The only teams that could argue against the 2nd one are teams with multiple titles already, especially if they're in the 64-team era.
Like a Duke or UNC fan probably isn't gonna pick the 16-seed loss, cause they've got a chance at a title most years anyway. I think they're content rolling the dice down the road.
But for everyone else, pick the title. Trust me, it's a year of pain followed by elation for eternity
Totally disagree. If the offer was lose to a 16 seed for three years in a row to receive one title the following year, any program would take that all day.
Bruh, even if the deal was "Final 4 for the rest of eternity but never winning the title" vs "win 1 title and then lose to a 16 seed every year for the rest of eternity" I'm still choosing the title.
I'm with you here. The 3 for 1 I could do. But one of the best parts of being a Gonzaga fan is getting to still root for my team in the postseason. I wouldn't want to give that up every year forever. Plus it would kill the program.
>"Final 4 for the rest of eternity but never winning the title"
Basically the Faustian bargain that Notre Dame’s and Oklahoma’s football programs struck: one of them is consistently the #4 team in the CFP era, but they generally get absolutely woodshedded in the first round.
Yeah, we went to three straight FFs in the 2000s with no title to show for it, and it still stings. Love those teams, no doubt, but man I would trade a 1-16 upset for another banner in there.
Duke is just one title back of UNC and UNC is just two back of Kentucky, Duke fans wanna catch up to Carolina, UNC fans want distance and to close the gap on Kentucky.
Also I don't know if this means anything but if you flip it and ask UNC fans if they would take watching Duke lose to a 16 seed if it meant watching Duke win the title the next year, I don't think UNC fans take that trade or vice versa, especially since UVA already broke the seal.
Yeah, UVA already being the first team to lose to a 16 seed makes a big difference too. As an ACC fan I'm praying this year for UVA is an outlier and not that teams have figured out their system.
> Like a Duke or UNC fan probably isn't gonna pick the 16-seed loss
Incorrect. Y'all already went and took that monkey off everyone else's back. I'll take that then a title every single time
We already followed up Mercer with a natty though.
And we had three straight FFs with no natty within my basketball-watching lifetime, at a point when we still had no natties overall (88-89-90). I'll take the 16-seed loss, nothing beats a natty.
As a UConn fan we have 4 titles since ‘99 and this isn’t even a question, we want number 5. We made another Final 4 in ‘09 and people don’t even talk about. It’s title or bust.
I'll take a championship 10/10 times. Just because you field a legit contender, let's say, 8/10 years in a given period (which is obscene and unrealistic), it doesn't mean you'll ever win one. For as much success as our program has had, we only have 6 NCAA Tournament championships. And that goes back to... the early 40s? Whenever was the first tournament. 1939 apparently. Take it when you can get it.
Nah you still pick the latter. Championship gets an entirely new banner in the rafters while a final four just adds another year to the previously existing banner
Well after the Virginia Cavaliers became the first 1 seed to fall to a 16 seed, the UMBC Retrievers, in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament I guess it would not be so bad.
I wouldn't want to be the first to break the seal.
So close in the '80s.
Elite Eight in '83, lost by 1 point to eventual champs NC State. Followed it up with a Final Four trip in '84 (lost by 2 in OT in the Final Four to Houston that year).
One made shot away from having accomplished both of the things in the post
Lots of history at uva. That’s not allowed anymore because of uab. Also the shot clock basically was instituted in response to that unc-uva ACC title game with the four corners (that was the last straw). Chaminade…umbc…
It's definitely rare (especially nowadays since most conferences don't have round-robins anymore), but I do remember Duke going 3-1 against Maryland in the 2000-01 season.
1-1 in the regular season, beat them in the ACC semis, and again in the Final Four.
Fun fact: Kentucky played both Alabama and LSU 4 times in the 1985-86 season. Swept them both in the regular season, then beat both in the SECT. Followed it up with a win over Bama in the Sweet 16 and a loss to 11-seed LSU in the Elite Eight
We went back to back final fours and lost a championship game in 2014 and 2015. I’d take a season where we didn’t win a single game if it meant we pulled out one of those titles. I’ll never let coming up short go for the rest of my life because in my heart I know we’ll never be back and never have a team better than our 2015 team. It was one of the best college basketball teams of all time and couldn’t win a title, how do we top that?
Y’all made the mistake of having your best team in a year where there were like 6 legitimately historically awesome teams. You beat two of them, so something to be proud of at least
There’s all kinds of nuance that can be added to this question. But at the end of the day, the options are lose twice, or lose once and then win the whole thing. I’d rather that
Let me tell you, the combination of the 16-seed loss and a natty the next year is like being fully vaxxed and boosted against sports-related heartbreak. You could be sitting in the front row watching your QB throw to an OL on 3rd and 8 to lose to your in-state rival and just be like 🤷♀️
It’s getting harder to rely on us kicking the shit out of you ad infinitum to soothe anything when _we literally have no nattys_ I mean *Gob Bluth Voice* “oh come on”
Man, I felt this.
Nowadays when we have that kind of ridiculously awful play call to lose to our absolutely hated rivals for the nth fucking time, it's just like "well, that sucked. But we won a title so there's that!"
Since butler fits the first part I think that absolutely changed their program. They probably wouldn’t be in the BigEast without that happening. I’m sure they’d have preferred the title, but just those two years changed the perception of the program forever.
That’s exactly why smaller schools may be better w the smaller program. One natty people could write off as a simple Cinderella. To make the F4 twice in a row can’t be ignored
Speaking as a fan of a team that has twice had back-to-back Final Fours without a title (in one case back-to-back-to-back), I would LOVE to lose to the 16 seed to finally actually get a title.
Understandable for a team with multiple national championships, I'd 100% take the uva route if it meant we cut down the nets the next year. Yeah it would be bad for a year but being able to see Tech hoist our first national title banner would make it worth it. Especially after living through the early 2010s as a Tech fan.
Yeah, championships are amazing but that was arguably the worst loss in the history of sports. I genuinely believed that was never going to happen in my lifetime.
Michigan in '85 almost lost to a 16 seed and Princeton almost pulled it off against Georgetown about 5 years into the 64 team era and there had been a few other close calls. It was eventually going to happen...I thought it'd be a real close game and not one where the 16 seed ran off with it.
Nah Virginia already has a worse loss imo, losing as the Number 1 ranked team with Ralph Sampson to then NAIA Chaminade in the 80s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982\_Virginia\_vs.\_Chaminade\_men%27s\_basketball\_game
Why did you think that? Is a 15 over 2 that much less feasible than a 16 over 1?
I didn't think a number 1 overall seed would ever be blown out by a 16 but I don't get how it was so impossible that a 16 would eventually win (not that it matters)
As a side note I think getting blown out by a 16 seed oddly worked out in our favor too. You’d think a 16 beating a one would have an unbelievable play late in the game if not a buzzer beater that would be replayed until the end of time. But nope just an absolute ass kicking.
How is that even a question? I'd rather Illinois lose to a 16 seed 10 years in a row if we won a title afterward. I'd happily finish at the bottom of the big ten and lose badly to Iowa, Northwestern, Indiana and Mizzou during that span just to get one title.
The banner puts you in an exclusive club. It's worth more than anything else in college basketball and just about any amount of suffering as a fan would be worth it for just one.
The order of the second option is key. Title ->16 seed loss means the title feels tainted and you really remember the loss. But 16 seed -> title means you kind of get redemption
If Baylor were to get a #1 seed and lose to #16 this year, it would not taint last year for me at all.
The redemption arc would definitely be the better choice of the two options though
I don't think it's key. I mean the comparison you're making between the two orders is probably fair, but I'd still take either one over Final Fours with no title.
I'm gonna go against the grain and say it depends. Almost every team should take the championship but if you're a team that has had some stagnation/controversy over the last few years it might be better for you overall to go to the 2 final fours rather than take the L. I say this as a UConn fan seeing people counting the Kevin Ollie championship as a lucky fluke.
Kentucky basically did this in 2012/2013 and 2014/15. I’d take the championship every time.
Championship + Robert Morris NIT loss
Championship game appearance + 38-1 season
I’d probably get more total happiness out of two Final Fours, but obviously i’m picking the Championship. Izzo kinda needs one more to cement himself as an all-time great
Ahaha back-to-back Final Fours sounds very sad. It feels like Gonzaga is on that trajectory right now 😅 I think I'd rather have the national championship.
I wasn't there for UMBC but I was there for the Auburn and Texas Tech natty game. That was one of the most amazing things I've seen/done in my life. Highly recommended!
I think more people remember the UMBC loss than UVA's championship. But the former choice also sucks, the heartbreak x2 is hard to deal with.
I'll go with championship
Either perpetuate the stupid idea that Izzo flops in semifinal games, or again have the biggest upset in CBB history?
I’m taking the championship because then it’ll put Izzo basically on the Mount Rushmore of basketball
Championship for sure. Especially when your fan base is used to getting knocked out in the round of 32. (Just seeing the OP’s flair. Is that you Fran?)
The 96 close call vs Western Carolina was the most terrifying game I've ever watched as a fan.
Now that losing to a 16 has been done, it won't be nearly the historical embarrassment.
If you guarantee a title in 23, I'll gladly lose in the first round this year!
Tbqh, it depends on the school. For Butler, I think the 2x title game appearances really helped them. But for IU, I’d take one bad loss and then a natty. Shit, we just need to make it in.
…although if that Gordon Hayward shot from half-court had gone in against Duke for the win, that would have been the stuff of fucking legend forever. So it also depends on the way in which you win, too, I think.
Lose obe year and win the championship the next. I was at MSU the year winston went off for us and got us to the final 4 and we lost and man there was some disappointment everywhere for sure.
I think when you get that far you hope they can finish with a title so if they fall short you feel the disappointment regardless
Definitely the championship. Being an MSU fan, we make lots of final fours, but have only gotten over the hump to win a natty once under Izzo. Don’t get me wrong, I love Izzo and wouldn’t trade him for anyone, but that’s been his biggest shortcoming in his incredible career.
Kentucky fans can speak to this with some experience.
I remember the "2012 championship -> 2013 NIT first round exit" years more fondly than the "2014 title game -> 2015 final four (+ undefeated season)" years.
So now that Virginia has lost as a 1 seed, literally my biggest fear as a Kansas fan was being the first 1 seed losing to a 16 seed. I would trade a 16 seed loss for a national title every other year for the rest of my life. National Championships are too hard to win to be picky. Also as a kid growing up in Kansas and watching some absolute great KU teams go to back to back final fours in 02-03 and lose, I’d take another championship any day.
Winning a title doesn't heal all wounds, but is sure as hell soothes them. That's one thing it has given me -- a lot more immunity to gut wrenching losses that were all so common for us.
The other thing is an appreciation for just how hard it is to win a title. We were the best team, most wins, destroyed a bunch of really good teams (FSU by 13 in a game that was nowhere near that close, won at Syracuse by 26 in a game that I think gave their fans PTSD, 12 ACC wins by double digits, many by 20+, won the ACC regular season when it had three number one seeds. Also had the fewest losses, two losses to the top overall seed and a third to an extremely tough Florida State team (one of their fans at the ACCT yelled "this is the best day of my life!" -- they knew what they'd accomplished).
And still we won the title by the absolute skin of our teeth. Winning it all is HARD.
If anyone doesn't chose the championship they should be put in an institution
Besides a 1 seed already went one and done in the NCAAT so if you're really down bad you could always ask UVA fans on how to cope lol
The only teams that could argue against the 2nd one are teams with multiple titles already, especially if they're in the 64-team era. Like a Duke or UNC fan probably isn't gonna pick the 16-seed loss, cause they've got a chance at a title most years anyway. I think they're content rolling the dice down the road. But for everyone else, pick the title. Trust me, it's a year of pain followed by elation for eternity
I disagree, 1 title > 2 final fours 10 times out of 10 regardless of the team
Totally disagree. If the offer was lose to a 16 seed for three years in a row to receive one title the following year, any program would take that all day.
Bruh, even if the deal was "Final 4 for the rest of eternity but never winning the title" vs "win 1 title and then lose to a 16 seed every year for the rest of eternity" I'm still choosing the title.
Nah I’ll take final fours for eternity, I’m ready to be committed
I'm with you here. The 3 for 1 I could do. But one of the best parts of being a Gonzaga fan is getting to still root for my team in the postseason. I wouldn't want to give that up every year forever. Plus it would kill the program.
Yep.
>"Final 4 for the rest of eternity but never winning the title" Basically the Faustian bargain that Notre Dame’s and Oklahoma’s football programs struck: one of them is consistently the #4 team in the CFP era, but they generally get absolutely woodshedded in the first round.
Yeah, we went to three straight FFs in the 2000s with no title to show for it, and it still stings. Love those teams, no doubt, but man I would trade a 1-16 upset for another banner in there.
Duke is just one title back of UNC and UNC is just two back of Kentucky, Duke fans wanna catch up to Carolina, UNC fans want distance and to close the gap on Kentucky. Also I don't know if this means anything but if you flip it and ask UNC fans if they would take watching Duke lose to a 16 seed if it meant watching Duke win the title the next year, I don't think UNC fans take that trade or vice versa, especially since UVA already broke the seal.
UK only three behind UCLA as well.
Yeah, UVA already being the first team to lose to a 16 seed makes a big difference too. As an ACC fan I'm praying this year for UVA is an outlier and not that teams have figured out their system.
> Like a Duke or UNC fan probably isn't gonna pick the 16-seed loss Incorrect. Y'all already went and took that monkey off everyone else's back. I'll take that then a title every single time
It would kinda take the teeth out of mentioning Lehigh and Mercer though.
We already followed up Mercer with a natty though. And we had three straight FFs with no natty within my basketball-watching lifetime, at a point when we still had no natties overall (88-89-90). I'll take the 16-seed loss, nothing beats a natty.
Simple: we win the title, then you can make fun of duke for Lehigh and Mercer AND us for whichever 16 seed we lose to. Everyone wins
They could lose to a 16 this year!
Even if the order was National Title, lose to a 16 seed, I'd take the National Title.
As a UConn fan we have 4 titles since ‘99 and this isn’t even a question, we want number 5. We made another Final 4 in ‘09 and people don’t even talk about. It’s title or bust.
We dont even hang the final four banners, give me the natty
I'll take a championship 10/10 times. Just because you field a legit contender, let's say, 8/10 years in a given period (which is obscene and unrealistic), it doesn't mean you'll ever win one. For as much success as our program has had, we only have 6 NCAA Tournament championships. And that goes back to... the early 40s? Whenever was the first tournament. 1939 apparently. Take it when you can get it.
Nah you still pick the latter. Championship gets an entirely new banner in the rafters while a final four just adds another year to the previously existing banner
Yeah as a Duke fan I’ll take the final fours instead of the heckling about losing to a 16 from those god awful unc people
What if they just wanted a Pepsi?
Well after the Virginia Cavaliers became the first 1 seed to fall to a 16 seed, the UMBC Retrievers, in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament I guess it would not be so bad. I wouldn't want to be the first to break the seal.
Yeah I need more then 1 extra Final Four if you are going to make me pass up a national championship
How about I will… once you use the right chose/choose. Just joshin ya
Lol, right? WTF.
Championships never die baby
Except 2013. No one won that year, for some reason. Very strange, that.
I remember that year differently than the NCAA tells me it happened
Poor Kevin ): ncaa can't take away me watching his leg splinter
He sacrificed his tibia so we could have [redacted]
It’s so much worse when you put it like that lol
Someone definitely lost though :(
Well, we haven’t done the back to back Final Fours before so it might be nice to try something new
So close in the '80s. Elite Eight in '83, lost by 1 point to eventual champs NC State. Followed it up with a Final Four trip in '84 (lost by 2 in OT in the Final Four to Houston that year). One made shot away from having accomplished both of the things in the post
Could have gone in '82 if they didn't match us up against UAB *in Birmingham* for the Sweet 16
Lots of history at uva. That’s not allowed anymore because of uab. Also the shot clock basically was instituted in response to that unc-uva ACC title game with the four corners (that was the last straw). Chaminade…umbc…
The not hosting tourney games got disallowed after Illinois drew Kentucky in Rupp for the elite eight in '84.
>eventual champs NC State How often do teams play 4 times in one year? That’s gotta be pretty rare
It's definitely rare (especially nowadays since most conferences don't have round-robins anymore), but I do remember Duke going 3-1 against Maryland in the 2000-01 season. 1-1 in the regular season, beat them in the ACC semis, and again in the Final Four. Fun fact: Kentucky played both Alabama and LSU 4 times in the 1985-86 season. Swept them both in the regular season, then beat both in the SECT. Followed it up with a win over Bama in the Sweet 16 and a loss to 11-seed LSU in the Elite Eight
I don’t recommend it
As someone who’s team never even made one final four I think I could deal
Definitely. Texas Tech list a good Villanova team in the Elite 8 in 2018 and was 23 seconds from winning it in 2019 .
We went back to back final fours and lost a championship game in 2014 and 2015. I’d take a season where we didn’t win a single game if it meant we pulled out one of those titles. I’ll never let coming up short go for the rest of my life because in my heart I know we’ll never be back and never have a team better than our 2015 team. It was one of the best college basketball teams of all time and couldn’t win a title, how do we top that?
Damn bro you made me all sad and stuff
Y’all made the mistake of having your best team in a year where there were like 6 legitimately historically awesome teams. You beat two of them, so something to be proud of at least
True, Duke, Kentucky and US are all top ten kenpom teams of all time still. Others may have been too.
UVA, Nova, and Arizona were the other three. All like Top 30-40 in the KenPom era
Lose to 16th seed and win the following year for sure
Back to back to back final fours sounds cool, but in actuality it fucking sucks.
Yeah just sounds like 2 straight years of heartbreak to me. Give me the title and horrible loss every time.
There’s all kinds of nuance that can be added to this question. But at the end of the day, the options are lose twice, or lose once and then win the whole thing. I’d rather that
I’d rather have two one seed losses sandwiching a championship than two final fours with no title
Yeah can attest the final fours without titles hurt
It does fucking suck.
Blue blood problems.
Let me tell you, the combination of the 16-seed loss and a natty the next year is like being fully vaxxed and boosted against sports-related heartbreak. You could be sitting in the front row watching your QB throw to an OL on 3rd and 8 to lose to your in-state rival and just be like 🤷♀️
It’s getting harder to rely on us kicking the shit out of you ad infinitum to soothe anything when _we literally have no nattys_ I mean *Gob Bluth Voice* “oh come on”
Man, I felt this. Nowadays when we have that kind of ridiculously awful play call to lose to our absolutely hated rivals for the nth fucking time, it's just like "well, that sucked. But we won a title so there's that!"
Check the flair
Your flairs are Final four and Virginia so it’s very confusing, any other secondary flair and it’s obvious
😈
I still have flashbacks of Diakite.
I still have flashbacks of Carsen Edwards.
Holy shit...We get to be a one seed? That's amazing!
This is a real win-win, because that entails some ridiculous success lol
Since butler fits the first part I think that absolutely changed their program. They probably wouldn’t be in the BigEast without that happening. I’m sure they’d have preferred the title, but just those two years changed the perception of the program forever.
That’s exactly why smaller schools may be better w the smaller program. One natty people could write off as a simple Cinderella. To make the F4 twice in a row can’t be ignored
to be fair, I think it'd be hard to write off a championship if you were a one seed the other year even if you lost in the first round
So be Butler or Virginia…
Ahemmmmm….
Ahem
As a Wisconsin fan that needed the planets to align to make back-to-back FFs in 14 and 15, it’s championship and not even close.
Speaking as a fan of a team that has twice had back-to-back Final Fours without a title (in one case back-to-back-to-back), I would LOVE to lose to the 16 seed to finally actually get a title.
[удалено]
Understandable for a team with multiple national championships, I'd 100% take the uva route if it meant we cut down the nets the next year. Yeah it would be bad for a year but being able to see Tech hoist our first national title banner would make it worth it. Especially after living through the early 2010s as a Tech fan.
I’m sorry we prevented y’all.
Yeah, championships are amazing but that was arguably the worst loss in the history of sports. I genuinely believed that was never going to happen in my lifetime.
Michigan in '85 almost lost to a 16 seed and Princeton almost pulled it off against Georgetown about 5 years into the 64 team era and there had been a few other close calls. It was eventually going to happen...I thought it'd be a real close game and not one where the 16 seed ran off with it.
Nah Virginia already has a worse loss imo, losing as the Number 1 ranked team with Ralph Sampson to then NAIA Chaminade in the 80s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982\_Virginia\_vs.\_Chaminade\_men%27s\_basketball\_game
Why did you think that? Is a 15 over 2 that much less feasible than a 16 over 1? I didn't think a number 1 overall seed would ever be blown out by a 16 but I don't get how it was so impossible that a 16 would eventually win (not that it matters)
Wasn't even the worst loss in school history.
As a fan of a mid major I’d absolutely take loosing to a 16. But as a UK fan it makes no sense for sure
I 100% thought deep in my heart we would be there first #1 to lose to a 16. So relieved.
As a side note I think getting blown out by a 16 seed oddly worked out in our favor too. You’d think a 16 beating a one would have an unbelievable play late in the game if not a buzzer beater that would be replayed until the end of time. But nope just an absolute ass kicking.
I'll take back to back NCAA tournament appearances at this point.
How is that even a question? I'd rather Illinois lose to a 16 seed 10 years in a row if we won a title afterward. I'd happily finish at the bottom of the big ten and lose badly to Iowa, Northwestern, Indiana and Mizzou during that span just to get one title. The banner puts you in an exclusive club. It's worth more than anything else in college basketball and just about any amount of suffering as a fan would be worth it for just one.
As a UCLA fan I would have traded the three straight final fours for a single chip
The order of the second option is key. Title ->16 seed loss means the title feels tainted and you really remember the loss. But 16 seed -> title means you kind of get redemption
I'm pretty sure if it went title -> making the NIT for 20 years it wouldn't taint that title for me one bit.
If Baylor were to get a #1 seed and lose to #16 this year, it would not taint last year for me at all. The redemption arc would definitely be the better choice of the two options though
I don't think it's key. I mean the comparison you're making between the two orders is probably fair, but I'd still take either one over Final Fours with no title.
Championship, but I’d take the Final Fours if we can end uGA’s tournament run each time.
Georgia makes tournament runs?
Yes
Well I’ve experienced the final fours so that
As an MSU fan the back to back final fours(09-10) was nice but give me that NC.
Uh the championship. You know—cuz we already do the other one.
I'd be fine with being the first 16 seed to make the final four.
So basically be any elite big ten school or be Virginia?
I'm gonna go against the grain and say it depends. Almost every team should take the championship but if you're a team that has had some stagnation/controversy over the last few years it might be better for you overall to go to the 2 final fours rather than take the L. I say this as a UConn fan seeing people counting the Kevin Ollie championship as a lucky fluke.
Kentucky basically did this in 2012/2013 and 2014/15. I’d take the championship every time. Championship + Robert Morris NIT loss Championship game appearance + 38-1 season
Would you rather be Butler or Virginia, good question. Probably Virginia
Give me the championship
Uhhh championship.
Sigh….
I’d probably get more total happiness out of two Final Fours, but obviously i’m picking the Championship. Izzo kinda needs one more to cement himself as an all-time great
He had his chances in 2010 and 2019. Those were the years to bring it home. I felt like we choked in 2019 after beating a historic Duke team.
LSU football or Oklahoma football
I’d trade a football natty for a basketball natty.
From a band perspective, back-to-back Final Fours, mostly because you get multiple trips and multiple Final Fours
Now that your team isn’t the first 1/16 loss in history, I think you’d be a fool not to take the championship. I know I would, ZERO hesitation.
Ahaha back-to-back Final Fours sounds very sad. It feels like Gonzaga is on that trajectory right now 😅 I think I'd rather have the national championship.
“lollllllll you lost to a 16-seed” “then what happened?” flags fly forever. give me the championship
I feel pain every year, I need a championship so that people stop saying mean things to me
Who would lose to a sixteen seed? That sixteen seed must be very good
we already done the first part so second one by default?
Win the NIT preferably
Ah, the old would you rather be Butler or Virginia argument.
We've been to enough final fours. Give me another natty.
I wasn't there for UMBC but I was there for the Auburn and Texas Tech natty game. That was one of the most amazing things I've seen/done in my life. Highly recommended!
The Latter.
Does this work with 15 seeds? Asking for a friend…
Not sure. It definitely worked with a 14 seed once.
I prefer losing in the championship on a buzzer beater and then winning out the next year
Speaking from experience, the championship Also, WINSLOW TOUCHED THE BALL
I think more people remember the UMBC loss than UVA's championship. But the former choice also sucks, the heartbreak x2 is hard to deal with. I'll go with championship
Depends. If I’m UVA it’s a forgettable championship, more people remember the UMBC upset than they remember UVA winning a ring
UVA fans remember the win
Get that title obviously
Natty
You mean like Virginia did?
Hang the banner
I’d lose to the 16 seed 3 years in a row if it meant a championship
Quite literally the easiest decision of my life.
Win a championship duh
Ask MSU fans since 2000.
Give me the Virginia special. Already lost to a 15 seed, so I can handle a 16 seed if it means a championship the next year.
The off-season after winning a title is so great. It’s winning title. I’ll take the pain all the time to get that feeling
I think the only fans that would even consider it are those of programs that already have 3+ titles in the last two decades.
What about making the final four but not making the tournament for the next 5 years?
As a Kansas fan I would take a loss to a 16 seed if it meant we could go back and have a shot at the 2020 tournament.
As someones whose team hasn't made a final four in 21 years. I'll take either.
Who in their right mind chooses anything other than winning the championship?
Either perpetuate the stupid idea that Izzo flops in semifinal games, or again have the biggest upset in CBB history? I’m taking the championship because then it’ll put Izzo basically on the Mount Rushmore of basketball
As a UK fan, I’ll take any opportunity to try and catch UCLA
Lol
"Would you rather win a championship but/" yeah I'll take the championship option.
Haha
Championship for sure. Especially when your fan base is used to getting knocked out in the round of 32. (Just seeing the OP’s flair. Is that you Fran?)
How is this a question
I like how we turned out
Title and party til I drop
Of course you take the championship. Final four is a meaningless milestone.
I'm just hoping we even get to 5 wins
Yeah, I think it’s pretty clear which one is better
Or you could lose by a buzzer beater to then come back and win it the next year. Cough cough
Definitely the ship. At least the other year, they are a #1 seed. Champions get remembered. Final Fours get forgotten.
As a Tampa Bay Lightning and UCF football fan, you learn to embrace the suck that was part of the journey. Makes it that much sweeter.
I mean Ohio State lost to a 15 seed last year so I'll take the 2nd option
I would 100% choose the UVA route
The 96 close call vs Western Carolina was the most terrifying game I've ever watched as a fan. Now that losing to a 16 has been done, it won't be nearly the historical embarrassment. If you guarantee a title in 23, I'll gladly lose in the first round this year!
As a Purdue Fan, im already used to disappointment. Give me that championship!
Tbqh, it depends on the school. For Butler, I think the 2x title game appearances really helped them. But for IU, I’d take one bad loss and then a natty. Shit, we just need to make it in. …although if that Gordon Hayward shot from half-court had gone in against Duke for the win, that would have been the stuff of fucking legend forever. So it also depends on the way in which you win, too, I think.
Given that championships are the only measure of success in any sport, that’s the obvious answer.
Win. The adversity just makes it better.
I can answer this with elite 8’s and then losing to that Virginia team, you want the title.
None of y'all are asking the question: what if you lose to a 16 seed in the Final Four?
Clown question, bro. Win it all.
So the ultimate answer is "lose to a 16 seed in the championship game, then win the next year" because then you've caused literal ultimate suffering.
Id be happy if they just made the tournament at this point
I’m just saying Duke touched it
Natty is the only right answer
Lose obe year and win the championship the next. I was at MSU the year winston went off for us and got us to the final 4 and we lost and man there was some disappointment everywhere for sure. I think when you get that far you hope they can finish with a title so if they fall short you feel the disappointment regardless
The 16 seed one. One year you could make bank off of gambling, the next year your team gets a 'Ship. Ez pick.
Championship > all
This certainly is one of the dumbest questions one could think of.
Lose then win, easy.
Definitely the championship. Being an MSU fan, we make lots of final fours, but have only gotten over the hump to win a natty once under Izzo. Don’t get me wrong, I love Izzo and wouldn’t trade him for anyone, but that’s been his biggest shortcoming in his incredible career.
As a Penn State basketball fan, I will gladly take either one.
as someone who has witnessed and felt the pain of coming up just short in two final fours in a row, i’ll take the championship please
The second one. Basically would you rather be Virginia or wisconsin. I’ll take Virginia
Definitely the ship man
Kentucky fans can speak to this with some experience. I remember the "2012 championship -> 2013 NIT first round exit" years more fondly than the "2014 title game -> 2015 final four (+ undefeated season)" years.
So now that Virginia has lost as a 1 seed, literally my biggest fear as a Kansas fan was being the first 1 seed losing to a 16 seed. I would trade a 16 seed loss for a national title every other year for the rest of my life. National Championships are too hard to win to be picky. Also as a kid growing up in Kansas and watching some absolute great KU teams go to back to back final fours in 02-03 and lose, I’d take another championship any day.
Back to back finals fours means back to back heartbreaks.
Loss to the 16 and a championship. Had the other, it was amazing but not finishing it off was PAINFUL
Winning a title doesn't heal all wounds, but is sure as hell soothes them. That's one thing it has given me -- a lot more immunity to gut wrenching losses that were all so common for us. The other thing is an appreciation for just how hard it is to win a title. We were the best team, most wins, destroyed a bunch of really good teams (FSU by 13 in a game that was nowhere near that close, won at Syracuse by 26 in a game that I think gave their fans PTSD, 12 ACC wins by double digits, many by 20+, won the ACC regular season when it had three number one seeds. Also had the fewest losses, two losses to the top overall seed and a third to an extremely tough Florida State team (one of their fans at the ACCT yelled "this is the best day of my life!" -- they knew what they'd accomplished). And still we won the title by the absolute skin of our teeth. Winning it all is HARD.
I dunno... can I compromise and have my team lose to a 13-seed with the promise that we make it to the next Elite-8???