Bracket Buster not for everyone?

[JP Morgan]

Most of you probably dont read the Warren Tribune Chronicle so I thought I'd post this over here. It's just another take on the bracket buster format from a YSU perspective. I actually agree with the guy :)BracketBusters involves too many teams By JOHN VARGO Tribune Chronicle BRACKETBUSTERS. For some NCAA Division I mid-major men's basketball teams, it represents the last chance at redemption in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selections committee. While for others, like Youngstown State, Saturday is just another non-conference game. It's a shame the Penguins cannot trade in Saturday's game at Canisius for another Horizon League contest or use that as a practice day. They could use it considering the disastrous trip to Wisconsin where YSU lost to league-leading Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Green Bay by an average of 31.5 points - the first two blowouts of the season.The Penguins are unlike the Can't States and Akrons - the two best teams in the Mid-American Conference - which need Saturday's games to keep their slim hopes alive for an at-large bid for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Akron has an RPI of 67, while Can't State's is 100.The BracketBusters pits other mid-major teams with similar records against one another in hopes the victor does not have to rely on winning the conference tournament to receive an automatic bid to the tournament. This format also hopes to eliminate mid-major faux pas such as leaving deserving teams like Butler and Bowling Green, which each won more than 20 games in the 2001-02 season, out in lieu of a grossly overrated major-conference team.The BracketBusters are not meant for matchups like YSU at Canisius. Mid- to bottom-level conference teams like the Penguins should not be part of this event. Teams having a feasible shot at an at-large NCAA Tournament bid should be involved in the BracketBusters. Having 100 teams is too much. Who cares about Siena at Hofstra or Morehead State at Central Michigan? Those two, along with the YSU-Canisius game, are some of the 37 snoozer contests for the BracketBusters, which start Friday. The event tips off at 7 when Virginia Commonwealth hosts Albany. Two hours later, Nevada hosts Akron. Both games are on ESPNU. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360, the network's Webcast, are also televising the real games of this fourth-annual BracketBuster.Meanwhile, YSU would be off with either more practice time or facing a Horizon League opponent Saturday.The Penguins are two games out of the coveted sixth-place, where they would host a first-round league tournament game. Fortunately, Detroit and Loyola, which are tied for sixth, both have to play at Beeghly Center. YSU also travels to Butler next week, but the Bulldogs are a tough team to defeat at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Penguins must win their two remaining home games and hope for some help to ensure that home playoff game.Speaking of Butler, the Bulldogs travel to play the Golden flushes for an interesting matchup at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center on the Can't State campus. Tipoff is at 12:30, and the game will be televised on ESPNU.Can't State travels to the always dangerous Buffalo before Saturday's crucial non-conference contest, while Butler hosts Loyola Thursday. OTHER SATURDAY GAMES ARE: Noon - Bucknell at Northern Iowa (ESPN2); Buffalo at Iona (ESPN360), 2 - Missouri State at UWM (ESPN2); 2:30 - Northern Arizona at Western Kentucky (ESPNU); 4 - Marist at Old Dominion (ESPN2); 6 - Louisiana Tech at Southern Illinois (ESPN2); 8 - George Mason at Wichita State (ESPN2); Samford at Ohio (ESPN360); 10 - Northwestern State at Utah State (ESPNU); and 11:59 - Fresno State at Creighton (ESPN).Enjoy the televised games, those are the only ones worth watching.

[ZipAnalyst]

BracketBuster should be completely re-configured.The top ten Mid-Majors (in terms of win/loss record) perhaps weighted by other factors (strength of schedule, etc) should be matched up with 10 through 20 ranked Majors with the game being played on the Mid-Major's home court.A Mid-Major could truly move up in ranking by beating a Major. And it would help the annual attendance significanlty for Mid-Majors with great facilities (not Akron but Ohio U - yes).

[mrelegazna]

BracketBuster should be completely re-configured.The top ten Mid-Majors (in terms of win/loss record) perhaps weighted by other factors (strength of schedule, etc) should be matched up with 10 through 20 ranked Majors with the game being played on the Mid-Major's home court.A Mid-Major could truly move up in ranking by beating a Major.  And it would help the annual attendance significanlty for  Mid-Majors with great facilities (not Akron but Ohio U - yes).

ZipAnalyst, the only way that would work is if everybody (with the possible exception of low majors like the SWAC or the Mid-Continent, but if they get that once-in-a-lifetime team that gets a high RPI, they would want included), all of 1A, kept that weekend wide open, in case they qualify. Not gonna happen.The article strikes me as "The Bracket Busters don't benefit my team, therefore it needs to be remade" take 3, 716.What neither the article nor Zip Analyst takes into consideration is logistics, which MUST play a huge part in something like this. Going into this year, all teams involved in both the premiere, televised Bracket Buster games, and the CMU-Morehead State clunkers is this: You will be participating, and you will be at home (or on the road).If they turn it into a thing where teams may or may not participate depending on how they do, it throws the logistics out of whack. Can we reserve the arena for this high school band competition for the weekend? Don't know. Might have bracket busters that week, might not. We'll just have to see. And that's just the beginning, just one example.The present format allows teams to plan around it, way in advance, as much as possible. They only last-second detail is the opponent. If you're not involved with logistical planning, it may seem easy to work around this stuff, but it's not. Hell, the NFL had to move hell and high water to move the freaking SUPER BOWL up a week in 2001 because of 9/11, and pay the Auto Dealers of America a boatload of money (IIRC) to have their convention another week. It's stuff like that that makes wait-and-see scenarios impossible.