#1 in basketball does not matter

No shit that being number #1 doesn't win the NCAA tourney. But also no shit that it's better being #1 than #2, and it is a milestone that would show how far the program has come. It also means we beat Ohio today, so "yes please."

ITT: a fairweather fan 'rediscovers' his alma mater's team and proves his loyalty by trashing their accomplishments. His experience with a superior basketball school has given him perspective beyond our ken. 

Why not stick to your new team's board? I'm sure they'll love your user name.

I'm not going to quibble with the original post, as that's already been done quite effectively.  Bottom line is that, to a program like Michigan's, #1 does matter.

What I'm more upset about is your condescension toward what are, actually, non-boring bagels.  A dozen plain or egg bagels would be a much more boring bagel order.

sets up for big dramatic fun. WhyouwannaB a killjoy?

not to neg, but being #1 does matter. it matters to fans who want to be able to say it, but maybe more importantly, it matters to recruits that want to come to a top program.

Winning your conference does matter. I don't get you younger crowd. I want to beat the rest of the Big Ten every time in every sport. To hell with the rest of the country until championship time rolls around. 

-Ernie

It means a lot to a guy that can look back at his college career andnever say he was once on a team that was #1 in the whole nation. That's big for guys like Vogrich and Akunne who won't be playing pro basketball after college.

You won't find anyone on this board who would feel that a #1 ranking in basketball is as important as a #1 ranking in football.  We all have made that conclusion ourselves independent of your condescending post.

However, what you may not realize are benefits of being ranked #1.  Duke is a basketball school, but, why?  Because they consistently find themselves at the top of polls!  Of course, that isn't the only reason, but if Michigan wants to build a program that will complete on a national level for years to come it starts with sitting consistenly atop the polls.  That's how achievement is rewarded.  The exposure, public opinion, and opinion of undecided recruits are impacted by that #1 ranking.

In short, being ranked #1 in basketball does absolutely nothing bad for Michigan.  Only good.

This has to be one of the stupidest threads ever. I should know, I started one of the other stupidest threads sometime back in the past year. Hence why I stick to comments and making wallpapers for the board. Maybe you should stick to what you're good at, which is making only-slightly opaque Duke butt-hurt comments on the relevance of what your real team just lost by losing to a team Michigan beat. Go Blue.

You are wrong. In its current state, for a program like Duke, you are correct. They have the national spotlight whether they are #1 or #15(Michigan fans can understand, because this is how our football team is). They will still get great recruits and will still have a lot of the spotlight which is due to their great history in bball and, and even more importantly, the fact that they have been very good in recent history.

However, for a program that has been struggling for about 10-15 years, the #1 seed and rank does matter. In a way it shows a progession and is a kind of symbolism of a triumph of getting out of that 10-15 year slump. It also gets more of the national spotlight on them, this in turn can help in recruiting and other aspects of the basketball atmosphere (more people going to games and being more into it, which turns to a better home court advantage.)