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With conference expansion swelling the ACC to 15 teams, the conference either had to pick a new tournament format or kick the bottom three teams out.
[See the full post at: New ACC Tournament Format]If a team is not in before the ACCT the only way to insure a bid is to win it all. That obviously is very difficult/next to impossible for the bottom teams, pretty damn difficult for the mid tier teams and only of impact in potential seeding for the top 4 teams. Agreed a lot of the character of the ACCT died once more teams than the tourney winner were incited. Even so for a college basketball fan the concentration of so many games in such a short period of time is appealing. As to like/dislike this format given the size of the current ACC I really don’t care. Lots of problems with any format in my opinion and like you I don’t see a better format. What this does is put the emphasis on winning during the season over teams with decent RPI numbers (and a few “signature wins”).
If a team is not in before the ACCT the only way to insure a bid is to win it all.
Herb proved that this wasn’t true a decade ago.
You miss my point. The only way to INSURE a bid for a team that does not have one prior to the ACCT is to win all. Winning through Saturday probably earns a bid but that is not guaranteed. Winning on Saturday PROBABLY garners a bid but it is not cast in stone.
The format is about the best it could be for a 15 team conf. The bottom six get a chance at a Tourney win or two. The middle teams, who might be on the bubble, get an easier game and then one that means something for the all important top 50 or top 25 win list.
The question is often pondered, is it an advantage on Friday to have played one warm up game, or is the advantage to the fresh team. We know some teams start their first game cold.
One thing is clear, when it comes to a 3rd game against a 2nd, or a 4th game against a 3rd, the fresher team has a definite advantage.We have different definitions of “sure”. The selection process is well-known and easily predicted. The only suspense on Sunday night is over the last few at-large bids (and of course seeding).
If I am a top four seed I want as few games as possible. You’ve got other things on your mind, and you don’t want to tire out/be exposed to injury before the Big Dance.
The only thing you need to know about the upcoming ACCT’s new 15-team format is GENERAL ADMISSION seating for Wednesday and Thursday. This is a clear admission that ACC officials see a continued decline in fan interest and will be desperate to sell tickets. Adding an extra day to the tourney will only make things worse, and will hasten the tourney’s move northward.
Walk-up ticket sales in NYC would certainly surpass the numbers in Greensboro, especially with the continuing decline of nearby Wake Forest and NC State. Again this season, as has been the case nearly every season for the past two decades, neither of these teams has a snowball’s chance of going to the post-season, so there goes a large chunk of local fan interest. As much as Duke and UNC have carried the ACC in the past two decades, I don’t think they can do it alone anymore with the new teams and the lure of the NYC dollar. Lord knows I hate NYC and the new ACC/Big East, but the reality is that teams like Wake and State are being swallowed up by this new league.
For next year’s ACCT, I’d vote to get rid of the opening round altogether, and move the ACC Championship back to Saturday night, which would give all the NCAAT-bound ACC teams an important extra day’s rest. This expanded league is enough of a grind as it is, and a longer ACCT will only make it tougher in March.
13OT Do you really think NYC will better support viewing the bottom 6 teams.
I think it will be the fans of those teams that will be the main attendees. I think it’s the opposite. I live in Greensboro and I am the type that would walk up to see NCSU on Wednesday or Thursday. Fans buying book tickets are those that want to see the top teams, but the GA format lets fans of the bottom team attend with out forking out big bucks for the whole weekend. So I go see NCSU on Thursday and if we win, I pick up a side of the road ticket for Friday and if we win…..But, who knows, it’s all about TV money isn’t it?
But, who knows, it’s all about TV money isn’t it?
Good point and it especially applies to the Wed games. What else is ESPN going to broadcast that would get more viewers?
Here’s the format I would have used:
– Give the #1 seed a bye until Friday
– On Wed #2-#4 play #13-#15 with winners getting Thursday off.
– On Thurs, #5-#12 play.
– Quarters thru Finals stay the same.I’ll bet that my format would get more viewers on Wed than the format chosen.
Good thing it isn’t up to me…
I would just drop the bottom 7-8 teams and start the Tournament on Friday. NO PLAY-IN GAMES. Can’t finish in the top half of the conference? See you next year.
PPF’s plan is best for the 8-5 spot. Not wore out vs the top 4 (in days played).
VW’s plan also gives the lesser teams a bit of a break but not as much (4 days straight, vs 3 games in 4 days).
You could also take the current format and let the upper ranked team play at home Monday and Wed for the Wed Thursday games. Home team fans will fill the seats better than anything going. Then start the 8 team 3 day tourney with all fresh legs on Friday.
But the ACC does not care about fairness to the lesser teams.But it just seems like 6 of 1, 1/2 doz of the other. At least we don’t have the Les Robinson invitational to get invited to every year.
But the ACC does not care about fairness to the lesser teams.
At least they got that right. Tournament seeding isn’t about giving lower seeded teams a break but rather rewarding higher seeds with regard to opponent and scheduling (ie…rest).
That being said, I do like Va’s format as far as a happy medium between that aspect and having something interesting on all five days.
my format
I think you mean Coach K’s LRI mercy format.
Let me be the first person this year to say:
“Win one in the ACCT and then we’re in!”Man, is Wednesday ever going to full of televised abortions.
The interesting thing to me is how many layers it creates. For example, 9th gets you out of Wednesday. 7th is the minimum to ensure you play a Thursday foe that’s on short rest.
13OT is right about the ACCT moving north. Boeheim was pre-complaining about having to play in Greensboro last year. Sooner or later, it will happen as ticket sales here decline further.
The ACC was ruined long ago.
I read the article, then all the posts. And then I realized I don’t care.
If the Pack gets good enough to do some damage some day, then I’ll care about the format and the seedings. For now, it’s about ‘how long can we avoid losing?’
And then the NIT. Is it even televised anymore? If so, I can’t imagine why.
If a team isn’t IN before the ACCT, then it needs something significant to be sure of getting in. No matter how you look at it, a win against a team from the bottom half of the ACC on Thursday won’t count as anything significant. You need to beat one of the Top 4 seeds on Friday before a bubble team has accomplished anything worthy of discussion.
The ACC is dead. Kill the ACC tournament too. It does nothing for the league at this point, except maybe add some TV revenue.
I’d argue that a team that makes a deep run in the ACC tournament, but doesn’t win it is actually hurt by doing so (unless it gets them off the bubble). The winner at least gets to hang a banner and gets an emotional and confidence booster. The loser often is rewarded with tired legs on a tight turn around to the NCAA tournament, particularly with this “Last 4 in” strategy. Hello first round upset.
For the bubble team, there is a chance to get off. Really though, with the new look ACC and the merger of conferences, there should be enough bids to go around. Cancel the tournament, and go schedule some real teams non-conference. Take care of business and you’re in.
Clemson is this year’s example of poor scheduling. With the win last night, they should be trending towards the positive side of the bubble based on what they have accomplished in league play, and thus how they stack up nationally. Their schedule will keep them out though.
Maybe if there was no ACC tournament, no proverbial “get out of jail free” card, then the coaches would get motivated to play tough schedules. They couldn’t just hold out hope that maybe their team would get hot at just the right time and get in.
That’s one thing that I can say for Gott. I have no complaints with the scheduling strategy.
The other added benefit of no tournament is that the ACC regular season games would mean more. I would also argue we’d have a more legitimate champion. The conference season is long enough anyways at 18 games. Now they’d be 18 meaningful ones.
Totally agree with Ryebread.
What they ‘should’ do is kill the ACCT and play two additional regular season games. The odds of playing valuable games would increase for the teams that actually need to play valuable games. And just crown the leader in the standings as conference champion. But instead… we’ll get a (more) watered down version of something that used to be awesome.
The other added benefit of no tournament is that the ACC regular season games would mean more. I would also argue we’d have a more legitimate champion. The conference season is long enough anyways at 18 games. Now they’d be 18 meaningful ones.
I don’t think you can make that argument with an unbalanced schedule.
Why not split the conference in half, go 8 and 8 home and away, and let the winners from each division play a “championship”.
Alternatively, you could have a tourney for teams 8-15 only, winner gets NIT bid. LMAO.
In all seriousness, I would totally do that for my #9-15 ACC-leftovers tournament
Why not split the conference in half, go 8 and 8 home and away, and let the winners from each division play a “championship”.
I could get behind that, but I would want to split it up “old ACC” (including FSU) vs “new ACC/Big East” (VT and Miami onwards)
OLD | NEW
NC State | Virginia Tech
Duke | Boston College
Wake | Miami
Virginia | Syracuse
FSU | Pitt
Clemson | Notre Dame
Georgia Tech | Louisville
UNX | ?That even looks like a pretty balanced set of divisions, strength-wise (at least to a moron like me) Forgive the formatting
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