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Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:34 am EST

Let's expand this BracketBusters gimmick to include everyone

By MJD

This weekend is ESPN's annual made-for-TV BracketBusters event, which basically takes a bunch of mid-major teams and pairs them up against other mid-major teams to give everyone a boost in exposure and a chance to get a resume-building win against a team in a similar situation.

This year, the headliners are (22) Butler vs. Davidson, 24-2 Utah State against 20-5 St. Mary's, and 17-8 George Mason vs. 22-6 Creighton.

They're nice matchups, they get these mid-majors on TV, and fans get a chance to get to know a team like Utah State, when they otherwise might not get to. Win-win-win. Everybody's happy.

So what I'd like to do is take this idea and expand it to include everyone, whether they like it or not. Tell all the schedule-makers to leave the third weekend in February open, and when the time comes, we'll just pair everybody with a team of a similar RPI  from a different conference, and in the scheduling process, we'll place as much emphasis as we can on teams from the big conferences playing teams from mid-major conferences.

I realize that this is a pipe dream. There are a lot of problems here, not the least of which is that it's an event designed to give mid-majors more exposure, and we'd have big conference teams encroaching on that. There are countless other issues, too.

But wouldn't it be a little more fun to have a matchup like, oh, I don't know ... Siena (21-6, RPI of 28) against Wisconsin (15-9, RPI of 30)? Utah State (24-2, RPI of 33) vs. Ohio State (17-6, RPI of 29)? Dayton (23-3, RPI of 26) against UCLA (19-6, RPI of 32)?

Again, I realize there are a ton of barriers here, but it might be worth exploring getting some big-conference teams in on this. It's a chance for those bubble teams to get a quality win, just as it is for the teams from smaller conferences. It might make for some more interesting matchups, too.

Related: Mid-Majors and Below, Bubble Babble

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19 Comments

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  1. grossenblauenaffe
    1. Posted by grossenblauenaffe Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

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    Oh, hell yes. The biggest problem is that I think a lot of those midlevel teams in the power conferences realize how much their trip to the Dance depends on them not having to play mid-major teams late in the year. I think Wisconsin would rather get blown out by Michigan St than lose by 5 to Siena--I think the perception out there would be that a loss like that to Siena would be much more shocking than a drubbing by Mich State, and hurt their chances of getting into the tournament.
    It would no longer be the win-win that you describe. The clear benefit for the large conference teams doesn't exist in the same way. But it would be awesome to watch.
  2. Dave E
    2. Posted by Dave E Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:40 pm EDT

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    I was floating a similar idea a couple of years ago. Simply rank the top 73 non-Big 6 conference by RPI and let them draft a Big 6 opponent to come play on their home court. This is a chance for the small schools to have the advantage that they rarely have and get the big exposure if they knock off a top 10 team. Plus a top at large contender is not guaranteed to be hung with a loss in February that will be used to exclude them if they don't win their tourney, like Utah State or St. Mary's is going to get this weekend. Return games would be next November/December.
    Plus with the draft concept, the smaller schools have the strategy of trying to pick the best team that they believe they can beat. For example,
    UNC @ Davidson
    Pitt @ Xavier
    UCLA @ Gonzaga
    MSU @ Butler
    UConn @ Siena
    Oklahoma @ Utah St
    Washington @ BYU
    Louisville @ Memphis
  3. Go CU Tigers
    3. Posted by Go CU Tigers Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:38 pm EDT

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    I think this idea should be taken even further and have the top 2 RPI teams play each other, and the winner gets crowned the national champion! It's a win-win!!
  4. WingNut
    4. Posted by WingNut Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:38 pm EDT

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    You might as well ask for strippers in the aisles at college games. The major conferences want only to maintain the often-mythical superiority to mid-majors. They won't do anything to jeopardize that. Just look at the decreasing numbers of major@midmajor road games every year.
  5. Bud Talley
    5. Posted by Bud Talley Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:10 pm EDT

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    Using RPI ratings to determine anything is a joke.
  6. unrivaled20
    6. Posted by unrivaled20 Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:28 pm EDT

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    i got an even better idea. lets take the top 16 teams in the ap poll as of January 1st and put them all in a conference.
    I know its just a pipe dream but wouldn't it be a little more fun to have a matchup like, oh, I don't know. Uconn @ Unc instead of Uconn @ South Florida and how bout Oklahoma @ Pittsburg instead of OU against Baylor. who even knows were Baylor is located.
    Again, I realize there are a ton of barriers here, but it might be worth exploring getting some big-conference teams on this super human conference. It's a chance for those teams to really see who deserves that # 1 seed. It might make for some more interesting matchups, too.
    well i'll give you a reason why they dont do this. cus if they did everybody would be a mid major except one conference
  7. maxkil123
    7. Posted by maxkil123 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:12 pm EDT

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    I agree with unrivaled20. Even better, we should have the Big East-ACC challenge (and NOT the Big Ten who hasn't even won yet). Pitt vs. UNC, UConn vs. Wake Forest, Duke vs. Louisville. Battle for superiority.
  8. smith s
    8. Posted by smith s Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:45 pm EDT

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    Bracketbauster Saturday isn't designed to give fans exposure to mid-major programs--it's designed as an elimination game to ensure more power conference teams receive a tourney bid.
  9. billy7nc00
    9. Posted by billy7nc00 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:08 pm EDT

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    Or, maybe these games should be scheduled in the first place and good teams can stop playing teams like Northwestern Southern Baptist St. Christian. The bracket busters are cool the way they are because they show which conferences are for real. Wisconsin doesn't prove jack by beating Siena, but if Siena played a team like St. Johns, it would at least show how mediocre these teams were if they lost.
  10. ralph
    10. Posted by ralph Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:31 pm EDT

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    The Sleepers will prevail.
  11. Gretchen W
    11. Posted by Gretchen W Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:12 pm EDT

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    What a bunch of idiots.
  12. m g
    12. Posted by m g Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:00 pm EDT

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    LOL seriously why even play.... lets just get the top 8 teams from the pre season pole and make them play each other a bunch of times
    UConn - UNC
    Pitt - Duke
  13. okieblue37
    13. Posted by okieblue37 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:44 pm EDT

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    This is ridiculous. If a mid-major wants more exposure or needs a big win, then that is the reason why you setup a tougher non-conference schedule at the BEGINNING of the season.
  14. Nathan
    14. Posted by Nathan Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:41 pm EDT

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    I like it. However, as an Ohio St alum, I vividly remember the Buckeyes getting bounced from the tourney by... Utah State (!) about 8 years ago or so.... we were like, who?! :)
  15. Jay
    15. Posted by Jay Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:04 pm EDT

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    "This weekend is ESPN's annual made-for-TV BracketBusters event, which basically takes a bunch of mid-major teams and pairs them up against other mid-major teams to give everyone a boost in exposure and a chance to get a resume-building win against a team in a similar situation. [...] There are a lot of problems here, not the least of which is that it's an event designed to give mid-majors more exposure..."
    I think that's wrong. It's an event designed to give mid-majors more losses without the risk of one of them beating a major conference school. Whichever mid-major school loses in the bracket buster is just one less school that can take an at-large spot in the NCAA tourney from the 8th or 9th best team in the major conferences. Even if the mid-major school is having a better season, there's more money in getting that better-known 8th or 9th place team in the tourney.
  16. Jonathan D
    16. Posted by Jonathan D Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:40 pm EDT

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    Back in 89, 90 and I think 91, they did have a Big East/ACC challenge. The Big East couldn't handle playing tough early games so they backed out. Thus, the birth of the Big Ten/ACC challenge.
  17. Shane Y
    17. Posted by Shane Y Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

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    It's a chance to solidify the resume of a bubble team. Major conference teams have been left on the bubble more often than not recently (Cincinnati 3 years ago (http://www.bracketography.com/features/ncaa-tournament-snubs/), Syracuse and Kansas State 2 years ago (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/columns/story?id=2795023), Virginia Tech last year(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/660599/ncaa_tournament_snubs_ncaa_tournament_pg2.html?cat=14).
    The major conference teams would do well to get one more win to distinguish themselves from similar teams... but this is made for the smaller conferences, just like the challenges in the early season are tailored to the big teams. And I'd take a win over perennial tournament toughies Gonzaga, Butler, or Xavier as much as a win over Wisconsin.
    If the small conferences didn't want to go, their choice.
    But maybe, just maybe they see the benefits.
    And it's just you losers with a perceived chip on your shoulder about conference breakdowns that get so irritated by these events. All this perennial unfairness is, by-and-large, imagined.
  18. kevinbailey
    18. Posted by kevinbailey Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:50 pm EDT

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    No, and categorically so. This would be extremely unfair to the teams from the bigger conferences. The reason? They spend their league schedule trying to keep their heads above water in a tough league, while the Utah States of the world are out there mauling the patsies and cupcakes that make up their leagues. This is the reason I've always thought it was a joke when Gonzaga was given really high seeds. You put these mid-major "powers" in a REAL conference (even a weaker sister like the Big 10 or Pac 10 this year), and they'd be .500 teams, or possibly a bit better (or worse) than that. Giving them a one-off shot at knocking off a Big Six school is categorically unfair to the Big Six school, because they're in a no-win situation: beat the small conference team, and that's what you were supposed to do; lose to them, and you're quite possibly out of the tournament. No, the mid-majors should just deal with the fact that they're in less-powerful conferences, and that many years they're going to have to win their tournaments to get into the NCAA tournament.
  19. zipster
    19. Posted by zipster Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:42 pm EDT

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    How about taking the conference winners, and the rest of the top RPI teams, dividing them into four regions, and just have them do a big battle to the death? We could do it in, say, March. That...would...be...AWESOME!!!
    Oh, and of course, we'd have to let the two lowest rated teams play an extra game at the start. Just because.

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