Add Syracuse's Jim Boeheim to the growing list of head coaches in support of expanding the NCAA tournament field of 65 to a larger number. He recently made the case to ESPN's Colin Cowherd..."This year, you're going to see at the end of the year, teams like Connecticut, teams that are really good teams, and North Carolina if they get winning two, three, four games here at the end, you're going to see a lot of teams that look alike, and you're not going to be able to fairly say this team's better, this team should be in. You're not going to be able to do that."
And while that wasn't the most well said statement by the hall of famer, I think I can translate it into something that makes some actual sense. Basically, he wants to expand the field so mediocre and underachieving teams (like this year's UNC and UConn) can slide into the NCAA tournament, and cheapen the experience for small schools that bust their butt all season just to make the dance.
Seriously, who wants to watch a bunch of nobodies face off, while the teams from BCS leagues get a bye to the second round? Does anyone even watch the one play-in game that we have right now? Well, I do, but I'm not one of the many casual fans that come out in March just to get caught up in the Madness.
When teams like UConn and Carolina fail to meet expectations, they can go to the NIT, just like we did last year. We don't need to expand the field to make the regular season even more less relevant than what it already is. I mean, I love Kentucky, and I want them to make the Big Dance every year, but last year, we didn't deserve it, and you didn't see Kentucky fans and alumni clamoring for an expanded field either. We took our medicine, did our best in the NIT, and then fired our coach to make sure it didn't happen again.
No, bigger isn't always better, and that's especially true in this case. As Dick Vitale said recently, March Madness is already the most special sporting event in all of sports, so why try to improve on something that is dang near perfect already. Sometimes you don't get what you want, but if we're honest, we usually get what we deserve.
But what says you? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
I am not in favor of an expansion. I can live with a few more play in games, but that is about it. Better yet, why don't we just expand the Big East to include every team in the NCAA? I don't know if that is fair enough though. What about Division II schools? How about NAIA? Juco? All should be a part of the Big East in my opinion. The problem here is that the Big East isn't big enough.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why there wasn't an outcry when UK was missing the tourney last year. I don't want to hear anything about fairness. It is all about the Benjamins. More games equals more money period. Fairness has nothing to do with it.
The Big East didn't stack up with the rest of the BCS financially, so they made a bold move to poach schools from C-USA and become a basketball conference. They made that bed, and now the NCAA is going to bail them out and make sure that any decent Big East team is NCAA tournament certified. It is a joke, which is extremely fitting for the NCAA. I wish UK would secede from the NCAA. Just join the NBA. Who is against this?
I agree with Austin I am not in favor of the expansion either. Matter of fact, I hate the idea. Big East teams are in favor of it because it makes most Big East teams as automatic bids. Of course the mid majors would continue to get screwed because the only ones getting bids would be mediocre, middle of the pack power conference teams.
ReplyDeleteThink what's going on with his buddy @ UCONN has anything to do with this???
ReplyDeleteLike you guys said, it's all about money. The fact that the Big LEAST still has a BCS bowl bid is astounding to me... they flat out suck.
Money rules the day, unfortunately, even in AMATEUR ATHLETICS! I's a sad state of affairs for sure...
Oh, and no, no expansion of the 64 team tournament field. More play-in games? 3 more wouldn't hurt (the winner of each to play each regional #1 seed), but no more please. I could go a lifetime without seeing Monmouth match up against South Carolina A&M.
This is just because Syracuse was on the outside looking in a year or 2 ago and doesn't want to miss again. There doesn't need to be a change, either earn it or don't make it, that's what the NIT is for. If there are questions about you, take care of them on the court. UK didn't make it last year and they didn't deserve to. Take your hits and improve or fix your own problems and win the games.
ReplyDeleteYou will start hearing things like who's better the number 86 team or the number 42? Oh wait is just a replay of the WAC tournament semi finals.
I totally disagree with expanding the field. Bottom line is it doesn't matter how many teams are in the tourney, there will always be some teams that come up short or are "shafted". That is what makes the tournament so special. "Mid-Majors".....YOU ARE A MID-MAJOR, win your widdle tournyment and prove yourself in the BIG DANCE!! Major Confrences......your the big boys and your supposed to play like it (N.Carolina-this year), (Kentucky-last year), recruit the best players, win the majority of your non-confrence games, and scratch and claw your way through your confrence schedule, and your conference tourney's and show you belong. Expanding the field would take away from the tournament in my opinion.
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