Fixing the NCAAT

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T18:55:46Z

I don't want to allow the NCAA to step up on this slippery slope, but I also would like to see the NCAA attach metrics to conferences to allow their tournament champ to be eligible for their AQ. The committees job is to get the best 68 teams in. I think the tournament selection data needs to be restructured so guaranteed 25 point thrashings in the first round are no longer common. Let's make the tournament as competitive as possible... Like, I don't need to Saint Francis and Alabama St in a play in game to win the right to get annihilated by Auburn... it's dumb.

CMJ · 2025-03-20T20:03:13Z

Are you saying not all conferences should get a bid? The NCAA's job is not to get the 68 "best" teams in per se, it's to give every league a chance at the title.

NT93 · 2025-03-20T20:23:49Z

1 hour ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

I don't want to allow the NCAA to step up on this slippery slope, but I also would like to see the NCAA attach metrics to conferences to allow their tournament champ to be eligible for their AQ. The committees job is to get the best 68 teams in. I think the tournament selection data needs to be restructured so guaranteed 25 point thrashings in the first round are no longer common. Let's make the tournament as competitive as possible... Like, I don't need to Saint Francis and Alabama St in a play in game to win the right to get annihilated by Auburn... it's dumb.

I’ve got some terrible news for you. There are MANY who would substitute Saint Francis and Alabama St. with North Texas, etc.

If you want the committee to get “the best 68 teams in,” get ready for a tournament full of P4’s. Not a tournament I care to watch. The opening weekend with all of the smaller schools is my favorite part of the tournament.

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T20:36:33Z

3 minutes ago, NT93 said:

I’ve got some terrible news for you. There are MANY who would substitute Saint Francis and Alabama St. with North Texas, etc.

If you want the committee to get “the best 68 teams in,” get ready for a tournament full of P4’s. Not a tournament I care to watch. The opening weekend with all of the smaller schools is my favorite part of the tournament.

That's why I opened my comment with not wanting to walk onto this slippery slope. But the 14-16 seeds are just eating spots. The 12/13 seeds are often filled with competitive teams/programs.

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T20:38:30Z

33 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Are you saying not all conferences should get a bid? The NCAA's job is not to get the 68 "best" teams in per se, it's to give every league a chance at the title.

I am saying that we allow too many shit teams in and I don't know how to fix it.

CMJ · 2025-03-20T20:49:28Z

Sounds like the kind of crap I'd read on a Kentucky or North Carolina board.

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T20:55:07Z

4 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Sounds like the kind of crap I'd read on a Kentucky or North Carolina board.

Maybe. But, again, do we really need to see St Fracis vs Alabama State to see who wins the right to get destroyed in the actual 1st round?

meaniegreenie · 2025-03-20T21:00:02Z

4 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Maybe. But, again, do we really need to see St Fracis vs Alabama State to see who wins the right to get destroyed in the actual 1st round?

I've always hated the "play-in" games.

CMJ · 2025-03-20T21:00:17Z

5 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Maybe. But, again, do we really need to see St Fracis vs Alabama State to see who wins the right to get destroyed in the actual 1st round?

If you're gonna do away with those games, instead of dropping those schools, I'd rather all the First Four be bubble teams playing each other. The current two and two was a compromise between those who wanted all four to be 16s against each other and those who argued for all four games to involve bubble teams.

Edited 21 hours ago by CMJ

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T21:07:12Z

6 minutes ago, CMJ said:

If you're gonna do away with those games, instead of dropping those schools, I'd rather all the First Four be bubble teams playing each other. The current two and two was a compromise between those who wanted all four to be 16s against each other and those who argued for all four games to involve bubble teams.

Dead weight has to go. Low majors that are 14-17 have no business in this field. Zero..nada.

CMJ · 2025-03-20T21:24:37Z

9 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Dead weight has to go. Low majors that are 14-17 have no business in this field. Zero..nada.

Again, you sound like a Kentucky type snob. I had to go back to 2019 to find a year (because 2020 was cancelled obviously) when a seed 14 or worse didn't win a game.

2024:

(1) 14 seed

2023

(1) 15 seed

(1) 16 seed (a First Four one at that!)

2022

(1) 15 seed (Made the Regional Final)

2021

(1) 15 seed

(1) 14 seed

cousin oliver · 2025-03-20T21:28:55Z

4 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Again, you sound like a Kentucky type snob. I had to go back to 2019 to find a year (because 2020 was cancelled obviously) when a seed 14 or worse didn't win a game.

2024:

(1) 14 seed

2023

(1) 15 seed

(1) 16 seed (a First Four one at that!)

2022

(1) 15 seed (Made the Regional Final)

2021

(1) 15 seed

(1) 14 seed

Good analysis here @CMJ

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T21:38:46Z

9 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Again, you sound like a Kentucky type snob. I had to go back to 2019 to find a year (because 2020 was cancelled obviously) when a seed 14 or worse didn't win a game.

2024:

(1) 14 seed

2023

(1) 15 seed

(1) 16 seed (a First Four one at that!)

2022

(1) 15 seed (Made the Regional Final)

2021

(1) 15 seed

(1) 14 seed

Good analysis.

Now I can go back every year where 14, 15, and 16 seeds get dismantled. A 'don't belong' type of ass whippin. All the while much, much, much more deserving AND better teams aren't in.

This isn't an elitist approach I'm bringng. I'm just bringing a do better than having your AQ br 15-17 or whatever with no wins of note. Those are the types that get their pants pulled down and bent over daddies knee on national television and we don't need it. An elitist approach to this would be just disbanding ALL low major teams, much like a snobby UK fan would say abolish all mid majors from being in. That's not what I'm saying here.

CMJ · 2025-03-20T21:39:11Z

Just to continue:

In 2018

(1) 16 seed

2016

(1) 15 seed

(1) 14 seed

2015

(2) 14 seed

So basically in the last ten years, one tournament was cancelled...but otherwise there were just two when at least one 14 or worse seed didn't win a game.

CMJ · 2025-03-20T21:40:57Z

1 minute ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Good analysis.

Now I can go back every year where 14, 15, and 16 seeds get dismantled. A 'don't belong' type of ass whippin. All the while much, much, much more deserving AND better teams aren't in.

This isn't an elitist approach I'm bringng. I'm just bringing a do better than having your AQ br 15-17 or whatever with no wins of note. Those are the types that get their pants pulled down and bent over daddies knee on national television and we don't need it. An elitist approach to this would be just disbanding ALL low major teams, much like a snobby UK fan would say abolish all mid majors from being in. That's not what I'm saying here.

I'd say 14-16 seeds probably should be beaten badly BECAUSE they're playing top seeds. I remember a few times when a 12 seed won two rounds and then got manhandled by the 1 seed. One seeds are that way for a reason.

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T21:51:40Z

10 minutes ago, CMJ said:

I'd say 14-16 seeds probably should be beaten badly BECAUSE they're playing top seeds. I remember a few times when a 12 seed won two rounds and then got manhandled by the 1 seed. One seeds are that way for a reason.

No GIF

CMJ · 2025-03-20T21:59:05Z

2 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

You can deny it all you want, but it doesn't even have to be 12s or 13s playing 1s and getting housed.

Connecticut last year beat 16 seed Stetson by 39. Okay so they don't belong in your view.

In the Sweet 16 Connecticut defeated (5) San Diego State by 30 and then (3) Illinois by 25 (UCONN only won by 17 in the 2nd round).

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-20T22:02:03Z

1 minute ago, CMJ said:

You can deny it all you want, but it doesn't even have to be 12s or 13s playing 1s and getting housed.

Connecticut last year beat 16 seed Stetson by 39. Okay so they don't belong in your view.

In the Sweet 16 Connecticut defeated (5) San Diego State by 30 and then (3) Illinois by 25 (UCONN only won by 17 in the 2nd round).

Both of those UCONNs are anomalies in favor to the point you are making. UCONN was skulling everyone. Teams sitting at home aren't going to get pinned into a corner of a couch by 40..just isn't happening. And that's sort of my point. We might as well give these top seeds a bye. Yeah, yeah, FDU wouldn't have ever happened. I hear ya.

akriesman · 2025-03-21T02:36:00Z

5 hours ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Maybe. But, again, do we really need to see St Fracis vs Alabama State to see who wins the right to get destroyed in the actual 1st round?

Yes. Both 15 and even 16 slotted teams have had huge upsets. When it happens, it's one of the greatest things in college BBall.

NorthTexasWeLove · 2025-03-21T02:42:26Z

4 minutes ago, akriesman said:

Yes. Both 15 and even 16 slotted teams have had huge upsets. When it happens, it's one of the greatest things in college BBall.

Yes. And yes, it is awesome... but it seams to me we are good with watering down the tournament year after year so we can watch the random 15 knock off a 2 every so often.

Matt from A700 · 2025-03-21T03:04:36Z

The NCAAT is fine. It's everything around it that needs fixing. Figure out how the NIT can get its prestige back, including moving the final back to MSG. Possibly consolidate the non-NCAAT events into a 64-team NIT. Push back the portal window so more power conference teams are willing to participate in the NIT.

Conferences should start limiting the amount of teams who make their tournaments to 8-10. Games like the 12/13 matchups in Denton this year probably end up costing leagues money because fans are not travelling for mediocre teams and nobody is watching/streaming. If the top-ranked team in the SWAC wins the tournament, too, they'll still be a Cinderella in the Big Dance, just like a 9th or 10th seeded champion would be.

untjim1995 · 2025-03-21T04:31:22Z

Here’s a few tweaks:

Play in Games are for the 11 seed for each region. Every conference winner gets in no matter what. Nobody cares about 16 seeds playing each other. They’re supposed to be fodder for the top 4 seeds. Instead, have four play in games for the last four spots in the tournament.

greenminer · 2025-03-21T06:07:18Z

I think you give every conference champ a bid, then fill in the rest with the best.

Yeah, a side effect of this is a couple ass whip games. Not a big deal, IMO, considering how much basketball we get to see in the grand scheme.

MrAlien · 2025-03-21T14:58:44Z

This is what makes this tournament the greatest in sports, everyone has a shot at winning it!! People that rarely watch college basketball tune in because of the possible upsets, and every now and then it happens. Every team knows what it has to do to get into this tournament, you fight all season to earn a bid, those teams that fall into the bubble are just a fluke.

MeanGreenTexan · 2025-03-21T15:24:52Z

22 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

This is what makes this tournament the greatest in sports, everyone has a shot at winning it!! People that rarely watch college basketball tune in because of the possible upsets, and every now and then it happens. Every team knows what it has to do to get into this tournament, you fight all season to earn a bid, those teams that fall into the bubble are just a fluke.

Yeah, it's always a first round beatdown... until it's not (ask Purdue, who lost as a 1 seed to Farleigh Dickinson a couple of years ago!)