CBS on Feb. 11 will air an NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket preview, "revealing the top four teams in each region about a month before Selection Sunday on March 12," and the NCAA "hopes it will attract attention for a sport that often struggles to generate excitement during the regular season," according to Jared Diamond of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. By giving a preliminary look, college basketball is "copying" the CFP, which "over the past three years has released weekly standings starting around the beginning of November." In the past, college basketball fans have "relied on 'bracketologists'" to figure out "where their team stands." With next month’s TV show, it "appears that the NCAA itself is getting into the bracketology business." But Michigan State AD and NCAA Tournament Selection Committee Chair Mark Hollis "cautioned against reading too much into the early glimpse" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/25). The AP's Ralph Russo wrote college hoops' regular season "could use a boost." The sport "gets overshadowed by college and pro football from November through January." The move by the NCAA also "mirrors a similar early reveal for the women's NCAA Tournament," which "revealed its top 16 seeds on Monday night, and plans to do so again twice more before the bracket is unveiled March 13" (AP, 1/24).
GREAT WAY TO INCREASE INTEREST: USA TODAY's Nicole Auerbach writes the tournament bracket preview concept is a "great one -- for all those invested in the sport." The CFP's in-season ranking shows have drawn a "ton of attention and outrage on a weekly basis." College basketball’s power brokers -- "rightfully -- did not replicate that, opting instead for a one-time preview of the four top seed lines." However, it is "clear that the benefits outweigh the negatives here." This one-time unveiling will "create buzz for the sport just six days after the Super Bowl, a time when casual sports fans ought to be turning their attention to college basketball" (USA TODAY, 1/25). CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish said the preview will "create headlines for college basketball that otherwise wouldn't be there." Parrish: "I've been thinking all day trying to find the negative. I can't find it." CBS Sports Network's Adam Schein: “It’s going to create conversation, it’s going to create debate. ... That’s great for the buzz of college basketball” (“Time to Schein,” CBSSN, 1/24). ESPN’s Bomani Jones noted it is "easy to forget about college basketball before the conference tournaments start." But ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan said, “This is a made for TV event that I will pass on, because the next night it could all be blown apart” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 1/24).
