The NCAA basketball tournament — “March Madness” — is the best sporting event in America. This is simply a fact, not a debate.
That experience is only one small step from being replicated at the high school level in Wyoming.
With only 67 boys teams and 66 girls teams playing high school basketball in Wyoming in 2023, the conditions are almost perfect for what could be the state’s greatest sporting event: a one-classification, single-elimination, all-teams-invited state basketball tournament.
The scheduling for such an event isn’t as crazy as it seems. Over one week, Wyoming’s own version of March Madness could take place across four basketball courts, likely in Casper; between boys and girls, it would be 126 games, plus five “pigtail” games, something that could be accomplished in six days. I broke it down, and the logistics are possible.
And let’s face it: The tournament would be awesome.
Seeding the teams
Each team in the state would be seeded either 1-67 (boys) or 1-66 based on a ranking system, to be determined. For now, we’ll use last season’s Maxpreps ratings for boys and girls, which have their own problems but will suffice as an example of what’s possible.
Scheduling logistics
The first-round games would be Monday and Tuesday, with boys games one day and girls games the other, rotating every other year. With 32 games to be played, eight games apiece could be played at the Ford Wyoming Center, Casper College, Natrona County and Kelly Walsh using a schedule similar to the first-day schedule already in use by the WHSAA — 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (The last four games are an hour earlier than the current schedule, just to keep things rolling.)
Pigtail games, or “first four” games, could be played on Monday/Tuesday morning in nearby gyms, such as Glenrock or Midwest, or at one of the middle-school gyms in Casper such as Centennial, Dean Morgan or CY, which are all capable of hosting a small high-school game. The schedule would be set so that pigtail winners would play in the late time slots on Monday/Tuesday night.
The second-round games would come on Wednesday, with another 32 games (16 boys, 16 girls) to be played at the four main sites, with sites rotating every year between boys and girls.
Thursday brings third-round games, or the Sweet 16 round. With only 16 games to be played, eight games apiece could be staged at the Ford Wyoming Center and Casper College, with boys and girls rotating sites annually.
Friday is the fourth round, the Elite Eight, with four games apiece between boys and girls to be played that afternoon and evening at the FWC and CC.
Saturday brings us the Final Four and championship rounds, all at the FWC, with semifinal games at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. … and championships at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Just like the NCAA Tournament, there would be no consolation rounds. When you lose, you’re done.
Here’s what the 2023 brackets would look like for boys and girls using the Maxpreps rankings at the end of the season, boys first:
Then girls:
Benefits
With a one-class, single-elimination tournament, the need for regional tournaments is eliminated. Without a need to qualify for state, the qualifying tournament can go away.
The “time out of school” argument also loses a bit of sway here, too. With regional tournaments, every team in the state — more or less — is already missing two days of class, and those who qualify for state are missing two more. In the proposed all-comers state tournament, since more than half the teams leave after the first round/pigtails, most teams would only need one day out of class to participate. Additionally, teams that play in the Monday round could potentially return to school and have class on Tuesday, and then return to the tournament for continued play on Wednesday. Three-quarters of teams would be back in class by Thursday morning.
Also, with classifications eliminated for state, regular-season scheduling could take on a whole new dynamic. Teams would no longer be required to schedule certain conference teams and could instead focus on a regionalized schedule that reduces travel or a more challenging schedule with more challenging teams to prepare for the rigors of the state tournament — or to boost that power ranking for a better seed.
And upsets! The potential for upsets and Cinderella runs is heightened in a single-elimination, all-class affair.
Are you serious?
I’m only half-joking when I suggest this. Wyoming’s setup now is absolutely fine and in line with what other states do to crown state basketball champions.
But there’s something inside me that thinks it’d be a lot of fun to watch every team battle it out across a week in Casper.
Forget the NCAAs. This would easily replace it as the must-watch sporting event of the year.
–patrick