New No. 1 Seed Rule For NCAA Tournament Is More Style Than Substance
The new No. 1 seed rule for the NCAA Tournament sounds good in theory, but in reality it's more style than substance.
The new No. 1 seed rule for the NCAA Tournament sounds good in theory, but in reality it’s more style than substance.
Sitting at my desk. Working away. Attempting to fight off another weekly Case of the Mondays, when some “news” on my Twitter timeline catches my eye. The headline reads, “#1 seed in NCAA tournament gets huge reward.”
My mind beats my Twitter fingers to the punch. I begin going through all the possible scenarios of what this could mean. Could the No. 1 seed be given the opportunity to play at home? Possibly given a double bye? Or, best yet, be given the opportunity to look at the bracket and pick the most desirable path for them to pursue a title?
I click on the link. It reads, “the top seeded team will be able to choose the location of their first two games.”
No. Not quite. They will only get to pick the most desirable place of the opening weekend. That’s it.
But wait? Is this news? Hasn’t the top seed always been placed in the most desirable spot, whether by proximity to campus or by lesser opponent.
The answer … an emphatic yes!
This is a classic case of the NCAA and college basketball attempting to take a page out of every other major sport’s playbook to success. The formula: generating newsworthy buzz that keeps the focus on your sport, even when out of season.
However, to no one’s surprise, the NCAA made the play and failed. Miserably.
This is in no way news. The top-seeded team does not have the ability to chose the best paths with the teams laid out in front of them. They simply can chose the city with the best digs.
Whoopty-damn doo.
Here are a some free words of advice for the bright minds at the NCAA: The 68 team field ain’t broke, so don’t fix it.
If you want to make news, then make some real changes. Go with the suggestion West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins hit me with at Big 12 Media Day last season. Put every DI team in the NCAA tournament, extend March Madness to a month rather than a few weeks. There is a real change.
Ya know, the kind that generates buzz in the offseason.
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