Poll: Should the NCAA Tournament Field be Expanded?

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

No. If anything, it needs to contract. The first four is just confusing and robs 2 schools of their spot in the real tourney.

I'm not sure that Chris Mack would agree with you, as he likely gets a hefty bonus for Xavier's NCAA Tournament appearances. The man has a family to feed.

Xavier to face NC State in First Four game - Shannon Russell, Cincinnati Enquirer - March 16, 2014

Xavier Musketeers Men's Basketball - Wikipedia

According to Wikipedia, Xavier holds the NCAA Division I basketball record for most wins in a single season.

In the 1952-53 season, former Xavier coach Ned Wulk led the Musketeers to a very impressive 161–12 regular-season record, according to the article.

[NJRedman]

No. If anything, it needs to contract. The first four is just confusing and robs 2 schools of their spot in the real tourney.

Seriously, what kind of college bball fan wants less college basketball?

[NJRedman]

I like Lunardis idea. 72 sounds good to me.

Look at monmouth last year. Beat UCLA, USC, GTown and Notre Dame and because they lose in the finals of their conference tourny they don't make the NCAAs. Can't say they have to schedule better when you got those type of schools on your schedule and you're beating them and dominating your conference.

[muskienick]

I dislike the Play-In round when there are so few teams involved (4 or 8). I'd much prefer the 96-team plan where the top-32-seeded teams would get first round byes. With 64 teams playing in the first round, it all seems more "Tournament-Like" rather than simply a gimmick to appease a few schools who would otherwise have thrown a hissy-fit for being passed over by the Selection Committee. Furthermore, there would be huge $'s to be made by all involved and the direct source of those $'s, mostly the TV networks that host them, would enjoy two extra huge paydays from their sponsors. Its a win-win situation for all except those whose regular favorite programming would be preempted.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

I think they should expand to 96 teams and give the top 32 seeds a bye in the first round. It would give ample opportunity for mid-majors to have a seat at the table. More chance for Cinderella which the fans absolutely love -- probably the general fan's favorite thing about the NCAA Tourney is the prevalence of Cinderella.

A look at the 2017 tournament fields suggests that a 96-team NCAA Tournament field would benefit the P5-conference teams more than the Cinderellas.

A 96-team NCAA Tournament field would likely consist of the 68-team NCAA field plus the top 28 teams in the 32-team NIT field. (68 + 28 = 96)

2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament - Wikipedia

Multi-bid Conference • No. of Bids
ACC • 9
Big East • 7
Big Ten • 7
Big 12 • 6
SEC • 5
Pac-12 • 4
Atlantic 10 • 3
American • 2
WCC • 2

2017 National Invitation Tournament - Wikipedia

Conference • No. of Bids
ACC, Big Ten, MW, Pac-12, SEC • 3
American, Horizon • 2
Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big West, CAA, MAAC, MAC, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, SoCon, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, WAC • 1

No NIT Bids: America East, ASUN, Big East, Big Sky, Big South, C-USA, Ivy League, MEAC, Northeast, Patriot, Southland, SWAC

NIT Teams Seeded #8 (and dropped from the proposed 96-team NCAA Tournament): UNC Greensboro (SoCon), UC Irvine (Big West), Cal State Bakersfield (WAC), South Dakota (Summit)

Due to pressure from P5-conferences, it is highly unlikely that the NIT’s present automatic bid rule would be incorporated in a 96-team NCAA Tournament, so the P5-conferences would benefit even more by getting their bids - hastening the death of 'Cinderella'. In the 2017 NIT, 10 of the 32 bids went to automatic bid winners from 'lesser' conferences, while the P5-conferences scooped up most of the at-large bids.

In 2017, the Big East would have received 7 bids in either a 68-team field or a 96-team field, and getting 7 of the 10 Big East teams into the NCAA Tournament is probably the ceiling for the Big East. A 96-team field also increases the mathematical probability of a Big East team suffering an upset by a 'lesser' team. In short, a 96-team NCAA Tournament is likely to benefit the P5-conferences more than the Big East Conference or the Cinderellas.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

9 Craziest Cinderella Stories in March Madness History – Sports Cheat Sheet - April 9, 2017 (with video clips of Villanova and Butler)

1. Villanova Wildcats, 1985

4. Butler Bulldogs, 2010

NCAA Tournament: Ranking the 25 best March Madness Cinderella stories – CBS Sports - March 9, 2017

3. Villanova 1985 -- No. 8 to champion

4. Butler 2011 -- No. 8 to title game

13. Providence 1987 -- No. 6 to Final Four

The 16 greatest Cinderellas in NCAA tournament history, ranked! – Fox Sports – March 16, 2017 (no Big East teams listed)

10 Greatest Cinderella Teams in NCAA Tournament History – Athlon Sports – March 17, 2017 (no Big East teams listed)

March Madness: Ranking the 10 biggest Cinderellas of 2017's NCAA tournament and their stars – USA Today – March 14, 2017 (no Big East teams listed)

Bottom line: if a potential ‘Cinderella’ team is not considered good enough to make a 68-team tournament field, it is highly unlikely that it will make a Sweet 16 run or better in the NCAA Tournament. As most of you already know, a # 16 seed has never beaten a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and likely never will. The talent differential is just too great.

History of 15 seeds that have upset 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament since 1985 – KJRH TV, Tulsa - March 16, 2017

A No. 15 seed upsetting a No. 2 seed is rare. It has happened only eight times in the NCAA Tournament since 1985.

2016 - Middle Tennessee State shocks Michigan St., 90-81
2013 - Florida Gulf Coast beats Georgetown, 78-68
2012 - Norfolk St. stuns Missouri, 86-84
2012 - Lehigh takes down Duke, 75-70
2001 - Hampton dances over Iowa St., 58-57
1997 - Coppin St. crushes South Carolina, 78-65
1993 - Santa Clara surprises Arizona, 64-61
1991 - Richmond snares Syracuse, 73-69

The information above clearly illustrates that a 68-team field generates all of the excitement and drama that a college basketball fan could hope for, and diluting the tournament field with a lot more mediocre P5-conference teams would detract from, rather than add to, the quality of the Tournament.

Just as a 10-team Big East works brilliantly, so does a 68-team NCAA Tournament. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[stever20]

of the top 5 seeds in the NIT, only 2 were automatic schools- Illinois St and Monmouth.

from the non P5 schools- you would have seen added to the tourney Houston, BYU, Colorado St, Charleston, UCF, and Fresno St. That takes you to 88 teams...

The 6 line had at larges Georgia Tech, Boise St, and Richmond. You figure those 3 would be in as well. So that's 91. 5 others to go. The 5 that would have been next up that had made the NIT as 6/7's automatic- UT Arlington, Belmont, Valparaiso, Akron, and Oakland.

So of the 23 teams that would have gotten added, you would have seen 8 from non P5 conferences.

[herodotus]

72 wouldn't bother me, but no more than that. There would be little benefit for the BE in a 96 team field. As has been stated, 7 teams is pretty much the ceiling for a 10 team league. To get 8, everything would have to break right, with the bottom 2 teams being horrid, along with maybe 1 very good team, while 2-8 beat up on each other, giving the league a bunch of teams with records of 10-8, 9-9, and 8-10. Like last year, this puts a lot of teams in the tournament, but with weak seeds. As we saw last year, most of those teams didn't stick around too long. I'd rather see 5-6 bids, with most of those teams being strong enough to earn high seeds, and doing damage in the tournament.

[stever20]

72 wouldn't bother me, but no more than that. There would be little benefit for the BE in a 96 team field. As has been stated, 7 teams is pretty much the ceiling for a 10 team league. To get 8, everything would have to break right, with the bottom 2 teams being horrid, along with maybe 1 very good team, while 2-8 beat up on each other, giving the league a bunch of teams with records of 10-8, 9-9, and 8-10. Like last year, this puts a lot of teams in the tournament, but with weak seeds. As we saw last year, most of those teams didn't stick around too long. I'd rather see 5-6 bids, with most of those teams being strong enough to earn high seeds, and doing damage in the tournament.

Actually looking thru the 4 years and the NIT....
2014- St John's and Georgetown get in. Marquette gets right on the bubble at 96.
2015- Seton Hall would have had a lot more to play for the last month of the season.
2016- Creighton for sure gets in. Marquette right on the bubble.
2017- really only year with no help at all...

So in the 4 years, 3 more guaranteed bids, and then 3 schools getting right on the bubble.

[DudeAnon]

Don't dilute what is arguably the best playoff in american sports. Fix the metrics so shitty P5 teams don't steal bids. And frankly, mid-major conferences should consider granting the regular season champion the automatic bid rather than the tournament winner.