The format put in place by Geno and Dambrot in reaction to the 2010 team winning is gone. Both sat in meetings and the news saying "that should never happen" yet neither could win a game in post season giving credence to the thought that the hottest team is the one that should be the rep in the tourney.
I disagreed with the format at first but looking at Horizon I came to like it. Now I am a bit ambivalent. The current set up looks fine and does not penalize much but Ruck's idea is appealing as well.
Looking back on 2010 it took awhile for the team to figure out how to play AROUND AB. They adjusted all year long finding their roles and finally figured it out. To penalize a team that is finally hitting on all cylinders is not right either. Geno and Dambrot have a point that the regular season should count but the hottest team and team going the deepest is also a conference goal. Interesting conundrum. (of course , my answer considering the arms race and inequities in officiating home teams and P5 teams not leaving their homes is to expand to 128 and get both regualr season and tourney teams of lower conferences in rather than barely .500 P5 teams)
I'm all for 128, or some variation of more teams as long as it allows for the regular season winner, and the conference tourney winner to have an auto berth. I've about throw the remote through the TV every time I read the screen or hear some analyst talk about how TCU, K-State, Wake, Clemson (for the love!) are on the bubble. Even JG's Illini, without a B1G Championship game appearance, have no business in the conversation. Why they continue to reward crappy teams that get two big wins over top-25 teams, but otherwise are mediocre, with an at-large bid, is beyond me. Simple solutions for me always start with an at-large requirement being .500 or better in conference. It eliminates A LOT of controversy. I give credit to an at-large with 20+ wins and a .500 record in the ACC, B1G, etc.
I also think guys like Illinois State (27-6, 17-1), Middle Tennesse St (27-4, 17-1), UNCW (28-5, 15-3) should be locks. And they are not. And I'd really like the selection committee to justify it when they put a team in the tournament with 17-18 wins over 14-15 losses for an at-large bid. I don't care how tough you scheduled, you still lost A LOT.