Even if It One Day Hurts Arkansas, Current NCAA Tournament Model Has to Change

While Arkansas fans sat around waiting for their turn to see whether the Hogs can hold their own against Hawaii in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee offered up a few appetizers in Dayton to pass the time.

As the games played out Tuesday and Wednesday, one thing became abundantly clear. The field should probably go back to 64 teams without the weak money grab thrown in mid-week.

Sure, losing the four extra slots may keep Arkansas from getting into the field one day, but if desperate gimmick spots are how the Razorbacks are getting in, they didn't deserve it anyway.

It's simply not fair to the teams having to wait on their opponents. While everyone else knows who they are going to play on Sunday with at least a shade over four days to study and prepare for an opponent, some of these teams are waiting until almost midnight Tuesday to know who they are going to play Thursday.

That's not fair to their team nor their coaching staff as they lose 2.25 days of prep work. On top of that, they are taking on a team that had to shower and catch a plane from Dayton, Ohio to wherever they have been slotted and must scramble while in the air to start looking into an opponent they are going to face in less than 48 hours.

It just doesn't make for the same environment and situation as the rest of the field, so cut the "First Four" if at all possible in the name of an even playing field.

However, the NCAA isn't going to do that because that takes away money. Like it or not, Dayton comes out for those four games and networks pay to show it.

So, at the very least, get rid of the games between No. 16 seeds. Those are schools that earned their way into the NCAA Tournament, so they should get their guaranteed shot at experiencing the actual tournament.

No one wants to watch two bad teams play each other to presumably get served up for slaughter after being softened up by a game and a flight with short notice to prepare for a No. 1 seed. It's also disrespectful to the coaches and players of the No.1 seed team to have worked hard to earn that spot and then spend three or four days waiting to find out who they are even playing.

Those teams deserve every opportunity to avoid becoming the second No. 1 seed to go down on opening day.

No, if those play-in games have to exist, make them true play-in games. No more teams which already earned a spot.

This should feature eight programs trying to prove the doubters wrong about whether they deserve to be in like Miami of Ohio and Texas did. Every No. 11 seed should be decided in Dayton.

People watched Texas take on Will Wade's Wolfpack and Miami of Ohio take down SMU. There's interest and intrigue there, unlike with the No. 16 seeds.

South Florida vs. Oklahoma and Virginia Commonwealth vs. Auburn would have drawn eyes also.

Make it the last teams to claw their way in as an at-large which have to face all the disadvantages of mid-week flights and short prep time. They will deal with it because just a few minutes ago they weren't even really in the tournament because they didn't prove enough in their regular season.

This might even help the Hogs one year. If there is a program that might get slighted but have the heart and fan support to fight into the field and go on a mini run against the odds, it's the Razorbacks.

Either way, something needs to change. The 16 seed games have to go and expanding the field isn't an option.

The field is already watered down and it's a bit of a pain picking that many games. It would be not only asanine, but highly inconvenient to add another round for expansion.

Either go back to 64 or make the "First Four" all about finding the final at-large teams to fill those No. 11 seeds and be done with it.

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