My Crazy Tournament Expansion/Reform Idea

64 teams was perfect. 68 is a fine compromise. Most fans do not want tournament expansion but fans aren't in charge of college basketball so all this expansion talk makes the idea seem inevitable. However, I don't want to see more games between two mediocre teams.

So what's my crazy, far-fetched proposal? Make all the at-larges participate in a play-in draft. Like conference tournament winners, you should win your way into the bracket.

First, set aside the conference tourney champions (there will be 32 once the Pac-12 returns). 

The top 64 at-large teams would be determined by WAB ranking. A team must also have a record at or above .500. Using a ranking system leaves the committee out of the selection process. 

The top 32 teams form Group A and would get to host their play-in game. We saw during the CFP that fans will happily flock to home games with meaning.

In a new made-for-tv selection draft, the top-ranked Group A team would get to choose any opponent from Group B (the other 32 at-larges). Then the 2nd-ranked Group A team would choose its opponent from the remaining teams and so on.

Imagine the endless debate we could have. Does a school simply pick the worst ranked school left on the board? Would an East Coast school pick a West Coast school to force them to fly cross country on short notice? Would a school pick their arch rival just because? 

For illustrative purposes, these were the top 64 at-larges ranked by NCAA WAB this year with a record at or above .500. Auburn would get the first pick of any of the teams on the right-hand side. With the last pick in the draft, Arkansas gets a home game against the last team remaining.

After the play-in games, the committee would create a 64-team bracket with the 32 play-in winners and the 32 conference auto-bids. Then, proceed with the tournament like we always do.

For the 32 play-in teams that do not win, they would be free to play in any of the other postseason tournaments like the NIT or the new CB Crown. They can also opt-out at this point if they so choose.

With this proposal, expansion is technically achieved, it increases the importance of conference championships, makes the play-in round must-watch TV and potentially improves the field for the secondary tournaments.