It’s time to get out the brackets, overload the copier and start making picks again.
The holy season is here and it’s called the NCAA tournament. This is the time where everyone thinks they are an expert. Warren Buffet will now give a BILLION dollars to anyone who can get all of the winning teams right and all of sudden you really are not as smart as you thought you were. What a big club this has turned out to be. TV networks spend millions to have people go on TV and give you the impression that they really have a clue. Funny thing is we never go back and check their work. Nor do we check our friends or coworkers who claim near perfection, yet their sheets are always missing. Note that I did say sheets, as many will play multiple sheets in multiple pools. How can they lose? Still, the tournament can certainly be fun but with it comes a few questions.
Let’s start off by addressing some of the teams – you know the ones who are in the tournament based off reputation instead of results. They always find their way in because of their past, television appeal and fan base. I get it; the selection committee wants the big names in order to get the party started. I’m not sure if I am on board with it, but I get it. The other group is made up of those who complain about not having higher placement or not getting in at all. Simple solution here – play a better schedule and win more games. MIZZOU and its less than stellar non-conference schedule comes to mind. The Tigers will be watching the tournament on TV. St. Louis University had the nerve to schedule Rockhurst of Kansas City. Really? Who thought that was good idea? In most cases, teams have no one to blame but themselves. Poor non-conference scheduling will do you in every time.
Then there are the schools who whine and claim they cannot get schools to play them. So now you’re being confused with the Lakers of the 80’s? Let’s find out the identity of these schools and get an explanation other than a scheduling conflict. Here are some simple selections to help eliminate a few of the sad excuses we hear every year.
First off, play teams with comparable records from comparable conferences. If you are in the SEC and you finish fourth, you should be on the phone with the Big 10, Big 12 or any of the other major conferences’ fourth-place teams. If nothing else, we will at least recognize the teams. Secondly, how about playing teams that were in postseason last year? Between the NCAA and NIT tournaments, there are at least 90 teams to choose from outside your conference.
Surely one of them has an open date. At least you can say it was a team that was in the tournament. Third, what is wrong with playing teams in or your state? Recognizable? Sure. It’s also easier to travel for both the team and its fans. If you are worried about home games, you can still have them as the tougher teams you schedule on the road will help you in the end. None of these solutions are scientific, but they are all doable despite what we are told. At least it will put more people in the seats and will be one less excuse at tournament selection time.
Now, for the off-the-court issues. This tournament will rake in hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions. What stands out is the fact that there is no revenue sharing for the players. They do not get one red cent. Free education you say? How is it free when these schools parade you around the country to play and represent their institution? There’s nothing free about the scholarships here. Players earn them and then some. For some time the NCAA has had deaf ears when this subject arises, although more and more lawsuits are being filed to address these issues. At some point the NCAA will be called on being the frauds that they are when it comes to the whole scholar-athlete thing. Alongside the Olympics, this is one of the biggest farces seen in the free world.
As for the games, your guesses are as good as anyone’s. Team colors, mascots, family, alumni and all the other ingredients that go into the selection are now in play. Here is a bit of advice. Look at these so-called expert predictions in the same light as our local weathercasters, who have been far off the mark this year. They are more clueless than you think when it comes to this stuff. Stay away from them. They will be wrong as they try to convince you they know what they are talking about. How you can believe any of them is a mystery to me. Do not waste your time. Have fun without them.
Now for my tournament picks…
