Selection Sunday Thread

[Dave Stalwart]

Just get rid of the conference tournaments in the one and two bid leagues. The stands are empty anyway in most cases.

The result of these tournaments often is someone who actually has a chance of winning a game like Monmouth and Valpo get left out costing the conference some serious money.

How about implementing a bubble "cut line" but for conference RPI. In other words, if your conference is not one of the upper half of conferences in overall conference RPI, you can still have your tournament if you want but the winner doesn't get an auto bid, the regular season champ does.

It wouldn't solve the whole problem but it would make a big dent in it.

[ArtVandalay]

I do believe each conference is allowed to decide who gets the auto bid. They've all just decided it's the conference tourney champ.

[pinstripers]

I do believe each conference is allowed to decide who gets the auto bid. They've all just decided it's the conference tourney champ.

yep, they'd all rather have the money

[ShockdaWorld]

So, seven Big 12 teams in. Any bets on how many get to the second round?

I'd set the over under at 3.

[Kung Wu]

How it should work:

At the end of regular season, the selection committee should select 48 teams for the dance (this is before conference tournies, so is based purely on regular season results).

Then the 32 conferences should have their tournaments.

Now each of the 32 winners should be paired by lottery against each other in a single match (meaning 16 games will be played). The 16 winners are then "in" the tournament -- they have proven themselves by winning their tournament and beating another conference's tourney champ. I call these matches the "play-in games".

Any team that was selected in the original 48 and ALSO wins their conference tourney is exempt from the play-in game.

Result: 48 based on regular season. Up to 16 play-in games to include conf tourney champs. 64 of the best teams in America. Conference tournaments matter. Fun play-in game weekend leading up to the Big Dance. More money for TV.

[Dave Stalwart]

How it should work:

At the end of regular season, the selection committee should select 48 teams for the dance (this is before season tournies, so is based purely on regular season results).

Then the 32 conferences should have their tournaments.

Now each of the 32 winners should be paired by lottery against each other in a single match (meaning 16 games will be played). The 16 winners are then "in" the tournament -- they have proven themselves by winning their tournament and beating another conference's tourney champ. I call these matches the "play-in games".

Any team that was selected in the original 48 and ALSO wins their conference tourney is exempt from the play-in game.

Result: 48 based on regular season. Up to 16 play-in games to include conf tourney champs. 64 of the best teams in America. Conference tournaments matter. Fun play-in game weekend leading up to the Big Dance. More money for TV.

I love it. For example, these terrible sub-500 bid thieves would then get matched up with UNI and get beat out. The likelihood of that bid thief surviving the play in game is low, but it would filter them back out and all the teams who are good enough to hold their own in the dance get in.

[Kung Wu]

I love it. For example, these terrible sub-500 bid thieves would then get matched up with UNI and get beat out. The likelihood of that bid thief surviving the play in game is low, but it would filter them back out and all the teams who are good enough to hold their own in the dance get in.

Exactly.

When a team is selected and wins their tourney, that allows the runner up to take their play-in spot. If the runner up is already in then 3rd place gets a shot and so on.

This really does, for the most part, get all the best teams in. It makes tournies important and adds drama for the play-in games.

[kochHead]

Ok then, it's settled. What's next?

[WSUwatcher]

yep, they'd all rather have the money

Shoxlax had a point about the money potentially lost, though.

Yes, the leagues get whatever extra money is generated by the tournaments, such as it is. But if a team accidentally gets knocked out -- Valpo, for example, which has some history in the tournament -- that could have won a game or even more, and its autobid replacement goes quietly in the first round as most do, the league has lost some definite coin in return for whatever profit the tournament generated. I guess their theory is that the tournament money is the bird in the hand, so they're going to take it however much it may be, but it's still a shame, especially with the committee staggering around drunkenly including P5 bubble teams wherever possible instead of worthy teams from lesser leagues.

[ShockerDropOut]

So, seven Big 12 teams in. Any bets on how many get to the second round?

4. 2 make it to the second weekend.

[ShockdaWorld]

My bad. I was thinking second weekend when I set my over under at 3.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

There are 337 D1 teams. If you do a 128 team tournament you would have 38% of the teams make the field. It's not crazy if you consider that in most pro sports you have around 33% of teams make it. It would be one extra game, but it would take any prestige out of making the tournament.

It's 351 now, and about 50-100 too many. In pro sports, the disparity from top to bottom is much less than college. No reason to get 30+% in the Big Dance. 68 (19%) is plenty.

[ShockdaWorld]

It's 351 now, and about 50-100 too many. In pro sports, the disparity from top to bottom is much less than college. No reason to get 30+% in the Big Dance. 68 (19%) is plenty.

I agree. The tourney does NOT need to expand. They just have to come up with a better way to select and seed the 68 that get in.

[shockerfanmas]

When you consider that there are 4 other postseason tournaments besides the NCAA Tournament, and you have .500 and sub .500 teams playing in those tournaments, I would say that 68 is a fine number. I could see the case of bumping it to 96 and giving the top 32 seeds a first round bye, but even that is skeptical

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

If someone had the time to put a bracket together with the seed list it would be cool to see how it would look.

Sample region:

(1) 1 Kansas
(16) 66 Farleigh Dickinson / 67 Southern

(8) 32 St. Joes
(9) 33 Providence

(5) 17 Indiana
(12) 50 South Dakota St

(4) 16 Iowa St
(13) 51 UNCW

(6) 24 Seton Hall
(11) 41 Vandy / 45 Tulsa

(3) 9 West Virginia
(14) 58 SFA

(7) 25 Wisconsin
(10) 40 VCU

(2) 8 Xavier
(15) 59 Middle Tennessee


Other than an occasional conference rematch in round 1, this would be fine, but it would be much worse for travel. I know WSU got a raw deal going to Dayton, then Rhode Island, but generally speaking, travel distances are shorter the way the committee does things now than they would be if the bracket was an exact match with the seed list.