NCAA tourney expansion?

[mpcincal]

Of course, don't know why I put the question mark up there. It will happen in some form.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9525770

For me, this falls under the term "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I thought 64 was the perfect number and griped a little when they put that play-in game in. I know there were always bubble teams complaining when they didn't get in, but you know, that's life, just get better and get in next year.

Of course, if the tourney was expanded to include 128, like the coaches want, any team that didn't get in had better STFU. How pathetic would it be for a coach on the outside to whine that his squad actually deserved the 125th seed?

 

[n8wilk]

How sad is it that college basketball is looking to expand its 64-team tournament and yet college football has no playoff whatsoever? What a disgrace.

 

[Starman]

Of course, don't know why I put the question mark up there. It will happen in some form.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9525770

For me, this falls under the term "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I thought 64 was the perfect number and griped a little when they put that play-in game in. I know there were always bubble teams complaining when they didn't get in, but you know, that's life, just get better and get in next year.

Of course, if the tourney was expanded to include 128, like the coaches want, any team that didn't get in had better STFU. How pathetic would it be for a coach on the outside to whine that his squad actually deserved the 125th seed?

Teams that don't get in already need to STFU. Nobody, who deserves in any way, to get into the tournament, does not get into the tournament.

Forget expanding to 128 or beyond -- cut back to the geometrically-perfect 64, and get rid of the retarded play-in games.

 

[Stupid]

Ickey is correct.

 

[dixiehack]

When Haney met with NCAA officials last month, he proposed the 128-team field in part because postseason bids might help coaches keep their jobs.

Do they really think people are this dumb? Gee, coach managed to break .500 in a BCS conference and grab a No. 25 seed. Let's give him an extension!

Give me a break. If everyone is special, no one is.

 

[Twoback]

CBS would never agree to this.
CBS writes the checks.
The coaches can talk all they want.

 

[JBHawkEye]

If they want to add games in Dayton, four instead of one, I could live with that.

But make those add-in games the "bubble" teams who get in, not the small conference teams

 

[Hockeyscribe]

I say make it 72, top 8 seeds get a bye, lowest 8 seeds play each other at a home site during the week, like the play-in game now, so one of them can say they won an NCAA tournament game.

I'm all for giving every league an automatic bid, but the conference tournament winner getting the bid is wrong. A regular season champ that has a bad game gets penalized despite 4 months of great play. Conversely, a team with a mediocre record gets on a run, wins the tournament and bounces a more deserving team.

The argument has always been if the conference tournament winner doesn't get the bid, no one will show up for the tourney. For the lower conferences, no one shows up anyway. The big conferences will sell out their tournaments regardless of the set up. As is, it's not the top 64 or 65 teams in the country anyway.

 

[Pocket Aces]

There's more money to be made. Money money money money money.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

Ludicrous idea. Now that the Big 12 and Pac 10 have conference tourneys, every school has a shot at a bid by winning it's tournament, so in actuality the NCAAs start at the beginning of the conference tourney. STFU, college coaches, and win your freakin' tournament.

 

[tyler durden 71351]

They need to drop that stupid play-in game is what they need to do, not expand it to the point that every mediocre team from a major conference gets into the tournament...although I'm sure Billy Packer would love that idea.

 

[Starman]

There's more money to be made. Money money money money money.

Actually, not. The play-in games are played in front of 10,000 empty seats, to TV ratings of about 0.000001. Considering the NCAA usually has to fly four teams across the country to play the play-in games, I have no doubt the play-in games, in and of themselves, are huge money-losers.

And, a lot of the first-round games are pretty much the same. Sure, the top-seeded teams have big followings, and teams playing reasonably close to home draw some fans, but teams seeded 5-16 playing in geographically remote regions don't draw crap.

I've been to first-and-second-round NCAA games with 3,000 people in the stands.

Adding another round or two to the tournament, would just mean more and more of these games: mediocre teams playing in front of 3/4-empty buildings. You think that's what CBS wants?

Unless they decided to junk the entire seeding concept, and go with strictly geographical bracketing, which means you'd have Duke vs. UNC as the tourney's opening game, 8 years out of 10.

 

[JBHawkEye]

The theory of the committee is teams play their way in, no one plays their way out.

Those whose bubble bursts have no one to blame but themselves (don't be afraid to play some difficult nonconference games, home, neutral or away; and have a winning record in conference play).

 

[tyler durden 71351]

There's more money to be made. Money money money money money.

Actually, not. The play-in games are played in front of 10,000 empty seats, to TV ratings of about 0.000001.

And, a lot of the first-round games are pretty much the same. Sure, the top-seeded teams have big followings, and teams playing reasonably close to home draw some fans, but teams seeded 5-16 playing in geographically remote regions don't draw crap.

I've been to first-and-second-round NCAA games with 3,000 people in the stands.

Adding another round or two to the tournament, would just mean more and more of these games.

not only that, but you would have some foul first round matchups. Think anyone would travel to see a .500 team that finished 9th in the SEC play a .500 team that finished 7th in the Atlantic 10?

 

[Terd Ferguson]

I suggest one-team conferences with no actual games played. That way every team in the country wins a conference and national championship.

Think of the coaches that would get to keep their jobs! Think of the civic pride in the towns that contain these universities! Think of the sense of pride students on these campuses would have! Think of what a much better society this would be! Just think!

File NCAA Tournament Expansion under chapter 65 of my in-the-works book entitled "The Pussification of America: We're All Winners"

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

CBS would never agree to this.
CBS writes the checks.
The coaches can talk all they want.

I don't know...one more day of games (and the ones that draw the biggest TV audiences are always the early rounds) might make CBS officials pretty happy.
What are 30-sec ads during the opening weekend going for now? Now add an extra day, and a lot of extra $$$$$ for CBS.

 

[Starman]

There's more money to be made. Money money money money money.

Actually, not. The play-in games are played in front of 10,000 empty seats, to TV ratings of about 0.000001.

And, a lot of the first-round games are pretty much the same. Sure, the top-seeded teams have big followings, and teams playing reasonably close to home draw some fans, but teams seeded 5-16 playing in geographically remote regions don't draw crap.

I've been to first-and-second-round NCAA games with 3,000 people in the stands.

Adding another round or two to the tournament, would just mean more and more of these games.

not only that, but you would have some foul first round matchups. Think anyone would travel to see a .500 team that finished 9th in the SEC play a .500 team that finished 7th in the Atlantic 10?

You wouldn't have SOME foul first-round matchups - they'd ALL be foul.

Your first round would consist of 1-32, 2-31, 3-30, 4-29, 5-28, 7-26, etc etc etc. Until finally you got to the really exciting matchups - the 16-17 and 15-18 pairings. Woo hoo!!!

This idea sucks as much as anything could possibly suck. It needs to be shouted down from every corner of the nation.

 

[da man]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Of course the coaches want it. It means better job security for them...

This will be an absolute travesty if it happens. A No. 16 can't beat a No. 1, how is a No. 32 team going to fare?

The NCAA Tournament is as close to a perfect event as there is in sports. They soiled it a bit by adding that stupid 65th team. This would permanently soil the tournament if they decide to do this...

 

[Twoback]

If CBS wanted more games, there'd already be more games.
CBS wants secretaries and accountants filling out office pools.
Try squeezing 128 teams onto one page. Try getting people to fill out the extra round.
No chance.