I think Texas could have beaten KU yesterday. But I also think it the day off gave them the upper hand tonight. It's a win, maybe their first? But its an asterisk win.
2021 Big VII Men's BB Tourney Title Game: OSU vs TX
- Thread starter cycophagus
- Start date
Wonder if that was StL Washington?I actually didn't know until I looked it up, but the Big 7 became the Big 8 with the addition of Oklahoma State (or A&M as it was called before that). Here is an old tournament cover from back in the day. I actually attended a Big 8 pre-season tournament in K.C. in the early 70s. Wonder why they did away with those?
Arkansas, SMU, Oklahoma State (before they joined the league), Harvard, Michigan, Minnesota, Stanford, Yale, Washington, Cal, Cornell, Michigan State, and Princeton were the "invited guest" teams in the Big 6 and Big 7 years.
I see the Big 6/7/8 Holiday Tournament lives has its own "wiki" page:
Big 8 Holiday Tournament - Varsity Pride
In retrospect, I like what they did with that tournament. All teams played 3 games in an 8 team bi-directional bracket. Final games were for 1st, , 3rd , 5th, and 7th place. And, there was a theme of good sportsmanship.
What if the Big 12 were to resurrect the holiday tournament to spice things up during what is normally a dreary time of year for the sport? For example:
- Use a Covid era "bubble" concept, adding safety, and reducing net travel cost.
- Create an invitational atmosphere by inviting 4 guest teams each year
- Guarantee 4 games in 4 days on two courts
- Guests play each other once, in addition to 3 Big 12 opponents
- Create 3 open dates per team based on who played whom in the holiday tournament. The imbalance would rotate year to year, as in football.
- Retain the full round robin, home and home scheduling, and do away with the post season tournament.
Okie State was really the hot team coming in. And they would have won it if Texas hadn't gotten the free pass versus KU. But that is the luck factor in this Covid era.
I see the Big 6/7/8 Holiday Tournament lives has its own "wiki" page:
Big 8 Holiday Tournament - Varsity Pride
www.jonfmorse.com
In retrospect, I like what they did with that tournament. All teams played 3 games in an 8 team bi-directional bracket. Final games were for 1st, , 3rd , 5th, and 7th place. And, there was a theme of good sportsmanship.
What if the Big 12 were to resurrect the holiday tournament to spice things up during what is normally a dreary time of year for the sport? For example:
Of course what to do with the remaining schedule is a major loose end. Possibilities:
- Use a Covid era "bubble" concept, adding safety, and reducing net travel cost.
- Create an invitational atmosphere by inviting 4 guest teams each year
- Guarantee 4 games in 4 days on two courts
- Guests play each other once, in addition to 3 Big 12 opponents
- Create 3 open dates per team based on who played whom in the holiday tournament. The imbalance would rotate year to year, as in football.
- Retain the full round robin, home and home scheduling, and do away with the post season tournament.
I actually thought at one point it would be cool to have a “Big 8” tournament in Kansas City around the holiday time frame with all the original Big 8 members. Assuming Nebraska, Colorado and Mizzou would be interested I think it would be a blast. That would be nostalgia city.
I know it doesn’t really make sense since the majority still play each other in the Big 12, but it’s fun to think about.
