CBE in 2010, Old Spice in 2009

[MARQKC]

Rosiak blogs today:

-- And finally, in a bit of scheduling news, MU has committed to play in the CBE Classic in November of 2010.

As many MU fans remember, the last time the Golden Eagles took part in the event in 2006, they knocked off Texas Tech and Duke en route to the tournament title.

The setup would be the same as it has been: two home games, followed by two games leading into Thanksgiving at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

MU's championship in 2006 came at the old Municipal Auditorium.

The Golden Eagles will play in the Old Spice Classic during the week of Thanksgiving next season in Orlando.


Two comments:

Let's hope that the NABC formally inducts Al into the coach's hall of fame here in KC that week.

The other is to note that Creighton is also slated to play in the Old Spice next year, as is Xavier. Creighton, of course, beat the Dayton team that beat us; and Xavier is a ranked Jesuit school. Could be an interesting tournament for followers of Jesuit university basketball.

[macman320]

The Jesuit Universities should organize an 8 school preconference tourney - BC, Gonzaga, MU, Creighton, G-town, Xavier, St. Joes, St Louis (or other).  Great basketball and great publicity for the Jesuit Universities, many of which people aren't even aware are Jesuit.

[muwarrior87]

G-town and MU cannot participate in the same pre-season tourney being in the same conference. Great idea, but I don't think it's that likely to occur.

[bma725]

The Jesuit Universities should organize an 8 school preconference tourney - BC, Gonzaga, MU, Creighton, G-town, Xavier, St. Joes, St Louis (or other).  Great basketball and great publicity for the Jesuit Universities, many of which people aren't even aware are Jesuit.

Can't be done because too many Jesuit schools are in the same conference and can't play in the same tournament.  The only ones that would be eligible to play every year would by BC, Creighton, Holy Cross...and maybe Seattle since they are provisional D1 right now.  Then you'd have to pick just one from the following conferences:

A-10:  Xavier, St. Joseph's, Saint Louis, Fordham
Big East:  Marquette, Georgetown
Horizon:  Loyola Chicago, Detroit
MAAC:  Canisius, Fairfield, Loyola(MD), St. Peter's
WCC:  Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, USF

[muwarrior87]

that wouldn't be so bad then. Have BC, Creighton and Holy Cross be in it every year and you could essentially rotate from the other conferences each year.  Again, I'd like to see it happen but don't see it coming to fruition anytime soon.

[MARQKC]

that wouldn't be so bad then. Have BC, Creighton and Holy Cross be in it every year and you could essentially rotate from the other conferences each year.  Again, I'd like to see it happen but don't see it coming to fruition anytime soon.

I agree. But it would seem to have more appeal than some of the pre-conference-season tournaments that are emerging now. Like the one we just played in Hoffman Estates. I went to our game there Friday (Northern Iowa) but didn't sense there was much going on to make that a big draw.

[spartan3186]

I found one other participant in the CBE 2010.. Kansas State

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/906038.html

[spiral97]

I found one other participant in the CBE 2010.. Kansas State

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/906038.html

talk about a home court advantage.. they're only 100 miles down the interstate and that crowd travels very well (at least for football).  Start planning your trip now boys - muscoop road trip 2010!

Rocky and I went to the CBE games back in 2006 and had a good time.  That was the last year they played it in the Municipal Auditorium I believe; we saw the construction for the Sprint Center and I remember thinking it looked pretty decent from what I could tell.

[Phi Iota Gamma 84]

Can't be done because too many Jesuit schools are in the same conference and can't play in the same tournament.  The only ones that would be eligible to play every year would by BC, Creighton, Holy Cross...and maybe Seattle since they are provisional D1 right now.  Then you'd have to pick just one from the following conferences:

A-10:  Xavier, St. Joseph's, Saint Louis, Fordham
Big East:  Marquette, Georgetown
Horizon:  Loyola Chicago, Detroit
MAAC:  Canisius, Fairfield, Loyola(MD), St. Peter's
WCC:  Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, USF

OOOH .... Can't wait for the year that has BC, Creighton, Holy Cross, Fordham, Detroit, Fairfield, San Fran, ond GT/MU.

[rocky_warrior]

Rocky and I went to the CBE games back in 2006 and had a good time. 

I'm already tentatively planning on going again.  That's about as close as Marquette ever gets to my neck of the woods...

[spiral97]

I'm already tentatively planning on going again.  That's about as close as Marquette ever gets to my neck of the woods...

Agreed.. swing by and pick me up on your way?

[Dry White Toast]

K-State participation is no surprise.  If you look at past years, the CBE usually tries to include one "local" (big 12) team, a marquee national name and others of interest.  The only year that they have not included a team within 100 miles was when it was MU/TTech/Duke/Air Force.  And one could argue that the combo of Knight/CoachK draws enough of a crowd that a "local" team wasn't needed.

[MARQKC]

K-State participation is no surprise.  If you look at past years, the CBE usually tries to include one "local" (big 12) team, a marquee national name and others of interest.  The only year that they have not included a team within 100 miles was when it was MU/TTech/Duke/Air Force.  And one could argue that the combo of Knight/CoachK draws enough of a crowd that a "local" team wasn't needed.

Yup, that's right.

This tourney, like a lot of Thanksgiving week tourneys, is a pretty easy ticket. (See my separate reply to spiral97. too, re: where it's played in KC.) Knight/Texas Tech was the Big 12 school the year we won, but the Dukies got a lot of support, too. We had about 300 or 400, by my guess.

[MARQKC]

Rocky and I went to the CBE games back in 2006 and had a good time.  That was the last year they played it in the Municipal Auditorium I believe; we saw the construction for the Sprint Center and I remember thinking it looked pretty decent from what I could tell.

Yup, that's right. The CBE is now played at Sprint Center, a very cool venue for basketball. It is right next door to the College Basketball Experience, the hall of fame of the National Association of  Basketball Coaches. (Also, the source of the goofy tournament name: CBE.) It's an interactive place where you can take shots with while the clock runs down, shoot free throws, shoot threes, and several other fun activities and exhibits. Well worth a visit.

Municipal Auditorium is still the best floor on the planet to watch a basketball game. Not unlike what used to be called Milwaukee Arena (and I guess is now call US Cellular Arena?), it seats about 10,000 and is just a great room. Also, since the NCAA was based in KC for so many years, it is home to more Final Fours than any arena anywhere. (Not for long; Indianapolis will pass it one of these years.)

The Marquette Club of KC teamed up with alumni relations to host the hospitality room at Municipal, and we're already talking here in KC about doing that again. One of our alums here in town is looking to figure out a way to get the Al McGuire play staged in KC that week. We're hoping Al will be formally inducted into the coach's hall that week, too. (There's already a display there, but there is a big dinner the Sunday before the tournament where coaches are honored; you might remember John Wooden was among the inductees the year we won.) We'll probably form some sort of host committee to guide ya'll to be best barbecue places, shopping, fun places to do stuff.

Looking forward to welcoming all the MUScoopers to KC in 2010.

[TallTitan34]

The last CBE at Municipal Auditorium was really fun.  Of course it didn't hurt that we beat Bobby Knight and Coach K in back-to-back nights.  The stadium had amazing seats wherever you sat.  Also local high-school bands were brought in to represent each of the four schools.  Marquette brought gold t-shirts to give to them.  I think MU's band was the only one in their schools colors.  They played a very "loose" version of Ring Out Ahoya but it was really cool that they tried it.

[nathanziarek]

2006 CBE was where I first heard of MUScoop ... who was it passing out those business cards? I bet I still have one. I had a really good time.

My favorite moment was during the Duke game. I had a couple of guys sitting in front of me that must have just been locals -- or something. Fans of neither team. When MU made their first shot, and we showered our corner with confetti, one guy turned to the other, huge grin on his face, and said "This is the big time."

I watched some SportsCenter those days too -- and there seemed to be a recurring segment on how great Duke fans were. I don't know if we did or not, but it certainly looked like we out-traveled them, and we certainly out-cheered them. It was a really great atmosphere.

nz

[spartan3186]

In their defense its a lot easier to travel to kc from the midwest than eastcoast

[cheebs09]

However, I think Duke has a national following far greater than MU just based on the amount of people who are Duke fans with no connection to the University. So it's not a typical we are closer than they are argument because Duke is one of the probably 5 teams in the nation that has a pretty big fan base in most parts of the nation, along with a UNC and UCLA.

[spiral97]

2006 CBE was where I first heard of MUScoop ... who was it passing out those business cards? I bet I still have one. I had a really good time.

WOAH.. our first documented return on investment for that "marketing" campaign.. not sure exactly who you got it from but it was either rocky or myself ; nice to pseudo meet ya

whadya mean you still have one?!  you didn't pass it on yet?  so much for a viral campaign 

MU definitely had a good turnout for those games.  at least 1- times better than at the CIC games in chicago last month.. boy was THAT turnout a disappointment.

[TallTitan34]

Marquette had a great turnout in Kansas City but I'd still say the crowd was 35% Marquette 65% Duke.

[MARQKC]

Can't be done because too many Jesuit schools are in the same conference and can't play in the same tournament.  The only ones that would be eligible to play every year would by BC, Creighton, Holy Cross...and maybe Seattle since they are provisional D1 right now.  Then you'd have to pick just one from the following conferences:

A-10:  Xavier, St. Joseph's, Saint Louis, Fordham
Big East:  Marquette, Georgetown
Horizon:  Loyola Chicago, Detroit
MAAC:  Canisius, Fairfield, Loyola(MD), St. Peter's
WCC:  Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, USF

Add Seattle University. The Jesuit school that gave us Elgin Baylor is beginning the return to D-1 after a 28-year hiatus, this story reports:

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081225/SPORTS/712259930

MU is mentioned in this article:

"Small Jesuit colleges have had plenty of success in college basketball. School's like Gonzaga, Xavier, Georgetown, Marquette, Loyola Marymount, Saint Josephs, Creighton, Santa Clara, and the University of San Francisco have all had success in Division I basketball. Why not Seattle U too?"


Why not, indeed?

[on_the_marq]

The 2006 version was a great time for MU fans, being from KC it was that much better to go back and cheer on the team.

For 2010, K-State fans won't travel as well as you might think.  Kansas City is a home court advantage for the Jayhawks, but not K-State.  Unless another Mitch Richmond or Michael Beasley comes along in the next two years, don't expect much from the K-Stater's.

The other factor from 2006 is that all the Duke fans were local, wanna-be fans who had no real affiliation to Duke.  I was seated among a pile of fans in blue, and most told me they were from Nebraska or Iowa, not a single one attended Duke or had family that attended Duke.  They weren't very vocal during the game, and when we started to pull away at the end of the game, my section went deathly silent.

See you at the Sprint Center in 2010!

[nathanziarek]

whadya mean you still have one?!  you didn't pass it on yet?  so much for a viral campaign 

My bad.

When do tickets go on sale? I've got family that lives in the "OP" so its a cheap trip for me -- of course the mind numbing drive from Mke to Kan makes me flinch every time.