Sun Bowl Invitational teams
- Thread starter unihorn
- Start date
I always wanted to see. NMSU,UNM, Texas Tech ,Utep field.
No, but it’s unrealistic. I’ve always wanted to see a Duke, UCLA, Michigan, UTEP field!
I'm not Honeyboy. I'm not like Purplefire who uses 2 user names on this board. Sorry to disappoint you.
First of all most college basketball teams don't give a crap about this tournament and that's why we get the teams we have been getting.
UNM can just schedule a home game at the Pit instead and make $$$, and playing in a tournament with NMSU gives them a very good chance at losing to NMSU 3 times in like 2 months. They have no interest.
A road tournament with UTEP, UNM, and NMSU pretty much has zero benefit for Texas Tech. A loss would be embarrassing and a winning the tournament does very little for them. All they need to do is have a winning record in the Big 12 and they are a lock for the NCAA Tourney. Plus they are a top Big 12 team, why would they even want to come to some G5 school's tournament???
NMSU is the most realistic team , but why would they want to play UTEP possibly 2 times in El Paso???
How about Texas Tech, SDSU and Arizona State.....or something similar when UTEP is better in the next few years.
How come we don’t play Baylor at all?? That would be a good matchup for us
Obviously, you don’t know how these tournaments work. This tournament is NOT on national TV and is played on one of the teams homecourt. Which team out of UTEP, Tech, SDSU, and ASU is willing to take 2 losses and not play on TV???
In a best case scenario you get 1 of those 3 teams. Norfolk State is this years team willing to risk taking 2 losses for a paycheck. ETSU and Wyoming didn’t.
Is it really that difficult to understand???!
Yeah, it would. Ask Senter and Terry. They’re the only ones that can answer it.
When was the last time a Big 12, MWC, and PAC 12 team were all here in the same tournament?
The first UTEP event I attended was the Sun Carnival tourney. Texas Tech, Arizona, and Michigan. Michigan came in ranked #2 in the nation. UTEP won.
The last good team the Sun Bowl brought in was Georgetown in 2005. Sadly, it has gone downhill since then.
The reason it's hard to get good teams is because the Sun Bowl tournament is a non-exempt tournament. I am surprised it's not dead yet. It used to be you could only play like 1 or 2 exempt tournaments every 4 years but now they've done away with that and you can play in them every year. And we used to have only a few exempt tournaments such as the battle for Atlantis but now there's like 60 exempt tournaments.
Time frame is also an issue, many schools don't want to play road games so close to conference time, and some larger conferences begin play around Christmas. Four team tourneys are also a disadvantage because most feature 8, which gives you possible 3 games on a neutral court. But the biggest disadvantage is money, when you can make so much more playing a home game than two games on a "neutral" court, pretty much seals the deal. My hope is the downtown arena can develop a college tournament and include UTEP or NMSU in it every couple of years or so plus attract good quality teams and get some exposure for the city. LV, New Orleans and Charlotte offer these and they seem successful. You aren't going to see Michigan, Villanova, or Indiana ever again in the Sun Carnaval, those days are gone.
Haskins was good at pulling off upsets. I'll never forget the game with Georgetown when they were a powerhouse! They were so good at the full court press and Haskins shredded it for easy layups.That was the game that showed Timbug that he could be a star.
As this thread is about the Sun Bowl Invitational, that Georgetown game and the Sun Bowl Invitational created what I consider the three best consecutive days of UTEP Basketball that I was personally privileged to witness. After beating Georgetown on December 27, we played Ohio State in the first round of the tournament the next day, the 28th. After beating the Buckeyes we played Alabama in the championship game. The Crimson Tide were ranked in the AP poll for some of that season. Despite falling behind by about 20 in the first half, we went on to win that game going away, 74-62. That Alabama game was notable for the fact that Juden Smith and Alabama's star player, Buck Johnson, were ejected for fighting. UTEP, Alabama, and Ohio State all made the NCAA Tournament that year. The other team in the Sun Bowl Invitational field that year, Nebraska, played in the NIT.
Three wins over outstanding teams in consecutive days. I've seen a lot of great Miner moments from the stands since then, but those three days remain my favorite.
I am just curious as to why these 4 schools would be dumb enough to agree to this??
Because these teams already play each other pretty much every year. Might as well just make it a tournament. These team are close to each other and it would be cool. And for honeyjohnboy 100. Nobody cares what you think.
The downtown hotels and amenities make it a more attractive draw for visiting fans.
