2026 NCAA Tournament

[D3BBALL]

No one that I know thinks this is right or the best for tournament.

I guess no one in this thread counts

Again, you and Ziggy point that the got the seedings right 1-16 going to the elite 8, my point is that you want to do what is best for the tournament.

What does "best for the tournament" mean? I don't think there's a single answer to that.

For Tufts and Wesleyan to play in the sweet 16, it not good for the tournament or Trinity/Wesleyan to play in the elite 8.

Why is it not good? The 8th and 9th seeded teams should be playing in the sweet 16. The 1st and 8th seed should be playing in the elite 8. Why should it matter what conference they come from?
If higher seeds won every game as they should in theory, The NESCAC should have 4 teams in the 2nd round (1, 8, 9, 28). The NESCAC should have 3 make the Sweet 16 (1, 8, 9). The NESCAC should have 2 make the Elite Eight (1, 8). The NESCAC should have just 1 team make the final four (1). That's not being prevented by this bracket.

I didn't say that, I said anyone I know, I don't know you, lol

It means if a conference is loaded and I think a lot of us agree that UAA and NESCAC are by far the best 2 conferences, then you should be able to make sure they don't play conference games, for elite teams, early, that means before elite 8.

Like I said 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16 are usually fairly comparable, not perfect, but it is how D1 looks at this at times. I am not saying move a 4th seeded team to 5th, but you could move them to 3rd, not saying move 5-8 out of 2 seeds, but you could move them around and so forth. This year 1-4 difference is 3.05 points, 5-8 difference is 2.09 points, 9-12 is 1.50 points, 13-16 is .455. 1's are 1's, 2 are 2's, 3 are 3's so on, why not move them up down, it just makes sense and it is what D1 does, so it is not something new. Could easily move Wesleyan up, or Tufts down, or move Trinity to the second spot. They basically told Trinity you are not really the #1 seed as you are going to maybe play a 5th seed in second round. Would never happen in D1.

When you get down to the sweet sixteen, lets say the UAA teams are so much better than anyone else and they knock each other out, how it that doing it correctly. Again, this is my opinion and the way D1 does it. You can use analytics, and I am not against that, but in the end some common sense needs to come into play.

Your last statement, is 100% correct, but what does that mean. Does it mean just give the title to Trinity, of course not. They are #1 in every ranking used I can see (Massey, D3Datacast efficiency, NPI, the voted top 25). Again, IMO, the Committee needed to use common sense. The 3 top UAA (2, 5, 14) teams all have a chance to get to the final 4, the NESCAC the #1 rated conference in the country can only get 1 of the top 9 (1, 8, 9) into the final 4. That is 100% why D1 doesn't do it this way. We are not talking about teams above 20 in rankings, where it doesn't matter.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

In this year's bracket the NESCAC can get 3 teams in the Final Four, but that would require upsets to happen. The exact same thing would still be required in your proposal to split up Wesleyan/Tufts/Trinity.

I think the NESCAC just got unlucky to have their teams ranked perfectly to end up in the same quadrant but they're still appropriately placed. The UAA was one spot away from a sweet 16 matchup had WashU or Emory been one spot worse. If Wesleyan or Tufts won a game or two more it wouldn't be an issue.

Ultimately I think the 1-16 seeding was done correctly and you don't. Agree to disagree.

[D3BBALL]

In this year's bracket the NESCAC can get 3 teams in the Final Four, but that would require upsets to happen. The exact same thing would still be required in your proposal to split up Wesleyan/Tufts/Trinity.

I think the NESCAC just got unlucky to have their teams ranked perfectly to end up in the same quadrant but they're still appropriately placed. The UAA was one spot away from a sweet 16 matchup had WashU or Emory been one spot worse. If Wesleyan or Tufts won a game or two more it wouldn't be an issue.

Ultimately I think the 1-16 seeding was done correctly and you don't. Agree to disagree.

Yes, Bates and Amherst and one of Trinity Tufts Wesleyan could get in so they could get three in. But in the same vein, UAA could get all four of their teams in.
You just actually think, and we will agree to disagree on this, that it's fair that the uaa can get three teams that are in the top 15 into the final four and the NESCAC that has three teams in the top 10 can only get one into the final four. Again D1 would not do this and it's a proven fact they wouldn't do this.
I said earlier, it would be fine if they had two of tufts Wesleyan or Trinity in the same bracket, but having three is not the right way to do it. The number one rated conference in the country by NPI and three top 10 teams by NPI can only get one into the final four. Makes absolutely no sense and would never ever be done this way in D1.

[ziggy]

Hot take: any consideration of conference affiliation when forming a bracket shouldn't apply for teams that have only played once during the season. If you're only going to play once in the regular season and not meet up in the conference tournament, there isn't much functional difference between those teams and two teams that play a non-conference game.

There are teams in separate conferences that have played more games against each other than Wesleyan and Tufts have this season. Why should it matter that Wesleyan and Tufts are in the same conference then?

(sorry, I'm still scarred by the year my team faced their rival five times in one season, ending in the second round of the NCAA tournament.)

Ok, I swear I'm done now.

[D3BBALL]

Hot take: any consideration of conference affiliation when forming a bracket shouldn't apply for teams that have only played once during the season. If you're only going to play once in the regular season and not meet up in the conference tournament, there isn't much functional difference between those teams and two teams that play a non-conference game.

There are teams in separate conferences that have played more games against each other than Wesleyan and Tufts have this season. Why should it matter that Wesleyan and Tufts are in the same conference then?

Ziggy is that from the Committee? Is it just regular season and not including conference playoffs playing twice.
If not then Trinity played both tufts and Wesleyan twice and they are in the same bracket.
You and others I guess just don't believe what the D1 committee does is correct.
There are three conferences that have multiple teams in the top 16. NESCAC is the only one that has more than one team in the same bracket and they have all three in the same bracket. The other two conferences can get two or three (all teams) into the final four yet the number one rated conference in the country can only get one of three.
Again, there is no way that the D1 committee would do it this way. And again to top it all off the number one rated team in the country might have to play a number five seed in the second round.
Common sense, the D1 committee moves same seeded teams around to avoid this. Especially top 10 teams.

[monsoon]

What the D1 committee does is irrelevant. The D3 bracket is constructed differently by design. It is abundantly clear you do not like this, but your dislike does not change the systemically different realities, even if you continue to ignore them.

This year it is the NESCAC. As ziggy alluded to above, Hope/Calvin have been placed in the same pod on multiple occasions. WIAC teams are regularly bracketed to meet each other sooner than they would like. And you will certainly get no sympathy from our friends in Texas. The UAA avoids this not out of preference towards them but because of geography. 

[Greek Tragedy]

D3BALL

As previously mentioned, you can't say "D1 does this, D1 does that..." That is not an argument when discussing D3. They are completely different and can't be compared to one another. I think we all wish D3 could be a true national tournament. I mean, do you think those Texas schools always want to play each other? It seems like a WIAC school always plays a MIAC school in the early rounds of the tournament. It really seems like a regional tournament until you get past the 1st weekend.

I agree with you. It's disappointing that all three top teams in the same conference are in the same bracket. To a lesser extent, the WIAC has 3 of 4 in the same bracket.

I really don't know if anyone outside the NESCAC, or in previous years, the UAA, have too much sympathy for those two conferences. There always seems to be a thought of unfair advantages for those two conferences for reasons we all know.

[D3BBALL]

What the D1 committee does is irrelevant. The D3 bracket is constructed differently by design. It is abundantly clear you do not like this, but your dislike does not change the systemically different realities, even if you continue to ignore them.

This year it is the NESCAC. As ziggy alluded to above, Hope/Calvin have been placed in the same pod on multiple occasions. WIAC teams are regularly bracketed to meet each other sooner than they would like. And you will certainly get no sympathy from our friends in Texas. The UAA avoids this not out of preference towards them but because of geography. 

Don't disagree, it's not fair and it's not good for d3 basketball. But easy changes could have been made, and not kill the bank. A huge bank!!!

[D3BBALL]

D3BALL

As previously mentioned, you can't say "D1 does this, D1 does that..." That is not an argument when discussing D3. They are completely different and can't be compared to one another. I think we all wish D3 could be a true national tournament. I mean, do you think those Texas schools always want to play each other? It seems like a WIAC school always plays a MIAC school in the early rounds of the tournament. It really seems like a regional tournament until you get past the 1st weekend.

I agree with you. It's disappointing that all three top teams in the same conference are in the same bracket. To a lesser extent, the WIAC has 3 of 4 in the same bracket.

I really don't know if anyone outside the NESCAC, or in previous years, the UAA, have too much sympathy for those two conferences. There always seems to be a thought of unfair advantages for those two conferences for reasons we all know.

Again don't disagree, but it could have easily been made better, not perfect but better. And saying D3 is not D1, doesn't mean d3 shouldn't try to do it. It's not rocket science. Moving some same seeded teams to other brackets is not that tough and it is just the lack of caring from the ncaa and the committee and being cheap. With NPI there is no argument who is in and who isn't but its not perfect and after you have the 64 teams there should be common sense and there isn't. I would feel the same way for any conference that it happened too. WIAC, as you said, perfect example as they should move those teams around more.

[KnightSlappy]

Tufts and Wesleyan played the same number of times as Tufts and Endicott.

[Greek Tragedy]

D3BALL

As previously mentioned, you can't say "D1 does this, D1 does that..." That is not an argument when discussing D3. They are completely different and can't be compared to one another. I think we all wish D3 could be a true national tournament. I mean, do you think those Texas schools always want to play each other? It seems like a WIAC school always plays a MIAC school in the early rounds of the tournament. It really seems like a regional tournament until you get past the 1st weekend.

I agree with you. It's disappointing that all three top teams in the same conference are in the same bracket. To a lesser extent, the WIAC has 3 of 4 in the same bracket.

I really don't know if anyone outside the NESCAC, or in previous years, the UAA, have too much sympathy for those two conferences. There always seems to be a thought of unfair advantages for those two conferences for reasons we all know.

Again don't disagree, but it could have easily been made better, not perfect but better. And saying D3 is not D1, doesn't mean d3 shouldn't try to do it. It's not rocket science. Moving some same seeded teams to other brackets is not that tough and it is just the lack of caring from the ncaa and the committee and being cheap. With NPI there is no argument who is in and who isn't but its not perfect and after you have the 64 teams there should be common sense and there isn't. I would feel the same way for any conference that it happened too. WIAC, as you said, perfect example as they should move those teams around more.

Yes, this is one of the keys. Being cheap. As far as I know, D3 doesn't make any money. You never hear D1 talking about how many flights they can save. They make all the money. I believe the selection and geography has improved greatly over the years. I imagine it will never be perfect. In the past, it was unheard of flying a West Coast team to the far East.

[Patrick Coleman]

What the D1 committee does is irrelevant. The D3 bracket is constructed differently by design. It is abundantly clear you do not like this, but your dislike does not change the systemically different realities, even if you continue to ignore them.

This year it is the NESCAC. As ziggy alluded to above, Hope/Calvin have been placed in the same pod on multiple occasions. WIAC teams are regularly bracketed to meet each other sooner than they would like. And you will certainly get no sympathy from our friends in Texas. The UAA avoids this not out of preference towards them but because of geography. 

Don't disagree, it's not fair and it's not good for d3 basketball. But easy changes could have been made, and not kill the bank. A huge bank!!!

It's not good for the NESCAC, perhaps. It doesn't matter for D-III basketball.

No number of posts from you on it is going to change the facts of seedings, or anyone's minds.

[Jake Feldman]

I personally think the NCAA should expand the D3 tournament to 72 teams, since there will be over 425 Division III institutions that at least field one varsity team (mostly both, but 22 single-gender schools like Smith or Wabash) to give more schools a chance to qualify. I would also like to see host institutions be allowed to host both tournaments in the same weekend. (Using a Thursday-Friday-Saturday format, with respect to Yeshiva if they make it). Would any of you get on board with an expanded field and allowing schools to host both men's and women's games in a weekend?

Football expanded from 32 to 40 not long ago but that was needed because there were only 4 or 5 at large spots. There's no way they'd expand basketball to just 72. It'd have to be a significant jump to 80 or 96 and that's not happening unless we get get a mass exodus from D1 to D3.

It would be nice to see schools be able to host both the same weekend, but I'm sure there are some schools that just don't have the ability to (locker rooms, hotels, etc).

Regarding your quote, I see the 72-team field as the perfect size until the inevitable non-revenue share school exodus occurs, and even then, they may either offer scholarships in D2, or be in the non-scholarship divisions (D3 or D4 depending on athletic budgets, travel and history)

The problem is, you're adding an extra round which is great in theory but a lot of trouble in reality. When will it be played? How many extra flights will it cost trying to match these teams up? You'll have just 16 teams playing the opener while 56 don't.

Comparing to football, the expansion would be 25% which would make it 80 teams for basketball. Football went from 12.5% at large bids (4/32) in 2023 to 32.5% (13/40) in 2024. Basketball is already at 32.8% (21/64). Football has roughly 245 teams and 40 tournament bids. That's a ratio of 6.13 teams per bid. Basketball had 404 eligible teams this year I believe. That's a ratio of 6.31 teams per bid. Even a small enlargement to 72 bids would drop that down to 5.61 teams per bid.

Whether it makes sense or not, never going to happen.  NCAA is not going to pay more for D3 sports.

Also, the math behind the expansion would make sense, as D1 invites 19%, D2 invites 21%, and NAIA invites 27% of schools. D3 only invites 16% of schools. We either expand the tournaments or a divisional split between bigger-budget leagues like the NESCAC, UAA, and WIAC, and the rest of D3, similar to the Power schools splitting in D1.

[ziggy]

We all just need to get some beers, or whatever your beverage of choice may be, together in Fort Wayne. I think we can all agree on that!

[D3BBALL]

What the D1 committee does is irrelevant. The D3 bracket is constructed differently by design. It is abundantly clear you do not like this, but your dislike does not change the systemically different realities, even if you continue to ignore them.

This year it is the NESCAC. As ziggy alluded to above, Hope/Calvin have been placed in the same pod on multiple occasions. WIAC teams are regularly bracketed to meet each other sooner than they would like. And you will certainly get no sympathy from our friends in Texas. The UAA avoids this not out of preference towards them but because of geography. 

Don't disagree, it's not fair and it's not good for d3 basketball. But easy changes could have been made, and not kill the bank. A huge bank!!!

It's not good for the NESCAC, perhaps. It doesn't matter for D-III basketball.

No number of posts from you on it is going to change the facts of seedings, or anyone's minds.

You have no idea whether it's changed anybody's mind!!!!!