defense suffers a big loss, bidding farewell to Pittman, Dorsey (All-American), Highsmith, Jackson, Zenon and Steltz (All-American), leaving a hole in the Tenacious Tiger unit not easily replaced. This group combined for 440 tackles (50 percent of the team's total), 19 of the 37 sacks, and 15 of the teams 23 interceptions, spearheading a top-five overall Tiger defense.

The purple and gold welcome back the BCS defensive MVP Ricky Jean-Francois, Tyson “Predator” Jackson, SEC All-Freshman Chad Jones, and the lethal Curtis Taylor patrolling the secondary. They will all be taking on bigger roles. Look for big things out of blue-chip recruit Patrick Johnson, who has lightning speed and good size to help replace the coverage Zenon and Jackson provided. Write down the name Chancey Aghayere, because he is also sure to make an impact.

However, what will the impact be of losing Bo Pelini to Nebraska?

Parting with the likes of Jacob Hester, Early Doucet, and Matt Flynn brings a mist to a tiger fan's eye. Will Arnold and Carnell Stewart created the holes for the sure-handed Hester to amass over 1,000 yards and 12 TDs, and blocked for Flynn to air it out to Doucet.

But unlike the defense, the offense has more play-makers returning than leaving Death Valley. Ryan Perrilloux goes into the off-season the favorite to lead the Tigers in 2008. Surrounded by pure speed in the backfield and wide-out spots, Tiger fans should be salivating at the chance to watch this offense next year.

The highlight crew of Keiland Williams, Demetrius Byrd, Tridan Holliday and Charles Scott all return to amass major yardage behind the likes of Herman Johnson, Ciron Black and Lyle Hitt. New comers Chris Tolliver and Matt Branch will give Perrilloux two more great options to throw too when he is not picking up yardage with his legs.

Looking ahead provides potential promises for the Tigers and their followers. So what if the targets are on their backs? LSU has new senior leaders following a mold. A top-ten recruiting class. A devoted coach.

Will the Tigers from 2007 be heroes or legends? That's a question for history More importantly, will the squad in 2008 live up to their predecessors' lofty statures?

Bleacher Report - Articles by Bailey Jones

College Basketball Invitational: What's the Point?

Adieu, LSU Tigers of 2007