(03-13-2017 04:38 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Outside of the power basketball conferences (ACC, B1G, Big 12, Big East, Pac-12 and SEC), here are the numbers of the at-large non-power conference/mid-major teams making the NCAA Tournament for the past five years:

2017: 4
2016: 6
2015: 7
2014: 10
2013: 11

A couple of points:

1. By this trend, I think these leagues are currently unfairly judged and critiqued by the committee.

2. From this trend, it is also clear that some type of separation is occurring in basketball, as well as football.

3. Finally, I think the Big East's additions of Butler, Creighton and Xavier took away three of the strongest mid-majors from respective conferences - thus lowering the overall strength of the mid-majors.

It is more than that - a huge bias towards "name" schools for the at-large

Last 3 years - 17 bids among 5 conferences. 10 of those bids went to 4 schools: Dayton (3), VCU (2), Cincy (3), Wichita (2)

That group also got 6 at-large bids in the prior two years (of the 21). I am counting Cincy's 2013 at-large out of the Big East, the only at-large from that conference that didn't move on to the NBE or ACC.