Bracketology: How to compile the resume of an at-large bid

For Bracketology, building a rock-solid resume in both nonconference and in-conference play is vital to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

For the NCAA Tournament, there are 32 automatic bids awarded every single season. The winners of each conference tournament are automatically given these bids every season, although their seeds are dictated by their on-court play and the resume they put together throughout the season. Combining on-court play and a resume is what is known as a team’s “body of work.”

This body of work is exactly what determines the remaining 36 “at-large” bids for the NCAA Tournament. The Big Dance is the best postseason tournament in college basketball and is also one of the biggest spectacles in sports. March Madness puts each of the 68 teams that make it on the national stage and give them a chance to prove themselves against the best.

Although there is only one team standing at the end of the tournament, the phenomenal finishes, storylines, and Cinderella stories are what put the Madness in March.

For the teams that do not win their conference tournament, building an impressive resume is incredibly important for their at-large hopes. There are 351 teams in college hoops, but only 68 are able to compete in the Big Dance.

But if a team does not receive an automatic bid, what goes into making an elite resume that jumps off the page for the tournament committee? What can a team do to make their odds of receiving an at-large bid higher and how can they avoid sweating things out on Selection Sunday?

Let’s take a look at what goes into building a complete body of work and an outstanding tournament resume.