> That doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing teams tank to get the 5 seed instead of the 4
Under the current format I don't think that would ever be a realistic scenario. The teams that are likely to end up in the 5 seed would probably never be in line to get the 4 seed (lower ranked conference champion). They would most likely be narrowly missing the a 1-3 seed by missing/losing their conference championship game. Similarly the teams that end up in the 4 seed would most likely be down in the 9-12 range (or out of the playoff entirely) if they didn't win their conference championship. So I don't think that specific 'decision' would ever come up for a team.
That's a great point. Maybe it could have happened in a previous era, when there were more power conferences like the Pac-12 and Big East, so the teams vying for the 4 seed in a conference title game would actually be power teams who wouldn't fall too far if they lost. But those days are long gone and probably never coming back.
Great read. One comment though
> That doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing teams tank to get the 5 seed instead of the 4
Under the current format I don't think that would ever be a realistic scenario. The teams that are likely to end up in the 5 seed would probably never be in line to get the 4 seed (lower ranked conference champion). They would most likely be narrowly missing the a 1-3 seed by missing/losing their conference championship game. Similarly the teams that end up in the 4 seed would most likely be down in the 9-12 range (or out of the playoff entirely) if they didn't win their conference championship. So I don't think that specific 'decision' would ever come up for a team.
That's a great point. Maybe it could have happened in a previous era, when there were more power conferences like the Pac-12 and Big East, so the teams vying for the 4 seed in a conference title game would actually be power teams who wouldn't fall too far if they lost. But those days are long gone and probably never coming back.