NCAA tales of Team X and Team Y

The Monday After Selection Sunday is my favorite part of March Madness.
You might be thinking that my grammar is poor for starting most of the words in that first sentence with capital letters, but I really think that this day should receive its own special billing. It's just as important as Selection Sunday because the bracket study begins and the snub arguments start.
The best aspect of The Monday After Selection Sunday centers on the teams that didn't make the field. I love watching clips like the one in which Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg telling the assembled media that they are "certifiably insane" if they don't think the Hokies are one of the 64 best teams in the country. Greenberg and every other coach who feels the need to lobby for his team's inclusion has never heard Bill Parcells and his famous "You are what you are" speech. As in, you are simply not good enough to be in the field.
Virginia Tech, in this case, is Team X, a team from a big conference hoping to receive a bid with some help from the strength of its peers. The Hokies were 19-13 and ranked 52nd in the RPI. They finished fourth in the ACC, the top-ranked conference according to the RPI. Virginia Tech played the 36th best schedule in the country and lost by two points to the Tar Heels, in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. That was the problem that the Hokies had all season -- they played tough teams and didn't beat them. Greenberg and the Hokies were 1-7 against the RPI Top 50.
But is Virginia Tech more qualified than Dayton, who also missed the field? The Flyers are Team Y is this case, finishing 21-10 overall with strong numbers in the RPI (32) and strength of schedule categories (27). Dayton enjoyed non-conference wins over Big East Tournament champion Pittsburgh, a No. 4 seed, and regular season runner-up Louisville, a No. 3 seed, giving the Flyers two victories over teams from the league that received the most bids to the tournament (eight). But Dayton's seventh-place finish in its own league, an Atlantic 10 Conference that saw most of its power teams fade at the end of the season, and quarterfinal exit from its conference tournament spelled doom.
Both schools will argue that they deserve a chance to prove themselves against the best teams in the country, and they will do so for different reasons. The Hokies will say that they are better than St. Joseph's, another team from the Atlantic 10 that played its way into the NCAAs by advancing to the final of its conference tournament. The Flyers will argue that they are better than Villanova, a team that lost 10 games this season by 10 or more points but benefited from playing in the rugged Big East. The Hawks would gladly tell Virginia Tech that they would play a tougher schedule against teams in the RPI Top 50 if they didn't have to go on the road every time to do it. The Wildcats would point out to Dayton that beating Pittsburgh or Louisville on a given night is a nice accomplishment, but that the Flyers would not be 21-10 overall after being worn down by 18 league games against the likes of the Panthers, Cardinal, Notre Dame and Connecticut.
Both sides have compelling cases to make. The one thing in common that all the Team Xs and Team Ys out there have is that they are simply not good enough to be in the field. They would not contend for a national championship even if they were selected. Unlike what the fools running the BCS seem to think, the regular season in college basketball does matter. Just ask the Hokies or the Flyers, two teams who will be watching the NCAAs on television when Thursday rolls around.
Where does this argument end? Tournament expansion? Bob Knight said on ESPN Sunday night that he would like to see the NCAAs make a move to 128 teams, with one play-in round and then a re-seeding to identify the best 64 teams in the country. But what about Team 129? Team 130? They would have the same gripe that Greenberg has today -- in my opinion, no gripe at all. Do we really want to see .500 teams slugging it out to advance, something like the rubbish that the football bowl system has created with its 28 games? Half of the teams in Division I end up being eligible. Doesn't that de-value the regular season a little bit? March Madness is perfect as it is right now. The only change needed is an acknowledgement of how special a day today is.