Interesting article in the SportingNews that discusses many of the subjects in this thread.
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In 2017, there were 36 at-large bids available in a 68-team field. The top six leagues consumed 32 of them, or 89 percent. A decade earlier, when there were 35 at-large bids available to the NCAA Tournament, the top six leagues consumed 28 of them, or 80 percent.
Outside the top six in 2017, there were three multi-bid leagues. In 2007, there were six.
This can be blamed a bit on scheduling; it always has been a challenge for teams outside the power leagues to get spots in the best tournaments or to secure home-and-home series with attractive opponents.
They're also not winning many of those games they get the chance to play. Atlantic-10 Conference teams this year were 8-39 against the top six leagues; in 2007-08, they were 17-28.
In 1998, 67 percent of the top 100 prospects – as measured by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index (RSCI) -- committed to teams in the nation's top six conferences: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12.
By 2007, that percentage had increased to 89 percent.
In 2017, it was 95 percent.
Read the complete article here: http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-bas...t15das9y00rxky
Originally Posted by CajunEXPRESS
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