I recently became aware of the ACC's format and I was intrigued. It's a 12-team tournament with four three-team round-robin pools. The team with the best record in each pool advances to the semifinals and it's single elimination from there. It's a larger version of the what the Big 12 did 2006-2010. I was lukewarm on that at the time (perhaps because Augie pushed for it) but I'm intrigued now.
POSITIVES
-Set scheduling. Everyone knows who will be playing who and when Tuesday through Friday.
-Increased value of the regular season. The higher seed advances if there is a tie in pool play. And the top seeds get preferential scheduling.
-Less stress on pitching for teams deep in the tournament.
-All teams reaching the semi-finals and finals will have played the same number of games.
NEGATIVES
-Greater impact of a loss. In a true double-elimination tournament, you can survive a loss as long as you keep winning afterward. In pool play, it's out of your control. If you're the lowest seed in the pool, you are eliminated with one loss.
-Less drama. There are fewer games where the winner advances and the loser goes home. It's entirely possible for the last day of pool play to be completely meaningless with the semifinals already set.
-Fewer games per team. Two-thirds of the field is guaranteed to play exactly two games. That's not what you want if you're on the NCAA bubble. Even if you're solidly in the tournament, do you want to potentially have 8-9 days off?
Here's what this year's Big Ten tourney would have looked like using the ACC template:
Pool A - #1 Illinois, #8 Penn State, #12 Rutgers
Pool B - #2 Nebraska, #7 Ohio State, #11 Maryland
Pool C - #3 Indiana, #6 Purdue, #10 Minnesota
Pool D - #4 Michigan, #5 Iowa, #9 Michigan State
Tuesday - #11 Maryland vs. #7 Ohio State, #9 Michigan State vs. #5 Iowa, #6 Purdue vs. #10 Minnesota
Wednesday - #4 Michigan vs. #9 Georgia Tech, #12 Rutgers vs. #8 Penn State, #3 Indiana vs. #10 Minnesota
Thursday - #2 Nebraska vs. #11 Maryland, #1 Illinois vs. #12 Rutgers, #3 Indiana vs. #6 Purdue
Friday - #4 Michigan vs. #5 Iowa, #2 Nebraska vs. #7 Purdue, #1 Illinois vs. #8 Penn State
I think a 12-team tournament in an 18-team league seems sensible. And this might be a good way to go. The alternative is something like the SEC which is a single/double elimination hybrid and I'm not a huge fan of that. Food for thought.
POSITIVES
-Set scheduling. Everyone knows who will be playing who and when Tuesday through Friday.
-Increased value of the regular season. The higher seed advances if there is a tie in pool play. And the top seeds get preferential scheduling.
-Less stress on pitching for teams deep in the tournament.
-All teams reaching the semi-finals and finals will have played the same number of games.
NEGATIVES
-Greater impact of a loss. In a true double-elimination tournament, you can survive a loss as long as you keep winning afterward. In pool play, it's out of your control. If you're the lowest seed in the pool, you are eliminated with one loss.
-Less drama. There are fewer games where the winner advances and the loser goes home. It's entirely possible for the last day of pool play to be completely meaningless with the semifinals already set.
-Fewer games per team. Two-thirds of the field is guaranteed to play exactly two games. That's not what you want if you're on the NCAA bubble. Even if you're solidly in the tournament, do you want to potentially have 8-9 days off?
Here's what this year's Big Ten tourney would have looked like using the ACC template:
Pool A - #1 Illinois, #8 Penn State, #12 Rutgers
Pool B - #2 Nebraska, #7 Ohio State, #11 Maryland
Pool C - #3 Indiana, #6 Purdue, #10 Minnesota
Pool D - #4 Michigan, #5 Iowa, #9 Michigan State
Tuesday - #11 Maryland vs. #7 Ohio State, #9 Michigan State vs. #5 Iowa, #6 Purdue vs. #10 Minnesota
Wednesday - #4 Michigan vs. #9 Georgia Tech, #12 Rutgers vs. #8 Penn State, #3 Indiana vs. #10 Minnesota
Thursday - #2 Nebraska vs. #11 Maryland, #1 Illinois vs. #12 Rutgers, #3 Indiana vs. #6 Purdue
Friday - #4 Michigan vs. #5 Iowa, #2 Nebraska vs. #7 Purdue, #1 Illinois vs. #8 Penn State
I think a 12-team tournament in an 18-team league seems sensible. And this might be a good way to go. The alternative is something like the SEC which is a single/double elimination hybrid and I'm not a huge fan of that. Food for thought.
