What if, instead of expanding, the NCAA Tournament shrank, abolished at-large berths, and rewarded only conference champions? How would that have looked in 2015?
This not a very serious althist as this would never happen, but it's kind of fun to think about. One team gets into a 25-team field from each region of the National Assoication of Basketball Coaches. The 2015 teams might be:
Region 1: Manhattan (beat Albany in playoff)
Region 2: Notre Dame
Region 3: North Florida (beat Coastal Carolina in playoff)
Region 4: VCU
Region 5: Villanova
Region 6: New Mexico State (beat Eastern Washington in playoff)
Region 7: Wisconsin
Region 8: Iowa State
Region 9: Gonzaga (beat UC Irvine in playoff)
Region 10: Northeastern
Region 11: UAB
Region 12: North Dakota State (beat Valparaiso in playoff)
Region 13: Harvard (beat Lafayette in playoff)
Region 14: Buffalo
Region 15: Hampton
Region 16: Northern Iowa
Region 17: Wyoming
Region 18: Robert Morris
Region 19: Belmont
Region 20: Arizona
Region 21: Kentucky
Region 22: Wofford
Region 23: Stephen F. Austin (beat Texas Southern in playoff)
Region 24: Georgia State
Region 25: SMU
And, to amp up the craziness, the matchups will be drawn FA Cup style. Again, nothing serious here, just the late-night ramblings of a man with nothing to do.