Supposedly, there was a potential plan that got squashed somewhat by the Selection Committee to identify the top 16 teams and have a 5 day tournament in Atlanta (closed to the fans) to determine an NCAA champion.

I am glad that they didn’t do this for many reasons.  But here is the easiest.  Lets take a team like Houston.  Houston is ranked 22nd in the AP poll and 24th in the Coaches poll and was regular season co-champions of the American Conference.  This plan would have left the Cougars out of the tournament.  They did everything that they can to prove that they deserve a chance to play for the title, and yet, they would be watching this 5 day tournament from the TV.

Part of what makes the NCAA Tournament so great is because all the conference champions earn a chance to play for the overall title.  It would have been nice to have a champion – but this doesn’t feel like the way to do it.  It would have left out so many of the teams that make the tournament awesome.

Glad they had the sense not to do this.