Michigan St, Florida, North Carolina and Texas to participate in 3-game barnstorming

[BleedGopher]

per BTN:

Hollis announced the creation of a four-team “barnstorming tour” with MSU, Florida, North Carolina and Texas playing a round-robin set of three games, one each in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The plan is scheduled to take place in 2018 and features double-headers set to be played on Dec. 15 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Dec. 18 at Chicago’s United Center and Dec. 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. All four teams will be traveling together on a single chartered airplane.

http://btn.com/2014/02/12/msu-hoops-to-compete-in-2018-barnstorming-tour/

Go Gophers!!

 

[GoldenRodents]

Fun

 

[MadtownGopher]

Hollis is a great AD. He is always on the cutting edge when it comes to big time basketball events.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Agree Hollis is a great AD, but this is another loss for season-ticket holders at big-time schools. More & more quality games are being pulled away from college campuses (where they're meant to be played) and placed @ neutral sites.

Who are the big losers in this scenario? The people (season-ticket holders) who actually fork out money to go watch the games. More & more neutral-site games (and that's the way college basketball is heading) means more & more worthless home opponents during November and December. But that's OK, as long as suckers like me keep going back, hoping beyond hope that there will be a few opponents worth seeing before the Big Ten season starts.

 

[MadtownGopher]

Texas is going to lose all 3 of their games btw. When is Barnes going to be on the hot seat? He has done nothing with pretty good talent for a while now. They didn't even do much when they had Kevin Durant for one year.

 

[station19]

Agree Hollis is a great AD, but this is another loss for season-ticket holders at big-time schools. More & more quality games are being pulled away from college campuses (where they're meant to be played) and placed @ neutral sites.

Who are the big losers in this scenario? The people who actually fork out money to go watch the games. More & more neutral-site games (and that's the way college basketball is heading) means more & more worthless home opponents during November and December. But that's OK, as long as suckers like me keep going back, hoping beyond hope that there will be a few opponents worth seeing before the Big Ten season starts.

Agreed. The day/time/site shift has now become the norm.

How soon before the major sports are played in a TV studio?

 

[SelectionSunday]

Texas is going to lose all 3 of their games btw. When is Barnes going to be on the hot seat? He has done nothing with pretty good talent for a while now. They didn't even do much when they had Kevin Durant for one year.

Barnes was on the hot seat heading into this season, but he's responded very well with a young team in arguably the strongest conference in the country. I don't disagree that he's had some underachieving teams, but it's hard to argue with a Final Four, 2 Elite 8s, and 2 Sweet 16s among 15 NCAA tourney appearances in 16 years, which is what it'll be (at minimum) after this season.

 

[Gopherguy0723]

Barnes was on the hot seat heading into this season, but he's responded very well with a young team in arguably the strongest conference in the country. I don't disagree that he's had some underachieving teams, but it's hard to argue with a Final Four, 2 Elite 8s, and 2 Sweet 16s among 15 NCAA tourney appearances in 16 years, which is what it'll be (at minimum) after this season.

If Pitino cloned Barnes' resume, then I'd be a happy guy.

 

[Ope3]

Exempt Tourney

Agree Hollis is a great AD, but this is another loss for season-ticket holders at big-time schools. More & more quality games are being pulled away from college campuses (where they're meant to be played) and placed @ neutral sites.

Who are the big losers in this scenario? The people (season-ticket holders) who actually fork out money to go watch the games. More & more neutral-site games (and that's the way college basketball is heading) means more & more worthless home opponents during November and December. But that's OK, as long as suckers like me keep going back, hoping beyond hope that there will be a few opponents worth seeing before the Big Ten season starts.

This event will not impact the schools season ticket holders one way or the other as it will count as their Exempt Tourney (no different than going to the Maui Invite). Each school will also get a campus home game against yet to be determined opponents that will be part of it as well, like the Gophers did against Coastal Carolina this year.

 

[station19]

This event will not impact the schools season ticket holders one way or the other as it will count as their Exempt Tourney (no different than going to the Maui Invite). Each school will also get a campus home game against yet to be determined opponents that will be part of it as well, like the Gophers did against Coastal Carolina this year.

Playing games/tournaments on neutral sites takes away from home and home games. Don't get caught up in all the jibber jabber.

 

[SelectionSunday]

This event will not impact the schools season ticket holders one way or the other as it will count as their Exempt Tourney (no different than going to the Maui Invite). Each school will also get a campus home game against yet to be determined opponents that will be part of it as well, like the Gophers did against Coastal Carolina this year.

Very true.

However, the thinking of most coaches (the gutless ones anyways, which is most of 'em) with regards to nonconference scheduling is, "Hey, we're playing all these difficult exempt tournament and/or neutral-site opponents, so why should I schedule (m)any additional difficult nonconference (home-and-home) games? The schedule is already difficult enough. If our season-ticket holders want to see us play a quality opponent prior to the Big Ten season (other than the Challenge every other year), they can go to Arizona, Anaheim, Orlando, Maui, etc."

So who loses out?

It's a trickle down effect.

 

[Ope3]

Playing games/tournaments on neutral sites takes away from home and home games. Don't get caught up in all the jibber jabber.

Not really, since 2006-07 each team gets to play in an exempt Tourney every year which only counts as 1 game. Often they get a home game as part of the deal.

Some events teams get 2 home games as the Gophers likely will in next year's NIT.

One can agrue that there are fewer marquee home-and-home games (due to multiple reasons such as exempt Tourneys, expanded conferences, budgets, etc), but that ship has sailed.

 

[Ope3]

Very true.

However, the thinking of most coaches with regards to nonconference scheduling is (the gutless ones anyways, which is most of 'em), "Hey, we're playing all these difficult exempt tournament and/or neutral-site opponents, so why should I schedule (m)any difficult nonconference home-and-homes. .. the schedule is already difficult enough."

So who loses out?

It's a trickle down effect.

I agree with all of that, but my point is that is happening already not just because of this new event. The Spartans will just happen to play these games in NY/Chi/LA instead of Maui, Orlando or Atlantis.

I'm envious as each game I'm sure will rally point for the schools fans & alums in the 3 biggest media markets. Ka-ching.

 

[SelectionSunday]

One can agrue that there are fewer marquee home-and-home games (due to multiple reasons such as exempt Tourneys, expanded conferences, budgets, etc), but that ship has sailed.

Indeed it has. But at least now we'll get to see Rutgers in person (on occasion)!

 

[fryguy22]

Texas is going to lose all 3 of their games btw. When is Barnes going to be on the hot seat? He has done nothing with pretty good talent for a while now. They didn't even do much when they had Kevin Durant for one year.

I don't necessarily disagree with you on Barnes' coaching ability, but this is very odd timing. Texas is honestly having a great year and wouldn't be surprised to see them in the 2nd weekend of the tournament.

 

[Gopherocious]

I understand it's fun/cool/whatever to play in the Staples Center/MSG/United Center, but how awesome would it be to have an event like this on each campus? All of those schools have great arenas and fan bases, and that would be awesome to be a fan of one of those teams to host 3 other powerhouses in a double header.