Bogus Conference Tournament Arrangements

[SuperHornet]

The Big Sky REALLY screwed the pooch this year with the way they organized the two hoops tournaments.

First, the bad that applies to BOTH tournaments. They allowed SEVEN teams in. This forces a crazy schedule that isn't a true bracket because of re-seeding after the first round. There should have been either SIX or EIGHT teams with NO re-seeding. When you have a true bracket, you only have to scout the two teams who can possibly face you in the next round for tweaks they've made since the last time you faced them. With re-seeding, you have to scout EVERYBODY. That's not only a waste of time, it allows for mistakes because you necessarily have to do a half-@$$ed job of it to cover EVERYBODY.

Second is the mess that happens by tying the tournament location to the home court of the regular season champion. No, I'm not talking about ultimate home court advantage here, though that IS an issue. I'm talking about league office logistics, which can't account for facilities usage. To wit: a scheduling conflict at North Dakota with the men's hockey playoffs, which will SERIOUSLY affect parking and possibly attendance at the women's tournament.

Solution: Eight seeds with a bye structure at a neutral site where BOTH tournaments are jointly held. That eliminates a weird schedule and prevents conflicts. It also provides conference staff with a known location so that they can liaise with facilities officials a whole year in advance. Heck, that common location can become a touchstone for fans to look forward to meeting up. The Big West has done that for years with Anaheim. The WCC is doing that right now with Lost Wages. The Big Sky can have the same, perhaps in Salt Lake or Seattle. A place with an arena large enough to support a major joint tournament with good parking, good hotel facilities, and a number of great restaurants to satisfy hungry tournament-goers after a session is over. For me, THAT is the ticket.

[Mvemjsunpx]

The Big Sky REALLY screwed the pooch this year with the way they organized the two hoops tournaments.

First, the bad that applies to BOTH tournaments. They allowed SEVEN teams in. This forces a crazy schedule that isn't a true bracket because of re-seeding after the first round. There should have been either SIX or EIGHT teams with NO re-seeding. When you have a true bracket, you only have to scout the two teams who can possibly face you in the next round for tweaks they've made since the last time you faced them. With re-seeding, you have to scout EVERYBODY. That's not only a waste of time, it allows for mistakes because you necessarily have to do a half-@$$ed job of it to cover EVERYBODY.

No, you don't. The 1-seed can only play the lowest remaining seed, so they can't play the #2 or the #3. And the other teams don't really have time for scouting semifinal games since there's no day off.

Besides, these are conference opponents who have all played each other a bazillion times anyway. There's not much scouting left to do.

[Wildcat Ryan]

The Big Sky REALLY screwed the pooch this year with the way they organized the two hoops tournaments.

First, the bad that applies to BOTH tournaments. They allowed SEVEN teams in. This forces a crazy schedule that isn't a true bracket because of re-seeding after the first round. There should have been either SIX or EIGHT teams with NO re-seeding. When you have a true bracket, you only have to scout the two teams who can possibly face you in the next round for tweaks they've made since the last time you faced them. With re-seeding, you have to scout EVERYBODY. That's not only a waste of time, it allows for mistakes because you necessarily have to do a half-@$$ed job of it to cover EVERYBODY.

Second is the mess that happens by tying the tournament location to the home court of the regular season champion. No, I'm not talking about ultimate home court advantage here, though that IS an issue. I'm talking about league office logistics, which can't account for facilities usage. To wit: a scheduling conflict at North Dakota with the men's hockey playoffs, which will SERIOUSLY affect parking and possibly attendance at the women's tournament.

Solution: Eight seeds with a bye structure at a neutral site where BOTH tournaments are jointly held. That eliminates a weird schedule and prevents conflicts. It also provides conference staff with a known location so that they can liaise with facilities officials a whole year in advance. Heck, that common location can become a touchstone for fans to look forward to meeting up. The Big West has done that for years with Anaheim. The WCC is doing that right now with Lost Wages. The Big Sky can have the same, perhaps in Salt Lake or Seattle. A place with an arena large enough to support a major joint tournament with good parking, good hotel facilities, and a number of great restaurants to satisfy hungry tournament-goers after a session is over. For me, THAT is the ticket.

A. I agree with 8 teams, but not all 11 soon to be 12, it gives the teams something to fight for and makes the conference chase a little more interesting when teams are fighting for a spot in the tourney.
B. I dont like bye's have all 8 play in the first round
C. The Big Sky is a one bid league so giving the #1 team home court is a way of giving thier best team a better chance at getting into the Dance
D. Big Sky fans dont travel for road Big Sky games, do you really expect a lot of Sac, Eastern and PSU fans to travel in numbers to Salt Lake or North Dakota, Weber, NAU, SUU and UNC fans to travel in numbers to Seattle? Yes I know that if it was a pre-determined site people would be able to plan ahead, but remember not every team in the Big Sky makes the tournament so you cant really plan ahead especially in years like this where you didnt know who was in till the last game, if every team got into the tournament then maybe.

[SuperHornet]

B. I dont like bye's have all 8 play in the first round.

I could live with that. I'm not really a fan of byes, either, but coaches seem to like them...IF they get them....

[Mvemjsunpx]

B. I dont like bye's have all 8 play in the first round

I hate this idea. That creates very little difference for the seeds from #2-#7, and creates no difference at all between #2 & #3.

You could do something like the NEC and Patriot League and just have a simple 8-team tourney with each individual game hosted by the highest seed playing. The travel costs would probably be too exorbitant for the Big Sky to even consider that, though (a team pulling an upset would have to make multiple trips for one tournament).

[SDHornet]

I like the 8 teams with bye's scenario floated in the main BSC hoops thread.

Only let in the top 8: This makes the race into the BSCT worth watching. I dunno about you but I was watching (at least the scores) for other games to see who is jockeying for what. That goes away if everyone is let in the tournament, let alone its clear that not everyone deserves to be in the tournament. The regular season is virtually meaningless if everyone got in.

Top seed gets home court advantage: If you win the regular season title you should get something. I think home court is a fine reward for doing so.

Top 2 seeds get byes: With the new scheduling at 12 teams, not every team will play one another (or will they?). This option rewards both the top seeds with an early by, something that I think is a good reward for finishing atop in the regular season.

I also think reseeding is fine. The top team should play the "worst" team remaining as a reward for entering the tournament as the top team.

With that said, how about a coordinated effort to lobby the BSC offices to push for this format?