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The Confidential thinks that one particular NCAA Tournament change is in order. This one is going to be controversial, but the Confidential believes that the reigning national champion should get an automatic invite to the Big Dance, so long as they meet the minimum criteria of, say, 18 wins.
This year, Kentucky went 21-11 overall and 12-6 in conference, albeit in the admittedly weak SEC. For that, they were rewarded with a trip to the NIT. Really? Would it have been THAT awful to slap an 11 seed on the Wildcats? Give someone a chance to upset the reigning champion? This is a no-brainer to the Confidential. With 68 teams, many of whom are mediocre and/or only there based on “automatic” bids, there is plenty of room for one more automatic bid. The Earth will stay on its axis–just be a bit more fun. Let’s see someone dethrone the prior champ, regardless of how easy or hard it is to do.
The cons are obvious, but not without flaws.
Con #1. Only the best 68 teams should be in the tournament.
Bull. Crap. Bullcrap. Liberty is 15-20 and validly in the tournament. And that rule should not change either. If nobody from Liberty’s conference (probably should have looked that up) can beat Liberty in its tournament, nobody else deserves the spot. Might as well be Liberty. It’s what makes March madness an event. But if Liberty is OK, then why not Kentucky? Who is more likely to make a run? Let’s not pretend that this is exclusively about only the top teams participating.
Con #2. OK, if you don’t win your tournament, then you must be one of the best at-large teams.
Now we are really splitting hairs here aren’t we? To include Kentucky would be to exclude Boise State. Is everyone 100% sure that Kentucky is worse than Boise State. This is like deciding between two 6-6 football teams. Let’s give the nod to the team that will juice up the tournament the most. Moreover, while we all love the underdog story (at least until it reached the point where you feel weird picking Butler to lose and/or a 5 seed to win), we love watching the elite teams lose even more. Admit it… which interests you more… Lehigh winning or Duke losing? Most people would take the latter. It’s as much about schadenfreude as it is rooting for the underdog. C’mon, let’s see a Kentucky cheerleader cry!
Con #3. Why are we screwing over the midmajors?
Who is screwing over a midmajor? Virginia and Maryland were among the teams left out of the Big Dance. The NIT is full of major conference schools. More likely than not, allowing a national champion to enter the bracket would exclude a team that was around .500 in a major conference. This is essentially trading a .500 team that is interesting for a .500 team that is not. Let someone enjoy beating Kentucky rather than sigh after beating some other middle of the pack big conference mediocrity.
Con #4. You just like Kentucky, don’t you?
Heck no. The opposite. You cannot let hate cloud your judgment. This is about seeing Kentucky be both part of the Big Dance and losing. Let’s see who gets to take down the former Goliath. That is a lot more exciting than some other 12 seed. And it gives the tournament just that much more excitement.
Con #5. This Kentucky team looks nothing like last year’s team, so why bother?
Well, we are all just rooting for jerseys anyway. Does it matter than 5 guys left and were replaced with 5 new guys? In theory. But it is still Kentucky’s championship to lose until someone beats them. At least it could be. That would be neat.
Con #6. Who cares, how often could this possibly happen?
According to this article, only 5 times in the past 25 or so years. But three of those have been since 2008. This is a new trend. It will likely happen more and more as the NBA continues to draft kids with potential instead of men with a flaw here or there. And if it truly is are, what is the problem? If anything, rarity is a benefit to the change. After all, it would not be that much of a burden to make the switch.
Con #7. Did you see that Kentucky just lost to Robert Morris? There goes that theory.
Hardly. The fun is (a) having Kentucky rally around its championship and play better than they have all season; and (b) giving some other team the thrill of eliminating them. Every year, we see good teams “give up” at NIT time. It is perplexing, but the disappointment of not being in the Big Dance can lead to some surprises. So it does not matter than Kentucky lost. Except that those kids lost out on a chance to play more and develop character. Of course, it also shows how hard it is to play a true road game. For those who defend neutral site games, there is nothing like playing in a small, packed gym. Teams better than Kentucky might have wilted under that pressure.
Finally, this is NOT about this Kentucky team, but about the principle. Let the champion have an automatic bid.
What say you? Is there a better reason to include the prior year’s champ? Disagree vehemently? Let us know…
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The Confidential.
Again, we will be holding a contest for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite. The prize will be $25 via PayPal. If interested, we will be using Yahoo:
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The Confidential.
Again, we will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
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The Confidential.
While it is not clear whether the ACC will be able to take pride in 8, 9, or 10 teams in the tournament, the Confidential wants everyone to get excited NOW. We will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
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The Confidential.
While it is not clear whether the ACC will be able to take pride in 8, 9, or 10 teams in the tournament, the Confidential wants everyone to get excited NOW. We will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
We will be using Yahoo:
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The Confidential.
While it is not clear whether the ACC will be able to take pride in 8, 9, or 10 teams in the tournament, the Confidential wants everyone to get excited NOW. We will be holding a contest–prize to be announced soon–for friends of the Confidential. That means YOU, plus anyone else that you want to invite.
We will be using Yahoo:
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The Confidential.
This blog entry was contributed by a guest, who chooses to remain anonymous (for now). The Confidential greatly appreciates this guest’s opinion and welcomes others to submit guest entries–whether anonymous or not.
Yes, we have been told that football drives the bus. We get it! ACC football has a lot of questions to answer. But for the purpose of this singular guest blog entry, let us concentrate on what the ACC does historically well … basketball.
For the last 30 years, the ACC and Big East have essentially traded punches in their all-out pursuit of being the dominant college hoops conference in the land. Fittingly, I propose we begin our study with the memorable UNC-Georgetown final in 1982. The conferences clash for the first time. In Dean, MJ, Worthy, Perkins vs. John Thompson, Patrick and Sleepy Floyd. Great theater. And a three-decade long tug of war began with UNC claiming an initial victory.
Including ’82, in 31 seasons, there have been 124 Final Four spots up for grabs. And a team from the ACC or Big East claimed 49 of those berths. That’s a slick 40 percent and that does NOT include FF berths claimed by Louisville or Cincinnati in their pre-Big East days.
Now, the ACC’s immediate future won’t include Big East basketball heavies such as Georgetown, Marquette, UConn or Cincinnati, but it is safe to say when you combined the hoops heritages of (alphabetical order as not to offend anyone) Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NCSU, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia under one roof, the word “juggernaut” can justifiably be tossed around.
And, one cannot with good conscious sneeze at the histories and accomplishments of schools like Boston College, Wake Forest, Clemson or Florida State. Even Miami looks like a solid #2 seed this year, and Virginia Tech can beat anyone at Cassel Coliseum on a given night.
Oh. Maryland. Never mind. Another topic.
But there is no avoiding the fact that ACC hoops will be King. And it begs the question, what and where is the King’s throne?
My answer is that it should be on ESPN’s Big Monday at 7 p.m.
That’s right. Other than securing a football commitment from the Golden Domers, I think seizing the early slot on ESPN’s Big Monday should be near the top of the ACC’s Honey To Do List.
In the college hoops universe, Tuesday’s are Super, Wednesday’s are wonderful and Thursday’s are weekend-esque, but Monday’s are BIG. They are the proper and fitting platform for Kings.
Think about it.
I also realize there is a reluctance by ACC charter schools to accept anything that might be tainted Big East.
I get it. I graduated from a Big East school. I later worked in an ACC Athletic Department, so I am well aware of and greatly appreciate the ACC’s proud history. I just hope that growth opportunities — such as a unique and almost exclusive platform on Big Monday – are not simply bypassed out of conference spite (a.k.a. anti-Big East bias).
In some limited instances such as Big Monday, what was once terrific for the Big East can render even greater returns for the ACC.
The Confidential 