![]() All rights reserved.2023 BIG TEN MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information / Your California Privacy Rights are applicable to you. ^ Back to Top ^ © 2023 ESPN Internet Ventures. My answer if a highly ranked team missed its conference tournament for suspicious reasons? That's easy. Picking and choosing who and when to play doesn't add to the "fairness factor" in my book. ![]() The whole idea has been to make it as fair as possible. While it would be incredibly unfortunate for any team to lose a star player, the same applies to high ankle sprains or academic ineligibility. The NCAA has all but said that any teams hit with COVID-19 can isolate the individuals and play on. No automatic bid next year." Or, to really get their attention, "Play a conference tourney without your best teams in the field? OK. In other words, "You want to keep your league favorite home to sneak in an additional team? Fine. ![]() It should be made clear, in the absence of compelling and confirmed medical circumstances, that any conferences or schools manipulating the auto-bid system do so at their own risk. I would have gone a good bit further (privately, if need be). 26 deadline to make clear how their respective champions would be determined. The men's basketball committee reminded conferences last week of the Feb. The NCAA has basically put this year's 31 automatic qualifying conferences on the honor system. ![]() A madness, it should be noted, which is conference tournament-only for about 80% of Division I teams. We've had a season, with more competitive integrity than anyone had a right to expect, and March Madness is upon us. But that trial took place 3,270 games ago, and the verdict is in. 25 whether our entire enterprise has been worth the risk. To be clear, I've questioned every day since Nov. Many of the same schools that were willing to head to the airport on a moment's notice in November and December - because those games were so important - are suddenly overcome with COVID-19 considerations? Give me a break. In particular, there are continued rumblings that certain schools with an NCAA bid or seed already in the bag would opt out as opposed to putting their Indianapolis availability at risk.įor anyone who cares to listen, I'm calling complete and total B.S. Instead, we are distracted by a lingering debate about the value of conference tournaments. That alone should be cause for celebration throughout the sport. The first full day of the NCAA tournament is exactly one month away. Follow this link for the complete 2021 NCAA tournament schedule. The 2021 NCAA tournament will begin with the First Four on Thursday, March 18, followed by the First Round beginning Friday, March 19. ESPN's March Madness Bubble Watch (ESPN+) is also up to date through Thursday's contests and will be continuously updated to account for key results through March 14. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserīracketology: Updated NCAA tournament bracket and a word about conference tournamentsĮSPN's NCAA tournament Bracketology has been updated through games of Thursday, Feb.
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