General

Let the Annual BracketBusters Groaning Commence

Feb 23, 2010, 5:30 PM UTC

The days following BracketBusters are pretty predictable. Mid-Major Bubble Teams A, B and C lose and the cries come out that the event is flawed. Play high-major teams! is often the call. But that’s not happening, so let’s put that thought to bed. You won’t be seeing the ACC-CAA challenge any time soon.â†µ
â†µ
â†µSI’s Andy Glockner tried to tackle the issue in the aftermath of a rough weekend:â†µâ†µâ‡¥Old Dominion, William & Mary, Siena and Wichita State all faced road tests this past weekend, and all flunked with various degrees of severity. Now, it’s going to be exceedingly difficult for any of them to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.â†µâ†µâ†µLet’s stop here, because there’s an important point to be established. The goal of BracketBusters is not to superficially inflate the number of mid-majors in the field. The goal of BracketBusters is to give those mid-major bubble teams a crack at a quality win they would otherwise not have. If they fail to capitalize, how is that on the event? The four teams referenced by Glockner -- ODU, W&M, Siena and WSU -- all got that chance. Respectively, they faced teams that, through Sunday, rated as follows in the RPI: Northern Iowa (16), Iona (91), Butler (18) and Utah State (34). The opportunity presented itself, and the teams failed to capitalize. If those teams win, is the weekend a roaring success?â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Bottom line: For the mids, the risks of these games now outweigh the rewards. The modest TV exposure and return game next season (when mids get a chance to double up on the cannibalization) aren’t worth the potential hit to their chances of making the NCAAs, where real money and real exposure are available.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥If I were a top mid-major program, I’d refuse to play in BracketBusters again unless the event also involved borderline at-large teams from major conferences. If that won’t happen (and it won’t), then it makes more sense to play a high-major on the road. Maybe you pull the upset and get a vaunted quality win. Maybe you just cash a decent check.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µAt least Glocker acknowledges the high-major stuff isn’t happening anytime soon, but his argument that the choice is either BracketBusters or a game against a high-major on the road is a false dichotomy. Ask a mid-major coach about how many games against high-major teams they’re leaving on the table. The answer will almost always be a pretty low number if not zero, particularly in the case of a school that is already on everyone’s radar. â†µ

â†µHigh-major schools aren't out there offering fat paychecks to every big-time mid-major, so don't let that notion pass like it's some sort of verified truth. It's quite the opposite. Often times when you see a mid-major engaged in a series with a high-major -- like the one between Ohio State and Butler -- it has more to do with the relationships of the coaches. Is anyone really under the impression that high-majors are out there itching to take a loss to this year's potential March Cinderella?â†µ

â†µâ†µThe other perk to scheduling yourself into BracketBusters is that if you’re lucky enough to be one of those 22 teams slotted into a TV game, you know you’re likely being placed against a team of some value. In the case of gambling on a high-major game -- if you can even get one -- you have to hold out hope that the team you nab isn’t having a down year. (Think about how teams who scheduled North Carolina feel this year -- one year removed from a title -- and how little that win will wind up meaning in the end.) â†µ

â†µâ†µMid-major schools should take on Glockner’s plan at their own risk, unless of course you’d like be like St. Mary’s this year, which is scrambling to find a Championship Week opponent because it opted out of BracketBusters. I’m sure they feel good about giving up guaranteed TV time though, as modest as it might’ve been.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe real choice you’re left with is this: BracketBusters, praying a high-major will play you anywhere, or scheduling another low-to-middling team that gets held against you in March. There are only a few “it” teams each season, like Davidson last season and Butler this season, that can really call their nonconference shots. For the rest, BracketBusters is the safest, albeit imperfect, alternative.â†µ

â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

See More: