NCAA expansion would make Bob Ross cry

By: Curtis Kitchen, 810whb.com Senior Writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – On Monday, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee rolled out its plan for expanding collegiate basketball’s greatest asset.

And, it blew it.

The charge was not an impossible one, and I imagine the committee dove into the task of moving from 65 to 68 teams with the following in mind: figure out a fair way to add three additional teams in such a way as to not upset the competitive integrity of the bracket.

Three more teams deemed at-large survivors, plucked from the island of lukewarm resumes. One would think, logically, those teams would then shove the three weakest automatic qualifiers* down the bracket if needed.

*You know, the ones that rip off one magic three or four-game stretch in March and make the tourney with a sub .500 record.

Black and white, right? Dude, Bob Ross couldn’t have fan brush and whack dried a purer gray.

Instead, the format follows a twisted process that slots teams where they “should” have been had they actually made the tournament in the first place.  Confused? Don’t be. It’s just the NCAA trying its best to manufacture magic.

“We felt if we going to expand the field, it would create better drama for the tournament if the First Four was much more exciting,” committee chairman Dan Guerrero said. “They could all be on the 10 line or the 12 line or the 11 line. We won’t know until the seeding takes place and the principles and procedures are used and the teams are slotted appropriately.”

We won’t know where the teams slot until the bracket is unveiled, but what we do know is in interest of doing everything possible to prop up television numbers that might sag because of less than marquee matchups, the NCAA has again thrown competitive integrity out the window in favor of protecting dollars.

It doesn’t believe in the tournament’s ability to provide its own excitement, which is exactly why it should not be in charge of future expansion or even putting the bracket together in the first place.

Like a know-it-all novice skier, the committee dim-wittingly stumbled down a double black diamond trail thinking it has everything under control.  However, as expansion continues to unfold in the next several years, the snowball is coming.

While better-qualified teams are forced to play each other early in the tourney, in the interest of television matchups, low automatic-qualifiers, especially the ones that were .500 or below but got hot for three or four games, will reap the benefits of a great week.

I’m not opposed to those teams being in the tourney. I love the occasional “March Madness” feel those teams bring with an upset.  I’m saying those teams should have to play the extra game.

For all the time it took to first agree that expansion needed to happen and then devise this plan, we have to assume it worked for all parties (or, at least the important ones).  If that’s the case, then we must believe teams finally decided that it is simply better to be a part of the field than having a chance to win it,* which doesn’t just insinuate watered-down, it redefines the term.

*It also means we don’t have to watch Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg nearly off himself on national television after getting combed over for a “better” selection. I just hope it isn’t too late for Seth to rethink his tougher schedule since he can now, technically, get in the tourney with is lighter slate.

Watchable? Oh, everyone who claims they won’t watch, will, and others who have always claimed it is about the student-athletes will continue to do so even as the schedule continues to balloon.

Finally, it isn’t that I am against upgrading the tournament or expansion overall. It could work. I do, however, believe further expansion should wait until the NCAA is no longer part of the solution because, as it proved again on Monday, it continues to be part of the problem – and will be until 1) it quits being led like a dog on a money leash or 2) is replaced.


Do you think the tournament needed to expand at all or needs to expand more in the future? Send your comments to curtiskitchen@810whb.com. Also, follow @curtiskitchen on Twitter for breaking sports news and commentary during the week!