AAC vs Big 12

Cougar Basketball
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Watching UCF kill any remaining chance they had at securing a bid today had me reflecting on how poorly the league has been at securing bids and advancing in the tourney. Here’s every one of our current and future conference mates NCAA tournament results since the 2013-14 season. Glad we’re getting out of this dumpster fire of a league!

AAC (only counted what teams did as members of the American)
**Cincy- 6 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 3-7 tourney record
**Houston- 4 NCAAT, 3 S16s, 2 E8s, 1 F4, 10-4 tourney record
Memphis- 2 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 2-2 tourney record
Temple- 2 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 0-2 tourney record
SMU- 2 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 0-2 tourney record
Wichita- 2 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 0-2 tourney record
**UCF- 1 NCAAT appearance, 0 S16s, 1-1 tourney record
Tulsa- 1 NCAAT appearance, 0 S16s, 0-1 tourney record
USF- 0 NCAAT appearances
ECU- 0 NCAAT appearances
Tulane- 0 NCAAT appearances

Big 12
Kansas- 8 NCAAT appearances, 4 E8s, 2 F4s, 1 National Championship, 20-7 tourney record
Baylor- 7 NCAAT appearances, 3 S16s, 1 F4, 1 National Championship, 12-6 tourney record
**OU- 6 NCAAT appearances, 2 S16s, 1 F4, 8-6 tourney record
Iowa St- 6 NCAAT appearances, 3 S16s, 7-6 tourney record
**Texas- 6 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 2-6 tourney record
Texas Tech- 5 NCAAT appearances, 3 S16s, 2 E8s, 1 F4, 11-5 tourney record
WVU- 5 NCAAT appearances, 3 S16s, 6-5 tourney record
KSU- 4 NCAAT appearances, 1 E8, 4-4 tourney record
Oklahoma St- 4 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 1-4 tourney record
TCU- 2 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 1-2 tourney record

And just for good measure
BYU- 3 NCAAT appearances, 0 S16s, 0-3 tourney record

** indicates departing member

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The AAC’s had 20 bids since 2013-14 by its current members. 11 of those came from the three departing members. The league’s had 16 tournament wins, 14 of those came from the departing members. The remaining 8 teams have a combined 2-9 tourney record smh

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You mean has four National Championships.

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Since 2014? Who?

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this is going to sound nuts to some guys here… but i prefer the aac (for basketball) and its not even close for me… regular season pride does very little for me (big 12), while the idea of never having a down year does something for me (aac)
there are 4 teams in the big 12 that should probably be 7seed ncaa teams that will completely miss the tournament this year

and tho some have the googles that we will never have a down year in the big 12, that line is so thin in that league…and our down aac years is probably still comfortable tourney teams …
the big 12 is just TOO good of a league when there is no pride in regular season games… a pac 12 level league would have been ideal

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It has positives and drawbacks but one thing for sure is there is no faking your way to the tournament.
I will gladly take the more lucrative and finically rewarding Big 12.

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That’s a wild take. I want to play games that matter against quality regional opponents. Moving to the Big 12 raises our programs ceiling. Easier to make the tourney, easier to land big recruits, more revenue, more coverage for the program. Just wins all the way around.

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Got it.

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Agree with this.

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I get your point but you don’t hesitate to go to the Big12. While we will lose more game it’s way more fun to play in big games, especially at home. Why run away from the smoke? I’m very competitive so I want to play the best. Way better than playing a whole bunch of trash teams for 75% of our conference schedule. That’s just my opinion :man_shrugging:t5:

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its easier to make the tournement in the aac. there are numerous big 12 tournament caliber teams wont make the tounament this year… you just need to be NIT good to make the ncaa in the aac …

regular season local matches dont move me… im more into the tournament… 1-2 vs tcu, baylor and kansas with 11 seed… or 3-0 vs temple, cincy and tulane for a 4 seed… im taking te 3-0

money makes a difference but as a fan im not seeing any of it… recruiting wont make too much of a difference sampson himself has said it like 6 times, he has noted the last few years our programs’ brand has surpassed any conference, we were already getting everyone we wanted. even if it was true that the big 12 doesn’t boost recruiting, the fact that Sampson refuses to play along with the narrative just to hype the move is something

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im not afraid of the smoke… there just isnt a reward for beating the smoke. we destroy the gauntlet that is the big 12, come out victorious and get a 1 seed …its going to be the same 1 seed we get for cruising through the AAC…

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But playing in the FC against ranked teams like Kansas, Baylor, Kansas State, TCU…… that’s a whole different ball game. That means so much more to fans and media and the perception of your school. Better games, better rivalry’s, Better attendance. I know we “sell out” every game but that Bama crowd was wayyyy different than the smu crowd. Even tho they both labeled we sell outs.

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I mean I’m more interested in the tourney as well but at most that’s 6 games. The conference slate still makes up the bulk of our season and I’d rather us be playing in competitive games that matter nationally then watching us beat ECU and Tulane by 20-30.

And while it may be marginally easier to make the tourney in the AAC it’s certainly easier to grab a top seed and be positioned for a real run in the Big 12.

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Every team we see will be a big game. No more Tulane, Tulsa, ecu, etc
Sure we will lose more games but who cares? This such an exciting time for our programs and we keep leaping over the hurdles people said we could not.

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I bet Coach Sampson prefers the AAC also.
That said, the money, the prestige and the rivalries make it impossible to turn down

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Sorta true about the aac in bb bc there is no p5 in bb.
However the big12 will send more teams to the tourney each yr vs a 1 bid aac. We don’t have to win the big12, just be in the top 6 or 7 of it for bb. In other sports , we get more respect in the big12.

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I am guessing that football will benefit more from the big 12 move than basketball.
Football competition will go up to a moderate level, but their recruiting should theoretically go even higher, along with the money for facilities.

Basketball is already in a sweet spot in the AAC with good recruiting and relaxed conference play combined with a few competitive non-conference play, which is why CKS doesn’t want to move.
One good thing about Big 12 basketball - as long as we remain elite, the fans will enjoy the regular season more with their elite matchups.

The suits (directors & presidents) like the move to Big 12 because they get more money as a bad team in the big 12 than a good team in the AAC.

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When did Sampson say he doesn’t want us to move?

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Talking about a misquote. In no way has he said he didn’t want us to move. What he said is we can recruit and win at a high level in either conference which has proven to be accurate.

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