Larry Moko of the Hamilton Spectator noted today there are rumblings, at least among women's basketball coaches across Canada, of moving to a 16-team, two-weekend format for the national tournament instead of the current Final 8 format the women and men have long employed.
It's probably only a matter of time until the basketball tournaments are expanded. One post we ran out of time to write following the Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees' run to the Final 8 was on theme of the, "The Final 8 format, like the Carleton Ravens and Brandon Bobcats in Sunday's low-scoring final, is looking a bit tired." The way Carleton ground out a three-point win was admirable. It was also hard to ignore that in CIS basketball's biggest TV showcase, the two teams who were playing their third game in three days combined to shoot 34-for-111, barely 30 per cent. Ravens star Osvaldo Jeanty played a great all-around game, but the leg drive he needed to put a little extra finish on his jumpers was not there, which led to him shooting 5-for-19.
Long story short, there are more good teams in CIS hoops. The game is being played at a pace now -- especially with the 24-second clock coming in for the men next year -- that make it too much to ask teams to play three games in three days at a national tournament. Going to 16 teams, with four regionals followed by a Final Four on the following weekend, seems to address both dilemmas.
It could not happen until 2010 for the women, and presumably 2011 for the men since Carleton and Capital Sports are committed to host the men's finals for the next three years are expecting eight teams to descend on Scotiabank Place, not four. (Link via Mark Wacyk's indispensable cishoops.ca.)
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