Meanwhile In The Big 12

[78Cyclones]

it has been twenty two years since a Big Ten team won the NCAA tournament, btw

And Big XII Regular Season and Tournament Champions Iowa State apologizes for not beating Sparty in the Elite 8 @ Auburn Hills, MI that season.

 

[NinerSpartan]

the early OOC games/tournaments are solid wins but they are early in a season.. teams are much different by the time they are thick into the conference schedule. It's going to be a challenge for them, Big12 as a whole have many bluechip players.. even for teams like Texas who struggled with Shaka.. they had a run of bluechips like Myles Turner, Mo Bamba, Jarrett Allen, Jaxson Hayes, Kai Jones, Greg Brown, etc..

Judging it based on how they fared in March vs Big12 teams isn't a key indicator on how well they will do once they enter conference play. UH will also struggle a bit too with the conference grind. This league with UT/ou or without UT/ou is the best and hardest in the country.

Amen

Slow and untalented Midwestern teams peak in November but when it matters in March they fold

 

[ericd7633]

Amen

Slow and untalented Midwestern teams peak in November but when it matters in March they fold

The gophers have won 21 straight OOC games. They are the epitome of peaking in November/December.

 

[Wild Turkey]

Gonzaga would be like anyone else in the P5 conferences in that they would drop games they aren’t supposed to and they would have to deal with a lot more injuries. It’s just the way it is.

 

[CoalTrain]

When else are they going to be able to challenge themselves outside of the tournament? It has to be early in the season. Is Gonzaga not allowed to improve like other team's are? There is a lot of pressure on them to win those games because if they don't, they don't have the opportunity for a lot of Q1/Q2 wins. If they would have lost to Texas and TTU last year, they are probably a 4/5 seed. The WCC allows them to have a gaudy record, but the early season P5 wins, allows them to get their high seeds every year.

The competition is obviously a big step up, but they are basically Kansas and Baylor without the title the last 7/8 years.

the toll on players and their recovery vs this level of competition takes a toll similar to football at the different levels particularly with outlier teams (see WVU and it’s issues). Playing back to back road games in the Big12 and… soon to be in some of the other conferences wears teams out quick. The Big12 has tried to adjust their scheduling for WVU for but some of that just can’t be avoided and it definitely causes fatigue on the players.

Gonzaga is a solid program no question but I see them coming in similar to how WVU and TCU has in football. They will have some success but their days of high seeds and tournament appearances every year are probably done once they are in the Big12.