Hill: 2 simple fixes to make the NCAA Tournament even greater

By Adam Hill

Las Vegas Review-Journal

2 months ago

Florida Atlantic's Brandon Weatherspoon (23) argues a call with a referee during the overtime p ... — Florida Atlantic’s Brandon Weatherspoon (23) argues a call with a referee during the overtime period of a first-round college basketball game against Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 22, 2024, in New York. Northwestern won 77-65. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

While the NCAA Tournament remains the greatest sporting event on the planet, there are still some details that could be improved.

First, getting calls right is vital. Few fans are concerned about how long games take this time of year with other games going on at the same time, so all the delays for reviews actually aren’t that much of a problem.

But you can’t have a system in which there are 10 delays in the final minute for out-of-bounds calls and yet there is nothing that can be done about an egregious missed foul call that cost Samford the chance to upset Kansas.

That must be fixed.

Also, let’s fix the yearly scheduling blunder on the first Saturday and Sunday. After two days of nonstop action Thursday and Friday, viewers are stuck with two standalone games Saturday and Sunday morning, followed by oddly staggered starts late into the night.

There has to be a better way.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.