It may be the middle of July, but college basketball is getting some interesting changes this upcoming season and beyond, specifically with NCAA Tournament seeding.
The biggest and most pressing change comes in regard to the NCAA tournament. Starting next season, the No. 1 overall tournament seed will get to pick which location will play host to its first and second-round games. The seeding committee has typically been favorable to the top seeds in choosing where they will play their opening games, but this new update will ensure the top seed gets its desired location choice.
“Preferences would be communicated by teams in contention for the overall No. 1 seed far in advance of Selection Sunday in a process to be determined,” the NCAA said in a statement.
This means a handful of teams will look at all eight first-weekend sites and let the selection committee know which one it prefers. The top-seeded program won’t know which team(s) it’ll be playing, but it will get dibs on digs, which is a nice little update.
In addition to this new twist, there may also be changes to the team evaluation formula, courtesy of the newly formed National Association of Basketball Coaches’ ad hoc committee. The group was commissioned earlier this year to help provide the selection committee with added insight to its tournament selection process.
The NABC committee presented two particular points of emphasis for the selection committee. First, it would like to see the results of conference tournament titles continue to hold importance and the committee suggests weighing these titles equal to a regular season championship. Second, the NABC wants a new ranking formula to replace the currently used RPI. While the NCAA said it will research a replacement for RPI, a new ranking formula is at least two seasons away from implementation.
In general, the NABC said it would also like to see the selection committee put, “more emphasis on non-conference strength of schedule, road and neutral victories, quality wins and overall strength of schedule.”
Finally, the selection committee will also be getting a new head in 2018. Creighton athletic director Bruce Rasmussen will chair the committee beginning in 2018. He will replace current chair Mark Hollis, the athletic director at Michigan State, who finishes his fifth and final year on the committee at the end of next season.
