Bracket creeps

Lest we forget, football isn’t the only sport with a scheduling agenda on the table at Destin.  The SEC is grappling with that for men’s basketball, as well.  John Calipari thinks the conference ought to pit its best teams against each other and let the conference’s lesser lights do the same against each other.  That would presumably maximize the schools’ RPIs.

Because, truth be told, that’s all college basketball is about these days.

“Is that what it’s about, who wins the league or the league tournament?” Calipari said. “Or is it about your seed in the NCAA Tournament? How many teams do we want in the NCAA Tournament? Do you want three or four, or do you want six or seven? If you want six or seven, this scheduling matters.”

I’m not saying he’s wrong about that.  I am saying that coaches are like anyone else; they’re going to advocate in their own interests.  And the reality is that making the tourney is everything in men’s basketball.  You can bitch as much as you want to about what the one-and-done rule has done to the sport, but it’s March Madness that’s devalued basketball’s regular season into nothing more than a playoff delivery system.  And with a big enough playoff, you’ll see football go down the same road.