Tournament Expansion
There are some people out there who wanted the NCAA basketball tournament to include more teams. I was not one of those people. It would be one thing if expansion gave a better opportunity for smaller schools to get in but I know that’s not the case. While expansion will increase the size of the bubble, it will just include more power four teams.
Do we really need a tenth-place team from the Big Ten in the tournament instead of a smaller school who finished second in a respectable mid-major conference? Not really. But I know that’s exactly what’s going to happen. This move won’t give the smaller schools a better chance, it will only benefit the big ones. I am at the point where this tournament is feeling more like a corporate cup than the NCAA tournament we all know and love.
The fact that there is so much great basketball played at the mid-major level and only one team per conference can get in is insane. It comes down to winning a conference tournament just to even get an opportunity to get in for those teams. You can go undefeated in conference play and if you get bounced in the conference tournament you can kiss your tournament hopes goodbye.
Expansion would be a great idea if it gave smaller schools a chance to get in. The days of Cinderella making a run in March are ending and this tournament expansion will only help continue that trend. The reason why so many of us love March Madness is because we want to see David beat Goliath. But if David isn’t even given the opportunity to face Goliath, then what in the hell are we even doing?
Big 12 Baseball
It’s the final weekend of the regular season and unbelievably, Kansas isn’t going to run away from this thing like we all thought because last weekend West Virginia swept Kansas and pulled themselves within a game of the Jayhawks.
West Virginia is the only team that can catch Kansas at this point, and they play TCU while Kansas gets BYU. In all likelihood, I don’t see Kansas losing a series to BYU but if they do drop a game, and West Virginia sweeps, TCU then they will be your regular season champ for the second season in a row.
But again, I think Kansas wins that series and it comes down to the final day, which is Saturday, but I still believe Kansas walks out of this weekend as your Big 12 champion.
And that West Virginia/TCU series is also very important for the Frogs, they were a projected three seed and their RPI is in the 50’s which isn’t a great place to feel comfortable, but they do have a 16-11 record in conference action which is fine, but that RPI is not good. So, if they can get a series win, they should be in but if they get swept, that makes things a bit dicey for TCU.
Playoff Expansion
Earlier this week Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark commented on the idea of expanding the college football playoff by saying “We like 24, we want 24. There are too many teams getting left out and 24 teams provides the type of access that is warranted. That being said, we need to do the work around the economics around a 24-team format and make sure we address any unintended consequences.”
It should also be noted that ACC commissioner Jim Phillips agreed with Yormark when it came to playoff expansion. Now if this happens, we can likely kiss the Big 12 championship game goodbye. Traditionalists won’t like that but if the playoff expands, they will either need to move the start of the season up a week or take away the conference title game so they can have that first weekend of December for the opening round.
In the current 12 team format, the Big 12 is pretty much stuck with one bid. Maybe there could be a year where two teams get in but there’s a better chance of you winning the lottery if we are being honest. If the playoff does expand, obviously it would provide more opportunities for Big 12 teams.
Think about how many teams from the Big 12 are always in that 15 to 25 range and always on the outside looking in. Well, this fixes that and we could see anywhere from three to five teams make it in depending on the year.
Of course, no matter what the number is, the Big 12 also needs to take care of business on the field. We need someone to step up and win some games that matter. Whether it’s Texas Tech, BYU, Iowa State or whoever, it’s time for the Big 12 to silence the critics and it starts in the playoff.
Keep in mind that this whole idea of expansion it just that. It’s an idea for now at least. But the fact that three out of the four power conferences are in favor of this, is very interesting to say the least. However, the SEC, at least for now, is the only one who hasn’t supported moving to 24. And as we all know they typically get what they want.
