Like Spain and Portugal and Britain (or the Roman Empire before them), all things must eventually end.

I grew up in Indiana (during the era of the Van Arsdale twins), where basketball was king. Even the high school tournaments were aired in prime time on TV. I don't know: I guess the answer to your question is that you can't stay on top of the game forever.

I do like little Butler, though. They played some great tournament games the past few years.

The Pacers seem to be doing OK.

my personal take is that it all started going downhill when the players stopped wearing those cute, tight shorts in favor of long, baggy ones. I mean, it's just harder for fans to keep interested and engaged with the sport.

instead they have a parks and rec program....4 practices and 4 games where they do not keep score

so the parents with the means send their kids to private competitions and there are programs for low income people to do same

so in 7th grade when there is a school team, we get a "volunteer" coach ,who probably has his team decided before try outs start

I think lots of talent gets missed because of this, I guess it is only natural since there is such huge scholarship money possible that it has turned so political we are no longer promoting the best athletes instead we promote the athletes with the best connections

That's largely what happened.

Number 1 Wichita State
Number 2 Kansas State
Number 9 University of Kansas.

Jayhawks and Wildcats and Shockers, oh my!

Nebraska, for heavens sake

And Wichita State a number 1. How bizarre is that?

I only pay scant attention to any sport, so I do miss a lot.

do I?

basketball a bit

some vague attention to those things. My older son attended K-State for a couple of years.

Several years ago, when still in Kansas, I ran for the state house Alas, I lost, but it was very interesting in many ways. One day as I was going door-to-door campaigning, I chanced upon two men, neighbors obviously, chatting at the boundary between their two yards. I started my little spiel, and was quickly interrupted. "The important thing, one of them said, is KU or K-State?" I knew that no matter how I answered I'd probably be in trouble, but I said, "My older son attends K-State."
"Wrong answer!" I was told.
"But wait! I have a younger son. He can go to KU!"

It was actually the most fun encounter I had. Have no idea if either one of them voted for me, but it was still fun.

of Barry Road.

Used to go to Lawrence for a bit of sanity.

But sure did like the KCMo bbq - Gates fans here.

Left the KC area in '83 and moved here to Florida. Do miss the great restaurants - KC had some great ones. Also miss the Nelson and the Plaza. But for sure not that weather!

Understand that KU-K-State rivalry. Throw Mizzou into the mix - my wife is a fan there and several in-laws a mix of MU and KU grads. Door-to-door politickin' must be rough . . . . you really have to practice your answers so as not to offend anyone. Those rivalries are intense.

The Ohio State University
University of Dayton
Xavier University

that cut off the Public League pipeline to U of I. The good teams since were the priduct of national recruiting (Bill Self and Lon Krueger).

Plus more national programs mine the Public League.

Due to the growth of cable, in particular ESPN, kids can play almost any where and get national exposure. So, it does not really matter if you play in Indiana or Wichita, your highlights will be seen nationally.

got a 3 and Louisville only a 4.

I sometimes wonder what would happen if Duke lost every in conference game they played. They might actually enter the tournament at a 5 or 6.

Of course, they were quickly bounced by VCU because you can only prop up an average team so much.

and play in the national spotlight instead of a few meg-basketball hotspots.

Plus, if you were a good coach, wouldn't you rather be know as the guy who put George Mason or VCU on the map rather than always being compared to Bobby Knight or John Wooden?

Indiana, Butler, Purdue and Notre Dame all had down years in 2013-14 but I am sure that they will be back soon.

The Missouri Valley was down also as a whole(only one bid), so that didn't help either.

The Fighting Illini seem to alternate between being really good and being mediocre. They should be OK in the long run.

Northwestern has never been able to put things together in basketball.

Some recruit classes turn out to not be good. Seldom does a program like those at Duke or Michigan State come along.

Illinois as a state has sucked big ones in college basketball for most of its history...Aside from the Illini's 2-3 year stretch of being decent in the middle of the last decade, those two years in the 90s when DePaul didn't totally suck, and the odd year when Southern Illinois made a little noise, Illinois as a state hasn't mattered in 30 years...