Chuck Landon: C-USA is making good changes to hoops tourney
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"They're looking to maybe get all 14 teams in the Conference USA Tournament," said Marshall coach Danny D'Antoni, referring to a decision made during the league's spring meets that were held recently in Destin, Florida.
"The way they would do that is take the bottom quandrant and they would play each other to get to the quarter-finals and, then, all go to the tournament."
That means the two schools occupying the cellar in the Conference USA standings wouldn't have to stay home. That wasn't the case in 2018. Both Rice (7-24 overall and 4-14 C-USA) and Charlotte (6-23 overall and 2-16 C-USA) weren't permitted to participate in the tournament.
I am not in favor of that premise. If a school is a member of a league, it should be allowed to participate in the conference tournament. Anything less is treating those members as second-class citizens.
Come one, come all.
That's what I say.
And, now, that's what C-USA is saying, too.
"On a Monday, they will come and play each other and that will determine the other two (for the quarter-finals)," explained D'Antoni. "Then, you take the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds all the way to the semi-finals before they even play."
The Monday game would be reminiscent of the NCAA Tournament's play-in games.
"Yeah, basically," said D'Antoni.
But including all 14 schools is a bit like playing dominoes. The numbers all have to fall in place. Since Conference USA is opening the door for the No. 13 and No. 14 seeded schools to participate, it creates a domino effect for the No. 1 and No. 2 seeded schools.
As a result, the two top-seeded schools each receive a double-bye into the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament.
"Since the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds get a double-bye into the semis," explained D'Antoni, "the fan bases would know that they're going to be in it. They won't get knocked out early."
That could lead to better attendance for the C-USA Tournament, which was a huge problem last season in expensive, faraway Frisco.