The National Basketball Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association are entertaining platforms for basketball however, the NBA’s smaller league and year-round media coverage allows fans to invest more into the style of play. In addition, not only is the NBA easier to access, the superior athleticism and skillset of NBA players creates a more uptempo and unique game style.

March Madness, arguably the most significant month of collegiate athletics occurs throughout March, when the 68 Division I basketball teams compete for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)  National Championship.

You may recall last year’s game-winning shot by Kris Jenkins against North Carolina that won the Championship for Villanova University, or this year, when North Carolina redeemed itself to capture the title. However, many of us fail to notice anything other than March Madness when discussing college hoops. As a North Carolina fan, I can say that I have done a pretty good job of keeping up with the team’s players, record, and stats as well as other members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).  However, it becomes entirely too difficult to keep up with all of the Division I teams that compete for a chance to make it to the tournament.

The NBA is composed of 30 teams that are split evenly into a West and East conference. Furthermore, there are also divisions composed of five teams. It is simple to keep up with NBA teams because there is even division amongst conferences and schedules. Every team plays 82 games, 42 at home and 42 away. This structure makes it much easier to keep up with the games of your favorite NBA teams and/or players.

There are currently 351 Division I basketball teams, which are unevenly distributed amongst 32 Conferences. The massive number of college teams makes it hard for any college basketball fan to keep up with the NCAA as a whole. In turn, college fans can only remain up to date with a handful of teams in any given year.

The skill level of the NBA is light years ahead of the NCAA. Many will argue that the NBA has no defense or that it is too flashy; however, this is not the case at all. NBA players play basketball year-round, which allows them to develop their skills and athleticism making for a more entertaining style of play. They are able to showcase more dunks, crossovers, and creative passes.

According to Prowler sports editor Eric Young, “The NBA is more free-play,” and “College players have a system.”

Young is correct, because college basketball players must play in a system that allows teams to create easier scoring options for players who cannot create their own shot.

With as much revenue and the number of fans that college basketball players attract, college players may take on the role of a pro in the media. With increasing media outlets from twitter to ESPN, players are in the media all throughout the season. However, considering that these athletes are also students at their respective universities, they are limited in the amount of attention they can give the media or their outward expression of political and social matters within the NCAA. NBA players play basketball for a living, which means that they are invited to indulge in the platform that they have been given to create an image for themselves. College basketball teams rarely have players that capture the media with their presence like NBA players like Stephen Curry or Russell Westbrook.This in turn creates for a small amount of interest in the social dynamic of college basketball considering that college basketball coaches are the most significant personalities of any program.

This past summer, former NBA Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant left his team to play for the Golden State Warriors. Many, thought this move was cowardly to go from one team to a team that had defeated him. For others, it was understandable that Durant wanted to go to a better team. Whatever your position on the decision may be, it was a decision that captured NBA fans and media outlets from all around the country.

The final point to be made is the fact that college players are only active on a team for four years, which does not give fans enough time to truly enjoy having players. In today’s college basketball, the best players go to the NBA after one or two years. In past years, fans have been able to watch highly ranked players such as, Jabari Parker, Ben Simmons, and Lonzo Ball only play in the NCAA for one year. This eliminates a long time bond between fans and players. Once again, coaches become the pinnacle of basketball programs and they are not even on the court.

There is no question that the NBA is more entertaining, from the players, to the style of play, to the statistics. The NBA is also easier to keep up with, given the number of teams there are. In addition, college basketball is only easy to keep up with when you have a bracket on your refrigerator or crammed into your notebook.    NCAA lacks cohesiveness in its conferences and media coverage that can keep fans up to date, which creates a disarray of information that keeps fans “out of the loop.” College fans have to go to greater extents to remain up to date which is why the NBA is simply more convenient to observe.