16 Is Just Right

The Big East caught a lot of flack this year for expanding it’s conference tournament to include all 16 teams, and now that the first two rounds are over and seeds 9-16 are eliminated, I applaud the conference on it’s decision.

Granted this is probably an unpopular position (plus the results support not having invited those extra teams) but I can think of a few reasons why having the whole conference on board was a smart/fun move.

Let’s start with DePaul.

The Blue Demons went 0-18 in the regular season but won their first round game against Cincinnati….by 10 points! To me, the feel-good story of their first round win was enough to justify playing the extra games. On top of that, they nearly won again Wednesday against Providence.

I watched most of that DePaul/Providence game wondering if the BD’s would pull off another upset. I'm sure I wasn’t alone. I’m willing to bet that the ratings for Thursday’s Providence/Louisville game aren’t as good. Underdogs make for good TV.

I also like seeing our local teams playing at the Garden, ESPECIALLY St. John’s. And heck, what did the Johnnie’s go ahead and do in their first round game, upset Georgetown! We all knew St. John’s wasn’t going anywhere this year, but for the last two nights they were one of the biggest stories in town. You weren’t able to say that for St. John’s hoops any other night this year.

How about from an economic standpoint? I’m sure MSG, the surrounding area, hotels housing fans from the extra schools and the airplane companies selling them plane tickets were glad to have the extra business, too.

So what if basketball purists had a problem with the extra games. UCONN is upset because they have TWO byes in the tournament? Believe me, there are worse things in the world than giving your players two extra days of rest in March.

Besides, the world seemed to balance itself out in the long run. The final eight teams standing are those ranked 1-8.

Some will say the Big East Tournament officially kicks of Thursday, when the big boys tip off. But for me, I’m glad I got to see the little guys take center stage for two nights.

Given the brutality in the Big East this year, they deserved their moment.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle