The NEC kicks off single elimination college basketball tonight with a play-in game between Central Connecticut and Fairleigh Dickinson. So let's talk conference tournaments.

Check out the tournament bracket for the WCC.

https://wccsports.com/documents/2022/2/27//2022_Universit...

Single, double, and TRIPLE byes. Talk about protecting your top teams and valuing the regular season. Not like Gonzaga and St. Mary's need the help. This would be a good format for a league with a top team that's not at-large worthy but could still maaaaaaybe do damage in the tournament with the right matchup. Like the NEC where Bryant and Wagner are clearly their best teams. At the same time, this doesn't exactly feel like a true tournament. And I'm not so keen on a format that makes playing five games in six days a possibility.

I like the Horizon format:

https://external-preview.redd.it/3WIaYMdAURJXZmjQZu3q6CBO...

Single byes for the top four seeds. First round played between the next eight on campus sites. Then re-seeded for the quarterfinals so the #1 seed plays the lowest remaining seed. The quarterfinals are still played at campus sights of the higher seeds, so that's kind of cool that home fans of the best teams still get one more game on campus. Then re-seeded again for the semis so the top remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed. Seems like a happy medium between what the WCC does and what we do.

Don't remember what happened with the MAC but I know several high-seed teams in other conferences hated getting a double-bye because their first game was against a team that had already played a game or two in the tourney, so their butterflies were gone. It would be interesting to see how many double- or triple-bye teams actually win their tourney.

#1 and #2 received a bye to the semi-finals. #3 and #4 received a bye to the quarters. The other 8 had to win 5 games in 5 days.

I don't like this sort of format because it creates really small gaps between earning some seeds (#1 and #2) and huge gaps between others (#4 and #5). If you start jacking with the S-CURVE that has to happen somewhere. This is especially true for the MAC which usually has insane parity. I believe that one of those years the #2 and #5 seeds finished tied in standings but one had to win 2 games and one had to win 5.

I am OK with what the Horizon does though.

I have been surprised to see IUPUI as one of the bottom three worst teams in D1 this year. Now I understand why. That sound like it might have been even worse than what befell OUr women's tea, this season. But, of course, women's basketball has, I think, 2 extra scholarships so having to play some games with 6 healthy women takes an awful lot of bad luck.

An absolutely brutal way to end your season. 16-13 UNC-Asheville loses to bottom seed Charleston Southern on a put back of a missed three at the buzzer. Charleston Southern had only two D1 wins on the year before yesterday, and UNC-A probably had aspirations to get to at least the semis. The abruptness of the play must be like taking a bullet to the head.

https://twitter.com/BSSdavidburner/status/149913609760720...

This highlights why I would argue that from tomorrow (Friday) to Selection Sunday, we see better basketball than we do in the NCAA Tournament. Conference Tournament week is where it's at!

I wasn't a fan of the double bye back when the MAC tried it. Single byes are fine, but doubles mess with the integrity of a tournament.

This is the time of year to bring a second screen, or at least laptop into the viewing room.

Automatic tickets punched to date (as of Sunday 13 March)
* Edited to add their seed since people seemed interested

March 5
Ohio Valley: #1 Murray State Racers (30-2)

March 6
Big South: #1 Longwood Lancers (26-6)
Missouri Valley: #4 Loyola(IL) Ramblers (25-7)

March 7
Sun Belt: #3 Georgia State Panthers (18-10)
Southern: #1 Chattanooga Mocs (27-7)

March 8
Atlantic Sun: #1 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (21-10) * #W2 Bellarmine Knights N/A
Colonial: #5 Delaware Blue Hens (22-12)
Horizon: #4 Wright State Raiders (21-13)
Northeast: #1 Bryant Bulldogs (22-9)
Summit: #1 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (30-4)
West Coast: #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-3)

March 9
Patriot: #1 Colgate Raiders (23-11)

March 12
America East: #1 Vermont Catamounts (28-5)
Mid-Eastern Athletic: #1 Norfolk State Spartans (24-6)
Metro: #2 St. Peter's Peacocks (19-11)
Southwest Athletic: #2 Texas Southern Tigers (18-12)
Mid-American: #4 Akron Zips (24-9)
Big Sky: #1 Montana State Bobcats (27-7)
Conference USA: #2W UAB Blazers (27-7)
Southland: #4 Texas A&M CC Islanders (23-11)
Mtn West: #1 Boise State Broncos (27-7)
Western Athletic: #1 New Mexico State Aggies (26-6)
Big West: #2 CSU Fullerton Titans (21-10)
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Big 12: #1 Kansas Jayhawks (28-6)
Big East: #2 Villanova Wildcats (26-7)
Atlantic Coast: #7 Virginia Tech Hokies (23-12)
Pac 12: #1 Arizona Wildcats (31-3)

March 13
Ivy: #2 Yale Bulldogs (19-11)
Atlantic 10: #6 Richmond Spiders (23-12)
American: #1 Houston Cougars (29-5)
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Big Ten: #5 Iowa Hawkeyes (26-9)
Southeast: #2 Tennessee Volunteers (26-7)

Interesting that the #1 seeds aren't getting far into tourneys played on neutral floors.

MVC final in St. Louis was between #3 Drake and #4 Loyola. If Loyola hadn't won, MVC would like have had two bids to the Dance (Loyola has a 25 NET).

In the Horizon at Indy, #1 Cleve St is down by 15 to #4 Wright St with five minutes to go. The winner faces either #2 IPFW or #3 NKU. Horizon is a one-bid league this year; Oakland has the best NET at 174, NKU is 201, Wright is at 203, IPFW 224.

Chattanooga cans a contested shot from 40 feet. All net to win by one and punch the ticket. What a tremendous college basketball finish.

I watch a lot of college hoops but have mostly missed Gonzaga. My God, Chet Holmgren is skilled. Put another 30 pounds on him and he's Dirk Nowitzki.

I'm not sure he's the next Dirk, but he does have abnormally long arms which come in handy. It makes a 7-footer seem like he's 7-6. Walker Kessler too.