It's time to expand the NCAA tourney field!!

[MAG]

There are well over 300 D-1 b-ball teams. A 64-65 team tournament is not enough. Increase the tourney field to 80 teams. Each regional will get 4 more teams and perhaps the first for seeds will get a first round bye. Keep the play-in games. This way teams that deserve to get in will get invited without tarnishing the integrity of the tournament.

Discuss.

 

[huskerbux]

Surely you jest. Get rid of the play in games and stay with 64. It's one of the most exciting tournaments out there for a reason. No change is needed.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

If if won't fit on one sheet...

 

[HuskerTimOmaha]

The NCAA should support teams like Monmouth and St. Mary's with their OOC schedule. Pick out 3 teams each year for them to play; 1-20 team, 21-40 team and a 41-60 team. If the team chosen declines the offer, it's remembered come selection Sunday or maybe don't even let a team decline the game.

I'd love to have in OOC, let's say as examples....

In Kansas City:
Game 1 - Monmouth vs a top 3 ACC
Game 2 - St. Mary's vs a top 3 B1G
Game 3 - Tulsa vs top 3 PAC
Game 4 - St Bonaventure vs top 3 BE
Game 5 - Top 3 ACC vs top 3 BE
Game 6 - Top 3 B1G vs top 3 PAC
Game 7 - Monmouth vs St. Mary's
Game 8 - Tulsa vs St Bonaventure

In Washington DC:
Game 1 - Monmouth vs 4-6 B1G
Game 2 - so on
Game 3 - so on
....
....
....
....
....

In LA:
Rinse and repeat

Teams and conferences are examples only. Someone is smart enough to figure it out, before the schedules are finalized.

 

[SWIowahawks]

There are well over 300 D-1 b-ball teams. A 64-65 team tournament is not enough. Increase the tourney field to 80 teams. Each regional will get 4 more teams and perhaps the first for seeds will get a first round bye. Keep the play-in games. This way teams that deserve to get in will get invited without tarnishing the integrity of the tournament.

Discuss.

All 300 Division 1 teams have a shot at the tournament during conference tournament time. Win, and get in.

 

[HuskerOH]

Lets pass out participation trophies and ribbons as well to all 300 teams

 

[TwinsRRUs]

It's so tough to make it past the first couple days, let alone coming anywhere near a perfect bracket.

If you expand any more, you are almost to the point that it would be pointless to do a bracket because the odds are already:

Worst odds are one in 9.2 quintillion!!
or
"16 seed never beat a 1 seed" lowers the odds to one in 2.4 trillion

People offer up a billion dollars for a perfect bracket because it will never happen.

The top teams are still the top teams and the lowest seed to ever win the NCAA tournament was the #8 seed (Villanova in 1985).

Based on that thought in and of itself, you could cut it in half and it wouldn't make a difference...
so adding more teams doesn't necessarily give more opportunity.

 

[brnred58]

Monmouth and St.Mary's both belong in the tournament.

 

[brnred58]

Either one would beat Colorado.

 

[brnred58]

My picks for lower seeds first round= Uconn,Yale,UNI,VCU,Providence,Gonzaga,Syracuse and who ever plays Notre Dame.

 

[Red I 73]

There are well over 300 D-1 b-ball teams. A 64-65 team tournament is not enough. Increase the tourney field to 80 teams. Each regional will get 4 more teams and perhaps the first for seeds will get a first round bye. Keep the play-in games. This way teams that deserve to get in will get invited without tarnishing the integrity of the tournament.

Discuss.

Just let every team in the tournament and there will be games till June. Kind of like the Nebraska State high school tourney.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

There might be 300 teams total in D-1, but that doesn't mean there are 300 good teams. 65 is plenty.

 

[TwinsRRUs]

All 300 Division 1 teams have a shot at the tournament during conference tournament time. Win, and get in.

Win and get in... just like the tournament. Win and stay in.

The conference tournaments are like the "play in" games to get into the first round of the tournament.

Every conference gets an automatic bid into tournament (sans Ivy League as they go with the best record and no conference tournament) so if you get beat (by Iona or Gonzaga for instance) then you lost your "play in" game and are out of the tournament.

I could see them adjusting to add an automatic bid if you are in the top 30 or 40 in RPI (a la St Mary, not Monmouth) so you get in.

The argument/reasoning for adding more teams in any kind of playoff/tournament will forever be "This way teams that deserve to get in will get invited without tarnishing the integrity of the tournament."

 

[huskerfan66]

Just let every team in the tournament and there will be games till June. Kind of like the Nebraska State high school tourney.

There's less of a percentage of NE high school teams that make tournament than NCAA

 

[ellobo]

As a fan of a team (Michigan) that wouldn't have gotten in if it went back to 64...I didn't like the move to 68 when it happened and still don't now. You should either be in or not...now it's like your kind of in but well not really...we are going to send you to fricken Akron Ohio and if you survive then we will let you rejoin the others. The great thing about the tourney is that it used to put the same requirements for all teams...win 6 games. So just because they want 4 fewer schools with hurt feelings they are asking them to win seven when those schools' chances of winning 6 were close to zero anyway.

Now, if you really want a whacky idea to make it more fun...get rid of seeding. Do it lottery style...64 ping pong balls that shoot out determining matchups...just go down the bracket shooting out picks until the bracket is full. Maybe you rank a top 16 and as a reward they are given the right to refuse the first matchup and have their ball put back in the lottery...but then they are forced to take the second matchup no matter what.

And as far as mid-majors go...Maybe there should be some rule like if one wins their regular season title but not conference tourney...you can't put in a school from a major conference before them that didnt win their regular season or conference title if they have a lower rpi and/or some other measure...I bet it would have less of an effect than people think and in most years maybe impact one or two picks if any at all.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan]

Now, if you really want a whacky idea to make it more fun...get rid of seeding. Do it lottery style...64 ping pong balls that shoot out determining matchups...just go down the bracket shooting out picks until the bracket is full. Maybe you rank a top 16 and as a reward they are given the right to refuse the first matchup and have their ball put back in the lottery...but then they are forced to take the second matchup no matter what.

I love this idea and they could almost make a game show out of it, and think of the TV ratings. Every school sends down at least one rep, think of it like a "war room" for NFL teams who are drafting, put it on TV. Love it. That's a sweet idea, that will never happen, but should.

 

[saluno22]

The top teams are still the top teams and the lowest seed to ever win the NCAA tournament was the #8 seed (Villanova in 1985).

Had to look this up because I thought UConn was a 9-seed one year when they won it. Turns out they were a 3-seed in the 2011 NCAA tourney but a 9-seed in the Big East tourney (21-9 overall, 9-9 conference).

 

[Gucci_mAYne420]

If we're gonna add more teams, I move the top TWO teams from each conference get an automatic bid. More mid-major teams = more chance for upsets

 

[Harry Caray]

I'd rather it go back to 64. Make it so that you must finish in the top half of your conference to receive an at-large bid.

Another idea, you could have a "wild card tournament" for the "Non Power 5" conference teams who won their regular season but not their tournament. Reserve 2 at-large bids for these teams every year. Most of these conferences have their tournaments a week earlier than the major conferences anyway. So the weekend of Selection Sunday, they play for the 2 at-large bids. This year, you would have had UAB, Valpo, Monmouth, Akron, etc.

 

[jja699]

Or we could just take the last 4 in last 4 out and let them play there way in the tourney 4 winners get in. Instead of money slipped under the table by certain school.

 

[otismotis08]

Just give everyone a participation ribbon. That's what kids these days are used to.