And just to play it out, based on the actual results last year (adjusting for H/A)
THURSDAY
#11 Washington d. #6 Northwestern
#7 USC d. #10 Penn State
#8 Iowa d. #9 Nebraska
FRIDAY
#1 Oregon d. #8 Iowa
#2 Indiana d. #7 USC
#3 Ohio State d. #11 Washington
#4 Rutgers d. #5 Minnesota
SATURDAY
#1 Oregon d. #4 Rutgers
#2 Indiana d. #3 Ohio State
SUNDAY
#1 Oregon d. #2 Indiana
So, Oregon still gets the bid, but those games, with actual stakes, is so much better than the actual meaningless conference tournaments
I really like this idea but I have a question. Before I get to my question, here is why I like this:
One thing about BB is that, as an Ohio State fan, I've seen my team pretty much everywhere on the map.
@betarhoalphadelta sometimes points out that I really struggle to understand the motives of say Purdue fans in Football because for my entire Ohio State football fandom, Ohio State has been at or near the top almost every year. Basketball is different. I've seen my team as the #1 seed in the BTT and as a NCAA bubble team needing a run and I've seen them as the last seed in the BTT (11 back when we had 11 teams). I don't have to try to figure out what other fanbases think because you name it, my team has been there.
When my team has been an easy NCAA lock, the BTT always feels like an exhibition. I want my team to avoid a bad loss so as not to diminish seeding in the NCAA and it is fun to win but I care a lot more about getting out of it with no injuries.
When my team is at the bottom (needing to win the BTT to get in to the NCAA) I kinda keep track of it but I know that realistically the worst team in the BTT isn't going to make it to the NCAA. Basically, I'll start getting excited if they get to the semi-finals (or at least the quarter-finals).
When my team is a bubble team, that is when the BTT is the most interesting to me. I'm talking about a situation where Ohio State needs a difficult but achievable two or three wins. Maybe Ohio State needs three wins and those break down as:
- A game that they should win, and
- A roughly toss-up game, an
- One upset.
That is exciting. It isn't like when you are the #11 seed in an 11-team tournament and you need five upsets in five days. We all know that the chances of that are slim an none. When you need the three games I laid out above, you probably have something like a 25% chance of getting it. That is enough to be excited about.
Looking at the above, what they need:
- #11 Washington needs four upsets in four days. Probably not happening but at least they don't have to play Purdue. It isn't altogether impossible.
- #7-10 (USC, IA, UNL, PSU) need to win a toss-up then three upsets. Unlikely, not impossible.
- #4-5 (MN, RU) need to win a toss-up then two minor upsets.
- #1-3 (Ore, IU, tOSU) need to win a game they should then two toss-ups. Exciting, possible.
Now my question:
What would you do about bid thieves?
One bid leagues are easy because they get one bid no matter what but what about a league with one team good enough to get in as an at-large and then a bunch of bad teams. What if the one good team gets upset?
