NCAAB Automatic Bid Proposal.

[PhilSimms11]

This pertains mostly to the 1-bid conferences, but can apply to all. If a team wins the conference regular season title outright they get the auto bid to the NCAA's and are exempt from the conference tourney. The remaining teams in the conference tourney play for an NIT bid or perhaps an NCAA at-large. If they don't win it outright then they must play in the conference tourney and try to get in that way. This is a compromise from my proposal of the past, but we do get conferences with 2, 3, and sometimes a 4-way champion. This would increase the number of deserving teams. No 12-18 teams would be in the Big Dance...EVER. Here are the teams that would qualify for the automatic bid thus far:

America East--Stony Brook (23-6, 14-2)
Atlantic Sun--No Florida (20-10, 10-4)
Big East--Villanova (26-4, 15-2)
Big Ten--Indiana (24-6, 14-3)
Big XII--Kansas (26-4, 14-3)
C-USA--UAB (24-5, 14-2)
Horizon League--Valpo (26-5, 16-2)
MAAC--Monmouth (25-6, 17-3)
MAC--Akron (23-7, 12-5)
MEAC--Hampton (18-9, 13-2)
MVC--Wichita St (23-7, 16-2)
MWC--San Diego St (22-8, 15-2)
NEC--Wagner (20-9, 13-5)
OVC--Belmont (20-10, 12-4)
Patriot League--Bucknell (17-12, 14-4)
Southern--Chattanooga (26-5, 15-3)
Southland--Stephen F Austin (23-5, 16-0)
SWAC--Texas Southern (16-12, 15-1)
Sun Belt--Little Rock (27-3, 17-2)
WAC--New Mexico St (21-9, 12-1)

 

[rmilia1]

I get the premise but why penalize your regular season champs by taking away their chance to win the conference tourney? Plus many many of those teams can dramatically improve their seeding with a conference tourney win. Indiana for example is likely a 4 or 5 seed right now. They'd be locked in there AT BEST with your proposal. As it is now if IU wins out and takes the league tourney title they'll be a 2 or 3 seed

 

[NDHoosier101]

The conference tourney's screw midmajors, so I get the premise.

Of course no one cares about midmajors, and it helps power conferences, so I doubt they ever tweak the rules.

 

[H2S]

imo, DEPT...

conference tourneys are played for the benefit of advertisers, sponsors and the donor class...those teams who DESERVE to dance are already tagged before any conference tourney game is played...teams beating themselves silly (possibly injure key players) on the eve of the most important event of the year is the height of stupidity.

 

[PhilSimms11]

For the moment, (1)No Florida (22-11) is out. If (7)Stetson (12-21) beats (4)FGCU (19-13) then No Florida would get the auto bid. Stetson is ineligible for the NCAA tournament and it would revert back to the regular season champion for the spot. Kinda strange.

I'm good with either (1)High Point (21-9) or (2)Winthrop (22-8) coming out of the Big South. Both tied for 1st at 13-5. (1)Hofstra (22-8) or (2)UNC-Wilmington (22-7) from the CAA. Both 14-4. 12-4's So Dakota St (23-7) or IPFW (23-8) from the Summit League. And the WCC's 15-3 St Mary's (25-4) and Gonzaga (23-7). The WCC could be a 1-bid conference this year, especially if St Mary's wins it. Gonzaga's RPI is only 62.

Also, Belmont (20-11) and Bucknell (17-13) are among outright regular season champs to falter in the conference tourney. Hello, NIT.

 

[PhilSimms11]

Tickets punched:
(4)Fla Gulf Coast (20-13)
(4)UNC-Asheville (22-11)
(2)UNC-Wilmington (25-7)*
(1)Yale (22-6)**
(2)Iona (22-10)
(4)No Iowa (22-12)
(8)Austin Peay (18-17)
(1)Chattanooga (29-5)
(2)Fairleigh Dickinson (18-14)
(4)Green Bay (23-12)
(2)Gonzaga (26-7)*
(2)So Dakota St (26-7)*

(*)tied for regular season title
(**)no conference tournament

As you can see there are very few (1) seeds thus far that have won their conference tournaments. At this point, of the 8 conferences that had outright champs only one has gone on to win the conference tourney (Chattanooga). This is why I'd like to see outright regular season champions get the automatic bid. If you tie for first then fine, go ahead and play it out in the conference tourney. Outright winners should be exempt from playing in it. The others can attempt to play their way in as an at-large to the NCAA. At worst, they'd get an automatic bid/invite to the NIT if they were to win the conference tourney. (8)Austin Peay (18-17) would be an example of a team headed to the NIT. NO WAY do they deserve a spot in the NCAA's. (2)F. Dickinson (18-14) would be another NIT bound team. A team like (4)Cincinnati (22-9) would make a strong case for an at-large bid if they were to win the AAC tournament using this format. (1)Temple (20-10) would be in as an automatic having won the AAC regular season outright.

 

[tabascojet]

Tickets punched:
(4)Fla Gulf Coast (20-13)
(4)UNC-Asheville (22-11)
(2)UNC-Wilmington (25-7)*
(1)Yale (22-6)**
(2)Iona (22-10)
(4)No Iowa (22-12)
(8)Austin Peay (18-17)
(1)Chattanooga (29-5)
(2)Fairleigh Dickinson (18-14)
(4)Green Bay (23-12)
(2)Gonzaga (26-7)*
(2)So Dakota St (26-7)*

(*)tied for regular season title
(**)no conference tournament

As you can see there are very few (1) seeds thus far that have won their conference tournaments. At this point, of the 8 conferences that had outright champs only one has gone on to win the conference tourney (Chattanooga). This is why I'd like to see outright regular season champions get the automatic bid. If you tie for first then fine, go ahead and play it out in the conference tourney. Outright winners should be exempt from playing in it. The others can attempt to play their way in as an at-large to the NCAA. At worst, they'd get an automatic bid/invite to the NIT if they were to win the conference tourney. (8)Austin Peay (18-17) would be an example of a team headed to the NIT. NO WAY do they deserve a spot in the NCAA's. (2)F. Dickinson (18-14) would be another NIT bound team. A team like (4)Cincinnati (22-9) would make a strong case for an at-large bid if they were to win the AAC tournament using this format. (1)Temple (20-10) would be in as an automatic having won the AAC regular season outright.

do you even like college basketball or are you a a fucking millennial that demands life to be fair at all costs?? first you want to penalize a regular season champ by not letting them play in their conf tournament?? dumb dumb dumb The appeal of this time year is all about the win and advance. if a reg season champ gets upset thats their problem and they already get an auto bid into the nit if they lose. what they hell do teams like austin peay have to play for if they the know going in that even if they win the conf tournament they wont get a bid??

 

[redseat]

Premise is good but as people have already mentioned why should those teams not be allowed to play and win their own tournament? I get the risk of injury is higher the more games you play before the NCAA Tournament but the point of playing is to win your league, the tournament and the Big Dance

 

[PhilSimms11]

Outright regular season champions would be exempt from playing in the conference tournament. It's not a 'you're not allowed to play' situation. It's not a punishment, it's a reward. They've already proven they're the best team in the conference and deserve the automatic bid to the NCAA's. The bottom line of these conference tournaments is just to make money. We all know that. I find it anticlimactic when a deserving team gets upset and some fluke of a team that finished in the middle of the pack or in last place wins 3-4 games in a row. I just want to see a 68-team tournament with the most deserving teams. Austin Peay ain't one of them. Keep in mind, I didn't say the 68 best. I said the 68 most deserving.

 

[Edonidd]

That misses the whole point of the tournament, and the whole point of at large bids. You have a certain number of at large bids to give to teams that through a regular season have proven they belonged there. And a certain number of automatic bids for teams that have proven they can win a tournament.

The problem is that the NCAAB "March Madness" tournament is designed as an extensive and thorough way to determine the single best team in the country. But to many of the teams that are included it's more like a NCAAF bowl game, it's viewed as a reward for and a celebration of a successful season.

 

[PhilSimms11]

Good job Holy Cross (14-19). Another team to fluke their way into the field.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Good job Holy Cross (14-19). Another team to fluke their way into the field.

So you're saying if a team finishes with a mediocre record and then goes on a tear to win 3-4 games in a row against the best teams in their league then they don't deserve to be called the champions? It's a complete fluke?

 

[dcZONAfan]

So you're saying if a team finishes with a mediocre record and then goes on a tear to win 3-4 games in a row against the best teams in their league then they don't deserve to be called the champions? It's a complete fluke?

Not to mention they won 4 road games in a row. How many teams have even done that this season? Probably only a handful

 

[PhilSimms11]

So you're saying if a team finishes with a mediocre record and then goes on a tear to win 3-4 games in a row against the best teams in their league then they don't deserve to be called the champions? It's a complete fluke?

So, they end the regular season with a record of 10-19 and you call that mediocre...? And they're still 5 games under .500. I call it STINKS. They finished 9th out of 10 teams in the conference. That's a perfect example of a FLUKE.

Not to mention they won 4 road games in a row. How many teams have even done that this season? Probably only a handful

Umm......28.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

So, they end the regular season with a record of 10-19 and you call that mediocre...? And they're still 5 games under .500. I call it STINKS. They finished 9th out of 10 teams in the conference. That's a perfect example of a FLUKE.

Umm......28.

Some would say the same about a team that finished the regular season 9-7 and won 4 straight games to win a championship. I'd say if you can put up 3-4 wins in a row against the best teams in your league ( Holy Cross beat the 1, 2, and 4 seeds) you deserve the title "Champion", and in this case you deserve a birth in the tournament.

And yeah, 28 sounds like a big number until you realize there are 351 teams in D-1. They just did something less than 10% of teams have done this year.

 

[PhilSimms11]

Some would say the same about a team that finished the regular season 9-7 and won 4 straight games to win a championship. I'd say if you can put up 3-4 wins in a row against the best teams in your league ( Holy Cross beat the 1, 2, and 4 seeds) you deserve the title "Champion", and in this case you deserve a birth in the tournament.

And yeah, 28 sounds like a big number until you realize there are 351 teams in D-1. They just did something less than 10% of teams have done this year.

Okay. In that case.....340. This is fun.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Agreed. March Madness is a blast. :-D

 

[iowajerms]

Eh, clock's not broken.

 

[tabascojet]

Even the ivy league has seen the light......
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/03/1...ague-basketball-tournament.html?_r=0&referer=

 

[PhilSimms11]

Even the ivy league has seen the light......
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/03/1...ague-basketball-tournament.html?_r=0&referer=

Yes, yes they have. It was just a matter of time. They'll just use the top-4 out of 8 teams. That's a plus. If they had used that format this year it would've been...

(1)Yale (22-6, 13-1) vs (4)Harvard (14-16, 6-8)
(2)Princeton (22-6, 12-2) vs (3)Columbia (21-10, 10-4)