3 Things the NCAA Tournament can Easily Fix

The NCAA Tournament is a treasure that we must preserve at all costs. The opening weekend is an adrenaline rush. It’s four days of dopamine with do-or-die basketball happening seemingly 24-7.

Now that the first four-day rush has ended, we can use the benefit of hindsight to admit it’s imperfect. Conference commissioners will tell you it’s flawed in the number of teams in the field. I’m not here to argue for or against NCAA Tournament expansion. I’m here to provide three simple solutions to get the NCAA Tournament one step closer to basketball singularity.

Ditch the Basketball

Today is Steven Peake‘s birthday. For the first time in a long time, he’s celebrating with a Kentucky NCAA Tournament win. Hopefully, it’s enough to help him forget about the basketball for a few moments. As I’ve told him privately, the Wilson Evo NXT is his “rosebud.”

College basketball does not use a uniform basketball. The one used in the NCAA Tournament is unlike any other used in the sport. It’s so different, that Koby Brea admitted, “I don’t dwell on it too much, but I will say, these are a little more bouncy, so you gotta change the way you shoot a little bit.”

One of the greatest shooters in all of college basketball has to change his shot because of the equipment. It makes no sense.

To explain the science behind it all, Peake was joined by a shooting coach and former Wofford Terrier who is also on the crusade to get the Wilson Evo NXT out of the NCAA Tournament.

Got thoughts? Take advantage of our KSR+ Introductory Offer and continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. $1 for a week.

No More NCAA Tournament After Dark

The NCAA Tournament elicits nostalgia, and nothing hits harder than Westwood One’s warp-around coverage. It takes me back to a warm spring of my childhood, listening to the am radio. The nostalgia hits for all of the wrong reasons when Jason Horowitz pulls you out of a game that you’re locked into, to take it to the featured game of the day that’s just tipping off.

It was not that long ago that CBS was the exclusive broadcaster of NCAA Tournament games. You could watch every in-market game without issue. In other windows, they might feature 5-10 minutes of one game on the West Coast, then bounce back to the South Region, all at the whimsy of a producer’s decision-making. In hindsight, it’s ludicrous.

Fortunately, that problem was eradicated by the partnership with Turner. We can watch every game in the NCAA Tournament, but only if you’re willing to stay up past midnight. It’s a sacrifice college basketball fans are willing to make for three days. The fourth is ridiculous.

Only three round of 32 games tipped off prior to 6 pm on Sunday. Arizona and Oregon did not tip off until 9:30 p.m. EST. Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater, the first of the NCAA Tournament, was at 9:17 p.m. on Sunday night. CBS needs to get off its high horse and give NCAA Tournament fans more options to watch all of the games, rather than, “stay up late.”

College coaches aren’t happy with the late start times either. Mick Cronin was frustrated after UCLA’s season ended after midnight at Rupp Arena.

A reporter asked, “At what point do you start looking forward rather than backward?” Cronin replied, “Right now, guys, it’s 12:40 a.m. and our season just ended. That’s it. You’re going to ask me about next year. Right now, my biggest concern is how bad the seats are on the Allegiant flight, on that terrible plane that we’re going on to fly home tomorrow.”

Stagger Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament Games

Playing two 68-team tournaments at the same time is going to create conflicts. Logistically, there’s no way around it. However, there has to be a better system than what we’re currently using.

Mark Pope’s men’s basketball team played on Friday. Kenny Brooks’ women’s basketball team played in Lexington on Friday. The two also played on Sunday. Why? Kentucky hosted the opening rounds of the women’s NCAA Tournament. They couldn’t just flip-flop the days? The powers that be were wise enough not to schedule the games at the same time, but it feels silly to force them to play just hours apart.