RULE
ESPN’s Framework efforts are focused on NCAA field prediction as we would expect the NCAA Division I basketball committee to select courts in March. ESPN bracket researcher Joe Lunardi uses the same data points preferred by the committee, including schedule strength and other season-long metrics, including NET data and similar team tables as to what the NCAA has available, in his predictions for the field. Visit the NCAA’s website for a fuller understanding of NCAA Selection Criteria.
Frame 68 teams
The 68-team framework is the standard version of the NCAA field that has been in place since 2011. However, if the 2021 field consists of 68 teams, there will be some key differences compared to previous years.
Of course, the main adjustment from a normal year is the playing of the entire NCAA tournament in a single venue. This eliminates the need to consider geography in seeding. Additionally, there will be at least one less automatic qualifier this season, as the Ivy League’s decision to forgo the 2020-21 season reduces the number of AQ entries to 31 for this season.
48-team frame
In this forecast, a condensed selection process would reduce the field to 10 major teams and 10 automatic qualifiers (the latter still receiving one revenue unit). The top four seeds in each region will say goodbye to the second round, with four games in the first round for each region – 5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9 – no play have fans. The seed’s home field is higher.
To minimize travel, pairs in the first round will be geo-guided to the greatest extent possible. And the narrow field resulted in only 32 teams competing at the central venue. All participants must post a minimum 0.500 conference record – the “Lunardi Rules” – for overall review.
16-team frame
In this prediction, the committee selects and seeded the best 16 teams available. There is no automatic qualifier, although all non-competitive conference champions receive a designated revenue unit.
To maintain a sense of national balance, participation in the conference was limited to four teams. And no region has more than one team from the same conference.
