With the expansion of the league to 16 basketball teams, the tournament now fields twelve of the sixteen schools, because the arena (Madison Square Garden) can only hold four games per day (the top four seeds get first-round buys). Well, I feel that that is not good enough. Take the whole week, and in doing so, show up the NCAA tournament that follows. My idea...
Bring all the schools to the table, all sixteen of them, seeded (yep, you've got it) one through sixteen. On Monday, 1 plays 16, 8 plays 9, 5 plays 12, and 4 plays 13. On Tuesday, 3 plays 14, 6 plays 11, 7 plays 10, and 2 plays 15. On Wednesday, a media day, a day for the top conference in the country to publicize the fact that they've got a sixteen-team tournament going, possibly on par with the Sweet Sixteen of the coming NCAA (which may also exhibit four or five teams of the ongoing conference tourney), and surely more significant and competitive than the NIT. On Thursday, finally a second round, 4 games, (likely) 1/8, 2/7, 3/6, and 4/5. Friday night, semifinals, 1/4 and 2/3. And into the weekend, Saturday or Sunday night (the night the NCAA bids are determined), hold the championship. Sellout crowds, record viewers.
With the tournament that I have proposed above, the sports reporters will be discussing two titles come the end of the year, the NCAA champion and the Big East champion, and the lore will begin on whether or not a team could ever win both.
Labels: syracuse
