Problems with the Play-In Game

For those of you that think the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament begins on Thursday, you are wrong. Right now, Mount St. Mary's is playing Coppin State in Dayton, OH in the "opening round" game of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of this game will be the #16 seed against North Carolina. That is some prize for winning a game that you've had 48 hours to prepare for, including time to travel.

The "opening round" game, or "play-in" game as most people call it, was created several years ago when the number of conferences with automatic bids increased by 1, from 30 to 31. Instead of eliminating an at-large spot, this play-in game was created. The selection committee takes the bottom two rated teams in the tournament, and has them play on Tuesday in Dayton. The winner becomes the final #16 seed. Officials try to deny that this is a play-in game by calling it opening round game, but the fact is that one of these teams with a supposedly automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will never actually reach the Tournament. This is not right. A team that has won its way into the tournament should not be left out so that a team that nearly lost its way out of the tournament can be included.

Here is how I think it should be changed, along with a proposal for expansion of the tournament. First, get rid of the play-in game that we have now. For example, this year, that would knock out Villanova, since they are the lowest seeded at-large team. Instead, create four play-in games for the final four spots in the tournament. In these games you would have the last four teams that would make it into the tournament play the first four teams left out of the tournament. If this were the scenario this year, it would put Kentucky, Baylor, Kansas State, and St. Joe's against Villanova, and whoever the next 3 would be. The winner would gain a spot in the tournament. This would allow those small conference teams that won their way into the tournament to have a tournament experience, and would also give teams on the bubble one final chance to show that they belong in the tournament.

Of course, all of this is just my humble opinion. Having participated in 4 NCAA tournaments as a member of the University of Louisville Pep Band, there is something special about arriving at a tournament site, and seeing all of the other fans there. I firmly believe that a team that wins their way into the tournament should be allowed to experience this, and not be relegated to what amounts to nothing more than a single game on some neutral court. If you'd like more clarification, just leave a comment, and I will answer your question.

Coming 3/19: What minor things will have an impact on this year's tournament?