Why can’t the NBA be as exciting as NCAA?
I ask myself this every year, but it seems to be more obvious each time I say it:
Why can’t the NBA match the level of excitement that we get in college hoops? The NFL manages to match or even exceed college football. And college baseball is almost off the radar. So what is it with the NBA and college hoops?
The standard answers that I hear are:
1. The NBA season is too long
2. The NBA playoffs are too long
3. The NBA playoffs should be single or double elimination
4. College teams play team basketball, NBA teams don’t
5. The college players aren’t playing for money
What do you think the main reason is?
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Posted on March 20, 2006 by Micah | Filed Under Philadelphia, Sixers
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Kyle I’d have to say the main reason the NBA doesn’t match the excitement of college hoops comes down to the playoffs. When you get to the nba playoffs you have 7 game series as opposed to college where you have single elimination. With the seven game series you take away almost any chance for a huge upset of a 8 over a 1 or even a 7 over a 2. Where as in college anything can happen becaus eof single elimination, even a 16 over 1, as we’ve seen this year, as a remte possibility. Also in the NBA the first round of the playoffs is an entire month long, and the enitre ncaa tourney with 64 teams is 20 days. I’m not saying the NBA has to get rid of its current format completely but there are some changes it could make. For example shorter early round series of 3 and 5 for the first two rounds. then 5 and 7 for the conference and league championships respectively. These thigns would creat some more excitement in the nba. but it will never rival the ncaa tourney
Micah, I think the reason why the NCAA is so much more entertaining is exactly as Tommy Hutton says. I agree on every basis he has, especially the whole idea of upsets and cinderellas. America loves underdogs, it’s that simple. We love seeing great teams get cut down by unknown squads and that rarely happens in long NBA playoff series. Since the NCAA is win or go home, teams that would have no chance in a full 7 game series get the opportunity to upset a higher seeded team because they only have to play 1 perfect game instead of 4 to win a series. I also completely agree that the NBA playoffs is absurdly long. No one even cares once the NBA Finals begin because the 1st round was practically 2 months before that point. I think we just have to accept the fact that the NCAA Tournament is the ultimate form of entertainment for sports fans and even non-basketball fans (My mom wins the bracket challenge more often than I do, and she couldn’t tell you if Shaq is a center or a quarterback)