IT'S NOT BROKEN; DON'T FIX IT: I am flummoxed as to why -- other than greed for more tv dollars -- anyone would support expanding the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship from 65 teams to 96.
There's simply no competitive justification -- every team that demonstrates during the regular season any possible claim to being the best team in the nation has no problem gaining entry into the field. Disputes over worthy "bubble teams" almost never concern teams which could reach the Final Four (#11 George Mason, a 2006 at-large bid), let alone have a legitimate claim to championship-seeking. This will only further reduce the importance of both the regular season and the conference tournaments, and, really: are you excited about two days of games featuring matchups of the 33rd and 96th best teams in the country, or between 15th and 18th-seeded teams? Is America yearning to see mediocre big-conference teams face off against decent mid-majors lacking pedigree?
The tournament is entertaining because some #2-#4 seeds are vulnerable to some seeded #13-#15 in the opening two days, and yes those games will still happen a round later. But do we really care if an 11 seed is "knocked off" by a team seeded 22nd?
