They're really gonna do this, aren't they?

[RUsojo]

More content the better imo

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

More content the better imo

I kind of agree except I don’t want to see the existing regular season content made worse by more apathy. That’s why I’d only be in favor of expansion if it meant a guaranteed AQ for all conference champs.

96 teams would be fine in that case - not so diluted if your adding 15+ additional AQs and brings more meaning to regular season games in more conferences. Neat format - byes for top 8 seeds.

First round out bracket games played on higher seeded gym floors - any team to win both their league and conference tourney guaranteed to home outbracket game if not seeded in the top 8 (to incentivize low major champs to play hard still in their conference tournies).

 

[RUtrumpet92_rivals498139]

And what seeds are those division winners?
Exactly. They get seeded HIGHER.
No other sport gives a bye to a lower seed.
Want to reward AQ with no play-in? Fine.
Seed them all 1-32 or whatever.
Seed ND/Rutgers 15/16 if they are the last to qualify and make them play-in.

And yes, the upcoming 12 CFP is dumb.
No problem saying "AQ matters above all. They get the higher seeds and bye".
But it's dumb to say only 4 AQ matter - the other 2 get seeded 11 and 12.

Either make AQ matter or not.

I see your point. On the other hand, those 1 seeds who would have to face the winner of Rutgers vs Notre Dame would hate that compared to the 16 vs 16 winners they play in the current format. It would be better to be a 2 seed than a 1 in that scenario.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Right . A big Part of March madness is who is in and who is out . It makes the conference tournaments so much fun. More teams dilute that .

It does, but not as much as you think. It would just be different teams in the bubble conversation. Even the Vanderbilt game would be fine. They would play a midmajor and might even lose for the right to be a 14 seed in the bracket. Truthfully - they weren’t that much better than the 14 seed the 3 seed would’ve otherwise played anyway.

The biggest change would be the 1 and 2 seeds where the competition level would be drastically different in the round of 64 where 1 seed would be facing a team like Virginia or Iona instead of a SWAC team.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I see your point. On the other hand, those 1 seeds who would have to face the winner of Rutgers vs Notre Dame would hate that compared to the 16 vs 16 winners they play in the current format. It would be better to be a 2 seed than a 1 in that scenario.

Yeah this is the biggest problem with expansion. If you feel like the 1 seed deserves that automatic win based on their accomplishments relative to the rest of the field (namely seeds 2-4) that’s a fair argument against expansion.

But then again - in the current system, being the best 8 seed is virtually identical to being the worst 9 seed. And being a 10 seed is arguably better than both.

 

[srru86]

Katz had an interesting point on BTN yesterday. Current contract for tv runs thru 2032. No renegotiation, so if you had 20 teams each slice of the tv pie will be smaller.

I'd think this is the key reason this won't happen.

 

[DJ Spanky]

More dilution of the regular season. Pretty soon it'll be like the NHL.

 

[LotusAggressor_rivals]

This looks like an excuse to put mediocre teams from power conferences in the tournament.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

More dilution of the regular season. Pretty soon it'll be like the NHL.

It would not be that much dilution of the regular season if more AQs were added. It would also become a lot more meaningful to earn a 1-8 seed and not have to play in one of the outbracket games.

 

[DJ Spanky]

I think it's better to expand to a 128 seed bracket, this way more people get a chance.

 

[fluoxetine]

Just seed'em 1-363 and have a tournament for everyone.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

I don't understand the issue.... 25% is fine. Every professional league has more.

NFL 14 of 32

NBA 20 of 30 (though 8 of those are "play-in" games.. it is still post-season)

MLB 12 of 30

NHL 16 of 32

 

[Scangg]

I don't understand the issue.... 25% is fine. Every professional league has more.

NFL 14 of 32

NBA 20 of 30 (though 8 of those are "play-in" games.. it is still post-season)

MLB 12 of 30

NHL 16 of 32

Interesting perspective

 

[rutgersguy1_rivals]

Some tangential news.

 

[IMARUFAN]

So, now, the regular season will be solely for the purpose of seeding teams. Kind of like the NHL.

Just look at MLB. The Phillies finished in 3rd place, 14 games behind both the Braves and Mets. They wouldn't even be in the playoffs a year or two ago. But now they're in the World Series. Ridiculous.