In Reply to: So why did the women’s try to win their tournament? posted by LakerFanForLebronNotKobe on March 15, 2025 at 10:23:53
again, I was NOT saying I believe that is what happened with Cronin and his team, but I think the question ought to be raised and considered.
But the circumstances and stakes were hugely different for the two teams:
The men were realistically playing for a six or seven seed. Win two games and maybe a five seed is there (which rewards you by bringing up an early meeting with a #1 seed).
The women were playing for the top seed in the NCAA tournament. More important, the top seed in the West region (or at leas the path that gives them the closest games to home. A third loss to SC would concede that spot to the Trojans and that would be a doubly bad result.
Cronin is far from the only HC who views conference tournaments as mostly detrimental exercises in conferences seeking more money through more TV coverage. But you're a member of the conference. Try to just forfeit and stay home and the conference would likely have to impose fines and other punishment. Not an option. But going out there and not making it a win at all costs proposition, that's pretty easy.
I tried answering the question myself and I don't have a solid answer. But the question persists and I think it ought to be laid out there. After the first couple minutes, we reverted to launching threes - which Mick said post-game was NOT the game plan, and his demeanor on the sideline was far more calm than we're used to when games are being intensely contested. Plus he was calm and very measured in his post-game comments. I do believe it's a legitimate question to raise