Is the BracketBuster Worth It?

BracketBusters is one of the best concepts in college basketball, pitting some of the top mid-major teams against each other. And UC Riverside. The concept is awesome, though not without its faults. Namely, Long Beach State at New Mexico State. The Aggies are one of the most talented teams in the country, but have absolutely not shot at an at-large bid. But if you put them in a game against say, Butler, then maybe the concept would be on to something.

Otherwise, the BracketBusters are great television, but with little impact according to Jerry Palm at The Sporting News.

There isn't a single case of a team that clearly would have made the NCAA Tournament had it not lost its BracketBusters game. The closest might be Missouri State, which lost at home to Winthrop last year. Given the quality of teams left out of the field last year, though, I don't think the Bears would have made it even with that win.

The year before, Missouri State won its BracketBusters game at eventual 12-seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee, finished 21st in the RPI and second place in the Missouri Valley Conference in the best year ever for that league -- and got left out of the NCAA Tournament anyway.

Thanks Captain Bring Down. So the question remains, is the BracketBuster worth it?

The answer is yes. Will it have an impact on Selection Sunday? No. The BracketBuster won't have any impact unless they get some of the big conferences to participate. The only way to do that is to get some of the BCS conferences to participate. That's the rub.

The solution would be to limit the big conferences to only four bids unless they send some bottom feeders to the BracketBuster. If the Big East, for instance, didn't participate then they would only get four teams in the dance. How long do you think it would take them to sign up? This would, once and for all, settle the question on whether teams from the "mid-major" conferences could compete with the BCS conferences.

So while we're holding our breath waiting for that to happen, here are some of the "meaningless" games that you should enjoy this weekend.

Kent State at St. Mary's: The Gaels probably have their tournament bid sewn up. Kent State, however, really needs to impress the tournament committee with a win. The Golden Flashes have four players who average double figures. The most intriguing matchup will be the battle of the point guards, Kent Stat's Al Fisher against heralded freshman Patty Mills. Both players lead their respective teams in scoring, but are also talented play-makers. But the key will come down to St. Mary's senior Diamon Simpson who has been seemingly unstoppable in big games. St. Mary's might be in a more comfortable position, but look for them to relish this challenge and knock off the Golden Flashes.

Nevada at Southern Illinois: The WAC has widdled its way down to a one-bid conference. But the Wolf Pack could restore some credibility to the conference with a win on Saturday. Keep an on point-guard Marcelus Kemp as he single-handedly tries to get the Pack back into the tournament.

UC Santa Barbara at Utah State: One of the former great rivalries in the Big West, but why are they playing this again? Why not give each team a better game. Although, there is nothing tougher than trying to win in Logan.

Rider at Cal State Northridge: This game will lack a little something following the ankle injury to Calvin Chitwood and the Broncos three-game losing streak. Still, watching the Matadors battle 6-foot-11 Jason Thompson should make this game very interesting.