More Mid-Major Misery

Last week, the Big 14 announced they were moving to a 20-game league schedule beginning next season. The ACC had announced something similar awhile back. It seems likely, the Pac-12 and SEC will follow suit (though, the SEC has been bullheaded about adding a 9th league game in footsie).

It makes sense from the league standpoint. Better fan experience, more games against a natural rival like Rutgers for Wisconsin and so forth. The real reason, goes well beyond that.

What more league games are going to give teams, is a better RPI. RPI? What buffoon still uses that metric? Well, the dopes that sit on the committee who pick teams for the tournament. It’s been reported in various spots that one Big 14 commissioner said off the record, the goal was to “take all at-large bids for Power 5” schools. It’s always about the money.

Mid-majors already struggle to schedule Power 5 teams and this will make it virtually impossible for say, a Illinois State to get a game against a Big 14 or Big XII-II team. A loss to Illinois State? Doesn’t matter how good they are in say KenPom, if that RPI is bad, you might as well lose in conference to a bottom feeder. At least that team will have an inflated RPI and you can chalk it up to the grind and vagaries of league play (Full disclosure: I’m far too guilty of that excuse). It also obviously leaves less games to have to be scheduled. Less dates on the calendar leaves less chances to show the little guys belong at the “big boy” table.

You can better your bottom dollar, the Big XII-II will reopen talk of expansion. The Big East has been rumored for awhile now to be doing the same in hopes of playing 20 league games.

At the end of the day, the mid-majors Brian is going through, really will find it impossible to make the dance without winning their league tournaments. It also means more mediocre 8th and 9th place league teams dancing. A 12-5 upset of Arkansas over Indiana doesn’t seem that exciting but that’s where we’re headed. And it sucks.