NBA vs College Basketball

[Big Sexy]

The thread is simple. Which do you like better: The NBA or College Basketball? Both have their strengths and weaknesses but I personally prefer the NBA.

College Basketabll

Pros- The game is officiated better. Traveling actually gets called and star players don't get as much preferential treatment. The NCAA tournament is one of the most exciting events in all of sports. The unpredictability and upsets add a lot of excitement.

Cons- Outside the month of March it doesn't generate very much interest. There is also a lot of shitty play. Some of the free throw percentages by these college players are absolutely horrendous. At one point a highly touted Michigan State freshmen was at 17% for the season. There also seems to be a high reliability on the three point shot (one reason is obviously because of the short distance of the three point line compared to the NBA but it's still overly used).

NBA

Pros- It features the best of the best. Out of all the major sports the NBA is the hardest to get into. 30 teams with just 12-15 roster spots makes it very difficult to make it. There's nothing like watching the best players in the world go toe to toe every night. Playoff time is also very exciting. Unlike the NCCA tournament, the best team is almost always going to win the NBA title. With 7 game series it is a lot harder for upsets (which some may see as a negative but I prefer seeing the best teams playing to win it all).

Cons- The rules are not enforced that well. Traveling is a very normal occurrence and at the end of games the star players sometimes get calls that they shouldn't. There's also a lot of big egos in the NBA and that hurts a lot of teams and the game as a whole.

I prefer the NBA because I enjoy seeing the best players in the world go out and compete on a nightly basis. Don't get me wrong I love College Basketball but the only time I watch it over the NBA is in March. The conference tournaments and NCAA tournament are great, but the regular season doesn't interest me much. Overall the NBA is just more entertaining.

 

[jmt225]

I prefer the NBA.

It's an unpopular opinion, but that's how I feel.

The fact of the matter is, I can sit down and watch an NBA game any given night from start to finish. It doesn't matter who's playing, I can watch it and thoroughly enjoy it. I cannot say the same for college basketball. Why is that? Well, for one... I know everyone in the NBA. I know every player that is worth knowing, I know the commentators and analyst, even in a lot of the local markets since I have League Pass. Whereas with college, of course everything changes year to year. And the only time the shit's worth watching is March/April. I cannot sit down and watch an early regular season college basketball game all the way through and care about what's going on (unless LSU's playing).

Also... I prefer the fast pace game of the NBA. There are only 24 seconds to a shot clock, and only 8 seconds to get the ball across mid-court, so the game flows along, instead of drag ass.

Now, do I wish there was better reffing in the NBA? Absolutely. Do I wish certain teams didn't rely on one-on-one isolation so much to win games? Yes. But for the most part, that does not keep me from enjoying the game. And besides, college, as much as a lot of people don't like to admit it, has a lot of these same problems. Only schools like Duke stick to the pure "team" aspect of the game. But for the most part, college basketball today is just as guilty as professional basketball of handing the ball to one person and telling him to win the game for us (look at the Ohio State game from tonight for proof of that).

So, all in all... yes, I do enjoy March Madness, and yes... I appreciate college basketball and respect those who prefer it, but the NBA to me is just the more entertaining game. As much as everyone loves March Madness, I love the NBA Playoffs that much more. Every night for a good month there's a great game on, with the best athletes in the World competing against one another for one goal, which is of course to win the NBA Championship. To me, March Madness absolutely cannot compete with that.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I prefer the NBA over College basketball any day. I'm sorry, but March Madness is just way too much shit for me to follow. There are so many teams, and to tell you the truth, I don't even start regularly watching the tournament until it gets down to the Sweet 16. The NBA playoffs on the other hand are much easier to follow. The first round of the playoffs might be kind of slow, but the conference finals are usually good to watch. Over the years, there really hasn't been that epic NBA Finals match up. Personally, the Heat VS Mavericks has been my favorite NBA Finals so far, but that's only because I'm such a huge fan of the Miami Heat. I think the last great NBA Finals match up was the Bulls VS Jazz series. Jordan provided us with so many memorable moments in both of those series.

Then of course, there's always the star power to look forward to in the NBA. I would much rather watch Lebron James,Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Shaq, and Carmello Anthony, than watch Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, or Duke. It's always more fun to see the best players in the world than see the elite college basketball teams. Don't get me wrong, I love watching Duke and North Carolina play sometimes, but I would rather watch Kobe go for 40 or 50 points or Lebron dominate a game.

 

[Mr. TM]

In general, I watch an NBA game ever 10-12 days, so it isn't something I do often. Usually on a Sunday for a day game if there is a good game on. But I usually just turn it on to nap to, or do some homework to. Not really something I am interested in paying attention to. But March Madness on the other hand, is like watching a month long version of the Royal Rumble. I love the excitement up to the finals, following along and seeing how a team that has no shot meets up with a great team who isn't as sharp that night, and win. So I think I like college basketball more.

 

[INDYjon22]

I prefer college basketball more. I find it to be more entertaining regardless of what Colin Cowhard says. In my eyes nothing beats seeing a little team like Providence not just beat but destroy a team like Villanova.

College basketball also seems more team oriented which is something the NBA lost for awhile but is starting to get back. The passing may get boring but at least we know that they are being encouraged to spread the ball around. Also, the NCAA tournament is much more fun to watch then the NBA tournament. While I enjoy both I definitely prefer College Basketball.

 

[gd]

While the actual product may not be as good, I prefer college basketball. First of all, I actually have a hometown team to root for, which makes viewing all that much better. March Madness also absolutely trumps anything the NBA can give you. The upsets, filling out brackets and the emotions displayed througout are just incredible. I'd take it over the NBA playoffs any day.

The NBA is a "better" game, as one sports writer somewhat accurately described College Basketball as "a 3 point contest with rebounding", which is true in a lot of regards. I know I can see the best in the world in the NBA, but the passion and emotion is just not there each and every night.

 

[Big Sexy]

I'm bumping this for a couple reasons

1. In the sports bar there was a little mini debate over this and I provided a link and challenged a couple people to post in here. They have obviously declined thus far but now it's right in front of them so no excuses.

2. I won't tell people it's completely wrong to think college basketball is better because although I like the NBA better, I still love college basketball. However, some people during the little mini debate were doing nothing but trashing the NBA and gave completely ridiculous and false reasons for why they think it sucks.

For those people who think the NBA sucks and that college is a superior game, man up and come debate in this thread.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

College is better from my perspective. A big reason is I don't have a team in my city, or even my state so I'm not attached to anything in the NBA, as for college I love all things Mizzou and watch SLU whenever I can. I haven't been really into the Billikens since Charlie Spoonhour left but Rick Majeras is doing good things with the program. One thing that makes me enjoy college over the NBA is the atmosphere of the games, you have all those kids that are going crazy with their facepaint and jumping around chanting. Duke-North Carolina is a match up that gets me excited every time, that's something you don't really have in the NBA. Everyone in the NBA are friends, you just don't get the same kinds of rivalries in the NBA.

 

[Big Sexy]

College is better from my perspective. A big reason is I don't have a team in my city, or even my state so I'm not attached to anything in the NBA, as for college I love all things Mizzou and watch SLU whenever I can. I haven't been really into the Billikens since Charlie Spoonhour left but Rick Majeras is doing good things with the program. One thing that makes me enjoy college over the NBA is the atmosphere of the games, you have all those kids that are going crazy with their facepaint and jumping around chanting. Duke-North Carolina is a match up that gets me excited every time, that's something you don't really have in the NBA. Everyone in the NBA are friends, you just don't get the same kinds of rivalries in the NBA.

This opinion I can respect. Obviously if you don't have a home town NBA team then it's hard to get attached and the atmosphere in college ball is certainly better then the NBA in most situations. Those are the few advantages that the college game has over the NBA.

In terms of overall game play the NBA is far superior and that coupled with the fact that outside of March Madness, and a few rivalry games here and there, the college season is somewhat boring, I find the NBA more enjoyable.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

This opinion I can respect. Obviously if you don't have a home town NBA team then it's hard to get attached and the atmosphere in college ball is certainly better then the NBA in most situations. Those are the few advantages that the college game has over the NBA.

In terms of overall game play the NBA is far superior and that coupled with the fact that outside of March Madness, and a few rivalry games here and there, the college season is somewhat boring, I find the NBA more enjoyable.

The other side of the ball is the NBA regular season can be boring too. The games usually aren't as close and even if they are it's a marathon season so one game isn't going to hurt that bad if you lose. It's something that keeps people away from the NBA, at least people I've talked to about it. If there were less games the NBA would probably be a bit more popular with the fans because every game would count, that's why March Madness is so damn successful. I do love the NBA, but a few changes would help it out, the length of the season, ends of games, and foul calls. The foul calls in the NBA get a bit ridiculous and we all know it. We just accept it. Same with the end of close games, 5 timeouts and 4 fouls later we end up with a winner because they can make free throws. That's really a basketball problem in general though.

 

[Big Sexy]

The other side of the ball is the NBA regular season can be boring too. The games usually aren't as close and even if they are it's a marathon season so one game isn't going to hurt that bad if you lose. It's something that keeps people away from the NBA, at least people I've talked to about it. If there were less games the NBA would probably be a bit more popular with the fans because every game would count, that's why March Madness is so damn successful. I do love the NBA, but a few changes would help it out, the length of the season, ends of games, and foul calls. The foul calls in the NBA get a bit ridiculous and we all know it. We just accept it. Same with the end of close games, 5 timeouts and 4 fouls later we end up with a winner because they can make free throws. That's really a basketball problem in general though.

The end of the game thing happens in college basketball as well so it's really a moot point. As far as the NBA regular season getting boring there may be some truth to that for casual fans but it is still far better then the college regular season. In the NBA you have the best players in the world going at it every night. It's a lot easier for me to sit through an NBA game in December between the Lakers and Mavericks then it would be for me to sit and watch Duke vs Florida State around the same time period. The NBA takes somewhat of a backseat for me in March and March only. Outside of that the NBA is easily the more entertaining product.

 

[Megatron]

I'm not a huge fan of basketball, although when I do watch it, I prefer the college game. Specifically, the Big 10/Big East/ACC/Big 12. The emotion is always there for every single conference game, and it always seems like a team is out of it because of the ability to get hot quickly. March Madness far beats the NBA Playoffs, which take way too long for my liking. They should either shorten up the series or lessen the games. I'd prefer the former. Plus, I'm more attached to Michigan State then the Pistons, who are low on my teams to watch since they traded Billups. Yes, I'll watch the big games on Sundays, but I'd watch a Villanova/Syracuse game over a Lakers/Celtics game almost any day of the week.

 

[Big Sexy]

March Madness far beats the NBA Playoffs, which take way too long for my liking. They should either shorten up the series or lessen the games. I'd prefer the former.

The thing about the NBA playoffs that is better then March Madness is you know the best team in the NBA is going to win when it's all said and done. It takes only 6 wins to get the NCAA title and after 1 loss you're gone. There is no way a team can get lucky in the NBA playoffs for its entire duration. A 7 game series basically guarantees the better team is going to win. A lot of people love the upset aspect more then anything and while it does add excitement I'd rather see the best of the best going at it.

In terms of rather watching Nova vs Cuse over a Lakers vs C's game, I don't get that at all. The NBA game is faster paced, better played, and there is far more talent on the floor. The college shot clock is too long, the three point line is too close and the free throw shooting in the college game is horrendous for the most part. Some college games are just painful to watch.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

The thing about the NBA playoffs that is better then March Madness is you know the best team in the NBA is going to win when it's all said and done. It takes only 6 wins to get the NCAA title and after 1 loss you're gone. There is no way a team can get lucky in the NBA playoffs for its entire duration. A 7 game series basically guarantees the better team is going to win. A lot of people love the upset aspect more then anything and while it does add excitement I'd rather see the best of the best going at it.

In terms of rather watching Nova vs Cuse over a Lakers vs C's game, I don't get that at all. The NBA game is faster paced, better played, and there is far more talent on the floor. The college shot clock is too long, the three point line is too close and the free throw shooting in the college game is horrendous for the most part. Some college games are just painful to watch.

There is more talent on the floor, yes. But a Nova-Cuse game is a confrenence game so it has a bigger feel and means more come tourney time. That's more exciting than a regular season LA-Boston game. Sure thay say it's a big rivalry but I just don't feel it. In college the rivalries are huge, whole towns hate each other and the opposing college. People, me included usually feel more emotionally invested in a college rivalry game than an NBA rivalry game. There really aren't any NBA rivalries that compare to college ones in terms of passion.

 

[Big Sexy]

There is more talent on the floor, yes. But a Nova-Cuse game is a confrenence game so it has a bigger feel and means more come tourney time. That's more exciting than a regular season LA-Boston game. Sure thay say it's a big rivalry but I just don't feel it. In college the rivalries are huge, whole towns hate each other and the opposing college. People, me included usually feel more emotionally invested in a college rivalry game than an NBA rivalry game. There really aren't any NBA rivalries that compare to college ones in terms of passion.

There really aren't as many "hate filled" rivalries in college basketball as there used to be. For the fans of the colleges and the people that go there it obviously will always seem like there are tons of huge rivalries but from an outside fans perspective most people could give a fuck less about a regular season game between two conference teams. Come conference tournament time that is a different story but like I said that takes place in March which is the one month out of the year that college ball overtakes the NBA. There's a few exceptions like North Carolina vs Duke, Kentucky vs Louisville, and maybe Kansas vs Missouri but there aren't many that all fans of the sport can get invested in.

 

[Gregor_Samsa]

I prefer the NBA.
The three point line is further back, extending defenses, opening up passing lanes to get the ball inside to the big men. When a college team has the ball in a half-court offense it is not uncommon to see a 30 second game of catch, culminating with a long, inaccurate three pointer fired up by a 5'9 guy.
If college ball shortened the shot clock and moved the three point line back, it may create a more entertaining game.

March Madness is awesome though.