Conference tournaments in college basketball are a waste

Do you ever see something that takes place annually that serves no
purpose at all?

I could make a point and put Hallmark holidays like Valentine’s Day
on the list. Though I have been married to my wife for 15 years, I tell
her “I love you” every day. I don’t need a special day to do that gesture.
Anyhow, I’ll keep my lead to sports.

By my own admission, I do not follow college basketball closely like
I do football. I have not filled out an NCAA Tournament bracket in at
least five years. Though I watch the NCAA Tournament, I have found
myself enjoying it more since opting not to fill out a bracket. With the
first round upsets that take place, I would have been better off throwing
it into the BBQ to start the flame.

Conference tournaments in college basketball are held at the end of the
regular season to determine a conference tournament champion. It is
usually held in four rounds, but can vary, depending on the conference.
All Division I Conferences hold a conference tournament with the
winners of each tournament getting an automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament.

It is that time of the year, except I’m doing myself a favor and not
watching because I think conference tournaments are a farce and a
waste of time. For openers, it is a gateway to denying teams that are
worthy of making the NCAA Tournament just because a mediocre
team that would have otherwise had a resume for the NIT (National
Invitational Tournament) suddenly goes on a 3-4 game winning streak.
That’s akin to a student that does C work in class all semester but gets
an A just because he aces the final exam.

The stock answer people give as to why conference tournaments take
place is money. While there is no question the television networks make
money during this time and it cranks out money for the schools but are
fans really interested? Attendance figures would suggest they are not
because turn on the TV and at least half the arena is empty if not more.
These games have attendance similar your low tier college football bowl
games that are pitting two 6-6 teams.

The conference tournaments might make financial sense but that doesn’t
make it practical.

Most college basketball teams play about 30 games during the regular
season, plus or minus a few. The teams will also play 18 conference
games, plus or minus a few. Last season, Middle Tennessee State got
royally screwed by this nonsense. The Blue Raiders won the Conference
USA regular season title with a 16-2 record only to lose to a Southern
Mississippi team in the conference tournament that went 7-11. As a
result, Middle Tennessee State was shut out from going to the NCAA
Tournament and relegated to the NIT.

Last time I checked, a team’s resume is a body of work over a period of
time, not one game. The conference tournament format suggests otherwise
and it is a complete damn joke.

The conference tournaments are also a demonstration of hypocrisy in that
the powers-that-be claims to be all about the student-athlete in one breath
but demonstrates the opposite. The conference tournaments do nothing
but add more wear and tear, especially the Power 5 conferences like the Pac
12, Big 12, Big 10, SEC and ACC because those leagues are overgrown.
That means a low seeded team that unexpectedly gets hot has to play five
games in a 120 hour span.

It makes no sense because teams do not play on back-to-back days during
the regular season. Even in the NBA scheduling back-to-back games have
been reduced which makes three games in three nights a no go.

As much as I think postseason formats are watered down worse than a flat
Budweiser at every level of sport, I say put conference tournaments and
the NIT out to pasture and expand the NCAA to 96 teams.

In the meantime, I loathe conference tournaments. They have outlived their
usefulness. Wake me up when the NCAA Tournament begins.