Extended March Madness: Dan Guerrero, NCAA Reveal "First Four"

by Achilles on Jul 12, 2010 1:10 PM PDT

Dan Guerrero is not only the UCLA AD, he is also the chairman of the NCAA tournament selection committee. He and the committee just revealed a new "first four" set of games -- games to be played between the final four at-large teams and the final four automatic entries. The extra set of games means that 68 teams (up from 65) will be in the NCAA tournament:

The final four at-large teams and final four automatic qualifiers in the newly minted 68-team NCAA men's basketball tournament field will meet for the right to enter the traditional 64-team draw, tournament selection committee chairman Dan Guerrero announced Monday.

The "First Four" will be played either the Tuesday or Wednesday after Selection Sunday. The winners of the four games will advance to what will now be called the "second round" on either Thursday or Friday. The newly named third round -- with 16 games -- will be Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the tournament -- regional semifinals (Sweet 16) and regional finals (Elite Eight) -- will remain as they have been, as will the Final Four, which is set for Houston in 2011.

The games will be televised on TruTv (formerly CourtTV), which is available in 93 million homes, said NCAA vice president Greg Shaheen, who manages the NCAA tournament. CBS, Turner, TBS and TruTV are in their first year of a $10.8 billion, 14-year television agreement. ESPN had carried the tournament's opening-round game in previous years

More after the flip.

Guerrero explains:

"The teams selected for these games will be like teams," Guerrero said. "We felt if we were going to expand the field it would create better drama for the tournament if the First Four was much more exciting. They could all be on the 10 line or the 12 line or the 11 line. We won't know until the seeding takes place and the principles and procedures are used and the teams are slotted appropriately."

Seems to me like a lot of work for just three additional teams. My guess: This is just a precursor to a much larger expansion down the line. At the moment, the NCAA appears to just be testing the water -- I wouldn't be surprised to see a much more substantial addition of teams in the near future.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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It's at least

a lot more palatable than having 512 teams

by sponkey21 on Jul 12, 2010 1:58 PM PDT reply actions

huh?

TruTV?

by Nestor on Jul 12, 2010 2:08 PM PDT reply actions

I forgot ...

to make that point, which I thought about when I first read the story.

The whole thing just seems like a trial run or an experiment.

by Achilles on Jul 12, 2010 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Which makes the point

of how serious people will take these games

by BruinFanGA on Jul 12, 2010 5:01 PM PDT up reply actions

This is silly

Would the NCAA do this if the games were not televised? Of course not. So why not really increase the revenue – get rid of the stupid “first four” and have a playoff to see which dance team is the best looking. The ratings will be substantially better than some game to see who gets the honor of losing by 50 to a number one seed.

Sorry, Dan. This is a bad idea. It doesn’t matter if it was your idea or someone else’s, it’s a bad idea. Unless it was Mrs. Fox 71’s idea, in which case it is a good idea.

by Fox 71 on Jul 12, 2010 2:38 PM PDT reply actions

I heard Mrs. Fox 71

wrote a letter to Larry Scott advocating the addition of CU and UT to the pac10!

by Chris09 on Jul 12, 2010 3:07 PM PDT up reply actions

If only

UT was the University of Texas rather than the university of UTah.

In the immortal words of the pin I got while an undergrad: Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.

by KSBruin on Jul 12, 2010 5:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Hmmmm

I can see the how the “final four at-large teams” might be determined, but how do you determine who are the “final four automatic qualifiers”? Sounds like they are going to slot the winners of these games in the 10 through 12 seed slot of the “2nd round.” Perhaps the “final four automatic qualifiers” actually means the “four lowest seeded automatic qualifiers”.

by snorkeldorf on Jul 12, 2010 3:23 PM PDT reply actions

I think your last sentence is right.

That’s how I understood it, at least.

In the immortal words of the pin I got while an undergrad: Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.

by KSBruin on Jul 12, 2010 5:48 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh yes...this is a great idea

Bring in three more 10 to 12 seeds who have no business playing for a national title, then put them on a channel that devotes itself to real-life criminal stories.

This is brilliant!

"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09

by Blue Me on Jul 12, 2010 5:15 PM PDT reply actions

Tru Network?

Apparently named after Truman Capote.

by peggysue69 on Jul 12, 2010 5:35 PM PDT reply actions

Why don't we just take it to the max with a 346 team tourament.

This is getting ridiculous. I think 64 teams is already pushing the limit and when there is a playoff to get into the final 64, the winner of that has really got a long row to hoe.

by LongtimeBru on Jul 12, 2010 5:43 PM PDT reply actions

Don't give them ideas

One more weekend=256 teams to start.

The remaining 90 teams can play in the NIT.

by Herodotus on Jul 13, 2010 4:59 AM PDT up reply actions

Didn't you hear this?

There was talk of expanding it to 4,096 teams.

by BruinKid on Jul 13, 2010 7:16 AM PDT up reply actions

LOL

and for you basketball fans, you will get to watch 500 games a day.

by LongtimeBru on Jul 13, 2010 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions

BOOOO!

I don’t want it. I thought the ‘play in game’ was a bad idea. I think this is worse. They are diluting the product in my opinion.

The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Jul 12, 2010 10:15 PM PDT reply actions

If it exands anymore than this I won't watch the first few games or even fill a bracket

The fun of watching the tournament is it’s a relatively short event that’s a staple of March. Everyone has their team to root for, and they fill in their own brackets to get bragging rights. Maybe one or two bets. If they expand it anymore, all of that would be lost.

by wingsabre on Jul 13, 2010 12:07 AM PDT reply actions

Dan Guerrero

Guerrero is in his final days as Committee Chairman. This is the final year of his tenure. Not sure of the exact date of turnover, but when the new school year starts, Guerrero will no longer be on the committee.

by David80 on Jul 13, 2010 1:29 AM PDT reply actions

Ugh.

This is a stupid plan. It adds nothing—sorry, Dan, there’s no added ’excitement" factor here.

Sixty-four is the correct number for the Dance.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Jul 13, 2010 6:49 AM PDT reply actions

i'm afraid to be the contrarian, but i'll bite.

but first off let me state that i don’t really think these games are necessary i like the format as is. but to be honest ever since i can remember on selection weekend there are always 2 or 3 team that get left out that leaves us all scratching our heads. now if these first four games allow for the decision of who gets to the actual field of 64 to be decided on the floor instead of in a cramped room with a bunch of ad’s then i am ok with that. with that said, i’ afraid of the precedent these games continue to uphold towards tourney expansion. first the play ins, now a first 4, then .. so i do share a lot of the concerns that have been brought up as well.

Across The Face

by rb bruin on Jul 13, 2010 9:20 AM PDT reply actions