96 in the NCAA Tournament

Who the fuck watches the 1 vs. 16? There's been about 4 close games out of 40 in the past decade.

I'd rather watch North Carolina than Arky Pine Bluff.

Go, expansion !

 

That's fine. The NCAA is within its rights to do whatever it feels is in the best interest of its bottom line/student-athletes. (delete as necessary)

Doesn't mean I have to watch, though.

 

North Carolina's on TV plenty more times than Arky Pine Bluff. A win by NC inspires yawns.

If a 16 seed ever did beat a 1 seed, it would be remembered forever. People still remember Princeton nearly losing to Georgetown, more than 20 years later.

Who's going to care (nation-wise) about North Carolina losing to Syracuse in the so-called 1-16 game. Those teams can play each other in the regular season.

EDIT: I meant Princeton nearly beating Georgetown.

 

Actually, there was a running thread on this topic earlier ... but it's been awhile.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/2737710/

Point still remains: there's no way the NCAA will leave the money on the table and stick with 64ish teams.

They're trying to fix something that's not broken out of greed, and it's stupid. Can't say I'm surprised anymore, though. This is the NCAA we're talking about.

 

That's what this comes down to, and it's so frustrating. I hate seeing good - heck, even great - things ruined.

 

I love this apparent presumption that the additional games will mean a huge infusion of money.

They'll be nothing games played in front of empty gyms to a national audience which basically won't give a shit.

The NCAA will be lucky if the additional games break even financially.

 

And should that happen, would the NCAA have the courage to say, "We f'd up. This isn't working," and go back to 64/65? My money is on "no."

 

The potential for a major upset is still there. A 24 seed like Lehigh could still face Kansas, but this time it would be in the round of 32. This might be even more exciting than the current 16 over 1 upset since Lehigh would have to win two games over teams such as Northern Iowa and UNLV to face a powerhouse. It could legitimize a Cinderella run even more if the lowest teams in the bracket need to win three games to beat a top team.

Even with 32 extra teams, the tournament is still the tournament. A double overtime game between 16 seed Dayton and 17 seed UCONN would be just as exciting as a double overtime game such as the one between Florida and BYU this year. If you don't think a team like this year's UCONN team is capable of beating a No. 1 seed in the next round all you have to do is look at their resume. They had three wins over top teams during the regular season. With the way Dayton played in the NIT they easily could have beaten someone like Villanova. The teams that are hurt the most are 12 seeds like Cornell that will now have to win a game before facing a rested 5 seed.

 

Updated: April 16, 2010, 5:27 PM ET
Report: ESPN won't up tourney bid

As the NCAA closes in on an April 29 meeting which could decide whether its men's basketball tournament grows from 65 to 96 teams, ESPN has said it won't increase its current bid to televise the event, the Sports Business Journal reported Friday.

The publication said a 14-year deal averaging $840 million per year has been offered by CBS and Turner Broadcasting and given to the NCAA. It cited several sources "with direct knowledge of the talks."


The Journal reported that ESPN's bid averaged "roughly $800 million per year over 14 years."

ESPN declined comment on the report.

The NCAA must decide whether to continue with the final three years of its original 11-year, $6 billion deal with CBS for the 65-team tournament. The final three years of the backloaded deal are valued at $2.131 billion, a little more than $700 million per year.

If CBS and Turner combine forces to televise a 96-team event, games would likely be on four networks: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, the Sports Business Journal reported. CBS and Turner would alternate years televising the Final Four, the publication said.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5100441

 

They're making more money off the TV deal before they even sell a ticket.

 

If it does expand to 96 teams, what becomes of the NIT? Bad on so many levels. Just leave it alone.

 

The Indiana High School Athletic Association nods approvingly.