The NCAA Released Its Plan If A Team Can't Play In The NCAA Tournament - We Could See Forfeits And Absolute Mayhem
This felt like what everyone was waiting for. What the hell happens if a team can't play in the NCAA Tournament? Well, we finally have our answers. Stick with me because there are a ton of details here so I'll try to spell it out as simple as possible. First things first, 48 hours after Selection Sunday, the field is 'finalized.'
There are separate policies for when a team is forced to withdraw: one for before the announcement of the championship field and one for after the release of the bracket. Replacement teams will only be introduced into the championship within 48 hours after the announcement of the field, and at no time thereafter.
So we know on Sunday the original 68 teams. More importantly, seeding won't change. What does that mean? If a team has to bail, they will be replaced on the same seed line.
- Once the bracket is finalized and released, teams will not be reseeded, nor will the bracket change.
That can create MAYHEM right off the bat. What happens if Gonzaga can't play? Again, all hypothetical here, but are we really going to put one of the first four teams out as the 1 seed? That doesn't seem … right? Why would a team who in theory misses the NCAA Tournament get the chance to play a 16 seed and then an 8/9 seed. I'm not smart enough to come up to a solution on my own, but with everyone going to Indiana for the Tournament, can't you quickly reseed that region? You don't have to do the entire bracket, but just the one region. The only bracket principle you need to worry about is making sure they aren't playing a conference team in the first round.
Speaking of those first four teams:
i. The last four teams not selected as at-large teams for the original field shall be designated as replacement teams, if they choose to be considered as such. ii. The four replacement teams will be ranked 1-4. The first team in the ranking will be the first replacement team, the second-ranked team will be the second replacement team, etc. iii. The replacement team shall be placed in the bracket in the position left vacant by the withdrawing team. iv. Since all four replacement teams would have been seeded as a First Four team had they initially been selected as an at-large team, it is assured that their first-round opponent will not be put at a competitive disadvantage because the replacement team would be either a comparable or lower-seeded team.
This part at least makes sense to me. Ranking those teams 1-4 and giving them the first at-large opportunity here is the smart thing to do. But again, the competitive disadvantage? Sure, there's not one for the opponent, but it has the potential for a huge advantage for the team getting placed into the bracket. You don't know what seed you're going to end up and really anything better than an 11 or 12 seed is an advantage for said team.
It's worth noting that if a single-bid league loses their team, they'll get to replace it with someone within their league. That's HUGE for mid-majors. They'll get to keep their spot in the tournament and send either the regular season winner or the conference tournament runner-up as the replacement team. But again this has to happen within 48 hours after Selection Sunday. Once we get after that threshold though the entire field is set. And that's where we could get forfeits. This is from the NCAA
If a team in let's say the Round of 32 can't play, it's a 'no contest' or a forfeit. That's WILD to me that we can see a team advance without technically winning. That's just insane. I get it, the year is weird. The Tournament is going to be weird, but it always felt right playing 67 games with the play-in games. All I hope is we get all the games. I don't want to see a team advance because of a forfeit. I wish we could build in more of a delay if that happens, but I completely get why it can't technically happen.
Sidenote - I want more than anything some team to hang a 'NCAA Tournament alternate' banner. People don't forget, FSU:
