BREAKING: The ACC coaches will propose an all-inclusive NCAA tournament, sources told @stadium. The coaches just finished the call and voted unanimously on this.— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) September 9, 2020
350 schools enter, one school leaves
If this means that UVa becomes the first school to lose to a.... 80 seed(?)... then its completely worth it
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Let's get it on, I can't wait to fill out this bracket
Interesting. Bobby Knight proposed this 30 years ago. It's really not that many more games to get down to 64 teams
Not many more rounds maybe, but something like just over five times more games.
If all 346 D1 teams would be eligible, you give 166 first round byes and the other 180 play 90 games to give you a field of 256 teams, then you progress down from there in an 8-round tournament. That's a total of 345 games rather than the 67 we normally have.
So only 3 extra rounds to get back to the 64-team bracket (and only 2-3 additional games for the teams to play, which isn't bad at all), but at the same time you have 278 new games to figure out broadcast coverage and officiating for, plus any pandemic-related protections and travel restrictions. I don't doubt TBS/TNT/TruTV/CBS would be absolutely thrilled to milk nearly 300 extra games for all they're worth, but it would still be quite a challenge to coordinate just so that UM Eastern or the Citadel can lose in the first round after what I assume would be incredibly sloppy games (though now I kind of want to watch it).
Should make all the bubble talk fun. "Well N.C. state hasn't really played like a top 100 team so they really shouldn't get that ACC bump"
Somewhere in Connecticut, Seth Greenberg wheeps
Somehow, I don't think sadness is the emotion he's experiencing.
Love it. This will actually make the quality of the resulting 64 much better. The AQ teams will mostly get eliminated in the earlier rounds.
Somewhere Joe Lunardi is crying
Traveling to the west coast due to COVID will be a challenge...it's a good idea in theory, though
You know every mid major conference will vote yes on this. Having the ACC vote unanimously makes it seem like it will happen....
this would keep our march madness streak alive since it technically didn't end last year
cha-ching
So Swofford pushed this through so Carolina will never miss another Tourney?
I think they should max out on a balanced bracket. Since there are, what 353 teams or so, that would mean a bracket of 256. Seems like enough. Two more games to get to 64.
What's the point of this? Is this just a COVID thing or is this a forever thing? Is this part of a modified season? Is this replacing the regular season? Does the regular season even matter? Feels like it's just a money grab for the ACC to make up for lost TV revenue from football?
Well yes. As long as this continues they will try to keep coming up with creative ways for football and men's basketball since they are the revenue sports in college.
The point is that there likely won't be OOC games, so it would be tough to seed and select 68 teams vs. normal year, so expand the NCAA tourney for "fairness". I'm all for it. It's only 2 extra games to get down to 64 anyway- depending on how they do it.
aaaaaannnd the regular season just became meaningless
I never understand this sentiment. Sure an 0-31 team could some how win the title, but that doesn't take away the wins against Duke or UVA or Michigan State or whomever we beat. Wins are wins.
With this line of thinking then the post season is meaningless. The ACC tourney is everyone makes it so then your road to the NCAA is what 4 games? So making the tourney is meaningless with auto qualifiers (by conference tourney).
Yes that means Duke or UNC could take a night off, but they can anyways, 4 losses for them is no different than 3.
Well a ton of teams would get first round byes so not entirely meaningless. Plus there's reg season conf titles at stake.
Yep, instead of incessant whining to justify his 7-13 ACC record to get into the tourney, Beoheim can while to get a bye this time.
I'm sure there's a catch...something like if you're in the bottom 300 teams you will have to win five games in 9 days to then make the round of 64. But on the face of it sounds interesting. Trying to kill off the NIT and the CBI (?)
If approved, it will be the end of the NIT
Nah, losers bracket!
This was the ACC sending up the signal flare that they would like to begin the discussion. If you don't think that literally every mid-major conference would trip all over themselves trying to be a part of this, you're only fooling yourself, and now they have the premier basketball conference spearheading the movement. The only reason the NCAA is against it right now is probably because they haven't done a feasibility study to see how much money could be made with a tournament that size.
(as an aside, don't anyone in here lie. If we had wall to wall morning to night basketball tournament action for about 3 straight weeks, you know you'd watch the hell out of it.)
I don't watch the early rounds now, unless VT is playing. I actually wish they'd reduce the tournament to 32 teams. Unpopular opinion, I know.
If we can get that labeled a national holiday then I'm in
What is the payout on a 352 game parlay?
via GIPHY
You said "all inclusive".
Am I the only one that thought maybe they were so hard-up on ticket sales they were going to include meals, hotel & airfare?
And offer a $500 booze package.