Auto Bid for CC winner

[Moranis]

There has been a lot more talk about who should get the automatic bid from the traditionally 1 bid conferences.  More and more discussion about removing the auto bid from the conference tournament winner and just going with the best team because if you only get 1 team in you should send your best team.  A team like Navy, for example, went 17-1 during the Patriot league regular season.  They are 26-7 overall after losing by 1 to Bsoton in the conference tournament semis.  They beat Boston twice in the regular season.  Boston was 10-8 in the conference and is 17-16 overall.  Boston plays Lehigh who was 11-7 in conference and is also 17-16 overall.  Boston or Lehigh will represent the Patriot League at 18-16 while 26-7 Navy that dominated the conference all year is at home. 

I get the conference tournaments are on ESPN and bring money to the conference,  but I think they would benefit so much more if their best team was in the big dance as every win there is a lot more money and exposure. 

So with those factors in play, I was thinking about a way for a conference to still have meaning to the conference tournament while still sending their best team to the big dance and came up with a point system.  Every regular season win is worth 1 point while every conference tournament win (in the main bracket) is worth 1.5 points.  So the tournament games are weighted a bit more.  Using that with the Patriot League Navy would have been in before the conference tournament started as they had a 6 point lead on both Colgate and Lehigh.  While a conference like the Colonial Athletic would have been in doubt b/c UNC Wilmington was 15-3, Charleston was 14-4, Hofstra was 12-6, and Monmouth was 11-7.  UNCW and Charleston both lost their 1st game, so points remain 15 and 14.  Hofstra plays Monmouth tonight for the title, both have 2 wins or 3 points, so the winner's 4.5 points would get them the automatic birth.  So because that conference was close and the 2 best teams lost in the quarters without a win, the door was opened. 

Thoughts?

[Celtics2021]

Thoughts are that the school is Boston University, not Boston.   Also, conferences are under no obligation to have conference tournaments.  The Ivy League until relatively recently sent their regular-season champ to the tournament.  The Patriot League could choose to do that if the want, but buzzer beaters like BU the other day are pretty much the only time most anyone remembers the Patriot League exists, so in my opinion they would be wise not to change anything.

Go Terriers!

[Moranis]

Thoughts are that the school is Boston University, not Boston.   Also, conferences are under no obligation to have conference tournaments.  The Ivy League until relatively recently sent their regular-season champ to the tournament.  The Patriot League could choose to do that if the want, but buzzer beaters like BU the other day are pretty much the only time most anyone remembers the Patriot League exists, so in my opinion they would be wise not to change anything.

Go Terriers!

Wouldn't people remember the conference more if Navy goes on a Cinderella run in the big dance?

[Celtics2021]

Thoughts are that the school is Boston University, not Boston.   Also, conferences are under no obligation to have conference tournaments.  The Ivy League until relatively recently sent their regular-season champ to the tournament.  The Patriot League could choose to do that if the want, but buzzer beaters like BU the other day are pretty much the only time most anyone remembers the Patriot League exists, so in my opinion they would be wise not to change anything.

Go Terriers!

Wouldn't people remember the conference more if Navy goes on a Cinderella run in the big dance?

Navy had about as much chance of winning its first-round game as BU or Lehigh.  Its ratings in all of the major rankings the committee uses for seedings is in the 130-150 range.  Any of them would have been 16-seeds.  They played the 361st strongest schedule out of 365 D-1 teams.

Again, if the Patriot League wants to get rid of its conference tourney, it can.  As it stands, they chose to have one, but one that favors the top seeds, as the games are not held at neutral sites, but rather at the home site of the higher seed, and with days off in between games, so as to reduce the chaos of tournaments.

[bdm860]

I think the a tournament invite being on the line makes those low level college tournaments super interesting, it would be a huge mistake to get rid of it.

Also a lot of the past cinderellas either weren't the best team in a non-power conference, or lost their conference tournament, or both.

'06 George Mason, lost in their conference tournament (CAA), then went #11 to Final Four.
'11 VCU, lost in their conference tournament (4th in the CAA), then went First Four to Final Four
'13 Florida Gulf Coast (2nd in the A-Sun), first #15 to go to Sweet 16.
'18 UMBC (2nd in AmEast), first #16 to beat a #1.
'22 Saint Peters (2nd in the MAAC), first #15 to make the Elite Eight
'23 Fairleigh Dickinson (2nd in NEC), second #16 to beat a #1.

[Moranis]

I think the a tournament invite being on the line makes those low level college tournaments super interesting, it would be a huge mistake to get rid of it.

Also a lot of the past cinderellas either weren't the best team in a non-power conference, or lost their conference tournament, or both.

'06 George Mason, lost in their conference tournament (CAA), then went #11 to Final Four.
'11 VCU, lost in their conference tournament (4th in the CAA), then went First Four to Final Four
'13 Florida Gulf Coast (2nd in the A-Sun), first #15 to go to Sweet 16.
'18 UMBC (2nd in AmEast), first #16 to beat a #1.
'22 Saint Peters (2nd in the MAAC), first #15 to make the Elite Eight
'23 Fairleigh Dickinson (2nd in NEC), second #16 to beat a #1.

How many minutes of those super interesting conference tournaments have you watched?