Desperately Searching for 65 NCAA Teams
Can we start the NCAA tournament with less than 65 teams? How about 48 or maybe even 32? There simply are not 65 teams worthy of a berth in the NCAA tournament this season. After what we've seen yesterday and today from Bubble teams, committee members must be scratching their heads and flipping channels to identify legitimately solid basketball teams.
After the first day and a half of major conference tournament results, it seems like no one really wants to play themselves in. Let's take a quick look around.
The Big East should easily get eight teams in with Notre Dame quickly becoming the last berth. But the talk of 9 or 10 and including South Florida or Seton Hall needs to stop, and don't even get me started on UConn. The Longhorn's loss to the Huskies is almost as bad as the loss in Norman. I guess Cincinnati still has a shot but not because they are legitimate, more because the rest of the teams on the Bubble stink. The Bearcats must beat West Virginia tonight, though, to realistically have a chance.
The ACC is a mess of mediocrity. Duke and Maryland are in for sure, but even the Terps haven't proven much this season. Virginia Tech and Florida State are safely in too and are nothing special. Clemson is likely in also and probably could even lose to NC State tonight and still easily grab a bid. As I type this, Georgia Tech is down by ten to North Carolina. At this point, the Wreck is begging to be left out of the field. Is Wake in at 19-10 and 9-8 in league play? They just lost by 21 points! To Miami! The Demon Deacons are now losers in five of their last six. They are shouting even louder than is Tech for an NIT bid. Sadly, we still need 65 teams and both Georgia Tech and Wake could be among them.
Conference USA was hoping for two bids and dreaming of three. After losses by both UAB and Memphis in the quarterfinals, C-USA may only land UTEP in the Dance. However, either No. 6 seed Southern Miss or No. 7 seed Houston (Tom Penders club, wow!) will play on Saturday for the an automatic berth. Gross.
The SEC is just getting started. I guess Mississippi and Mississippi State could still both play their way in with the way other bubble teams are faltering. Raise your hand if you think either of these teams are NCAA caliber. Yeah, me neither.
The Pac 10 is just getting started too and could be the real winners as Bubble's pop across the rest of the country. If either Arizona State or Washington makes a run to the finals, you would have to think either would sneak back into the committee's eyes as a legitimate at-large selection. As others fall, the Pac 10 is now likely to be at least a two bid league.
Last, the Atlantic 10 in its bizarre one game, then two days of rest format gets started again tomorrow. Xavier, Richmond, and Temple are all in but the rest of the league is filled with bubble teams. Rhode Island, Charlotte, Dayton, and St. Louis should all be smiling at the early results. Any of those four, heck maybe even two of those four could earn berths with a win or two in Atlantic City.
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Imagine if it were 96!
Charlotte lost in the first round of the A-10 tourney, so I don’t think they’re smiling or a legitimate option for a bid.
Oklahoma State doesn't
look like a tourney team either. They’ll be in though. The win over KU saves their bid.
--AW--
Two ways I'm looking at this
Confident, knowing that we have just a good a chance as anyone to get far – or - the KU’s and UK’s will just dominate with little excitement. But really, we’re seeing that any team could drop any of these games. Opting for optimism here.
by Infield Elephant on Mar 11, 2010 7:33 PM CST reply actions
Rest day
Leagues where teams would have to play four games to win might seriously consider taking a rest day. Back in SWC days, the women’s tournament was interleaved with the men’s and the Big 12 might look at something like that.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
8+ teams
Qualifying 8 or more teams out of a league seriously devalues both the league championship and the league tournament. Coaches can set these up as intermediate goals, but they are easily written off. The whole season becomes jockeying for the tournament seed. Down the stretch, the games that matter are just the ones involving mediocre “bubble” teams.
Even worse, you get top teams and league champions dogging it in their tourneys, which wrecks the whole concept of seeding.
So the question really comes down to who you want in the tournament. At one extreme, you go to the old NIT formula — when the I in “Invitation” meant something — and have a selection committee pick 16 teams. At the other end, just make it a free-for-all, all comers accepted, which you could do with four more games.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.

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