jck45
Junior
Posts: 221
Reg: 01-24-06
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01-31-06 03:30 PM - Post#14501
Well, NI we saw recently has been recently ranked 24t in the country and we have to go to their place in the middle of your league year. My idea was when the bracket buster came up we were going to play a Manhattan or Iona or somebody in your region and you were going to be able to get a bus and go. To fly into northern iowa at this time of year and their ranked 24th that’s the kind of game where it’s set up for them to come back next year but we’re talking about this year right now and it just really, really surprises me but, that being said… everybody will be ready to go when the time comes but to go to northern iowa at this time of year just baffles me …. but TV does it.
The whole idea to me was to give you a mid-major a chance to play another mid-major you normally wouldn’t be able to do. Certainly that’s a game we could have gotten, if you want to fly to Northern Iowa.
[It’s] done to create interest and if it does that then its wonderful.
From the prospective of a coach, traveling like that at this time of year, I find it a little strange.
The fact is you commit to and you hope they use their heads and that they do something smart. In this case I don’t they did.
I really felt like the whole bracket buster thing was going to be one of those local bus rides. I never imagined us getting on a plane and going out there.
It’s nice to know that our program is at that [level]. That they feel that we can go play another ranked team on the road in February.
We’ll be ready to play. I have no doubt about that.
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KenZ
Postdoc
Posts: 2777
Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
01-31-06 05:11 PM - Post#14502
In response to jck45
gotta say, i think Pat missed something on this one. it has alwys seemed clear that the top 11 games would be predicated on generating television interest and allowing the top teams a chance against another top team.
i also don't understnd his comments re a chance to play another mid-major you wouldn't normally be able to when he follows this up with his expectation of playing Iona or Manhattan. why does he think ESPN would view these as teams we cannot normally play, but UNI is? now with the Hartzell connection that might be true, but that is an anomaly and ESPN cannot be expected to know or factor that into the equation.
anyway, i think it is a great game although the mid-league travel is a legitimate concern. getting UNI at Sojka will probably be the biggest ooc game there next year. i hope we don't pass on the bb in the future due to the travel uncertainty. we need all the scheduling help we can get.
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Panthers Win!!
newbie
Posts: 47
Reg: 01-30-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
01-31-06 06:39 PM - Post#14503
In response to KenZ
Checking out the ESPN website I see a video of Joe Lunardi wherein he answers the question, "Who has the most to gain of all those participating in the Bracket Buster games?" His answer: Bucknell. He goes on to say that the Patriot has had one team in the NCAA Tournament for quite a few years and that if Bucknell knocks off Northern Iowa that they may well get an at-large bid even without winning the Patriot tournament.
I understand that it's in the middle of the conference schedule and it requires a plane rather than a bus trip but the attention on these programs that get TV games by people that otherwise could care less is enormous. It should help with name recognition, which parlays into planting a seed in would be poll voter's minds, to attracting the attention of potential recruits, to perhaps resulting in a better seed for the NCAA Tournament. The cost-benefit ratio or risk v. reward seems to strongly favor the game. In a loss, as long as it’s not a blowout, it may have been to a hot top 25 team on their home court in the middle of the regular conference season.
I'm not sure why a flight to the Midwest is worse than a bus ride into New York. Having flown in and out of the airport serving UNI for debate tournaments while in college at UNI I can tell you a flight isn't even as bad as a bus ride in terms of time and tax on his players.
With all due respect to Coach Flannery, it sounds to me like he is shying away from the big game. Maybe he thinks it's a set-up for a loss. Many other teams would love the opportunity.
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bison63
Postdoc
Posts: 3857
Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
01-31-06 06:39 PM - Post#14504
In response to KenZ
Agree fully Ken. I posted my thoughts on the "Its UNI" thread where the subject also came up.
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Husky - Bison
maximus
Posts: 131
Reg: 01-24-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
01-31-06 06:45 PM - Post#14505
In response to KenZ
Agreed.........Further, take the game Man! This is good for your team win or lose. UNI's RPI is in everyone's top 20 and will help you with a loss.........Lastly, it's a top 25 program. Also, T.V.!!!
Let me also stress this. Many in Bison Nation cannot attend a lot of games. I live in Jacksonville, FL and get to maybe one home game a year as a visit family. The rest for me is Internet radio and the occassion T.V. Game. News for Pat....ESPN is not going to show Iona and Bucknell when Missouri Valley Conference Teams with 10,000 seat arenas are in play.
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MarkH
Freshman
Posts: 25
Reg: 02-01-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-01-06 04:38 PM - Post#14506
In response to Husky - Bison
I think what his quotes reflect is his mindset that the most important thing is winning the league. The mind set (rightfully) is win the regular season and get home court. Then use that HC to win the league tourney. Everything else is secondary to that.
Tough non-con games are good for preparing your team for the league season. At this point, in the middle of the season, Pat wants to minimize the effect of outside influences from outside the league. I'm sure his answers and his feelings would be different has this been in Nov or Dec, and not mid-feb.
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Panthers Win!!
newbie
Posts: 47
Reg: 01-30-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-01-06 05:29 PM - Post#14507
In response to MarkH
Good point Mark but if his sole consideration is making the NCAA Tournament though they shouldn't have agreed to play in a Bracket Buster game no matter where it's played or who it was against.
I guess I see the potential reward as much greater than the costs associated with having to travel to the Midwest. He had already agreed to interrupt the Patriot season by playing outside the league on 2/18. His complaint is more that it's a few more states away travel to which requires a two hour flight rather than a three hour bus trip. It’s hardly a significantly greater hardship in exchange for exposure to a national television audience and an opportunity to possibly play a ranked opponent. I presume the effort to prepare the team and the energy expended by the team on the court would be identical if the opponent was was Manhattan or UNI.
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CHC8485
Sophomore
Posts: 151
Reg: 02-01-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-01-06 05:37 PM - Post#14508
In response to Panthers Win!!
Where are these quotes from? I have not seen them in print anywhere.
I find it hard to believe that Flannery, particularly with all the speculation in the last month about whom Bucknell would play, would be so naive in his comments.
Anyone got a link?
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jck45
Junior
Posts: 221
Reg: 01-24-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-01-06 05:58 PM - Post#14509
In response to CHC8485
They are direct quotes transcribed by me from his 1-30-06 appearance on Bison Live.
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-01-06 07:58 PM - Post#14510
In response to Panthers Win!!
Quote:
His complaint is more that it's a few more states away travel to which requires a two hour flight rather than a three hour bus trip. It’s hardly a significantly greater hardship in exchange for exposure to a national television audience and an opportunity to possibly play a ranked opponent.
Unfortunately the Bison do not charter and there is no real airport in the area. To get to UNI will require a 90 minute bus ride to the airport followed by about 4.5 hours of total flying time, including a change of planes in Chicago or some other midwestern city. Thus the travel time, not counting the time from Des Moines or Cedar Rapids to NI, will be about 6 hours.
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Panthers Win!!
newbie
Posts: 47
Reg: 01-30-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-01-06 08:27 PM - Post#14511
In response to Bison137
True, I hadn't considered that Bison137. Looks like the team would head to the Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airports, or use the Allegheny Commuter (USAir) service out of Lycoming County Airport near Williamsport. The drive on the Bucknell end would definitely add to the total travel time plus any layover time in Minneapolis to switch planes to the shuttle to the Waterloo airport. There are five daily flights in and out of Minneapolis though so the layover there should be relatively short.
On the UNI end it would be quick trip to the team hotel and back to the airport however. There would be no need to drive from Cedar Rapids or Des Moines. There is service to the Waterloo airport through Northwest's shuttle service which would put them within five miles of the UNI campus in Cedar Falls. Map of Waterloo airport relative to Cedar Falls: http://www.flyalo.com/directions.htm
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-02-06 03:18 AM - Post#14512
In response to Panthers Win!!
Unfortunately there is really no way to fly from Harrisburg or Wilkes Barre to Waterloo. Any trip requires two layovers in two different cities - at least 6 1/2 hours from Harrisburg to Waterloo in total. Even with a bus ride, it should be faster to fly from Harrisburg through Chicago and then on to Cedar Rapids. Door to door, it is likely 8 hours, counting the bus rides at each end plus wait time in the two airports.
Although I have no first-hand info, I doubt if they would fly out of Williamsport since I believe that airport only has puddle-jumpers that only go to a few local cities. I imagine Eric has better info on this.
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Panthers Win!!
newbie
Posts: 47
Reg: 01-30-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-02-06 03:09 PM - Post#14513
In response to Bison137
Yep, does look like travel by air will be more difficult, or at least more time consuming. The Bison do have three days between the Bracket Buster on 2/18 and the next intraleague game against Lehigh on 2/22 which may give them a bit of a break but Lehigh is no slouch. The Bison will need that win.
I still think it's well worth the effort but I suppose that's much easier to say as a fan of the team that gets to stay at home for the game and not a coach or student athlete.
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bison63
Postdoc
Posts: 3857
Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: Flannery's Quotes about UNI
02-03-06 03:55 AM - Post#14514
In response to CHC8485
Quote:
Where are these quotes from? I have not seen them in print anywhere.
I find it hard to believe that Flannery, particularly with all the speculation in the last month about whom Bucknell would play, would be so naive in his comments.
Anyone got a link?
8485, here is the link. Once there, open up the "Archive" list and select "Bison Live 1/30."
http://www.sportsjuice.com/broadcaster2.aspx?bid=MjI%3d-QVoZI6UaHbM%3d
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