The biggest negative for the 2024 NCAA men's basketball field is something the selection committee couldn't control. It simply ran out of places before all worthy teams could be included this year.
Some will blame the bid stealers: NC State, Oregon, New Mexico, Duquesne and Florida Atlantic (the last one lost). Others will use this year's self-destructive bubble to advocate for a broader field. Count me in for a very modest and very careful expansion, if that ever happens.
But my biggest takeaways generally apply on a team-by-team level. For those who feel snubbed, let me offer a few suggestions.
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Oklahoma: Don't go 4-12 in Quadrant 1, or 2-12 against Quadrant 1 tournament teams.
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Seton Hall: Don't lose in the first round of the conference tournament with a NET in the 60s.
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State of Indiana: Try to be a bubble team in a year without five bargain thieves. I feel worse for you.
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Pittsburgh: The next bubble team to do so with a No. 343 non-conference schedule will be the first.
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De San Juan: Don't put the “Ziggy” on Villanova. The Wildcats collapse really hurt you.
It's sad to some extent that these teams missed out. Everyone is capable of winning games on the field this year, maybe even making it to the second weekend. But the same could be said at least for North Carolina, Oregon and New Mexico. The most important rule of Bracketology never changes: the best way for any bubble team to get in is to not be a bubble team.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised (not a lot, but not a little) by some of the committee's decisions:
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The Mountain West was appropriately demoted (in terms of standings) because the vast majority of their Quadrant 1 wins came in conference play. It is clearly understood that the individual net numbers were a bit inflated in an otherwise excellent conference.
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The Atlantic 10 had very good seeds for both its overall team (Dayton, 7) and its automatic qualifier (Duquesne, 11). For the league's seventh seed to earn an 11th seed in the Big Dance tells me that the league is on track to receive more offers in the future.
On the other hand, I grimaced a little at the following:
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Florida Atlantic was seeded No. 8 on reputation, not achievement. The Owls lost to Temple, folks, and those are the wrong Owls this season. FAU had too many losses for such a good seed.
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Boise State should have been in FAU's place. The committee should take a mulligan and make a direct exchange on that issue. My previous comments about the Mountain West don't apply to Boise State, which proved to be well above the caliber of the First Four both home and away.
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I can't help but wonder if BYU had a seed line removed to accommodate their no Sunday rule.
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I also wonder if the ACC had a more powerful internal lobby than the Big East. The latter had three legitimate bubble teams versus the ACC, but only Virginia broke through.
Planted too high: FAU, Michigan State
Sown too low: Boise State, South Carolina, Nevada
Finally, I started to get really nervous around 5 pm ET because my apparent annual mistake was going to be Oklahoma. But even with that, my bracket wouldn't have been 68 of 68. Virginia wouldn't have been my “thoughtful” choice to replace the Sooners.
Fortunately, on Thursday afternoon (or maybe even Tuesday night) none of this will matter. Me neither. See you next season!
