If MU/UW were in the same conference

[HoopsMalone]

How do you think the MU/UW game would change if we both in the same conference?  It's a major variable we don't have compared to Duke/UNC or Mich/OSU or Red Sox Yanks.  The geography is there. 

It would also be rare that both teams would consistently compete for the championship, especially after seeing Wisco had that 30-40 year drought of NCAA tourneys in recent memory.   

Right now, this is just kind of a fun game.  Recruiting in-state players adds a wrinkle, but how often are we talking about the Wisco game after mid-December?  The people who are from Wisconsin love it, but the Twin/Chicago/Other portion of the MU fanbase do not live and die by this game as it has very little practical implications.  You learn not to like Wisco basketball on one Saturday in December and generally get a sense of how much Wisco people overestimate their school when you are at Marquette, but it does not produce a UNC/Duke type of rivalry.

How crazy would this be if this game was in late February for conference standings, particularly from a national media standpoint?  Would the nation recognize this game as Duke/UNC with cheese?

[Skatastrophy]

I think the out of conference matchup adds something interesting to the rivalry.  It puts a great game on our schedule early in the year, and it lends itself to endless debate over who's actually better since we rarely play the same opponents besides in-state cupcakes.

[Marquette84]

How do you think the MU/UW game would change if we both in the same conference?  It's a major variable we don't have compared to Duke/UNC or Mich/OSU or Red Sox Yanks.  The geography is there. 

It would also be rare that both teams would consistently compete for the championship, especially after seeing Wisco had that 30-40 year drought of NCAA tourneys in recent memory.   

Right now, this is just kind of a fun game.  Recruiting in-state players adds a wrinkle, but how often are we talking about the Wisco game after mid-December?  The people who are from Wisconsin love it, but the Twin/Chicago/Other portion of the MU fanbase do not live and die by this game as it has very little practical implications.  You learn not to like Wisco basketball on one Saturday in December and generally get a sense of how much Wisco people overestimate their school when you are at Marquette, but it does not produce a UNC/Duke type of rivalry.

How crazy would this be if this game was in late February for conference standings, particularly from a national media standpoint?  Would the nation recognize this game as Duke/UNC with cheese?

Only if MU and Wisconsin become perennial top 10/national championship contenders with national followings.

The national media don't seem to care much about the NCState/Wake Forest or Virginia/Virginia Tech.  Same conference.  Same State.  Not the same level of interest as UNC/Duke.

Hell, the national media doesn't really care about Duke/Wake, UNC/NCState, UNC/Wake or Duke/NCState.   There is only one matchup that matters--Duke vs. UNC.

Maybe, if over the next 20 years, MU and UW have a dozen final fours between them, totally dominate their conferences, and both regularly land multiple McDonalds All AMericans, then the media would treat the game like UNC/Duke.  Maybe--and that is Duke and UNC both fall off the map.  

Until then, at best it will be a minor curiosity.

[MerrittsMustache]

Only if MU and Wisconsin become perennial top 10/national championship contenders with national followings.

The national media don't seem to care much about the NCState/Wake Forest or Virginia/Virginia Tech.  Same conference.  Same State.  Not the same level of interest as UNC/Duke.

Hell, the national media doesn't really care about Duke/Wake, UNC/NCState, UNC/Wake or Duke/NCState.   There is only one matchup that matters--Duke vs. UNC.

Maybe, if over the next 20 years, MU and UW have a dozen final fours between them, totally dominate their conferences, and both regularly land multiple McDonalds All AMericans, then the media would treat the game like UNC/Duke.  Maybe--and that is Duke and UNC both fall off the map.  

Until then, at best it will be a minor curiosity.

+1

From a national media standpoint, there wouldn't be much of a change.

From a fan standpoint, being the same conference would give the game actual meaning as opposed to just bragging rights. Personally, I care much more about all of MU's conference games than I do about the Wisco game. It's a fun rivalry, but it really doesn't mean a whole lot in the big picture.