DrunkOnHiggins

November 9th, 2012 at 6:09 PM ^

I'm sitting here watching the Sparty game at Ashley's. Well it hasn't officially tipped off yet. Sitting next to a Sparty fan. Pre-gaming before making the walk down State to Crisler. Can't wait to see the arena and the team.

buddha

November 9th, 2012 at 6:11 PM ^

I know a lot of people on here will say it's gimmicky or whatnot, but MSU has done a good job the past few years promoting their program. Whether or not playing basketball on an aircraft carrier or on a military base in Germany is "pure to the sport," MSU has gotten a ton of PR out of both experiences. ESPN has practically been drooling MSU the start of the last two-basketball seasons because Hollis is effectively positioning his team. 

I know a lot of people would oppose Brandon making these moves and cry "money, money, money," but the fundamental fact is that it is pretty cool and gives the university an exclusive national broadcast. I hope Brandon follows suit...

Leaders And Best

November 9th, 2012 at 6:36 PM ^

I think these gimmick games are overrated as there are so many preseason tournaments that every decent BCS team goes to at least one. Is it any different than playing in MSG for the Preseason NIT or going to Hawaii for the Maui Classic? Michigan will be playing at the new Barclays Center against West Virginia in the "Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival", and barring a huge upset, MSG for the Preseason NIT.

For the record, Sparty lost both "Basketbowl" twice in 2003 & 2008 playing in Ford Field (and that doesn't even include their third loss there in the 2009 NCAA Champ Game), lost the "Carrier Classic" last year on an aircraft carrier, and lost the "Champions Classic" at MSG last year. If they lose this "Armed Forces Classic" on a base in Europe, MSU should just avoid creating these things all together.

swan flu

November 9th, 2012 at 6:47 PM ^

Preseason tournaments have always been very common for winter sports like basketball and wrestling. It's a great way to get your bearings against top notch competition and see where you need to improve.

As a coach, I love early season or "per season" tournaments.

buddha

November 9th, 2012 at 7:04 PM ^

This "gimmick game" generates substantially more publicity for the two-individual schools than any 8-team pre-season tournaments. Since noon PST, ESPN has basically been the MSU and UCONN show.

UM will get nowhere near the same level of publicity and attention when they play WVU at the Barclay's Center.  Even though we have  a compelling storyline with Belein playing his old team, it will be but one of a dozen storylines ESPN discusses that day. 

As far as who wins / loses these games, what difference does it make? This is college basketball, not footbal. One loss does not destroy bowl hopes or dampen an entire season. If I were MSU, I would leverage this unique positioning to brand myself to athletes and the basketball fanbase, overall. 

Leaders And Best

November 9th, 2012 at 7:56 PM ^

1. The only way to get games like this are to have an established program.  Even if Michigan wanted to play these games, we haven't built our program up to the point where we could sell a game like this to ESPN. There is a reason why Michigan Hockey has played more outdoor games than any other hockey team (including NHL teams): their winning tradition.

2. These games count especially if you are on the bubble. Hasn't applied to MSU in a long time. The games at Ford Field were cool because local fans could go to the game, and it helped prep for the NCAA tournament. The Carrier Classic though is where these games started turning into a gimmick. Playihg on an aircraft carrier is unnecessary and a huge injury risk. The Ohio State/Marquette game is being delayed right now due to condensation on the court and may even be cancelled. I would rather play a game in a state of the art NBA facility like the Barclays Center than an aircraft hanger with a sloped floor that needs to be leveled for basketball in Germany at midnight local time. Michigan State's "student-athletes" probably had to take at least a week off from school to travel for this games, and I have my doubts how any of these students can possibly be doing real academic work by taking a week off during the end of the fall semester.

3. I think you are overstating the publicity gained by these games. ESPN during the day barely moves the meter (few people on the West Coast will even see this game), and I bet you the ratings for the Kentucky game in Barclays that follows will be greater.

 

justingoblue

November 9th, 2012 at 6:18 PM ^

I would love to see Michigan play a game in Okinawa, Naples, Guam, maybe even somewhere in the Middle East if somehow that could get done without making those guys jobs even harder.

I don't think anyone would be saying "money grab" if M did something like this. I'd much rather wear maize, though. Like I said above, these uniforms are legitimately terrible.

Cold War

November 9th, 2012 at 7:37 PM ^

I agree with you. We've got the basketball product to pull off some stuff like this. We don't because 1) the creativity isn't there 2) we see it as a gimmick and somehow  beneath us or 3) too much of a demand on coaches and players. I tend to think it's number one. 

ThadMattasagoblin

November 9th, 2012 at 6:31 PM ^

trust me it's the uniforms and the brand and I agree with them.  We mess with our uniforms more than any other traditional rich program in the country.  You don't see USC and Alabama wearing 4 different uniforms a year.

Franch Dressing

November 9th, 2012 at 6:31 PM ^

These unis are terrible, and are way too similar.

I do however like seeing all the military in the crowd! What a treat for them, at least between set-up and break-down!

robmorren2

November 9th, 2012 at 7:08 PM ^

A lot of guys that can't score in the half court set. They have bigs with no post moves, and guards with no outside jumpers. If Appling doesn't create, they are in trouble. Dawson looks like he's got the hops back, but the agility still looks a little stiff. They need an outside shooter big time. Offensive rebounds are going to be more difficult to rely on this year in the B1G.

Indonacious

November 9th, 2012 at 7:05 PM ^

I may be in the minority... but State losing in their OOC does nothing for me in basketball. I want the perception of the Big10 to be as strong as possible heading into conference play and subsequent tourney seeding.