It is interesting to see that at least a couple of the “experts” on the major college basketball websites are strongly endorsing the idea that automatic qualifier NCAA tournament berths ought not to be decided by the conference tournaments. One thought the regular season champ ought to go. Another suggested that if the regular season is not the same as the tournament winner, then there should be a one-game playoff to determine who goes. In any case, at least it is a small step toward making the regular season more meaningful, which right now is NOT meaningful.
College basketball has a good thing going in the big stage which is the NCAA tournament. However, for the rest of the season, they are rolling over and playing dead in front of the football juggernaut by allowing their season to be irrelevant until football has evacuated the stage and courteously allowed them one slim month to do their thing. Basketball needs to push back. They need to tell the world that if you are going to follow basketball at all, then you are going to have to do it for more than just one month a year. One big step toward that is making the regular season mean more.
I will suggest one other step: some major entity (maybe the AP poll?) needs to declare a regular season champion. Just do it. Don’t ask the NCAA’s permission – just do it. Make the basketball season be two distinct seasons. Declare a national regular season champ, and then let the NCAA have a tournament champion. Just a thought.
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