[Terriergal]

There would be nothing to drive another Big Bang, and nowhere else to go

Who says? It all started spontaneously in the beginning, why couldn't it do it again huh?

ahem...

[MacDorcha]

"Who says? It all started spontaneously in the beginning, why couldn't it do it again huh?"

well, if there is a crunch, then there is a force slowing the expansion of the universe enough to bring the universe crashing into itself again. if there is something acting against the explosion, then the universe is losing energy with each passing moment. if two opposite powers work against each other of equal strength, then the median is the only outcome. the median in this case would be no expanding, no contracting, nothing.