Obviously now that the Big Sky will be down to 10 teams next season, the conference had to re-draw the bracket. I was hoping that they would adopt the WCC format where the top 2 seeds would get a triple bye all the way into the semifinals, but they didn't do that (of course). They did adopt a format that's quite unique however, one that I don't believe any current conference is using. Here is a picture of what the bracket will look like beginning next year.
https://twitter.com/MattNorlander/status/1501953477458776066?s=20&t=l0xYY7GTYe88ITx2iFrp_w
For starters, the conference tournament will now begin on the final Saturday of the regular season. To put that into comparison, the tournament this year would have started last Saturday when we hosted Sac State in Missoula. So now day one of the tournament on Saturday will feature 2 women's games and 2 men's games (the 7-10 game and the 8-9 game). The tope 6 seeds will all receive byes, but here's where things get interesting. The top 2 seeds will play on Sunday against the winner of Saturday's games, while the 3-6 seeds (3-6 game and 4-5 game) will play on Monday. If the top 2 seeds both win on Sunday (or if an upset is pulled on Sunday by one of the lower seeds), then the winner of those Sunday games will then receive a bye into the semifinals on Tuesday. So while it may seem that the 3-6 seeds all receive double byes into the quarters on Monday (which they do), the top 2 seeds will receive a first round bye and then a third round bye into the semifinals on Tuesday. This means that both the men's and women's championship games will now be played on Wednesday. This will now allow the men's game to be televised on ESPN2 and the women's game to be televised on ESPNU.
I don't hate this format, I think it's quite creative and unique and I do think it does setup the top seeds nicely for the semis, but I feel like it's very over complicated and could also benefit the 7-10 seeds if they somehow manage to upset the 1 or 2 seeds. I feel like the safest and most logical options would've been to either adopt the WCC format (which I was in favor of) or the Big 12 format (single byes for the top 6 seeds). I feel like with the tournament now starting on the weekend and finishing up in the middle of the week, I feel like this may possibly hurt attendance as well. What're your guys' thoughts on this format?
https://twitter.com/MattNorlander/status/1501953477458776066?s=20&t=l0xYY7GTYe88ITx2iFrp_w
For starters, the conference tournament will now begin on the final Saturday of the regular season. To put that into comparison, the tournament this year would have started last Saturday when we hosted Sac State in Missoula. So now day one of the tournament on Saturday will feature 2 women's games and 2 men's games (the 7-10 game and the 8-9 game). The tope 6 seeds will all receive byes, but here's where things get interesting. The top 2 seeds will play on Sunday against the winner of Saturday's games, while the 3-6 seeds (3-6 game and 4-5 game) will play on Monday. If the top 2 seeds both win on Sunday (or if an upset is pulled on Sunday by one of the lower seeds), then the winner of those Sunday games will then receive a bye into the semifinals on Tuesday. So while it may seem that the 3-6 seeds all receive double byes into the quarters on Monday (which they do), the top 2 seeds will receive a first round bye and then a third round bye into the semifinals on Tuesday. This means that both the men's and women's championship games will now be played on Wednesday. This will now allow the men's game to be televised on ESPN2 and the women's game to be televised on ESPNU.
I don't hate this format, I think it's quite creative and unique and I do think it does setup the top seeds nicely for the semis, but I feel like it's very over complicated and could also benefit the 7-10 seeds if they somehow manage to upset the 1 or 2 seeds. I feel like the safest and most logical options would've been to either adopt the WCC format (which I was in favor of) or the Big 12 format (single byes for the top 6 seeds). I feel like with the tournament now starting on the weekend and finishing up in the middle of the week, I feel like this may possibly hurt attendance as well. What're your guys' thoughts on this format?
