NCAA Tournament: Changing Bracket Rules for 2013 and Beyond

Apr 2, 2013; Norfolk, VA, USA; A general view of an NCAA logo on the court prior to the finals of the Norfolk regional between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Duke Blue Devils in the 2013 NCAA womens basketball tournament at Ted Constant Convocation Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

At first glance you would think that the changes that the NCAA made for brackets and the NCAA Tournament had already been done, but there wasn’t a rule for teams that solid seasons and a killer home winning streak to be seeded higher than 12th. The following rules will go into effect for seeding this upcoming season and a good chunk has to do with in conference matchups and the number of times you play your conference opponents.

From CNNSI’s Andy Glockner:

"* How early conference rivals can meet in the tournament will now be based on how many times they have already played prior to the tournament. If teams only have played once previously, they can be bracketed to meet as early as the “third round” (i.e. Round of 32). If they have played twice, they can’t meet before the Sweet 16. If they already have played three times, they can’t have a potential matchup until the Elite Eight.* The rule that required the top three seeds from a particular conference to be put into different regions has been changed. Now, the top four teams from a league will be separated only if they all land within the top four seed lines (i.e. top 16 teams on the 1-68 seed list)."

Another rule chance that did not effect Oregon this season has to do with the ‘First Four’ and how the matchup scenerio is set.

"* The committee will avoid regular-season nonconference rematches in the First Four, and also in the Round of 64, if possible. If two teams from the same conference are in the First Four, any of the rules can be relaxed to help accommodate that scenario."

In looking back to last season Oregon and UCLA met just once in the regular season. Of course, when you have a Conference Tournament some of these matchups will be a little more redundant than not, but the more you know your opponent, the easier it is to beat them – of course that is ..if you have done it throughout the regular season.

Oregon Basketball is not too far off believe it or not. Oregon will face Georgetown in the Armed Forces Classic to an almost National audience on ESPN2 on Friday, November 8th from South Korea.

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