If you?re a sports fan and you don?t love March Madness, I?m
convinced there?s something wrong with you.

The Big Dance is a sports nerd?s (like myself) paradise.
Selection Sunday ? essentially an hour of Greg Gumbel reading a list of teams
in a dramatic voice (amazing how that works, isn?t it?) ? sparks a 90-plus hour
analysis binge known as ?Bracketology,? during which analysts, both
professional and amateur, discuss first round upsets, the next ?George Mason?
and possible Final Four contenders.

However, the topic most discussed on the night following
Selection Sunday was ?snubs? ? teams the selection committee left out of the
field of 65.

Because these 65 teams are chosen by a committee, it goes
without saying that the selection process is quite subjective.

That said, there are always going to be snubs.

Following a difficult loss to North Carolina in the ACC
semifinals, Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg told the media that should
his Hokies be left out of the field of 65, he would consider the committee
?certifiably insane.?

Apparently, the threat didn?t affect them in the least.

The ESPN Bracketology panel had Greenberg on the phone
Selection Sunday night to plead his case. Greenberg argued his Hokies went 9-7
in conference play and almost beat UNC in the ACC tourney.

Since when does almost count?

Greenberg continued to argue (which sounded more like
whining to me) his Hokies weren?t given a fair chance to earn an at-large bid
into the tournament because so many mid-major conference teams receive
automatic bids from winning their respective conference tournaments. He then
compared the situation to college football, where he argued that since so many
teams receive bowl game bids, the field of 65 should be expanded to 128 teams
to give more teams and players a chance to experience the thrill of college
postseason play.

Isn?t that what the conference tournaments are for, to give
every team a second chance?

To my surprise, Bob Knight ? the newest member of the
Bracketology crew ? agreed with Greenberg. Knight endorsed the idea of a field
of 128, in order to set up better tournament matchups. For example, it would
give teams like Virginia Tech, Syracuse and Ohio State opportunities to beat
teams like Coppin State or Portland State (both No. 16 seeds) early, thus
creating more exciting matchups down the road against the nation?s elite. He
also said it would eliminate much of the subjectivity within the selection
process, because now the No. 66-70 teams would no longer be left out.

Let me take a deep breath. OK?

Although I?ve enjoyed Knight?s two cents since his
Bracketology debut, I have to disagree with him here. First of all,
subjectivity would still be just as much of a factor because the coaches and
players of teams No. 129-133 would feel the exact same as Greenberg did ten
days ago.

Next, this whole idea of ?not having a fair chance? is
absolutely ludicrous to me. Mr. Greenberg, had your team not gone 0-4 against
the top three teams in the ACC, then surely you would have received a bid.

Greenberg acts as if the regular season never existed for
Virginia Tech. He acts as if his team didn?t have a fair opportunity to win
enough games to qualify for the Big Dance.

Guess what? It did.

One of the great things about college basketball is that
every game counts, because a bad loss here or there could keep a team from
playing in the tournament. If teams are given second and third chances to
qualify, that do-or-die, cutthroat mentality that makes college basketball so
spectacular would be eliminated. It would also discredit hard-fought regular
seasons, because come March, everyone would be in the same boat anyway.

Unfortunately, life isn?t always fair or objective; the best
candidate doesn?t always get the job. The phrase ?it?s not what you know, it?s
who you know? may not directly apply to college basketball, but it?s yet
another example of the fact that life is often times subjectively unfair.

For these proverbial ?bubble teams? turned tournament snubs,
I have one simple message: execute. Win more quality games so the selection
committee has no choice but to include you in the field of 65. Stop complaining
and go win more basketball games.

I believe the saying goes: If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it.
Not only is the NCAA Tournament not broken, it happens to be running like a
Cadillac.

Whiners will be whiners. Long live The Madness. Keep the Big
Dance the way it is.

?

Derek is a sophomore majoring in economics. E-mail him
your thoughts on the possible expansion to 128 teams, or March Madness in
general at [email protected].