Drop the last two teams and make it an 8 team tourney...

Yup, I like that idea, too. The ACC has two rounds of byes (see the graphic in the link): www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index....t_started_today.html

Yeah....maybe. The tournament would lose 2 days of revenue, so I don't think it'll happen.

I'm not a fan of the conference tourneys anyway. For small conferences, they're unfair. Congrats on winning the Patriot League, but that 3 seed who was barely over .500 who got lucky and beat you is going to the tournament instead of you.

For big conferences, the ONLY thing they accomplish is muddying the bubble watching.

It's all about the money. If they stopped holding them, I wouldn't miss them. Add an additional week to the non-conference season instead.

I agree. I'm old enough to recall the BIG 8 preseason tourney in Municipal Auditorium in KC. (I cannot recall exactly, but I don't think the pre season tourney ever moved to Kemper.)

I whole-heartedly agree on the "Patriot League" scenario. I always feel badly -- is that how we got UC Davis last year? They won the Big West tourney?--for the small conferences who send a not great, but hot tourney team to the Dance and the real conf champ goes home because their stats don't often qualify them for an "at large" spot.

AND mostly, I worry about someone getting hurt, badly. All about the money.

SAD!

You’ve nailed the tourney issue for me..that the regular season means zip and the tourney champ means everything for the NCAA. As you noted, not as bad in the major conferences but truly unfair for the smaller conferences who are only getting the one team in. Sends the wrong message. Guess it’s all about the $$ yet again. Otherwise the tourneys might not be around as they, in my opinion, accomplish nothing important. The regular season champ should be the auto bid and, if someone else wins the conference tourney, they get additional consideration for the big one...nothing more.