One mid-major conference has an insane tournament set up that actually makes sense

As the calendar gets set to flip to March and the college basketball regular season winds down, that means conference tournaments are right around the corner. Most of them have similar formats, in which the bottom teams in the standings face off in the opening rounds before the top teams begin play in the later rounds.

In the SEC, for instance, seeds No. 9-16 play in the first round, while Nos. 5-8 await the winners of those games in the second round. The top four seeds do not begin tournament play until the quarterfinals. But while that does give the top teams in the conference a double-bye, it also sets up the potential for the top seed to face an eighth or ninth seed that has momentum from their previous win(s) and a game under their belt.

For a mid-major conference and likely one-bid league like the MAC, the top four seeds each have to play in the opening round of the tournament. Although the one-seed gets the eight-seed, the two-seed faces the seventh-seed and so forth, the opportunity is open in that quarterfinal round for an upset to take place and a bid thief to emerge once the tournament concludes.

One mid-major conference, though, has taken a different approach with its 14-team bracket. While nothing is guaranteed, it at least gives the top teams in the conference a better opportunity to reach the NCAA Tournament when all is said and done.

One mid-major conference has an insane tournament set up that actually makes sense

The Sun Belt Conference has a completely different format that increases the likelihood of its best teams reaching the Big Dance. Instead of the top four teams playing in the quarterfinals, only the third and fourth seeds take to the court in that round. The top two teams are off until the semifinals.

The one-seed will either face the four-seed or a team that has played multiple games while the second-seed will square off with the third-seed or a team seeded sixth or worse. Behold, the gauntlet:

Again, there are no guarantees once conference tournaments begin and it is a one-and-done game each day. However, as the Sun Belt bracket shows, leagues can still help tilt the odds slightly more towards the teams who earned it with strong regular season. Make the worst teams in the league play each other first while giving top seeds fewer opportunities to get upset, and you have a better chance of sending the best your conference has to offer to the NCAA Tournament. In other mid-major leagues like the MAC, the top seeds are immediately in action and face a tougher road to the Big Dance rather than being rewarded for their regular-season performance.

Teams should receive an advantage and have an easier path to the NCAA Tournament if they have proven themselves during the regular season. Still, there needs to be a way for other teams that may have fallen short to have that lone ast shot to give it their all as well. After all, Cinderella stories are what fans have come to enjoy this time of year.

The Sun Belt may do the best job of any league in the country with its bracket layout. It gives the bottom-dwellers a tougher road, but there's still a chance to go on a run while rewarding the top teams by giving them extra time off and only two games to punch their NCAA Tournament ticket.