One way to "guarantee a sellout at the First Four" is to "include the Dayton Flyers," who will face Boise State on Wednesday at approximately 9:15pm ET, according to Brian Kollars of the DAYTON DAILY NEWS. NCAA Selection Committee Chair and Utah State AD Scott Barnes said that UD -- which is 16-0 at home -- "will have a homecourt advantage," but he added that "putting UD in its home arena 'falls within the context' of the committee’s procedures." Minutes before UD’s game was announced, "hundreds of First Four tickets were available online for Wednesday’s doubleheader, which will start with a North Florida-Robert Morris matchup." Those tickets "didn’t last long" (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, 3/16). In Dayton, Joe Cogliano noted putting Dayton in the First Four "means one less team and its fans will be bringing money to the region." Typically, teams "aren't allowed to play a home game in the tournament, but the NCAA made an exception for Dayton when it created the First Four" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/15).
REVISIONIST HISTORY: NCAA officials yesterday said that the men's basketball selection committee "may revisit the principle of locking in the last four at-large teams into the First Four in Dayton after a possible UConn win Sunday would have sent the Huskies into the general at-large field, even though they would have been the last team on the bracket." NCAA VP/Men’s Basketball Dan Gavitt said that there were "four scenarios for the First Four based on the A-10 and AAC title games" yesterday, and there was "one scenario that had UCLA and Texas playing in the First Four in Dayton." The NCAA officials added that "had Dayton become an automatic qualifier and moved into the general at-large field (and UConn lost, as was the case) then UCLA would have been in the First Four" (ESPN.com, 3/15).
THE OLD COLLEGE TRY: HBO’s John Oliver dedicated the majority of last night's "Last Week Tonight" to the NCAA Tournament, saying, "There is nothing inherently wrong with a sporting tournament making huge amounts of money, but there is something slightly troubling about a billion-dollar sports enterprise where the athletes don’t make a penny. Because they aren’t. As the head of the NCAA, Mark Emmert, will tell you, they don’t want that to change.” Two different clips were shown of Emmert saying NCAA athletes are not employees, but student-athletes. Oliver: “The only other people who say, ‘They aren’t employees’ that much are people who run illegal sweatshops out of their basements. … Athletes are paid in education, the only more difficult currency to spend than Bitcoin” (“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” HBO, 3/15).
