TourneyTravel.com's Tournament Expansion Plan

March 7, 2010

Click here for the 2010 NCAA Tournament bracket

Click here for 2010 NCAA Tournament tickets and travel information

There has been a lot of talk this year about possible expansion of the NCAA basketball tournament.  While TourneyTravel.com feels the tournament should be left alone at its current 65-team field*, if expansion is truly deemed necessary by the NCAA, we have a plan - The Bubble Battle.

Currently, the last several at-large bids go to teams seeded 11, 12, and 13.  Our proposal would create play-in games that would decide which teams get those last several at-large bids.

Here's how it works:

• Expand the field from 65 to 72 teams; this means the tournament has 41 at-large bids
   
• Seed the 31 conference champions and the first 25 at-large teams into the main bracket; generally, 15-18 conference champions will be seeded 12-16, with the other 40 or so teams seeded 1-10
   
• Determine 16 more at-large teams and rank them
   
• At four sites, hold play-in games on Tuesday and Wednesday night of tournament week among the last 16 at-large teams; the winners would be slotted into the bracket into seeds 11, 12, and 13, as needed by rules regarding conference matchups in early rounds

This plan allows for some expansion, but not enough to dilute the field too much.  It creates eight matchups that would have national television appeal during the week of the tournament (the current play-in game has zero television appeal and robs a conference champion of a true tournament appearance).  It does not dilute the field too much, expanding by only 8 teams.  And it allows the current tournament schedule to remain intact, with the first round beginning on Thursday.

When it comes to the annual arguments and bickering about who should or should not make the tournament each year, let's face the reality; only two 11 seeds have ever reached the Final Four, with none reaching the championship game.  There's a reason teams wind up on the bubble; they simply aren't good enough to win consistently against good teams. 

Expanding the tournament to 96 teams and creating an opening round of 32 games to get down to 64 is fraught with problems.  Some very bad teams would be playing in the tournament, teams from smaller conferences would be less likely to pull an upset against a top-25 team because they would have to play an extra game just to get that opportunity, and the tournament schedule would be affected.

The TourneyTravel.com plan avoids these pitfalls and creates exciting matchups, letting the bubble teams decide amongst themselves who is truly deserving of a tournament bid.

Click here for a blank 2010 NCAA Tournament bracket.

* - We don't really think the current tournament should be left alone...the current play-in game is a disgrace and is insulting to the participating teams.  The play-in game should match the last two at-large teams in the field, with the winner slotted into a 12 or 13 seed.