The Sun Belt is set to begin its conference tournament for college basketball on Tuesday. Six teams finished with the same record during the regular season so the bracket format is absolute mayhem.
There are seven rounds over seven days.
Although this kind of format is supposed to promote the best college basketball team in the conference, it does not account for a six-way tie. That is when things get crazy.
Sun Belt standings are dead even.
Troy University finished the regular season as the definitive conference champion at 12-6. No other team in the Sun Belt Conference won 12 games against Sun Belt opponents. The Trojans earned the top spot. That is for certain.
And then it gets messy.
Texas State, Marshall, South Alabama, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina and App State all finished the regular season at 11-7. All six teams won the same amount of games in conference play. They all won at least 19 games in total. South Alabama actually had the best overall record in the conference at 21-10.
But conference wins are the only thing that matters for the conference tournament.
Thus, there is a six-way tie for second place in the Sun Belt. That has major implications for the NCAA Tournament.
Barring a shocking and illogical decision by the selection committee, only one college basketball team is going to make March Madness out of the Sun Belt. Whichever team goes on to win the conference tournament will punch a ticket to the Big Dance. The other 13 teams will watch from home. Season over.
The college basketball conference tournament bracket is not fair.
The Sun Belt Conference recently changed its conference tournament bracket to boost the regular season champion’s odds of making the NCAA Tournament. It wants to get its best team into the mix.
There are seven rounds to the tournament. Teams that finish highest in the regular season standings will not have to play until the later rounds. The first- and second-place finishers automatically advance to the semifinals. Last-place finishers must play their way through a gauntlet.
The bracket format makes sense in principle. A sub-.500 team has a much harder chance of making March Madness than the best team in the league.
However, the bracket format becomes unfair when the regular season standings are so tight. This year is the perfect example.
Arkansas State and Marshall both finished the regular season at 11-7. The Thundering Herd has to win only two games to make the NCAA Tournament. The Red Wolves must win five.
This unusual Sun Belt bracket format also puts South Alabama and Texas State at a major disadvantage, having to win four games. App State and Coastal Carolina were the least impacted. They must win three.
Arkansas State was the biggest loser of this draw. The Red Wolves are the highest-rated team in KenPom but they must now win five games in five days to make March Madness. That’s wild.