The 2018 NCAA Tournament provided all kinds of entertainment to the masses, from Loyola-Chicago and Sister Jean to a memorable run to the title for Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and the Villanova Wildcats. However, the 2018 “big dance” got off to a (very) rocky start, as the good folks at TBS were widely panned for major changes made to the tournament’s selection show.
Perhaps the most criticized change to the 2018 show was the choice to reveal the entire 68-team field in alphabetical order… before actually placing the teams in their brackets for the world to see. In 2019, TBS gives way to CBS as the host network for this particular program and, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, things are going back to the way they used to be.
Some (very good) sports media news:
CBS will be changing the NCAA Selection Show from last year's broadcast on TBS. No rolling out all the teams in alphabetical order this year. They will return to unveiling the teams in brackets when you first see them on the screen.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) March 10, 2019
If nothing else, this is an easy win for the NCAA, CBS, and Turner, as virtually everyone hated what they elected to do in 2018. In the grand scheme, it didn’t matter all that much, as the 68 teams still made their way to their respective venues and put on quite a show after a few weeks of basketball action. In the same breath, last year’s choices didn’t work out well and the use of common sense to travel back in time to give the people what they want is a good one.
“Selection Sunday” is rapidly approaching and there will be “snubs” and controversy about a few teams and where they are placed in the bracket. That part is unavoidable but the way the programs will be displayed no longer appears to be an issue that provides headaches to those trying to consume this evergreen bit of media content.
