March Madness: At-large bids should be determined before Conference tourneys

March Madness and its at-large bids should be determined before Conference tournament play, to even out the playing field.

March Madness is the most celebrated event in all of sports, college or pro. Period. As monumental as the Olympics are or the hype around the Super Bowl, nothing compares to the NCAA tournament — especially the first-round games.

What makes those contests so magical is the David versus Goliath type matchups, where the underdog has a shot at taking down the blue bloods of the College basketball world. On a neutral court, with a winner takes all format. However, there’s a substantial bias towards Power 5 NCAA College basketball schools, often leaving Mid-Majors on the outside looking in when Selection Sunday rolls around.

One reason for Mid-Majors’ omission from the field of 68 is the lack of opportunities during the season. Big-name schools will buy wins during their non-conference portion of their schedule, then rely on the high RPI of their conference foes to carry them into the NCAA tournament — buying their way into the NCAA tournament.

Take the 2018 Nebraska Cornhuskers for example.

This very system allows mediocre teams to steal bids from the more deserving (smaller) schools, especially when Conference tournament play comes around. If you play in the ACC or the Big 12, you can pick up one or two more wins, generally, against top 1-50 RPI schools, sweetening that March Madness resume. On the surface, that seems fair and just, but is it really? No, not at all.

Meanwhile, smaller schools with loads of talent, attempt to get home and home games scheduled against big-named schools, where their phone calls are often sent straight to voicemail — never to be returned with a response. Dan Muller, head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds expressed his frustrations following his team’s NCAA tournament snub last season.

The 2017 Illinois State Redbirds basketball team is a prime example of getting the shaft due to this current system. The Redbirds lost a few non-conference games early in their season (due to injuries to key players, really) but went 17-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play (27-6 overall), tying with the nationally ranked Wichita State Shockers for the conference crown — they were also the only team to beat the Shox in MVC.

However, the Redbirds fell flat in the MVC finals and were blown out by the Shockers. One lousy game cost them a bid, and it should not have. Instead, subpar Power 5 schools, such as Kansas State and Wake Forest undeservedly snagged their bid.

If the at-large field were determined before Conference tournament play, Illinois State would have been a shoe-in for March Madness, instead of the final team on the outside looking in. It’s time for a change and the time is now.

However, the NCAA continues to turn a blind eye, looking the other way — since they are making loads and loads of cash off of the status quo.

Next: Loyola earns first NCAA Tournament bid since 1985

We need more people like the Mark Adams and Dan Mullers of the world to speak out for the Mid-Major, with efforts in generating a level playing field for all NCAA College basketball teams. March Madness deserves teams like the 2017 Illinois State’s and the many who were overlooked before their time. At-large bids need to be locked up before NCAA tournament play starts and it needed to be done yesterday.