Five and a half hours before the Big 12 semifinals kicked off, the party already began at The Cashew
Drinks were flowing. Basketball was on the big screen while conversation and laughter filled the bar a few blocks from the Sprint Center.
It's what you would expect on the Friday of the Big 12 tournament, but instead of Rock Chalk chants at an establishment full of Jayhawk logos, it was 30 Iowa State fans packing the place.
"They made a reservation," a waitress at The Cashew said. "If they played today, they were coming out. It's a KU bar, but we won't turn anyone away."
This is what the Big 12 tournament has become. A four-day basketball nirvana in which ISU fans haven't just become the main attraction, planning ahead is required to squeeze everyone into one location in Jayhawk country.
The rise of ISU under coach Fred Hoiberg coincided with Cyclone Nation taking over the tournament and becoming a phenomenon unto itself.
This wasn't Hilton South, with ISU fans making a pilgrimage down Interstate 35.
This was Ames transplanted into Kansas City, leaving only the cornfields and clean water back in Iowa.
Everywhere you go, any time of the day it was all ISU.
Restaurants in the morning. Cyclone shirts were at most tables.
Bars at closing time, one last toast for Fred Hoiberg.
Everywhere in between it was cardinal and gold. Restaurant managers were telling the media they wanted ISU to stick around as long as possible.
It's not often Kansas fans are relegated to only one table at their own bar.
"Boy, Iowa State fans travel," said a man in a blazer while taking in the scene around the stadium two hours before the semifinals started.
The Power and Light District was all ISU and Kansas fans, with the Cyclones outnumbering the Jayhawks. Fans packed into the outdoor P&L beer garden. Cardinal was the dominant color.
And Cyclone Nation made its presence felt. "Let's Go State" chants would spontaneously rise, crescendoing to the point it could be heard a block away, finally petering out before another one would replace it, rising like a phoenix, minutes later.
"This is something else," an ISU fan in a "Hilton South" T-shirt said.
"I know, really crazy," his buddy responded.
ISU fans filled 90 percent of the arena on Thursday night. It was as close to the Hilton experience as you'll get without seeing a game in Ames.
Fans tried carrying the team through the lulls, made the roof rock during any Cyclone run, threw plenty of shade the refs and showed their anger with any call that went against their team.
Fans didn't need alcohol to feel drunk on ISU basketball in the P&L after Morris hit a buzzer-beater against Texas. Fans known for their fun-loving nature and willingness to tailgate had a chance to bask in the glow of the winner they've waited years for.
"They absolutely helped us, will us to that win with the way they were going out there," Hoiberg said after Thursday night's win. "They never got down. They kept going."
So did the Cyclones on Friday.
In the kind of postseason game fans clammor for, ISU and Oklahoma traded runs, fastbreak opportunities and big buckets. In the end, it was Jammel McKay with a dunk and block on consecutive possessions and him swatting away a missed Ryan Spangler shot in the final seconds to secure the 67-65 win.
ISU fans would always come out to the Big 12 tournament, but never like this as the Cyclonse made their second-straight tournament final. Now, it' s the party no one wants to miss.
Back in the late of the 2000s, and even the start of the Hoiberg era, there was always a Cyclone presence, but nothing overwhelming. There would be talk throughout the Sprint Center, hope that ISU could stay for more than one day. The event was always more fun with Cyclone fans hanging around.
Now, everyone has their wish. Unless they're a Kansas fan looking for a seat at The Cashew.
Ames Tribune
What happened to the Big 12 Tournament?
Time was, the Big 12 a conference basketball convention. Kansas and Missouri fans were everywhere, followed not too far behind by K-State fans. And Iowa State, of course. But even OSU fans flooded Kansas City. And there were enough OU and Nebraska fans to make you think there was a football scrimmage somewhere around.
Only Colorado was a negligible fan base. Might be 100 or so Buff fans. But there would be 700-1,000 OSU fans, and virtually that many OU fans, and almost that many Nebraska fans.
KU fans outnumbered OU fans, and Missouri fans outnumbered OSU fans, but not 10-to-1. On a routine semifinal Saturday at old Kemper Arena, the crowd might be 30 percent KU, 30 percent Mizzou, 10 percent OSU and/or OU and/or Iowa State.
Not anymore. Three schools' fans carry the tournament. Everyone else is just invited guests.
The conference once had seven of eight members in fairly close proximity to Kansas City. Only Colorado was an outlier. Now, the conference has five of 10 members who are at least an eight-hour drive away. Missouri is gone, to the SEC, and the Tigers, despite playing excellent football in their latter Big 12 years and early SEC years, are not missed much except the second week of March. Nebraska is gone, too, and who would have thought the Husker fans would have really helped? But it's true.
West Virginia has come, and the Mountaineer fans would be here if Morgantown wasn't halfway across the country from Kansas City. TCU joined the league - joining old Southwest Conference friends Baylor, Texas and Texas Tech - and while the Texas schools play some good basketball, their fans don't much care, and those that do can't always easily get to KC.
Thus the Big 12 Tournament has joined the other conference tournaments in reeling from their old days. The ACC Tournament, 15 teams strong, is a far cry from its old days as the best basketball event in the world. Five rounds, with matchups like Boston College-Georgia Tech, Pitt-North Carolina State, Virginia Tech-Miami. The Greensboro Coliseum was almost vacant by the final game Wednesday night.
The Big East Tournament also once was a testament to conference tournaments. But Connecticut is gone. Syracuse is gone. West Virginia is gone. Pitt is gone. Butler, Xavier, Creighton have replaced them. Good schools, good teams. But no more Syracuse-Georgetown. No more UConn-Villanova. Where's the sizzle?
Conference tournaments are fighting for their relevancy. Not just in Kansas City. Everywhere.
The Big 12 is stronger than most. But that's thanks to two or three fan bases. It would not have far-fetched to picture a Friday semifinals matching Baylor vs. TCU and OU vs. Texas. Ouch. The Sprint Center would have been hollow of spirit, if not butts in the seats.
So what is the Big 12 to do? Changing the schools aren't an option. Changing cities is no help. No town supports the tournament like Kansas City does and always has.
To strengthen itself, the tournament has to resort to subtler moves. So here's one.
Go back to a Sunday finish. Quit starting this thing on Wednesday. Make it a little easier on fans who might not be driving over from Lee's Summit or Olathe. Start the tournament on Thursday night, then a full day of basketball on Friday, semifinal Saturday and a championship game Sunday.
That's the way the tournament worked in the old Big Eight days (sans the first-round games) and in the Big 12 through 2008.
Then the schedule changed to accommodate the coaches, who thought the extra day would help for NCAA Tournament preparation.
That's fine, if it worked. But it hasn't. In the dozen Big 12 Tournaments that finished on Sunday, the finalists went on to go 48-22 in the NCAA Tournament. In the six Big 12 Tournaments that have finished on Saturday night, the finalists went on to go 20-11 in the NCAA Tournament.
Better percentage finishing on Sunday. In 2002, both Big 12 finalists (OU and Kansas) made the Final Four. In 2004, tournament champ OSU made the Final Four. In 2008, tournament champ Kansas won the NCAA title.
If the Saturday-finish was conducive to March Madness success, fine. But it hasn't been.
The NCAA Tournament committee likes leagues to finish on Saturday. Makes it easier on the bracketing, and that's completely understandable. But brackets came out just fine.
The committee and the coaches will survive a return to a Sunday finish. And the fans will love it.
I know OSU and OU fans would embrace a return to the former schedule. A tournament that is 75 percent played on weekdays is a big difference between a tournament that is 50 percent played on the weekend.
When we talk about the change in the Big 12 Tournament, we are talking mostly about fans. So let's do something to help the fans.
The Oklahoman
This post was edited on 3/14 12:35 PM by kcjcjhawk
Drinks were flowing. Basketball was on the big screen while conversation and laughter filled the bar a few blocks from the Sprint Center.
It's what you would expect on the Friday of the Big 12 tournament, but instead of Rock Chalk chants at an establishment full of Jayhawk logos, it was 30 Iowa State fans packing the place.
"They made a reservation," a waitress at The Cashew said. "If they played today, they were coming out. It's a KU bar, but we won't turn anyone away."
This is what the Big 12 tournament has become. A four-day basketball nirvana in which ISU fans haven't just become the main attraction, planning ahead is required to squeeze everyone into one location in Jayhawk country.
The rise of ISU under coach Fred Hoiberg coincided with Cyclone Nation taking over the tournament and becoming a phenomenon unto itself.
This wasn't Hilton South, with ISU fans making a pilgrimage down Interstate 35.
This was Ames transplanted into Kansas City, leaving only the cornfields and clean water back in Iowa.
Everywhere you go, any time of the day it was all ISU.
Restaurants in the morning. Cyclone shirts were at most tables.
Bars at closing time, one last toast for Fred Hoiberg.
Everywhere in between it was cardinal and gold. Restaurant managers were telling the media they wanted ISU to stick around as long as possible.
It's not often Kansas fans are relegated to only one table at their own bar.
"Boy, Iowa State fans travel," said a man in a blazer while taking in the scene around the stadium two hours before the semifinals started.
The Power and Light District was all ISU and Kansas fans, with the Cyclones outnumbering the Jayhawks. Fans packed into the outdoor P&L beer garden. Cardinal was the dominant color.
And Cyclone Nation made its presence felt. "Let's Go State" chants would spontaneously rise, crescendoing to the point it could be heard a block away, finally petering out before another one would replace it, rising like a phoenix, minutes later.
"This is something else," an ISU fan in a "Hilton South" T-shirt said.
"I know, really crazy," his buddy responded.
ISU fans filled 90 percent of the arena on Thursday night. It was as close to the Hilton experience as you'll get without seeing a game in Ames.
Fans tried carrying the team through the lulls, made the roof rock during any Cyclone run, threw plenty of shade the refs and showed their anger with any call that went against their team.
Fans didn't need alcohol to feel drunk on ISU basketball in the P&L after Morris hit a buzzer-beater against Texas. Fans known for their fun-loving nature and willingness to tailgate had a chance to bask in the glow of the winner they've waited years for.
"They absolutely helped us, will us to that win with the way they were going out there," Hoiberg said after Thursday night's win. "They never got down. They kept going."
So did the Cyclones on Friday.
In the kind of postseason game fans clammor for, ISU and Oklahoma traded runs, fastbreak opportunities and big buckets. In the end, it was Jammel McKay with a dunk and block on consecutive possessions and him swatting away a missed Ryan Spangler shot in the final seconds to secure the 67-65 win.
ISU fans would always come out to the Big 12 tournament, but never like this as the Cyclonse made their second-straight tournament final. Now, it' s the party no one wants to miss.
Back in the late of the 2000s, and even the start of the Hoiberg era, there was always a Cyclone presence, but nothing overwhelming. There would be talk throughout the Sprint Center, hope that ISU could stay for more than one day. The event was always more fun with Cyclone fans hanging around.
Now, everyone has their wish. Unless they're a Kansas fan looking for a seat at The Cashew.
Ames Tribune
What happened to the Big 12 Tournament?
Time was, the Big 12 a conference basketball convention. Kansas and Missouri fans were everywhere, followed not too far behind by K-State fans. And Iowa State, of course. But even OSU fans flooded Kansas City. And there were enough OU and Nebraska fans to make you think there was a football scrimmage somewhere around.
Only Colorado was a negligible fan base. Might be 100 or so Buff fans. But there would be 700-1,000 OSU fans, and virtually that many OU fans, and almost that many Nebraska fans.
KU fans outnumbered OU fans, and Missouri fans outnumbered OSU fans, but not 10-to-1. On a routine semifinal Saturday at old Kemper Arena, the crowd might be 30 percent KU, 30 percent Mizzou, 10 percent OSU and/or OU and/or Iowa State.
Not anymore. Three schools' fans carry the tournament. Everyone else is just invited guests.
The conference once had seven of eight members in fairly close proximity to Kansas City. Only Colorado was an outlier. Now, the conference has five of 10 members who are at least an eight-hour drive away. Missouri is gone, to the SEC, and the Tigers, despite playing excellent football in their latter Big 12 years and early SEC years, are not missed much except the second week of March. Nebraska is gone, too, and who would have thought the Husker fans would have really helped? But it's true.
West Virginia has come, and the Mountaineer fans would be here if Morgantown wasn't halfway across the country from Kansas City. TCU joined the league - joining old Southwest Conference friends Baylor, Texas and Texas Tech - and while the Texas schools play some good basketball, their fans don't much care, and those that do can't always easily get to KC.
Thus the Big 12 Tournament has joined the other conference tournaments in reeling from their old days. The ACC Tournament, 15 teams strong, is a far cry from its old days as the best basketball event in the world. Five rounds, with matchups like Boston College-Georgia Tech, Pitt-North Carolina State, Virginia Tech-Miami. The Greensboro Coliseum was almost vacant by the final game Wednesday night.
The Big East Tournament also once was a testament to conference tournaments. But Connecticut is gone. Syracuse is gone. West Virginia is gone. Pitt is gone. Butler, Xavier, Creighton have replaced them. Good schools, good teams. But no more Syracuse-Georgetown. No more UConn-Villanova. Where's the sizzle?
Conference tournaments are fighting for their relevancy. Not just in Kansas City. Everywhere.
The Big 12 is stronger than most. But that's thanks to two or three fan bases. It would not have far-fetched to picture a Friday semifinals matching Baylor vs. TCU and OU vs. Texas. Ouch. The Sprint Center would have been hollow of spirit, if not butts in the seats.
So what is the Big 12 to do? Changing the schools aren't an option. Changing cities is no help. No town supports the tournament like Kansas City does and always has.
To strengthen itself, the tournament has to resort to subtler moves. So here's one.
Go back to a Sunday finish. Quit starting this thing on Wednesday. Make it a little easier on fans who might not be driving over from Lee's Summit or Olathe. Start the tournament on Thursday night, then a full day of basketball on Friday, semifinal Saturday and a championship game Sunday.
That's the way the tournament worked in the old Big Eight days (sans the first-round games) and in the Big 12 through 2008.
Then the schedule changed to accommodate the coaches, who thought the extra day would help for NCAA Tournament preparation.
That's fine, if it worked. But it hasn't. In the dozen Big 12 Tournaments that finished on Sunday, the finalists went on to go 48-22 in the NCAA Tournament. In the six Big 12 Tournaments that have finished on Saturday night, the finalists went on to go 20-11 in the NCAA Tournament.
Better percentage finishing on Sunday. In 2002, both Big 12 finalists (OU and Kansas) made the Final Four. In 2004, tournament champ OSU made the Final Four. In 2008, tournament champ Kansas won the NCAA title.
If the Saturday-finish was conducive to March Madness success, fine. But it hasn't been.
The NCAA Tournament committee likes leagues to finish on Saturday. Makes it easier on the bracketing, and that's completely understandable. But brackets came out just fine.
The committee and the coaches will survive a return to a Sunday finish. And the fans will love it.
I know OSU and OU fans would embrace a return to the former schedule. A tournament that is 75 percent played on weekdays is a big difference between a tournament that is 50 percent played on the weekend.
When we talk about the change in the Big 12 Tournament, we are talking mostly about fans. So let's do something to help the fans.
The Oklahoman
This post was edited on 3/14 12:35 PM by kcjcjhawk
