More Cinderallas and a Better Tourney with No Auto-Bids

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Every year we debate, dissect, and denounce the NCAA's tournament selections and seedings.

Much of the debate centers around the so-called "bubble teams," whose place in the tournament is tenuous and undecided. But over the years, we've come to accept the auto-bid process without so much as a raised eyebrow.

Purists (and likely the NCAA itself) will argue the automatic bids for the smallest of conferences are vital to the integrity of the sport. But come on, that's just ridiculous.

There's an argument to be made that the product itself would be of much higher quality if it featured better teams that are left out, in order to include little-guys like Robert Morris or Radford (no offense Colonials and Highlanders).

And don't buy the rubbish that such a system would eliminate the Cinderellas. In reality, dropping the automatic qualifiers would allow the selection committee to pick more deserving teams with a solid chance at actually becoming a Cinderella story.

This year it means the teams featured in a great NIT matchup last night, Davidson and Saint Mary's, would have been in. We all know Davidson proved it has Cinderella chops last year.

Sure, it may mean more Big Conference teams get in, but we'd also see so many deserving mid-majors get a shot when they'd otherwise be left out for the fourth place tourney winner from the Ohio Valley Conference (Morehead State).

San Diego State, Creighton, Kentucky, UNLV, New Mexico, Tulsa, Florida, Penn State, and the aforementioned Davidson and Saint Mary's, are all teams that could have filled the 12-16 seeds under such a system. And all of them have wins on their resume that prove they have what it takes to pull off an upset of a higher seed.

Opponents of such a plan will also argue that it eliminates access to the tourney for teams from the smallest conferences. I argue that programs like Siena, Gonzaga, and Memphis prove that's not the case. But even if it is, why are smaller conferences entitled to an auto-bid over a deserving team who has a great season, but is left out for not winning its conference tourney (Creighton)?

Maybe it makes the conference tournaments less meaningful, but in the end it would ensure the 64 most deserving teams are in, and would drive even more high drama in the early rounds of the tourney.

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