will MBB or MHockey challeng for BIG championship first?

[blion72]

it may seem silly, but our hockey team might actually challenge for a BIG championship before the MBB team.

not sure if all of you agree, but it sure seems like they are closer. granted this year our MBB team played closer in many games, but I just don't feel the same in terms of the progress v hockey team.

if you think about it, PA/PSU campus and the more immediate region is rich in BB players, but the not so much ice hockey players. for the hockey team to compete it has to recruit in a wider radius than the BB team would. the hockey team is a virtual embryo compared to BB. everything would seem to favor BB - yet my bet is on hockey.

I actually hope I am wrong, as we would get a lot more recognition from a top level MBB program.

 

[Mister Magoo]

We might win it in hockey before football


If you mean the B1G tournament. Easier to beat Minnesota there, than a regular season. May never win it in basketball.

 

[VaNtyLion]

Can't fairly compare the two...

Hockey is set up so much more favorable for PSU to compete and have success. New facility, rabid fan base, central recruiting location....and the biggest thing, parity. Providence's performance just 2 years after Yale won the title as a 16 seed (out of 16 teams) shows just how much parity there is in college hockey.

PSU's situation in college hoops is a lot more challenging.

 

[fairgambit]

Hockey. *******

********

 

[fairfaxlion2]

On paper, basketball cannot even think about that conversation. However, sometimes things happen when you least expect it.

 

[blion72]

Re: Can't fairly compare the two...

I can see that hockey has a lot more parity than MBB. I am not sure that PSU is in a good recruiting region though. the top players are still originating out of the 3Ms (Minny, Mich and Mass) and Canada (mostly 401 in Ontario). since nobody recruits hockey players out of high school the Jr A locations become key. It would seem that all the other BIG teams are better positioned than us.

your point re the fans is interesting, as even though we have a new team, no hockey tradition and not a winning team - the hockey team does seem to have a lot more support than MBB. it might be that MBB has established itself as a long time losing program, and MHockey is new.

Hockey does look like the one with the best chance of winning the BIG tournament. it may also help that we only have a minority of BIG teams playing hockey - which is not likely to change anytime soon.

 

[VaNtyLion]

Re: Can't fairly compare the two...

When I'm referring to the location, if you were to draw a 6 hour radius around State College, you have a very far reach that stretches from Detroit metro into New England, and includes the most populous area of Ontario. For any athlete inside this radius, PSU becomes a very viable option if you want a big school atmosphere closer to home. There are really so few options like this in the Northeast when you consider most of the universities that make up the ECAC and Hockey East.

The other thing we have to remember is that most of the players in the USHL are not necessarily from inside that footprint. They're from all over the country, so proximity to those teams is more or less a wash given just about every D1 school recruits that league heavily.

Regarding the fan support, hockey is huge in PA and has been for a long time with the Pens and Flyers. It shouldn't be a surprise anyone that a sport that hits home with a younger demographic is a hot ticket. As a club sport, it drew better than most of PSU's varsity sports playing in a smaller venue.

This post was edited on 4/13 9:40 AM by VaNtyLion

 

[kgilbert78]

Hockey already challenged for the Big 10 this year. Fell short--but they challenged.