NCAA should give more teams a chance

Earlier this month, Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said that Kentucky isn’t what it used to be, the aura surrounding the program is gone and the prospect of playing in Rupp Arena isn’t all that intimidating anymore. It’s hard to argue with him.

The Wildcats are not even ranked in the current Associated Press poll and are second in SEC Eastern Division standings. Right now, they are just another team fighting to make the NCAA Tournament.

In college basketball’s new landscape, Kentucky finds itself in an unsavory position. Like a bully who used to dominate the playground, in recent years Kentucky has watched the pint-size kids they used to pick on suddenly become bigger, stronger and more equipped to assert themselves.

But Kentucky is not alone. Other storied programs are also being challenged for supremacy or have already surrendered in the fight. Indiana is currently in the process of rebuilding. Arkansas is still recovering after falling on hard times. Georgetown hasn’t really come close to matching the success it achieved two decades ago.

At the same time these established powers have withered, teams like Gonzaga and Vanderbilt have climbed the ranks.
Suddenly, there are a lot of pretty good basketball teams out there. But are there many great ones?

Well, not exactly. Because of scholarship reductions and underclassmen fleeing for the professional ranks, parity has been achieved in college basketball. The days of seeing Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler playing alongside each other are virtually over. The talent pool is now more spread out.

So it now comes as no surprise when a mid-major school like Oral Roberts struts into Allen Fieldhouse and knocks off Kansas — not after George Mason takes down Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut to make it to the Final Four.
These “shocking” events are becoming more regular. They are no longer isolated.

Yet the NCAA Tournament’s field is virtually the same as it it was in 1985. Sixty-five teams instead of 64 now get a shot to play for a national championship.

Last year, the National Association of Basketball Coaches proposed that the number invited should double. But the same NCAA that allows so many undeserving programs to qualify for college football’s ill-conceived postseason balked at the suggestion.

In this case, like so many others, the NCAA dropped the ball. An expanded tournament would remove the possibility that a team with legitimate credentials could be left without an invitation because the dancehall has already achieved maximum occupancy.

Fans have seen this happen too many times before and each year the number of teams on the bubble seems to get bigger. It’s better to be inclusive than exclusive when the circumstances warrant it. And in this case, they do.

After all, even in an expanded tournament, college basketball’s version of natural selection has to take place. That’s the beauty of a tournament.

It gives the old kings of the playground an opportunity to asset their authority while giving the new kids on the block a chance to stake their claim as well. And in this new era of parity that’s what every team wants — a chance.

Image Source: espn.com.