The upcoming Men’s NCAA Tournament will feature 32 teams who win their individual conference tournaments. However, a highly debated NCAA rule may not allow some of the truly best teams in their conference to end up in the 68-team tournament.
A great example of this in the current 2022-23 season is the Merrimack Warriors. Merrimack faced off against the Central Connecticut Blue Devils, where they were able to cruise to a 70-54 victory.
This win clinched a regular-season conference championship in the Northeast Conference. However, they will not be eligible for the NCAA Tournament or the NIT Tournament due to an NCAA rule that requires a four-year transition period into the Division 1 postseason.
Merrimack began their transition into Division 1 in the 2019-20 season, so they will remain ineligible until the 2023-24 season. This is the second time in four years that they have won a regular-season NEC title and been banned from postseason play.
They will be the No.1 seed in the NEC Tournament in early March. Unfortunately, they won’t be playing for anything, which many around the college basketball world is extremely upset with.
Merrimack has won its second NEC title in 4 years, but because of a dumb rule in which there is a 4-year transition period into the D-1 ranks, Joe Gallo’s program still ineligible for NCAA or NIT until next year, but is No. 1 seed in league tourney. Rule needs to be changed.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 24, 2023
Or STOP expanding Div. 1
— Kevin McNamara (@KevinMcNamara33) February 24, 2023
What does this say about the NEC https://t.co/nPaqArGPyg
— Weapons formed did in fact prosper (@anchorofgold) February 24, 2023
This highlights the stupidity of the NCAA – this rule is basically saying if a D2 program comes into a D1 league and wins it – the NCAA will penalize the D2 program by not allowing those players to have what they EARNED! https://t.co/JyFtxVbQJ5
— Coach K (@CoachKurzawski) February 24, 2023
This is something that I’ve always thought about. What is the point of not allowing teams who come up to D-1 to play in the NCAA tournament or NIT. It’s never made sense. https://t.co/4FJBVIAzYh
— zane dodge (@DodgeZane) February 24, 2023
Not only is Merrimack ineligible, but the Stonehill Skyhawks, who have the second-best record in the conference are also transitioning to Division 1 and will also be ineligible for postseason play.
The NEC's two best teams, Merrimack and Stonehill, are both ineligible for the postseason as transitional D1s, which of course is the stupidest rule on earth. https://t.co/bVSvWc3jHd
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) February 24, 2023
This will ultimately make it so at best the third-best team will ultimately be in the NCAA Tournament. If the NCAA’s goal is to truly have the best teams in college basketball in the Big Dance, this rule seems like it should be adjusted in a huge way moving forward.
