Are we 100% sure that the team bused from Manhattan, Kansas, to Bloomington? Greg Wong mentioned the bus trip before signing off the KDVS broadcast against K State but, today, the Indiana commentators said some about the Ags having traveled 7000 miles recently including a flight to Indianapolis so I'm not sure if we bused or flew...??

No contingency budget? Our major sports have much larger budgets than even 5 years ago, and deeper support base. Alums pay for the training table, uniforms. Did they bus out Friday night?

I seem to recall the KDVS announcer during the K-State game saying that the Ags would bus to [don't remember the city name] before flying to Indianapolis. Could be a case of poor hearing/memory, though.

That would seem more reasonable. I just remember Greg Wong saying that "we have a long bus ride ahead," and I took it to mean a 9 hour trip to Indianapolis and I thought, wow, that would be exhausting for the team.

On social media, the girls were on a plane Saturday morning. As to the departing and arrival airports, unsure.

Two hour drive to KC. From there they probably took a flight to Indy.

The Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/article206792114.html

I am having trouble unsubscribing to BTN+ can any one help me out a bit? If I don’t do it now i will surely totally forget about it.

Hate to follow but here are some observations about todays game: this was a very difficult but winnable game for the Ags and i think it was lost due the decision to play the game in Indiana. First of all the teams played a common opponent- St Mary’s. Indiana lost to the Gaels 82 to 88 in Moraga last November. Ags dominated the Gaels 74 to 50 in Moraga in December. Perhaps more important is the fact that Indiana played its last 4 games at home and the Ags had to travel the last 3 games far, far away from home, i.e not a Big West away game. Planes, buses who knows now but the Ags had to be very leg worn out by today. And that always shows on defense which it did today. Hard to explain why the WNIT did not choose the Ags to host this game based on those factors and the fact that the Ags had a far better overall record. Anyway congratulations to Indiana and good luck!

Big crowd, tradition, name?

Big crowd, tradition, name....Bloomington newspaper covers local college sports.

https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/sports/college/iu/

The official attendance today was 6001 and, believe me, they were loud and into the game. Wow, 6000 for a women's WNIT basketball game tells you a lot about the passion for basketball that exists in Indiana. Other than Hawai'i, when is the last time anyone can remember a basketball team, men's or women's, from the Big West drawing 6000 fans for any game?

Bloomington and Davis are very similar in a lot of ways as fairly small, college towns with populations of about 85,000 and 66,000 respectively. Both towns are politically progressive and Bloomington is known in the state as a "small island of liberalism in a sea of conservatism." I'd live in Bloomington if I was ever to live in Indiana again. It's a great community.

I left Indiana shortly after I turned 19 when I went into the service and never returned. After 4 years I was discharged in Long Beach. The Beach Boys had sung songs about California Girls and I was very interested, the geographic diversity of the state boggled my mind, and I had the GI Bill so I could afford to go to school. I was here to stay.

The one thing I do miss a lot though is Indiana's passion for basketball no matter what level of the game from high school to college to the Pacers. When you drive through the small towns surrounded by cornfields you'll see a basketball hoop on just about every garage or barn. Hoosiers not only just love the game, they understand it and appreciate the complexity and beauty of it. I do miss being around that kind of passion for the game and keep hoping that, perhaps someday, we'll see the Aggies get that kind of support from the students and the community.

I loved following both teams this year and hope we have another couple of good rides next season.

Go Ags!

Excellent post-game interview with Indiana's coach, Teri Moren, who is an Indiana native. It was great to hear her say that UC Davis is a very good basketball team that it was not easy to get ready them for on a day's notice. She talks about their strategy to contain Morgan and it's very interesting. If you like basketball game plan strategy, you'll especially like the first part of the interview.

http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2018/3/25/womens-basketball-moving-on-indiana-too-much-for-uc-davis-in-wnit-quarterfinals.aspx

We were a combined 50-18 this year and 24-3 at home. Let that sink in for a minute! That a 74% overall percentage nearly 90% at home. And no reason to think next season won’t be as successful

We are most definitely on the rise but what will it take to get many more students and fans in the seats to support these basketball teams?

I grew up in Iowa City, IA. I think Iowa City and Bloomington could pass for twin cities. Basketball is not quite the event in Iowa that it is in Indiana; substitute football and wrestling. I swore I was watching Iowa City when I saw "Breaking Away." College sports are a whole different thing in that area. Think Big Game...that's the atmosphere when a Big Ten school plays their season opener against some patsy directional school from a smaller conference. By the time you get to the conference schedule the whole state shuts down for the game. It's a different world. I am here to stay, but have great memories of growing up in Big Ten country.

That's exactly how it is. The high school basketball season was the highlight of the year in the small town I grew up in. I get nostalgic about it when I see 6000 IU fans showing up and supporting the IU women's basketball team. Indiana was a pretty good place to grow up in but once I got to California a whole new world opened up for me.

The Final 4 of the WNIT are all heavyweights: TCU @ Indiana and Virginia Tech @ West Virginia.

I'm sad I didn't get to see much of the WNIT, but I am still so impressed with this group of athletes.

The same squad (basically) went 5-2 in postseason play over the last two years, with several of those wins being against Power 5 teams. What a magical era of Aggie WBB.

I shouldn't talk like it's over though. Morgan, Nina, the twins, and co. will be out for revenge in the BWCT next year.

Someone mentioned that the BW playoff format should be changed so that the highest seeds host the lower seeds. Much like the WNIT does. Seems like a good idea since many of the games are played to skimpy crowds at Honda. It definetly would help UC Davis and also all the other teams with better and more excited home crowds. But maybe the Honda is locked in for years to come?

Maybe the Big West could be like the 14 teams in the Big Ten and have their tournament in Madison Square Garden, smack dab in the geographic center of the conference? Or like the "faith-based" schools of the West Coast Conference and have the tournament in Las Vegas.

Where would the middle of the conference be, Northridge?

Ha...probably in Bakersfield now that they are coming into the conference!

Gorman. There has to be a barn someone in the Grapevine that can hold the tournament. I can see it now, the Iron Skillet Big West Tournament.

Road trip!

Can't wait! :cool:

Well if you go by the Big Ten rule it might be Flagstaff.

You can find the midpoint from this website:
http://www.geomidpoint.com/

If you add all eight schools without Hawaii, then the midpoint is south of Frazier Park, CA.
This is west of Gorman off of I-5.

The center of minimum distance is in 2650 Benedict St Los Angeles, CA 90039, USA.

If you add San Diego and Bakersfield, then the midpoint is in the Los Padres National Forest west of I-5.

The center of minimum distance is 2610 Onyx Dr Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.

Edit: Playing "weight by time" by how long you lived in each place is kinda fun. :)

Indiana continues it's roll through the WNIT, defeating TCU by 13, 71-58, in front of 7,800 fans in Bloomington. They will host Virginia Tech in Saturday's final.

Just as in the men's NIT, the Ags lost to a finalist, and played them as well as any other team has in the tournament(s).

Says a lot about both teams doesn't it! 7800 fans in Bloomington supporting their women's basketball team. I'm not sure we'd get that many fans if the men were playing the Warriors...