Bust the NCAA Bracket

So you’re staring at your bracket today and trying to guess the fates of all 65 teams. But here’s the really important question.

How well could you handle 96?

If you’re the type who pays no attention to college basketball until office pools are involved, you’ve missed the hot topic making the rounds this season. And no, it’s not Buzz Williams’ dance moves.

See, there’s been serious discussion about expanding the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament from its current 65 teams to a bracket-busting 96. Most see it as a money grab by the NCAA and television, one brought to the forefront by the tournament’s soon-to-expire TV deal. (Wow, collegiate sports and money. Who knew?)

Initial public reaction has been largely negative, which is only natural. When it comes to change, the only sure thing is that people will oppose it. And you can understand their hesitance.

After all, the NCAA Tournament is an unqualified success. It’s become a national event. Just ask the secretary down the hall. She may not know the full-court press from permanent press, but she still can’t wait to fill out a bracket. So why change it?

Well, because maybe it really can get better.

I know the arguments against expansion. I hear them loud and clear.

Won’t bringing in more teams only water down the tournament’s quality? And why in the world do we need to see the 11th-best team from the Big East, wonders the likes of Peter King? Well Peter, we don’t.

But expansion shouldn’t be about the Big East’s 11th-best team getting into the tourney. It should be about the Horizon League’s second-best team getting in. The big boys get plenty of respect from selection committees. It’s the little guys who need the help. And if that’s the approach the NCAA takes, then I’m all for it.

I know, I know. Who cares about seeing another Horizon League team? Well, the truth of the matter is, you do.

Think back to the tourney’s most memorable moments. No really, go ahead.

Are you picturing a game between two middling BCS schools who made the tourney because they were better than the WAC runner-up? No. You’re thinking about Valparaiso’s Bryce Drew hitting a miracle shot to beat Mississippi. Or Princeton’s Pete Carril back-cutting UCLA to death. You’re thinking about David beating Goliath.

Let’s be honest. Even now, the tourney’s not about getting the best 65 teams in, nor should it be. It’s about putting on the best tournament. And for that to happen, you need unknown underdogs beating legitimate favorites.

The popularity of the NCAA Tournament is as much about Cinderella’s shining moment as it is about national championships. Take away the Cinderellas, and you may as well shut down the Dance. So what’s wrong with a few more of them? Just make sure the Cinderellas earn their way in, which is easy enough.

Right now, the only way for teams from smaller conferences to guarantee their NCAA ticket is by winning their conference tournament. This season, UTEP was clearly Conference USA’s best regular-season team and earned a top-25 ranking. But despite 26 wins, after the Miners lost to Houston in the conference tourney finals, they just barely squeaked into the NCAAs with the last at-large bid.

Now would you have cared if UTEP didn’t make the tournament? Of course not. But would it feel fair to leave them out? Of course not. Nor does it feel right leaving out big-conference bubble teams like Minnesota who could also do some tourney damage.

The solution? Put 96 teams in the tournament and you can remove all the inequities. You have enough room to grant automatic bids to every conference’s regular season champ and its tournament champ. You have room left over for plenty of other quality at-large teams from conferences big and small. Some may be threats to win a national title; the vast majority won’t be.

But we don’t watch most teams expecting them to win. We watch because we expect some to do the unexpected. We watch because they make the tourney more fun to watch.

And we need all the fun we can get. After all, Buzz can’t dance at every game.

Blog of the Week

The SB Nation family of sports blogs has built a reputation for excellence. You may already be familiar with its entries for the Brewers and Bucks. And now, Marquette fans can share in the fun.

Anonymous Eagle is SB Nation’s newest entry. Although less than a week old, it’s already produced some quality work, with solid looks at Marquette’s fortunes in the Big East and NCAA tourneys, and even a fair amount of video (Queensryche, anyone?). Worth a look in your early stages of NCAA Tournament fever.

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