Mark Wiedmer
It was sometime Friday evening and ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi was on television telling the sports world he currently had Southeastern Conference member Texas as his 14th SEC school in his projected 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
He would later amend that to make the Longhorns his first team out of the field when it’s announced at 6 o’clock this evening on CBS. But that would still leave13 SEC schools among the 68.
A much more stunning perspective is this: Even if it’s 13 bids, that would mean 12 at large bids - today’s SEC Tournament winner between Tennessee and Florida gets the league’s automatic berth - would basically take up a third of the 37 total at-large bids.
Which means the 30 other NCAA Division I conferences who are eligible for the men’s tournament will be fighting for 25 total at-large spots.
Is that fair? Is that the future? Even if Texas doesn’t get in, do we really want to see five teams from the SEC with losing conference records, yes, FIVE, make the field? Are Arkansas (8-10 in league play), Georgia (8-10), Mississippi State (8-10), Vanderbilt (8-10) and Oklahoma (6-12) really deserving of competing for a national championship?
Especially when a program like UT-Chattanooga won the Southern Conference regular-season title (15-3 in league play), lost in overtime in the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals to Furman and lost to Indiana - who is expected to make the field - by a very respectable nine points on the Hoosiers’ home court while going 24-9?
At least, as the SoCon regular season champ, the Mocs are guaranteed a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) bid for the start of that venerable tournament. Furman, which beat UTC in the SoCon semis, and finished with a 25-9 record, won’t be in either the NCAA or NIT events. They’re done, off to spring break.
Let me be clear about something. The SEC has been a league like no other this winter. As one SEC coach said this weekend, winning three games in the league tournament is tougher than winning the first three games of the NCAA Tournament. “Winning an Elite Eight, Final Four semi and national championship might be tougher,” he said. “But not the first three.”
He was no doubt right. But the league’s 16 schools have all chosen to play in the SEC. Nobody MADE them join the SEC. They all make a lot of money playing in the SEC and get a ton of national exposure for their athletic departments and their schools in general.
Do I think that 13, or 14, SEC schools are among the country’s top 68? Yes. Unequivocally. But do I think that means they should be there? No. Unequivocally no.
There’s a reason why the first weekend of the tournament is the most fun. There aren’t as many stunning upsets as you’d think (Maryland-Baltimore County became the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 - Virginia in 2018). No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson followed that up by beating No. 1 seed Purdue in 2023. Those are still the only examples of a 16 over a No. 1. But there are plenty of examples of slightly lesser upsets. And that makes keeping the little guys in the field worthwhile.
Just remember what the Scenic City was like 28 years ago when 14th seeded UTC knocked off No. 3 Georgia, then No. 6 Illinois in Charlotte to advance to the Sweet 16 in Birmingham. The Mocs were on the cover of USA Today. They were on the lips of every college basketball fan in the country.
So when you hear Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark say, as he did this past week, “I’m in favor of expansion to 76. I think that’s the right number. I think there will be some decisions over the next 90 days, 60 days. I think the economics, candidly, have to work. CBS and TNT have a marquee asset with the tournament. I know they know that. But in order for us to expand, they have to come to the table and provide the right economics.” Well, Yormark isn’t talking about adding more UTC’s. He’s talking about getting another Texas or Indiana or Wake Forest into the event. He wants the bottom third of the top leagues to get an invite. UGHHHH!
With the exception of an injury to a key player who’s now healed, I don’t think any team with a losing conference mark should make the field. And in that situation, there has to be unwavering proof that that injured player will now play starter’s minutes and that the team in question was much better on the court with this player than without him.
Otherwise, your losing record scratches you from tournament consideration.
The tournament will still be heavily weighted against the little guys. That’s not going to change.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be a UTC type story in this year’s tournament. And the big boys should hope there is one of those storybook runs. After all, what would garner more attention - a Cinderella story? Or an Oklahoma team that went 6-12 in the SEC regular season reaching the Sweet 16?
And make no mistake. March Madness always winds up with the big boys in the Final Four. If you count the Big East as a power conference in hoops, and you should, no non-power conference school has won the NCAA Tournament since Nevada-Las Vegas crushed Duke in Denver in 1990. That is almost certain to continue this year.
And for those who may have hoped that the transfer portal and NIL might somehow level the playing field, consider this: When Tennessee faces Florida today for the SEC Championship, three of its most important players - Chaz Lanier from North Florida, Jordan Gainey from South Carolina-Upstate and Igor Milicic (Charlotte) have transferred up, not down, meaning the rich are getting richer at the expense of the little guy. So even if you pull off a recruiting coup at UTC’s level, they’ll almost assuredly jump to a Power Four conference school as soon as they can play at that level.
But at least for tonight, as soon as the 68 teams for this year’s men’s tournament are announced, all the little guys will have three or four days to imagine themselves becoming the next Maryland-Baltimore County. Or Fairleigh Dickinson. Or UTC.
The day that’s taken away is the day both the magic and madness is erased from the greatest three weeks in American sports.
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(Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@mccallie.org