Tournament Expansion

This is a special edition entry before I get up tomorrow's Final Four predictions. I wanted to discuss a topic of intrigue that has been buzzing the last day or two. Word on the street is the NCAA is going to expand the March Madness Tournament to 96 teams from its current amount of 64. Im not going to get into my opinion on this matter, or criticize the decision--first off, you would think this is good for me b/c there will be more games to bet on. This isn't necessarily true-the NIT and even CBI and that other one that Missouri West won would probably get squashed out...unless the NIT still exists and operates as is- taking teams #97-#129.

I decided to make a list of 32 schools that I thought could do some damage in tournament this year, but didn't make the final cuts. I made a rule to follow when compiling this list: If a team had less than 18 wins by the end of their conference tournament regardless of strength of schedule/signature wins, they didn't make this list (North Carolina, Connecticut). This expansion I believe should favor those teams with good records as oppose to any other variable that may present itself to the selection committee to keep a team in or out of the brackets. I also think it should focus more on the mid major schools, but a team with a good overall record from a BCS conference should definitely be highly considered (Mississippi State). This is in no specific order, however the teams that stick out as most worthy are at the top.

Teams W/L

1. Dayton Flyers------------------------25-12

2. Rhode Island Rams------------------26-10

3. Mississippi State Bulldogs----------24-12

4. Virginia Commonwealth Rams-----27-9

5. UAB Blazers---------------------------25-9

5. Virginia Tech Hokies-----------------25-9

6. Seton Hall Pirates--------------------19-13

7. Northeastern Huskies----------------20-13

8. Charleston Cougars-------------------22-12

9. Memphis Tigers-----------------------24-10

10. Wichita State Shockers-------------25-10

11. William & Mary Tribe---------------22-11

12. Cincinnati Bearcats------------------19-16

13. Miami Hurricanes-------------------20-13

14. Ole Miss Rebels----------------------24-11

15. Charlotte 49ers-----------------------19-12

16. Saint Louis Billikens-----------------23-13

17. West Carolina Catamounts----------22-12

18. Appalachian State Mountaineers---24-13

19. Weber State Wildcats----------------20-11

20. Arizona State Sun Devils------------22-11

21. Morehead State Eagles---------------24-11

22. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers-----21-13

23. Illinois Fighting Illini----------------21-15

24. South Florida Bulls------------------20-13

25. Pacific Tigers-------------------------23-12

26. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs------------24-11

27. Portland Pilots-----------------------21-11

28. Illinois State Redbirds--------------22-11

29. Missouri State Bears----------------24-12

30. Wright State Raiders---------------20-12

31. Iona Gaels----------------------------21-10

32. Northern Colorado Bears----------25-8

33. Fairfield Stags-----------------------23-11

**33. Fairfield Stags vs. N. Colorado play-in game

Thats it.