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Basketball Contraction
Posted on 1/31/23 at 8:39 am
Posted on 1/31/23 at 8:39 am
I would like to see the NCAA tournament contracted. Regular season best record in each conference, conference tournament winners, 8 at large bids for independents and others. Start the season a month later, play conference schedules first. Then start you ooc play and challenge tournaments.
I'm sure you have better ideas. Discuss.
I'm sure you have better ideas. Discuss.
2
Posted on 1/31/23 at 8:53 am to Drydock
There are two independent basketball teams, one of which will be leaving for D3 next year.
There is simply no chance of the tournament being contracted. More games typically equals more excitement and more money, so the challenge becomes honing in on the "sweet spot" in terms of teams so that you don't saturate the product.
I like the idea of a 72-team tournament. For all 32 conferences (sorry, Chicago State), the regular season and tournament champion receive a bid and the remaining spots go to at-large teams.
If every conference has a unique regular season and tournament champion, that means there are eight at-large bids. However, if a conference regular season and tournament are won by the same team you'd open up an additional at-large slot. Most years, this would probably yield somewhere between 20 and 30 at-large teams which is a decrease from the present quantity of 36 and makes games much more important for mid-tier P6 schools.
More low-major and mid-major teams equals more upset potential, which casual fans love, and I just couldn't support an expanded tournament if doing so lead to more at-large bids for uninspiring teams like Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.
There is simply no chance of the tournament being contracted. More games typically equals more excitement and more money, so the challenge becomes honing in on the "sweet spot" in terms of teams so that you don't saturate the product.
I like the idea of a 72-team tournament. For all 32 conferences (sorry, Chicago State), the regular season and tournament champion receive a bid and the remaining spots go to at-large teams.
If every conference has a unique regular season and tournament champion, that means there are eight at-large bids. However, if a conference regular season and tournament are won by the same team you'd open up an additional at-large slot. Most years, this would probably yield somewhere between 20 and 30 at-large teams which is a decrease from the present quantity of 36 and makes games much more important for mid-tier P6 schools.
More low-major and mid-major teams equals more upset potential, which casual fans love, and I just couldn't support an expanded tournament if doing so lead to more at-large bids for uninspiring teams like Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.
This post was edited on 1/31/23 at 8:55 am
Posted on 1/31/23 at 9:15 am to TrumpedUpVol
I like that. It certainly makes the regular season more meaningful than the current set up. I also like the variable at large bids to compensate for double season champions. Adds a bit of extra suspense to the end of season selection. (I under counted the number of eligible conferences BTW)
Posted on 1/31/23 at 9:38 am to TrumpedUpVol
quote:
the regular season and tournament champion receive a bid and the remaining spots go to at-large teams
I like the idea of the regular season conference champion getting an auto-bid, but the conferences wouldn’t like it when their best team rests starters for the conference tournament after they lock up a regular season auto-bid.
I am of the unpopular opinion that conference tournaments aren’t great for college basketball.
It’s fine for the SEC and other big conferences that put 4+ teams in every year, since it gives teams a chance to win their way in when they weren’t going to get an auto-bid.
But for small conferences where only the tournament champion goes to the NCAAT unless they have a team go 29-1, it basically renders their regular season meaningless. You can win your conference, but unless you practically win every conference game, it’s all about the tournament. You win your conference, get upset in the conference tournament, and you’re off to the NIT.
Posted on 1/31/23 at 11:01 am to TeddyWestside
Yeah, good points.
As a fan of a team who has been "on the bubble" more times than I care to remember, I really don't like the idea of essentially having to be a Top 36 program just to guarantee a spot in a 68-team tournament.
It just seems decidedly strange to pass up a large number of teams who could deserve to be there in favor of ones who probably won't make it past the first round.
But I get why they do it.
As a fan of a team who has been "on the bubble" more times than I care to remember, I really don't like the idea of essentially having to be a Top 36 program just to guarantee a spot in a 68-team tournament.
It just seems decidedly strange to pass up a large number of teams who could deserve to be there in favor of ones who probably won't make it past the first round.
But I get why they do it.
Posted on 1/31/23 at 1:36 pm to Drydock
64 was a decent number, but I was a bit jealous reading about the experience of fans watching 32-team tournaments. 48 would probably be the perfect balance, avoiding 1st-round non-competitive games.
However, we will only see expansion.
However, we will only see expansion.
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