My Problems with the NCAA Tournament

[CDu]

I would like to add that in order to get a 1 seed, you need to meet the following criteria:

1. You won your conference championship

OR

2. Your conference champion received a #1 seed

Under this scenario, The Toe and Co. would not get a #1 seed and Duke or Memphis would be the 4th #1. This is not meant to favor Duke, but to punish Roy and his ilk for diminishing the value of conference tournaments.

I don't think this makes much sense. Take, for example, a major-conference team that goes undefeated all season, but then manages to lose a heartbreaker in the final of their conference tournament to a team that deserves a #3/4 seed. Since that conference winner isn't a #1 seed, the presumable #1 team in the nation wouldn't be a #1 seed. That makes no sense.

Essentially, what you're arguing for goes too far in overvaluing the conference tournaments. A team that goes 32-0 shouldn't be so severely penalized for losing their 33rd game.

That's an extreme example, but it's just an illustration of many problems. Who gets a #1 seed if all of the top-6 teams in the nation lose in their conference final to teams that are not top-10 teams? In your scenario, you could wind up forcing a team that should be a #3/4 seed to be a #1 seed, simply to penalize the top teams for one loss.

[dukie8]

I don't think this makes much sense. Take, for example, a major-conference team that goes undefeated all season, but then manages to lose a heartbreaker in the final of their conference tournament to a team that deserves a #3/4 seed. Since that conference winner isn't a #1 seed, the presumable #1 team in the nation wouldn't be a #1 seed. That makes no sense.

Essentially, what you're arguing for goes too far in overvaluing the conference tournaments. A team that goes 32-0 shouldn't be so severely penalized for losing their 33rd game.

That's an extreme example, but it's just an illustration of many problems. Who gets a #1 seed if all of the top-6 teams in the nation lose in their conference final to teams that are not top-10 teams? In your scenario, you could wind up forcing a team that should be a #3/4 seed to be a #1 seed, simply to penalize the top teams for one loss.

St Joe's a few years ago did just that.