Thoughts on the weekend include the vast difference of how the national champion won the title. A complete beatdown of one of the best teams in the nation in a game that was breathtaking for the ease at which Michigan dismantled whatever Arizona tried doing. Then, finding a way to win getting dragged into the mud by UConn, whose game plan was simple and effective. How Michigan won last night versus Saturday is so stark, that it’s a true testament to what a good basketball team they were.
Quick aside, Danny Hurley is a certifiable lunatic but great for the sport. What a brilliant coaching job getting this team to the title game and being in it to the end. As long as he’s at UConn, they’ll always be a threat.
I’ve seen some talk of this Michigan team being an all-timer. The numbers certainly support it but as I wrote a month back or so, roster construction has widened the gap between good and elite. I think comparing this team to Villanova of ‘18 or Kentucky of ‘12 or UNC of ‘09 isn’t fair. Different rules and simply put, a different era.
That gets to the crux of the state of the sport. The Big 18 and SEC are widening the gap between themselves and the rest of the conferences. I don’t think this is a one-off. Forget the TV money, the rich alum, especially in the Big 18 are going to have such an advantage on the rest of the sport, I’m not sure how the Big XIIIIII, ACC and Big East compete against the deeper pockets.
Now, each league will have teams with big budgets. Duke and Carolina will never be outbid for players. Nor will Kansas. Texas Tech has oil money pouring into the athletic department but I think the bigger picture is, most members of those leagues are facing uphill battles.
Cincinnati and Xavier could compete against Ohio State in Ohio but the money cannon in Columbus dwarfs those schools. Iowa State is staring straight down a rejuvenated Iowa whose alum base and money is far greater. You get the point. It’s going to take a lot of pieces to fit for some of these schools to compete at that level. Coach, university alignment, alum willing to match what the money schools can and so on.
Money has always been the dominant factor in college athletics. Duke has been bathing in Nike money for decades. It matters. It won’t happen because the SEC and Big 18 won’t let it, but collective bargaining is the answer. It’s a new era and that era is going to be dominated by the Evil Empire, the Big 18 and to a lesser extent, it’s apprentice, the SEC.
