Big East Tournament Finals

[MU gimp ONE]

Finally got back from NYC after some fun weather delays. 

I'm not sure how it came across on TV, but that Saturday night final in MSG was intense.  The crowd was maybe 60/40 for St. Johns, but it was loud both ways throughout. Definitely one of the most electric atmospheres i've ever seen for a college basketball game.  So people who think that the tourney shouldn't be in MSG, you're wrong.  It's like nothing else.

However, I must say, there were definitely a handful of St. John's fans that crossed the line multiple times throughout the game by us.  I love good chirping and supporting your team, but when I have to stand up to break up fights or be the voice or reason in the stands, it's bad.  I have been a Bears fan at Lambeau, a Marquette fan at UW, a White Sox fan at Wrigley, and i have never seen such awful behavior especially when you aren't even in the cheap seats. Anyone else on this board attend the game?  interested if other sections were getting security posted in the aisle all game like ours.  and in the best part of the night, one St. Johns fan finally gets escorted out by security with about 5 minutes to go and 2 minutes later, he walks back in and goes straight down to stand in the aisle next to the UConn student section to start yelling at them.  it was incredible to witness.

I did appreciate when stepping between St Johns and UConn fans, they both would see my sweatshirt and say, we've got no problem with Marquette.  Well, you may change that tune in a year or two when we're back on Saturday night in the Garden.  It may have been a down year for the conference, but don't tell that to these two teams.

[SchnitzelBoy]

Knowing plenty of East Coast dudes.... It comes with the territory. UConn fans are pretty annoying and Providence's fanbase is so toxic it makes me think they're less deserving of success.

I can only quantify this from what I've seen online, but the chatter coming out of St. John's fans about the Big East is so delusional and pathetic. They're ragging on other programs for "not pulling their weight" in the conference. This is comical. They've won a single tournament game in their two best seasons in a quarter of a century and they're dogging programs like Marquette and Villanova? Not to mention in those two seasons, they bring next to nothing in terms of valuable non-conference wins. Rick's hodge-podge teams suck ass in the non-con then figure it out in December and start beating the conference's brains in. That's actually St. John's dragging the Big East down.

That said, I'm rooting for UConn, Nova, and St. John's to win just to prop the conference up.  But those STJ fans can kick rocks.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

From twitter back in the day....

"Big East Week is a fascinating clash of Italians from the tristate area mixed with Irish bald dudes from queens and midwestern folks who have no idea why they are being cursed at"

[DienerTime34]

From twitter back in the day....

"Big East Week is a fascinating clash of Italians from the tristate area mixed with Irish bald dudes from queens and midwestern folks who have no idea why they are being cursed at"

Ha! As a veteran of 10 BEAST tournaments, this is fairly accurate. The friendliest fanbases seem to be from the "new" part of the Big East. I've rarely seen boorish behavior from Marquette, Xavier, Creighton or DePaul (although they bring the least fans). Villanova tends to be the class of the "old Big East."

Tops in the Obnoxious Department is definitely UConn, they seem to have a never-ending supply of highly-intoxicated males itching for confrontation. Providence and St. John's tend to be in that same class so long as their teams are winning. Seton Hall rounds out the group, though they rarely bring as many fans as the aforementioned teams.

[BM1090]

Ha! As a veteran of 10 BEAST tournaments, this is fairly accurate. The friendliest fanbases seem to be from the "new" part of the Big East. I've rarely seen boorish behavior from Marquette, Xavier, Creighton or DePaul (although they bring the least fans). Villanova tends to be the class of the "old Big East."

Tops in the Obnoxious Department is definitely UConn, they seem to have a never-ending supply of highly-intoxicated males itching for confrontation. Providence and St. John's tend to be in that same class so long as their teams are winning. Seton Hall rounds out the group, though they rarely bring as many fans as the aforementioned teams.

Fvck Creighton fans.

[MU gimp ONE]

From twitter back in the day....

"Big East Week is a fascinating clash of Italians from the tristate area mixed with Irish bald dudes from queens and midwestern folks who have no idea why they are being cursed at"

hahaha, i remember seeing this and thinking how crazy accurate it was back then.  I guess i was used to, as people called out already, providence and seton hall fans being the bottom of the barrel.  there were a couple seton hall fans who tried to pick fights with people 2 sections over during the whole semi-final game.  that was classic to watch.  thankfully providence was even more beat down after this year than MU fans, so they stayed pretty quiet compared to my run-ins with them last couple years. 

One of the St Johns fans kept yelling at the UConn fans about payback for the past 20 years and they were going to try to get all of it in one night. 

[Galway Eagle]

Knowing plenty of East Coast dudes.... It comes with the territory. UConn fans are pretty annoying and Providence's fanbase is so toxic it makes me think they're less deserving of success.

I can only quantify this from what I've seen online, but the chatter coming out of St. John's fans about the Big East is so delusional and pathetic. They're ragging on other programs for "not pulling their weight" in the conference. This is comical. They've won a single tournament game in their two best seasons in a quarter of a century and they're dogging programs like Marquette and Villanova? Not to mention in those two seasons, they bring next to nothing in terms of valuable non-conference wins. Rick's hodge-podge teams suck ass in the non-con then figure it out in December and start beating the conference's brains in. That's actually St. John's dragging the Big East down.

That said, I'm rooting for UConn, Nova, and St. John's to win just to prop the conference up.  But those STJ fans can kick rocks.

Fairly confident that in SJU fans' heads there have only been 7 college basketball seasons since 2000 and they're still pissed one of them was revoked.  Every other year never happened

[Billy Hoyle]

Syracuse used to be the absolute worst, and they packed about 80% of MSG.

[Warriors4ever]

Frans, that comment is hilarious, and I think pretty accurate.
I was not at the Final game, I went to a 5:30 theater and then to Mustang  Harry's to watch the second half. At least watching there without sound, the intensity did not come through, and really no one, it seemed to me, was watching the game, I did not hear cheering or chatter like I have in the past. As I left there were disconsolate UConn fans coming in.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Living in Connecticut all my life except for four years in Milwaukee, I can say Providence fans are the worst.  I've always got along with UConn friends and strangers.

[mileskishnish72]

I remember after being in Italy a few times that I realized that there was an economic gradient, wealth in the north and lack of it in the south. The same might be said for obnoxiousness among Big East fans, but the gradient is east to west.

I've been to almost all BE sites, and I don't hide my light under a bushel - I make my being an MU fan obvious. As a New England native and resident, I can tell you that this is where it's worst - Providence fans are truly loathsome, and UConn fans are next. UConn at least has had some success, but the Friars? Then comes SJU. Then SHU, although they haven't had much to cheer about in so long that they've mellowed. Nova and GT followers
aren't bad, but the midwesterners are all basically polite and willing to discuss hoops
and welcome a different viewpoint.

There have been a number of northeast schools that have left the BE, primarily to chase football money. They are not missed (by me). The league has benefited in more ways than one by expanding westward.

[Scoop Snoop]

Tops in the Obnoxious Department is definitely UConn, they seem to have a never-ending supply of highly-intoxicated males itching for confrontation. Providence and St. John's tend to be in that same class so long as their teams are winning. Seton Hall rounds out the group, though they rarely bring as many fans as the aforementioned teams.

Yep! Though a friend of mine is a UCONN alum and huge bball fan who is the polar opposite of the UCONN fans you described. I've asked him to show me his diploma to prove that he is not making it up about being a grad. It's funny that even he laughs about what a bunch of a-holes many of UCONN's fans are.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I remember after being in Italy a few times that I realized that there was an economic gradient, wealth in the north and lack of it in the south. The same might be said for obnoxiousness among Big East fans, but the gradient is east to west.

I've been to almost all BE sites, and I don't hide my light under a bushel - I make my being an MU fan obvious. As a New England native and resident, I can tell you that this is where it's worst - Providence fans are truly loathsome, and UConn fans are next. UConn at least has had some success, but the Friars? Then comes SJU. Then SHU, although they haven't had much to cheer about in so long that they've mellowed. Nova and GT followers
aren't bad, but the midwesterners are all basically polite and willing to discuss hoops
and welcome a different viewpoint.

There have been a number of northeast schools that have left the BE, primarily to chase football money. They are not missed (by me). The league has benefited in more ways than one by expanding westward.

This is pretty spot on now but I'd say the defectors from the west (Syracuse namely) weren't great.  Pitt was a raucous gym back in the day. 


Providence is the pits today.  No real success but drunk, obnoxious and entitled.  Two years ago at the semi was pretty bad. 

UConn is like any state school.  The people with degrees are more reasonable than the fans.   

[Badgerhater]

The most obnoxious fans I've sat by at a BET game was Seton Hall in the 2019 semifinal.  Resembled the thuggery on the court during that game.

UCONN fans by me in the 2024 final were a fun group who knew basketball and respected MU.

[Warriors4ever]

I was at the 2019 tourney too, and agree about the Seton Hall fans completely.
This year I saw the UConn band at my hotel, and chatted with them a bit. Nice kids actually.

[MU gimp ONE]

I go with a UConn Alum and we have an agreement that before MU games we go to the MU Bar (Mustang Harrys) and before UConn games we go to the UConn bar (Legends).  We both wear our team's gear and have never had an issue.  I have to say, I've never had an issue at the UConn bar (just the typical "oh man, you lost? lol") and far-n-away have only been met with good basketball discussions and for the most part, compliments towards MU.  Their fans are loud and typically the largest contingency, but all my personal interactions have been good. 

Even last year, when we lost to St. Johns in the semi, it wasn't too bad.  The real St. Johns fans I met would all mention AL and want to talk about that connection.  But I think since the title last year and being in the finals this year, it has brought the worst of the worst, which is bandwagon fans from Queens.

Regardless, I stand by my original statement, that Saturday night in MSG for the Championship is the best conference tournament environment in the country.  If you haven't gone, do it once.

[swoopem]

Providence is the pits today.  No real success but drunk, obnoxious and entitled.  Two years ago at the semi was pretty bad. 

I was at the game two years ago. On the way out of MSG a couple Providence fans tried to fight me and my buddy. That fan base is full of losers.

That was an awesome time though

[Billy Hoyle]

Fairly confident that in SJU fans' heads there have only been 7 college basketball seasons since 2000 and they're still pissed one of them was revoked.  Every other year never happened

Nah, they obsess over the bad seasons more than the good. Mention Mike Jarvis or Norm Roberts to them, and it's like Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk.

[Galway Eagle]

Nah, they obsess over the bad seasons more than the good. Mention Mike Jarvis or Norm Roberts to them, and it's like Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk.

My cousin's my age so he went there 09-13. Talking to him you'd think that their 2011 team, topping out ranked 18 and lost in the first round, was the greatest thing since sliced bread. When we had Kolek he was telling me we had no Big East basketball tradition and this was a blip. I shut him up by bringing up that crowder was the 2012 BE POY and that we won it in 2013. He was awestruck because it was literally lost on him... an avid CBB fan. So anecdotal but yes I still believe they think basketball only happens when they're good.

[Billy Hoyle]

My cousin's my age so he went there 09-13. Talking to him you'd think that their 2011 team, topping out ranked 18 and lost in the first round, was the greatest thing since sliced bread. When we had Kolek he was telling me we had no Big East basketball tradition and this was a blip. I shut him up by bringing up that crowder was the 2012 BE POY and that we won it in 2013. He was awestruck because it was literally lost on him... an avid CBB fan. So anecdotal but yes I still believe they think basketball only happens when they're good.

I guess it depends on the age of fans. Anyone who was around for the Louie years, or the the early Jarvis years (Artest, Bootsy, Hatten) will dwell on that. They still hate Mike Anderson too.

One of the more amusing fan bases that ignore the bad years is SLU. They are still hung up on the year, and what could have been before four players ran a train on the drunk daughter of one of the biggest donors to the university, and were kicked out of school for the year.

[Jay Bee]

I go with a UConn Alum and we have an agreement that before MU games we go to the MU Bar (Mustang Harrys) and before UConn games we go to the UConn bar (Legends).  We both wear our team's gear and have never had an issue.  I have to say, I've never had an issue at the UConn bar (just the typical "oh man, you lost? lol") and far-n-away have only been met with good basketball discussions and for the most part, compliments towards MU.  Their fans are loud and typically the largest contingency, but all my personal interactions have been good. 

Yeah.. a few years ago when we beat UCONN in the semis... holy crap there were a lot of 'em and they were loud.  It was somewhat annoying, but not overtly rude. At the end of the game though I had numerous Husky losers say 'good game' and we generally agreed with 'let's go Big East - let's all do well in the tourney!'.

Providence fans have always given me 'ick' vibes.

[Johnny B]

Or is there generally no difference between these fan bases and u all coincidentally bumped into friendly ones or rude ones?

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I go with a UConn Alum and we have an agreement that before MU games we go to the MU Bar (Mustang Harrys) and before UConn games we go to the UConn bar (Legends).  We both wear our team's gear and have never had an issue.  I have to say, I've never had an issue at the UConn bar (just the typical "oh man, you lost? lol") and far-n-away have only been met with good basketball discussions and for the most part, compliments towards MU.  Their fans are loud and typically the largest contingency, but all my personal interactions have been good. 

Even last year, when we lost to St. Johns in the semi, it wasn't too bad.  The real St. Johns fans I met would all mention AL and want to talk about that connection.  But I think since the title last year and being in the finals this year, it has brought the worst of the worst, which is bandwagon fans from Queens.

Regardless, I stand by my original statement, that Saturday night in MSG for the Championship is the best conference tournament environment in the country.  If you haven't gone, do it once.

My cousin's husband asked before this season "When is Marquette going to be good?"  My cousin and him and one of their daughter's are UConn grads.  He was trying to make the point that UConn's wins championships and Marquette has been some time.

[MU gimp ONE]

We had the DePaul cheerleaders and band in our hotel.  Wednesday night were grabbing a few drinks at the bar next to the hotel and I was talking to some DePaul band alum (they bring in alum to play during the tourney) and I said, "man i really thought it was your year to finally get 1 or 2 wins out here."  They responded, "we didn't." 

Hahaha, that is a beatdown fanbase for sure.