Mid-Major Leagues Shake Up NCAA Tournament

0:00On March 2nd, championship week in college basketball is ramping up. With conference tournaments kicking off soon to decide automatic bids to the NCAA, tournament. Mid-major leagues are shaking things up this year, tweaking their formats to give their top regular season teams a better shot at the big dance. Instead of risking an at-large snub, take the horizon lead, for example. Early rounds happen on campus, but then everyone heads to Indianapolis for a receipt that hands topseeds easier match-ups, kind of like the NFL, playoffs. Over in the West Coast Conference, the top two teams get a buy straight to the semi-finals, so powerhouses like Gonzaga or St. Mary's only need two. Winds for the title. The Sun Belt Conference jumped on this trend last year, with its own staggered setup across 14 teams, creating one of the strangest brackets out. There, a wild regular season tie left six teams nodded at 11 and 7, meaning some, like Arkansas State, face four games just to reach the semis, while others like Marshall start

1:03later, despite matching records. Not every league is bending the rules, though. Miami of Ohio enters its final regular season games, undefeated at 29 and 0, but the mid-American conference sticks to a classic eight team, bracket in Cleveland. The Red Hawks must win three straights to lock in their spot and avoid selection committee debates. These changes aim to spark more magic moments when the real action heats up Wednesday, with seven mid-major tournaments underway, right after Mondays. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers. Openers.