The Solar Belt Convention Event has an outrageous bracket

Everybody loves an underdog story in March. The NCAA Event has change into an establishment within the sports activities world due to the upsets annually. Followers of all completely different groups come collectively to look at a scrappy underdog nobody had heard of two weeks in the past take a Blue Blood right down to the wire.

These upsets assist put groups, and typically a complete convention, on the map. So you’ll be able to perceive why a mid-major convention may need to put a thumb on the dimensions somewhat to assist its greatest groups attain the Massive Dance.

The Solar Belt Convention introduced in August it could change the convention event format. In line with the press launch the modifications had been an effort to “prioritize the worth of the 18-game convention regular-season.” In real-world phrases that meant giving the groups that completed the common season with the perfect information a bye deep into the convention championship. This, in and of itself, isn’t uncommon. Loads of conferences enable their high groups a straight cross into the quarterfinals. However that’s the place the SBC made issues a bit extra fascinating.

As a substitute of going with a extra conventional 14-team bracket the place even the worst of groups would solely must get sizzling for a day or two earlier than having an opportunity at dealing with off in opposition to the convention’s greatest workforce, the Solar Belt has created an absolute gauntlet for groups. It seems to be extra like rising up via the ranks of Mortal Kombat than a basketball event.

The highest two seeds within the convention get a QUINTUPLE bye!

An 11-seed would wish to win seven video games in a row. Seven straight days of profitable basketball with out a break. The underside 4 groups could possibly be on a five-game win streak earlier than enjoying a very recent and rested high seed. That is Edge sending the final man over the ropes of the Royal Rumble simply to flip round to a Randy Orton RKO.

The factor is, that is completely genius.

Not solely is it only a ridiculous bracket positive to get everybody’s consideration, it’ll completely assist the convention on the subject of the NCAA Event.

Successful a convention common season championship is actually exhausting. Mid-Main groups must survive the early season matchups in opposition to a litany of Energy Convention opponents then flip round and battle daily inside their very own convention. The groups that win the common season titles in Mid-Majors are genuinely good groups. However in contrast to their extra well-known counterparts, meaning completely nothing. One dangerous evening within the convention event virtually definitely ends the season.

So doing what the Solar Belt has finished considerably improves the chances of probably the greatest groups really profitable the convention. Subsequently sending a convention’s greatest consultant to the NCAA Event.

Some could take a look at this transformation and see it as an answer with out a downside. How usually does the perfect workforce not win anyway? Effectively, it seems, fairly a bit. Final 12 months alone 11 groups outdoors of the Prime 2 within the common season convention rankings gained a convention event, with 5 of these groups ending with a file at or beneath .500 in convention. That’s quite a lot of upsets and quite a lot of conferences most likely aggravated at its NCAA Event illustration.

To additional drive residence the purpose, solely two of these 11 groups reached the spherical of 32 with the typical dropping margin of 21 factors within the spherical of 64. These aren’t enjoyable video games. Of the 5 groups that made the event with convention information at or beneath .500, one misplaced within the play-in spherical and didn’t see the spherical of 64. The remaining 4 had been blown out by a median of 27 factors.

School basketball tournaments are nonetheless unpredictable and any workforce on any given evening… blah blah blah.

That is giving followers precisely what they need. Most school basketball followers love seeing upsets within the NCAA Event. However discovering out that 17-18 Montana State knocked off Montana to win the Massive Sky championship is, nicely, principally a footnote.

Actually, the perfect case situation is a type of 4 backside groups within the Solar Belt really does go on a run. The faculty basketball world would like to focus in on the Solar Belt for a few days in early March as they study Coastal Carolina stunning the convention and reaching the quarterfinals. However for the Solar Belt’s sake, they might a lot relatively see an really good workforce win the automated bid.