While I am sure this is akin to Captain Obvious, the NCAA, University Members, and Media Partners have been long tenured advocates of mutually beneficial financial wealth enhancement by creating “events” in revenue-generating sports. We have regular season champions, conference tournaments champions (Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Soccer), conference title game champions (Football), etc., all creating more content for media providers and more revenue for institutional conferences and their members.
Now with increased player movement, NIL compensation, the blurring if not eradicating the line between illegal booster activity and legal payment for services, perhaps it is time we “re-imagine” the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
First a quick history lesson. The Tournament had 16 teams in 1951, doubled to 32 in 1975 and expanded to 64 in 1985 and some 26 years later expanded to 68 teams. Now consider that the College Football Playoff became 4 teams in 2014 and has expanded to 12 teams in 2024 while also keep in mind that the CFP has expanded to 14 teams in 2026, without EVER PLAYING A GAME in the 12 Team format.
With all due respect to Joe Lunardi, Jerry Palm, and Michael DeCourcy and the boon the bracketology crowd has been to their respective bank accounts, can we FINALLY have a chat about the arbitrary number of 68?? WHY are 64 or 68 sacrosanct numbers to the NCAA?? There are 363 schools playing Division 1 Basketball!!!
As a reminder, there are 32 Automatic Qualifiers in the NCAA tournament, i.e., you win your conference tournament, you are in the Big Dance. Is the Ivy League Tournament the equivalent to winning the Big 12 Tournament, absolutely NOT, but if the NCAA wants to automatically qualify 32 teams from the 363 member schools, fine. The on-going issue of the remaining 36 teams or however many teams is the problem.
Between Strength of Schedule (SOS), Quad 1, 2, 3, 4 Wins/Records, NET Rankings, the former RPI, etc. determining the remaining teams has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Is the Big 12 the best league in College Basketball in 2024? We think so, but do we really know?? And why does the appearance of playing in a perceived “tough league” bolster your Quad 1 record?? Countless examples of victories/losses counted as Quad 1 when the team defeated is anything but a quality team. And really, shouldn’t the quality of your conference opponent be determined and measured against your out of conference competition??
If you’re listening to a FOX Broadcast, there are very few leagues deeper than the Big East. ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes will espouse the greatness of the SEC. Someone still thinks the B10 is deep and worthy of 6 participants….it’s a conjecture, opinion filled, inequitable and admittedly from my vantage point, a completely avoidable train-wreck. Don’t believe me?? Read on…..
As a long-time advocate of the philosophy “if you choose to complain about a situation, you best develop a solution to the complaint” here’s where we are and my solution.
BIG 12
Team | Quad 1 Record | Quad 1 Record Non-Conference | Quad 1 Non-Conference Wins | Quad 1 Non-Conference Losses |
Houston | 16-4 | 4-0 | Utah, Dayton, Xavier, Texas A&M | NONE |
Iowa St. | 10-6 | 0-1 | NONE | Texas A&M |
BYU | 6-8 | 1-1 | San Diego St. | Utah |
Baylor | 10-9 | 2-2 | Auburn, Florida | Michigan St., Duke |
Kansas | 7-9 | 3-1 | Kentucky, Tennessee, UConn | Marquette |
Texas Tech | 6-9 | 0-2 | NONE | Villanova, Butler |
Texas | 5-9 | 0-2 | NONE | UConn, Marquette |
Cincinnati | 4-11 | 0-2 | NONE | Xavier, Dayton |
TCU | 5-11 | 0-2 | NONE | Clemson, Nevada |
Oklahoma | 4-12 | 0-1 | NONE | North Carolina |
UCF | 4-10 | 0-0 | NONE | NONE |
Kansas St | 5-8 | 0-0 | NONE | NONE |
Oklahoma St. | 2-12 | 0-1 | NONE | Creighton |
West Virginia | 2-13 | 1-0 | Ohio St. | NONE |
9 of the 14 of the Big 12 member teams have ZERO out of conference Quad 1 Wins…SEE SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY. The overall non-conference Quad 1 Record is 11-15, but 9 members are projected to be in via Lunardi’s rankings, including a crippled Kansas?? TCU, Texas, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma’s resumes are UNDERWHELMING, so of those four should NOT be in.
SEC
Team | Quad 1 Record | Quad 1 Record Non-Conference | Quad 1 Non-Conference Wins | Quad 1 Non-Conference Losses |
Auburn | 2-7 | 0-2 | NONE | Baylor, Appalachian St. |
Tennessee | 8-7 | 2-3 | Wisconsin, Illinois | Purdue, Kansas, North Carolina |
Alabama | 4-10 | 1-4 | Indiana St. | Ohio St., Purdue, Creighton, Arizona |
Kentucky | 10-9 | 2-2 | Auburn, Florida | Michigan St., Duke |
Florida | 7-9 | 3-1 | Kentucky, Tennessee, UConn | Marquette |
Mississippi St. | 4-9 | 1-0 | Washington St. | NONE |
Texas A&M | 7-7 | 3-3 | Ohio St. SMU, Iowa St | Florida Atlantic, Virginia, Houston |
South Carolina | 6-5 | 1-1 | Grand Canyon | Clemson |
Mississippi | 3-8 | 1-0 | UCF | NONE |
LSU | 4-8 | 1-2 | Wake Forest | Dayton, Texas |
Georgia | 1-9 | 0-0 | NONE | NONE |
Arkansas | 2-9 | 1-2 | Duke | North Carolina, Oklahoma |
Missouri | 1-10 | 1-2 | Pittsburgh | Kansas, Illinois |
Vanderbilt | 1-12 | 0-2 | NONE | Texas Tech, Memphis |
3 of the 14 of the SEC member teams have ZERO out of conference Quad 1 Wins and the overall non-conference Quad 1 Record is 17-24 and 8 members are projected to be in via Lunardi’s rankings, which is probably fair.
BIG EAST
Team | Quad 1 Record | Quad 1 Record Non-Conference | Quad 1 Non-Conference Wins | Quad 1 Non-Conference Losses |
UConn | 13-3 | 3-1 | Texas, North Carolina, Gonzaga | Kansas |
Creighton | 8-5 | 2-1 | Nebraska, Alabama | Colorado St. |
Marquette | 9-8 | 3-2 | Illinois, Kansas, Texas | Purdue, Wisconsin |
St. John’s | 4-10 | 1-1 | Utah | Dayton |
Villanova | 4-11 | 2-1 | Texas Tech, North Carolina | Kansas St. |
Providence | 6-9 | 1-1 | Wisconsin | Oklahoma |
Xavier | 2-13 | 1-2 | Saint Mary’s | Purdue, Houston |
Seton Hall | 5-8 | 0-1 | NONE | Baylor |
Butler | 4-11 | 2-2 | Boise St., Texas Tech | Michigan St., Florida Atlantic |
Georgetown | 0-12 | 0-0 | NONE | NONE |
DePaul | 0-15 | 0-2 | NONE | Iowa St., Texas A&M |
BIG 10
Team | Quad 1 Record | Quad 1 Record Non-Conference | Quad 1 Non-Conference Wins | Quad 1 Non-Conference Losses |
Purdue | 12-4 | 5-0 | Gonzaga, Tennessee Marquette, Alabama, Arizona | NONE |
Illinois | 7-6 | 1-2 | Florida Atlantic | Marquette, Tennessee |
Wisconsin | 5-8 | 1-3 | Marquette | Tenn, Providence, Arizona |
Michigan St. | 3-9 | 2-2 | Baylor, Indiana St. | Duke, Arizona |
Nebraska | 4-7 | 1-1 | Kansas St. | Creighton |
Ohio St. | 3-7 | 1-0 | Alabama | NONE |
Northwestern | 4-7 | 1-1 | Dayton | Mississippi St. |
Iowa | 3-9 | 0-3 | NONE | Creighton, Okla., Iowa St. |
Maryland | 2-9 | 0-1 | NONE | Villanova |
Penn St. | 2-8 | 0-1 | NONE | Texas A&M |
Minnesota | 1-9 | 0-0 | NONE | NONE |
Indiana | 3-9 | 0-3 | NONE | UConn, Auburn, Kansas |
Rutgers | 2-11 | 1-2 | Seton Hall | Wake Forest, Miss St. |
Michigan | 3-12 | 1-3 | St. Johns | Texas Tech, Oregon, Florida |
FIVE teams have ZERO Quad 1 wins, in fact Minnesota did not schedule a Quad 1 opponent outside of conference. The overall non-conference Quad 1 record 14-22, and if you exclude Purdue, it is an anemic 9-22. I am struggling to see 6 worthy teams in 36 non-auto qualifiers???
Solution
Automatic Qualifiers – 32 Teams
Self-Explanatory. # decline based on increased conference consolidation. NO INCREASE
Top 16 Teams At Large Teams – “Re-Imagined”
Consolidated Power Ratings (5 of 8 services)
KenPom
Bart Torvik
Massey Ratings
StatFox
Team Rankings
BPI
TBD
TBD
Non-Conference Quad 1 and Quad 2 records
Deduction for losses (Home Conference Loss, Neutral Loss to Team outside Top 120)
Top 16 Non – AQ detailed below
The Next 32 Teams participate in a Regional Play from eight venues. Four venues on Tuesday, 4 Venues on Wednesday, using the following criteria:
Auto Qualify
Minimum of twenty-three wins vs Division 1 opponents
If not > 23 wins team in Division 1 Games
Minimum of 4 Quad 1 Games
2024 Teams – in Field of 48 – i.e., BYE
Teams with Bye Category A – In Field | Teams at Qualifying Sites Category B – Play In – Regional Sites | ||
Auto Qualifiers | Top sixteen Non- Auto Qualifiers | Wins > 23 vs Division 1 Opponents | Minimum of Quad 1 Games w/Power Ratings |
Akron | Houston | Appalachian St. | Boise St. |
Auburn | North Carolina | Dayton | Cincinnati |
Charleston | Purdue | Gonzaga | Clemson |
Colgate | Arizona | High Point | Kansas St. |
Drake | Marquette | Indiana St. | Michigan St. |
Duquesne | Tennessee | Nevada | Mississippi St. |
Grambling St. | Baylor | Quinnipiac | Nebraska |
Grand Canyon | Creighton | Richmond | Northwestern |
Howard | Alabama | San Diego St. | Ohio St. |
Illinois | Duke | South Florida | Oklahoma |
Iowa St. | Kansas | UC Irvine | Pittsburgh |
James Madison | Kentucky | Utah St. | Providence |
Long Beach St. | BYU | Virginia | St. John’s |
Longwood | Florida | Washington St. | Texas |
McNeese St. | South Carolina | Texas A&M | |
Montana St. | Wisconsin | Texas Tech | |
Morehead St. | Utah | ||
New Mexico | Wake Forest | ||
North Carolina St. | |||
Oakland | |||
Oregon | |||
Saint Mary’s | |||
Samford | |||
South Dakota St. | |||
St. Peter’s | |||
Stetson | |||
UAB | |||
UConn | |||
Vermont | |||
Wagner | |||
Western Kentucky | |||
Yale |
Note – Illinois Chicago and Princeton – Do not qualify with more than 23 wins given wins vs non-Division 1 Competition
East /Midwest Play In – 16 Teams – Four Venues of 4 Games – Tuesday/Wednesday
Richmond vs Virginia | Northwestern vs Kansas St. |
St. John’s vs Pittsburgh | Michigan St. vs Indiana St. |
Providence vs Quinnipiac | Nebraska vs Oklahoma |
Appalachian St. vs Cincinnati | Dayton vs Ohio St. |
South / West Play in 16 Teams – Four Venues of 4 – Tuesday/Wednesday
South Florida vs Texas | Washington St. vs Boise St |
Mississippi St. vs Texas Tech | Nevada vs Gonzaga |
Texas A&M vs Wake Forest | San Diego St. vs Utah |
Clemson vs High Point | UC Irvine vs Utah St. |