If UConn didn’t make the tournament but were playing a mini tournament with teams from the other two top basketball leagues on a similar level (top 35-41 for a 16-team tournament) and it was happening in Vegas in March, I could take that excuse to visit. Again, it’s a great time to go.
And if I didn’t want to pay to go to Vegas, I would absolutely watch on TV with nothing else going on in March. I feel like I would watch it over the final rounds of the NCAA tournament. Usually by then Cinderella is out, and I never really cared about Cinderella in the first place; I feel like mainly the general public and fans of schools outside the top 75 are those who care about Cinderella.
And once again it’s just a test. If it performs anywhere near as well as the NIT does, then they know they have something, the public isn’t necessarily beholden to NCAA events, and they could consider starting a new March Madness (and a new CFP).