So doing some research....the lowest seed to ever win the NCAA was Villanova as an 8. They finished 4th in the Big East that year. The lowest seeded team to make the FInal Four, there are 4 and we are one of them was 11. Yet year after year the P5 conferences dominate the teams in the tournament. over half the teams in 2018-19 were from the P5.(35) There are 32 conferences eligible for their teams to be in the 68. So the winner always comes out of the top 32. which leaves 36 teams for which the tournament is just an experience and a reward etc.....for the NCAA tournament is is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and now that gambling is rocking and rolling just imagine how much more advertisements are going to cost and viewership will be up cuz I placed 20 bucks on Northern Kentucky to beat Kentucky at 100-1.....anyway what got me on this track was knowing that Bradley was not at full strength yesterday and maybe today as well.......they have had some major injuries in the past two years.....In the last two years the Ramblers have finished tied for first (won the tie breaker right?) and second......and overall above Bradley in the standings and overall rankings...yet Bradley goes because of the tournament victory including a one point victory in the tournament over LU.....I will always think that league play is way more difficult to win than the tournament. But my main point is that conferences outside the P5 get screwed.....So how bout P5 get 4 bids apiece...then the remaining 27 conferences get 1 . (tournament or league) So that brings us to 47 teams then the next 10 highest ranked conferences (that year) get to bring one more. either their tournament or league champion.....that brings us to 57 and then we go 11 at large bids...If both league play and the Tournament are to be legitimately considered important both should be rewarded......
I also wonder if the small conferences make or lose money.

Oddly enough, the MVC was probably the biggest catalyst for the current wave of so many at large bids going to Big6 conferences, and so few to mid majors. In 2006, the MVC got 4 teams into the tournament, and one other team (Missouri State) who should’ve also made it with an RPI under 30. The big conferences took notice, accused the MVC of gaming the system (RPI), and started “adjusting” the system and selection process to make sure the “worthy” teams were chosen. As if the MVC teams weren’t worthy enough that year (2 of the 4 made the Sweet 16). The next year SIU was so good they couldn’t be left out, when Mullins was playing and they made the tournament not just as an at large, but as a 4 seed (Creighton got the other MVC bid as the tournament winner). SIU lost to Kansas by 3 in the Sweet 16 round. I was a year out of law school, rooting hard for the Salukis that year. Second worst taste in my mouth from an NCAA loss after our Final Four loss to Michigan. What could’ve been. It’s been downhill for non power conference schools ever since.