clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

What If The BCS Ran College Basketball?: The Bowl Match-Ups

You know how much I love the BCS, right? It's times like these, March Madness, that I really start to miss that convoluted, nonsensical, arbitrary system for determining a National Champion. This tournament, which pits teams head-to-head so that the champion can be determined on the court seems so...boring.

So I started thinking...what if the BCS ran college basketball as well as college football? What kind of post-season exhibition games that mean nothing would we have to look forward to? And who would play in the BCS National Championship Game?

First, some ground rules...

  • We'll use the 2011-2012 bowl game schedule.
  • Same rules as football, BCS Conference champions get auto-BCS bids. At-large bids determined by any non-BCS teams highly ranked and remaining at-large teams.
  • I will try my best to stick to bowl-conference affiliations.
  • Mid-Major bowl affiliations will be re-imagined amongst the different conferences in basketball.
  • Keep the same order in which the bowls are played.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque, N.M.

Stanford Cardinal (21-11) vs. New Mexico St. Aggies (26-9)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise, ID

No. 24 Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-6) vs. No. 16 Wichita St. Shockers (27-5)

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, LA

Central Florida Knights (22-10) vs. No. 21 Temple Owls (24-7)

Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl, St. Petersburg, FL

South Florida Bulls (20-13) vs. St. Louis Billikins (25-7)

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego, CA

No. 18 San Diego St. Aztecs (26-7) vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (26-6)

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas, NV

Arizona Wildcats (23-11) vs. New Mexico Lobos (27-6)

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, HI

Memphis Tigers (26-8) vs. St. Mary's Gaels (27-5)

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, Shreveport, LA

Maryland Terrapins (17-15) vs. No. 20 UNLV Runnin' Rebels (26-8)

Little Caesars Bowl, Detroit, MI

Iowa Hawkeyes (17-16) vs. No. 11 Murray St. Racers (30-1)

Belk Bowl, Charlotte, NC

Miami Hurricanes (19-12) vs. No.9 Marquette Golden Eagles (25-7)

Military Bowl, Washington, D.C.

Marshall Thundering Herd (21-13) vs. Harvard Crimson (26-4)

Holiday Bowl, San Diego, CA

Texas Longhorns (20-13) vs. California Golden Bears (24-9)

Champs Sports Bowl, Orlando, FL

Virginia Cavaliers (22-9) vs. No.23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (22-11)

Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, TX

No. 25 Iowa St. Cyclones (22-10) vs. Washington Huskies (21-10)

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Dallas, TX

Southern Miss. Golden Eagles (25-8) vs. Colorado St. Rams (20-11)

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Bronx, NY

No. 13 Georgetown Hoyas (23-8) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (19-14)

Music City Bowl, Nashville, TN

Clemson Tigers (16-15) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (18-14)

Insight Bowl, Tempe, Ariz.

No. 15 Indiana Hoosiers (25-8) vs. Kansas St. Wildcats (21-10)

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl, Houston, TX

Purdue Boilermakers (21-12) vs. Connecticut Huskies (20-13)

Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX

N.C. State Wolfpack (22-12) vs. Oregon Ducks (22-9)

AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TN

West Virginia Mountaineers (19-13) vs. LSU Tigers (18-14)

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, San Francisco, CA

UCLA Bruins (19-14) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (20-12)

Chick-fil-A Bowl, Atlanta, GA

No. 6 Duke Blue Devils (27-6) vs. Mississippi St. Bulldogs (21-11)

TicketCity Bowl, Dallas, TX

Northwestern Wildcats (18-13) vs. No. 19 Creighton Bluejays (28-5)

Outback Bowl, Tampa, FL

No. 10 Michigan Wolverines (24-9) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (18-14)

Capital One Bowl, Orlando, FL

No. 7 Ohio St. Buckeyes (27-7) vs. No. 22 Florida Gators (23-10)

Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, FL

No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers (24-9) vs. Mississippi Rebels (20-13)

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA

No. 8 Michigan St. Spartans (27-7, Big 10 Champs) vs.Colorado Buffaloes (23-11, Pac-12 Champs)

Tostitos Fiesta, Glendale, AZ

No. 5 Missouri Tigers (30-4, Big 12 Champs) vs. No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels (29-5)

Sugar, New Orleans, LA

Vanderbilt Commodores (24-10, SEC Champs) vs. No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (27-6)

Orange Bowl, Miami, FL

Louisville Cardinals (26-9, Big East Champs) vs. No. 17 Florida St. Seminoles (24-9, ACC Champs)

Cotton Bowl, Arlington, TX

No. 12 Baylor Bears (27-7) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (21-11)

BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, AL

Cincinnati Bearcats (24-10) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (17-15)

GoDaddy.com, Mobile, AL

Akron Zips(22-11) vs. VCU Rams (28-6)

BCS Championship Game, Miami, Fla.

No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats (32-2) vs. No. 2 Syracuse Orange (31-2)

Reminder: As dumb as this all way, remember, this is exactly how we determine our football national champion.