Looks Like It's Official: NCAA Men's Basketball Field To Expand To 68 Teams

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/article_451a4eb6-4e30-11df-9114-001cc4c03286.html

I'm usually worn out by the time the championship game rolls around after 65 teams have played. And expanding it to a proposed 98 (98!!!???) teams have played seems insane to me. I know there may be another similar thread around here, but I could not find it.

Is this really necessary to find a champion?? Or, is it, as we all know (if not suspect by now) just for the $$$$$??

 

96, actually.

And of course it's about the money.

 

I'm glad that saner heads have prevailed, or maybe there was just enough of people shouting 'No' for the NCAA to get their heads out of their rears for once and listen.

I still like just having one play-in game to give the small schools the spotlight for that one night. But when the alternative was 96 teams, I'll take 68.

 

Welp, I called the 68 thing a while ago. Now we are going to see some much much much better matchups in 15 vs. 2 and 14 vs. 3 games

 

TNT (or is it TBS...?) And CBS will divide the coverage, and yeah, I figured it was about nothing but $$$, but I wonder if the group that wants academic performance thrown into the mix to keep certain schools from being able to participate in the tourney (based on graduation numbers) will have any influence on the situation (maybe some schools who get invited might not be able to play if grad rates aren't high enough...).

 

It doesn't specify where the extra teams go. I'd assume it's the worst 8 have play ins to be the 16 seeds. I'd prefer the idea that was floating around of leaving the bottom as it was & having the last 8 at large finalists (currently the last 4 in & the last 4 out) in play-in games to be the 12 seeds. People would watch those games.

 

It will be interesting to see how the NCAA handles these play-in games. Right now the team that wins in Dayton has to play at a Friday-Sunday first round site - which is why the overall No. 1 doesn't always face the play-in winner. That obviously won't work with four play-in games.

I guess the simplest thing would be to play the games at the four first round sites that host the No. 1 seeds. Sucks for Dayton though.

 

I was clarifying the expansion was rumored to be 96 teams, not 98.

 

My guess: Play two play-in games on Monday or Tuesday night (those teams play Thursday) and two more play-in games on Tuesday or Wednesday night (those teams play Friday). And they could all be in Dayton.

 

This would work best if they make the last four at-large play the four lowest rated auotmatic bid conferences.

Doubleheader Monday or Tuesday, winners go to Thursday-Saturday regions. Doubleheder Tuesday or Wednesday, winners go to Friday-Sunday region. All play-in winners become No. 16 seeds and get clocked by the No. 1, but it makes the 5-12, 4-13, 3-14 better games.

Thank god they're not going to 96.

 

I just hope this opens the door for more mid-majors, I don't want to see 19-11 Illinois getting to play a 5 seed in the first round and a team like, New Mexico State getting bumped to be a 14 because of this.

 

This will not help mid-majors at all. Three extra teams, I bet 2 out of 3, at least, are power conference 7th place.