Played by the play-in game

OK---someone has yet to adequately explain this to me. What exactly is the purpose of the NCAA's play-in game? I'm talking about that little game being played tonight in Dayton---the one that sticks out like an abscess when you look at the bracket.

Storied powerhouses Morehead State and Alabama State will battle tonight for the right to say "We're #64!" As has been the case since this abomination was conceived more than a decade ago, the play-in game will be played in Dayton, Ohio. Their Chamber of Commerce must be positively tingling. They have doubtless netted billions of tourism dollars over the years with their annual "Battle for #64" tilt. The winner's reward will be a righteous ass-kicking later this week at the hands of Louisville.

How disheartening it must be for these small conference teams to win their conference tourneys and qualify for the "Mini-Dance." Fans storm the court, players are carried off like conquering heroes, they gather Sunday for the tournament selection show. They watch in stunned silence as they're relegated to the NCAA's version of purgatory.

And to add a racial element to all of this, why is it that one or both teams in the play-in game are almost always a HBCU? (Historically Black College or University) Black men CAN jump, can't they? Talk about "Separate, but Equal!" Somewhere, Spike Lee has a hard-on.

And why only one play-in game. Why not four? Make all of the 16 seeds advance following a play-in game? That would give three more at-large teams a chance to enter the field. While we're at it, why not expand the field to 128? To 256? Hell, let EVERYBODY in. I'd pay good money to see the 1-versus-64 matchup in the first round as UNC beats the New Jersey Institute of Technology by 70.