What's your thoughts on the Final Four in men's basketball becoming double elimination?

[TopCatCal]

Not the entire tournament but once it reaches the Final Four. Then it becomes double elimination for the Final Four teams.
I'm not saying that I would be in favor of this. Being the traditionalist that I am, personally I would be against it. If the Final Four was double elimination it would help ensure that the best team would win the tournament more times than not. What would have a double elimination Final Four format have done for our 2015 team?

 

[chroix]

Not the entire tournament but once it reaches the Final Four. Then it becomes double elimination for the Final Four teams.
I'm not saying that I would be in favor of this. Being the traditionalist that I am, personally I would be against it. If the Final Four was double elimination it would help ensure that the best team would win the tournament more times than not. What would have a double elimination Final Four format have done for our 2015 team?

I’d like to see a separate tournament with the top 16 teams playing double elimination. Too many seasons where we don’t get to see the top teams battle.

 

[know1]

Nope.

 

[bucsrule8872]

If/when the NCAA collapses and it’s every conference for itself, I think the top conferences will put together their own tournament.

Here’s an interesting idea, the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and Big East champions make up the Final Four every year and play for the national championship.

Pretty much every champion for the last several years has come out one of those conferences.

With a Final Four like that, you could have a best of five and the best team really would win it all every year.

The mid and low majors could have their own tournament. As a mid-major alum, I think that would be fun. It would be cool to go into the tournament as a WKU or Murray or Morehead fan with the actual idea of winning a title and it actually be achievable.

 

[kyboy1998]

We’d have a few more titles total and not had the 98 one.

 

[KyCatFan]

The only thing I would like to see is maybe reseeding the Final Four. It sucks when the best 2 teams end up playing in the semifinals. In 1996 for example, should have been UK vs UMass for the title instead of Syracuse. Should have been UK vs Syracuse and UMass vs MSU.

 

[westerncat]

Nope just leave things alone.

 

[ukfan117]

HELL NO!!!

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Nope. I would have killed for this sort of thing when Cal had his highly talented teams, because I truly believe his teams would eventually overpower the opponent, if given enough time. A lot of his early losses were always a little fluke-y to me. WVU shooting out of their asses, our entire team fouling out against UNC in 2010.. games that I feel like if we got a 2nd chance at, we win.

So now that we don't have those types of teams.. I'd rather see college basketball continue to be fully random. We weren't allowed to be dominant due to the nature of the sport, so I don't want that afforded to anyone else. Let Marshall win the title this year for all I care.

 

[The_Answer1313]

It would mean that the better teams in the final fours end up winning more of the time and thus more titles.

But honestly I like it the way it is.

I don't feel like anyone really wants the best team winning ALL THE TIME in sports. People want upsets. The tournament to me is perfect. You get the upsets because of the one and done nature but at the end of the day, usually one of the best teams still end up winning the title.

It's the perfect combination IMO.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Thinking about this moreso lets look at say the last 20 years. We had the best team in 2012 and 2015. We won in 2012 in the current format. If we had say a best of 5 in 2015, do we win? I think we would have been way more likely to have won considering we were favored in that Wisconsin game.

But then what about the other 18 years? Our odds will have decreased. Even the good teams we've had in those years.

Right now it tends to be 6-8 teams at the top every year that have chances of winning a title. So do you give up those years where you are say a part of those 6-8 teams and have them be less likely to win titles at the benefit of increasing the odds in say the years you are the best team?

It's an interesting question but I'm just not so sure. Even if it say did lead to more titles (we'd more than likely have one extra title last 20 years). The thought of going into seasons or tournaments knowing you aren't going to win.........I'm not sure I'd want that. I thought we had a decent shot in 2017. And again in 2019. And again in 2022. And TBH even last year to some degree. Going to a best of......I'm not sure any of those teams would have had much a chance. Because in each of those years there was better teams ahead of them.

It's interesting to think about tho.

 

[bigbluedon]

Not the entire tournament but once it reaches the Final Four. Then it becomes double elimination for the Final Four teams.
I'm not saying that I would be in favor of this. Being the traditionalist that I am, personally I would be against it. If the Final Four was double elimination it would help ensure that the best team would win the tournament more times than not. What would have a double elimination Final Four format have done for our 2015 team?

Hate it.

 

[BBNinSC]

We’d have a few more titles total and not had the 98 one.

Exactly. I think we win in 1984 and 2015.

 

[shaudyshaud]

I’m fine with it either way . I see both sides of it .

 

[HagginHall1999]

We’d have a few more titles total and not had the 98 one.

You think? I'm not sure we'd lose two. Guessing you think we'd have lost to UNC?

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

Cal would have found a way to lose a 2nd one in 2015.

 

[BC_Wader]

Keep it like it is. Why ruin a good thing?

 

[SpamburgerHamburger]

I wouldn't mind seeing the Final Four and Title game be best of 3.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I've said for years each region should reseed before sweet 16 and then again at the final four.

If UK is a 1 seed n the south and has the 4 seed but the 2 seed has the 11 seed...that's bs. 1 vs 11 and 2 vs 4.

Same in final four. We could have had uconn vs UK in the title game in 2011 and UMass vs UK n 96 and so on.

Don't really want double elimination though.

 

[Killswitch24]

Nope. I would have killed for this sort of thing when Cal had his highly talented teams, because I truly believe his teams would eventually overpower the opponent, if given enough time. A lot of his early losses were always a little fluke-y to me. WVU shooting out of their asses, our entire team fouling out against UNC in 2010.. games that I feel like if we got a 2nd chance at, we win.

So now that we don't have those types of teams.. I'd rather see college basketball continue to be fully random. We weren't allowed to be dominant due to the nature of the sport, so I don't want that afforded to anyone else. Let Marshall win the title this year for all I care.

I think even with double elimination, Calipari is simply not a good enough coach to overcome it regardless of talent. He’s a really, really bad floor coach and his coaching principles themselves are worse than his ability. When you add them both together the guy flat out sucks if we’re looking to win championships. Probably the worst well known coach in history at pulling the last game off. I don’t think it’s understood enough that even in 2012 with absolutely overwhelming talent and a transcendent once in a generation AD, he still, nearly, couldn’t hold off Kansas. I mean sht Calipari is a really really bad coach. Those of us who lived the 90’s, or through Sutton / Hall, definitely understand it from past reference. Younger fans I notice don’t seem to understand it as much. Now with Pitino? In the 90’s? You switch formats and he definitely has more titles especially if he had stayed. You’re looking at the 3 peat easily.

 

[bbncal02]

The only thing I would like to see is maybe reseeding the Final Four. It sucks when the best 2 teams end up playing in the semifinals. In 1996 for example, should have been UK vs UMass for the title instead of Syracuse. Should have been UK vs Syracuse and UMass vs MSU.

I’d reseed the S16. Would make for a better tourney. I’d also like to see the double elimination start there. Heck go to best of three starting with the S16 or EB.

 

[BlueSince92]

Absolutely not. Late 80s and mid-90s men’s college basketball was the greatest sport in the history of the world.

Every single thing we do to make it less like itself and more anything else is dumb.

 

[rick64]

 

[JonathanW]

If/when the NCAA collapses and it’s every conference for itself, I think the top conferences will put together their own tournament.

Here’s an interesting idea, the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and Big East champions make up the Final Four every year and play for the national championship.

Pretty much every champion for the last several years has come out one of those conferences.

With a Final Four like that, you could have a best of five and the best team really would win it all every year.

The mid and low majors could have their own tournament. As a mid-major alum, I think that would be fun. It would be cool to go into the tournament as a WKU or Murray or Morehead fan with the actual idea of winning a title and it actually be achievable.

The ACC says "WTF"! And exactly what B10 team has been a champion in the last 20 years?
Also that could lead to something like what happened in 1974 when the clear 2 best teams in the country were both in the same conference (NC St & Maryland), and so one of the 2 wasn't going to make the tournament. I think something like the BCS with 8 or 12, where the P5 each get an auto qualifier would be better.

But back to the OP, yeah because the NCAA-T is a OAD tournament, the best team each year more often than not does NOT win it. It's what team gets hot at the right time out of the dozen or so capable of winning 5-6 in a row.
So somehow implementing at some point (maybe not the first round or two) double elimination or best 2 of 3, I think would be good. Much better than expanding the tournament field!!!

 

[The_Answer1313]

Ultimately just boils down to what you prefer as a sports fan.

Right now, usually the best team is given odds around 30%.

If you think it's too low for the best team to only win 30% of the time, then you want more games and a best of series.
If you are ok with this and have it where the best team might not win very often but "one of the best" teams does win more than often, that you want to leave it how it is.

Personally this is way more exciting IMO.

 

[KFuqua]

Leave it the way it is! To me, it's the best sporting event in existence.

 

[WildcatFan1982]

 

[catsfanbgky]

Maybe a little change. Become double elimination at the Elite 8 level (kind of like baseball with Super Regionals), then have the championship teams be best of 3. For the people screaming "leave it alone, why mess up a good thing ?", well what if the game never made advancements ? No 3 point line, no field of 64, no conference tournaments ? Just because it is great, doesn't mean it can't be greater. I love the idea of NCAA football expanded to more teams than 4. It CAN improve, just some people have a fear of change.

 

[52T]

Not the entire tournament but once it reaches the Final Four. Then it becomes double elimination for the Final Four teams.
I'm not saying that I would be in favor of this. Being the traditionalist that I am, personally I would be against it. If the Final Four was double elimination it would help ensure that the best team would win the tournament more times than not. What would have a double elimination Final Four format have done for our 2015 team?

If it's not broke dont fix it

 

[The_Answer1313]

Maybe a little change. Become double elimination at the Elite 8 level (kind of like baseball with Super Regionals), then have the championship teams be best of 3. For the people screaming "leave it alone, why mess up a good thing ?", well what if the game never made advancements ? No 3 point line, no field of 64, no conference tournaments ? Just because it is great, doesn't mean it can't be greater. I love the idea of NCAA football expanded to more teams than 4. It CAN improve, just some people have a fear of change.

Conversely tho, not all changes in the history of sports have been good or positive ones.

Not to say this one would or wouldn't be, but I'm not sure changing something just for the sake of having a change is all that great either.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Conversely tho, not all changes in the history of sports have been good or positive ones.

Not to say this one would or wouldn't be, but I'm not sure changing something just for the sake of having a change is all that great either.

Agree. Change is never 100% good / bad, it is why it is called change. I am not sure it would make the product better or worse. Maybe let the NIT be the lab rat and try it out there first. If fans give positive feedback, try it in the NCAA, not as permanent but a 3 year span, then if positive feedback is the over whelming response, make the change permanent. I would be interested in at least trying it to see the result. it still gives Cinderella a chance at a great year (Elite 8), then we more than likely would have the best teams playing for the title. If Cinderella wins it, maybe they was not Cinderella after all, just a damn good team people missed on.

 

[Morgantown Card]

Not the entire tournament but once it reaches the Final Four. Then it becomes double elimination for the Final Four teams.
I'm not saying that I would be in favor of this. Being the traditionalist that I am, personally I would be against it. If the Final Four was double elimination it would help ensure that the best team would win the tournament more times than not. What would have a double elimination Final Four format have done for our 2015 team?

NO.

March Madness is perfect as it is. Leave it alone.

 

[EliteBlue]

If/when the NCAA collapses and it’s every conference for itself, I think the top conferences will put together their own tournament.

Here’s an interesting idea, the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and Big East champions make up the Final Four every year and play for the national championship.

Pretty much every champion for the last several years has come out one of those conferences.

With a Final Four like that, you could have a best of five and the best team really would win it all every year.

The mid and low majors could have their own tournament. As a mid-major alum, I think that would be fun. It would be cool to go into the tournament as a WKU or Murray or Morehead fan with the actual idea of winning a title and it actually be achievable.

I’ve always advocated for a top 3 or 4 from each conference to get in and no more than that as it adds meaning tk the regular season and “every game matters”.

But that would be harder to do now that the B10 and SEC are each basically 2 conferences combined into one.

 

[gojvc]

Conversely tho, not all changes in the history of sports have been good or positive ones.

Not to say this one would or wouldn't be, but I'm not sure changing something just for the sake of having a change is all that great either.

You could reseed after each weekend. That would provide more fairness for the higher seeded teams and it’s actually doable.

 

[The_Answer1313]

You could reseed after each weekend. That would provide more fairness for the higher seeded teams and it’s actually doable.

I think this would be a good thing for many reasons.

1) It would make getting higher seeds more important. Increase the importance of the 30 or so games being played before the tournament even begins.

2) It would make the allow for the better teams to avoid each other until later on in the tournament.

Then again a flipside to this is..........a lot of years when you have these first round upsets, they usually just send up losing the next round. In other words, I don't know if reseeding would have a "major" effect in many years.

 

[bucsrule8872]

The ACC says "WTF"! And exactly what B10 team has been a champion in the last 20 years?
Also that could lead to something like what happened in 1974 when the clear 2 best teams in the country were both in the same conference (NC St & Maryland), and so one of the 2 wasn't going to make the tournament. I think something like the BCS with 8 or 12, where the P5 each get an auto qualifier would be better.

But back to the OP, yeah because the NCAA-T is a OAD tournament, the best team each year more often than not does NOT win it. It's what team gets hot at the right time out of the dozen or so capable of winning 5-6 in a row.
So somehow implementing at some point (maybe not the first round or two) double elimination or best 2 of 3, I think would be good. Much better than expanding the tournament field!!!

This is assuming the ACC is dead and the best of the member teams are absorbed into other leagues.

Sorry, I should have been more clear.

And the Big Ten sucks in basketball. Thanks for clarifying that one. LOL!

 

[UKWildcats1987]

You could reseed after each weekend. That would provide more fairness for the higher seeded teams and it’s actually doable.

NFL does this after first round.

Not sure why ncaa tournament can't do the same.

 

[bucsrule8872]

NFL does this after first round.

Not sure why ncaa tournament can't do the same.

Because you couldn’t fill out your bracket before the tourney. That’s one of the best parts of the tourney for the majority of the people out there.

 

[JonathanW]

Because you couldn’t fill out your bracket before the tourney. That’s one of the best parts of the tourney for the majority of the people out there.

For years, at an old job, we had a large (200 person) NCAA-T pool that was started and ran by Statisticians. And in that pool you would only pick games one weekend at a time. It actually kept the interest throughout.

 

[kyboy1998]

Exactly. I think we win in 1984 and 2015.

We’d have also won in 97 and the heavy lifting was done prior to the final four in 11 and 14.