LIST-O-RAMA: The ups and downs of conference tournaments

Throughout this week I've been trying to decide whether or not I like college basketball's conference tournaments. So let's break down the pros and cons:

THINGS I LIKE ABOUT CONFERENCE TOURNEYS
1. They give the bubble teams a chance to shine. North Carolina State, Oregon and Missouri all began the week unsure whether they would make the NCAAs. But given a few more games, each proved they belonged in the big dance.

2. They mean the world to small schools. I watched the tail end of Vermont's victory on Saturday which gave them their first NCAA bid ever. The fans who rushed the court were absolutely delirous with joy. It's clear that the league tourney is the highlight of the year for small conference schools.

3. They give the fans a week of great matchups, upsets and high-stakes drama. It's hard to dislike any opportunity to see extra in-conference battles.

THINGS I HATE ABOUT CONFERENCE TOURNEYS
1. They can screw good teams in small conferences. Even if you dominate your league in the regular season, one bad game in your tournament means you're snubbed by the NCAA.

2. Bad teams from good conferences can steal a spot from a more deserving school. Every time some bottom-dweller gets hot for three days and wins their tourney, that means a deserving at-large team (like Gonzaga, potentially) gets their bubble burst.

3. The best teams have absolutely nothing to lose, nothing to gain. Arizona, Marquette, Kansas and every other elite team that lost this week won't have their seeding affected, and neither will Kentucky should it win Sunday. All it does for good teams is wear them out and expose players to injury by playing three days in a row.

The final verdict: Get rid of them. The regular season is enough time for bubble teams and small schools to prove themselves and NCAA bids should reward regular season performance. And eliminating conference tourneys would add that much more drama to the NCAAs. But if conference tournaments must remain (and they will, because they make money) I advocate implementing the Lunardi Plan, which simply adds tournament wins and losses to a team's conference record.