Kansas, Duke, Kentucky and West Virginia are the four No. 1 seeds when the NCAA selection committee reveals the 65-team tournament on Sunday.
Maryland’s probably a No. 5, Georgetown a No. 5 or 6. Some area schools may play in consolation tournaments, but perhaps for the last time.
The NCAA is considering whether to expand the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams. Sure, let another 31 schools have the long shot dream for a day. More importantly, give CBS another weekend of games and the NCAA another billion dollars in revenue.
Frankly, the tournament should be reduced, not expanded. This is purely another money grab on the backs of students the NCAA is supposed to protect, not exploit.
Operator, please get me the number of Utopia.
The NCAA can opt out from its 11-year TV deal worth $6 billion to create a bidding war between CBS and ESPN that might add another billion dollars for televising these amateur athletes.
Why stop at 96 teams? Let’s include all 347 Division I teams. And why even keep score? Isn’t everyone special?
Why shouldn’t Alcorn St., No. 347 in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), have a chance to compete for the national crown? After all, it won two games. In fact, Alcorn St. knocked off Prairie View St. in the season finale. The Braves are hot. They could be the next Hoosiers.
What about No. 344 Bryant, whose only win this season was over No. 332 Wagner? Surely the Bulldogs could knock off Duke or Kansas.
William & Mary isn’t whining over missing the NCAA when failing to win its league tournament for an automatic bid, and the Tribe finished 21-10. They’d at least have a puncher’s chance against Villanova in the first round.
No. 161 George Mason won’t make the NCAA despite a 17-14 mark. The Patriots are the reason everybody wants a chance when having no real shot of winning it all. Mason reached the 2006 Final Four as a No. 11 seed, but remember the Patriots still didn’t win the title.
The NCAA swears it’s all about the students. Well, wasting a few more days of classes isn’t helping those with no chance of winning the crown. They don’t do it in other sports because there’s no money to be made. So quit the hypocrisy and leave the tournament alone. It’s perfect as it stands.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
