MY SHOW NOTES FROM TOURNAMENT TALK ON STSA MONDAY

IS COLLEGE BASKETBALL ON CUSP OF CRISIS?

According to figures tracked by the NCAA, regular-season Division I college basketball attendance has eroded each of the past five seasons and appears to be down for a sixth season.

While Kansas coach Bill Self concedes that college basketball is in transition, he disagrees that the sport faces a crisis.

"But there's more good players than there ever has been, but just not as much 'star-power' players. There's more good teams than ever, it's just not like last year when you had four lottery picks on the same team (Kentucky)."

"If you are a basketball purist and just like exciting games, this might have been the best year," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Each and every week there could be games that would be perceived as a major upset. I would imagine you've never seen more upsets and close games before."

-- College Basketball is no where near as good but it remains buoyed not by the tournament itself but by the gambling (NCAA would never admit it but they know it’s true) (Texans have no team to watch but they have $$ to make)

-- interest will wane if traditional powerhouses don’t make it though and everybody’s lost money in first 3 rounds (quite possible St. Louis, New Mexico, VCU and Marquette make Final Four (disastrous)

-- College hoops not on cusp of crisis b/c it still delivers most years (4 lotto players on UK team -- all 4 number 1’s made it to San Antonio) (but no doubt CBB is in some sort of transition)