And this will never happen, however I'd love to see the regular season champ be an automatic bid, and if the conf tourney champ is different, them also. In saying this before my am coffee, no idea if it would squash the little guys, help them, or eliminate the excessive teams from the so called power conferences. ¯\(ツ)/¯
I’ve agreed with the first part for decades. If you have a losing record against your comparables (same conference teams = similar opportunities for income, staffing and players) then you should not be awarded a tourney birth. You failed with your set of resources posiible, even if you still might be better than a mid-major. A tourney birth for these teams rewards failure.
The “so called Power Conferences”…. There is no debate, the worst teams in the power conferences are better than the majority of the G and mid major conferences. Just look at the Big East, every team is a dumpster fire other than UConn.
I don't know if I agree. If we're asking whether the Big East teams (besides UConn) could win the ACC or the Big10, the answer is probably 'no' right now. But the upper middle (after UConn) could have been competitive with the middle of the pack of both conferences last season. I'm talking Villanova, Creighton, Marquette, even St. John's. This season may be a little different, in part because of realignment, but also because of an exodus of talent from the Big East. But who's to say what might happen in another 2 or 3 seasons. The recruitment process is not fool proof, and the Power Conferences are not omniscient. Just review the recruitment of Maddy Siegrist to see it, or even Caitlin Clark. Talent is overlooked all the time, or refuses to go to the 'obvious' powerhouse.