Let's face it the BET spoiled many of us. In the very beginning seats were available. Then came the dominance of the mid 1980's Big East. Georgetown, SJU, Syracuse, Nova, even a Providence and a Seton Hall.
Then you had some great UConn teams added into the mix.
Above anything else, a bunch of teams came in that really brought fans and because those teams were very good. Louisville, Cincy, West Va, ND, Pittsburgh, etc.
2011 11 out of 16 teams made the Big Dance.
Having 16 teams meant after the Schools' allotment there were almost no tickets left over.
The BET was THE hottest ticket around for many years. With the newly restructured Catholic Big East there is no way to compare. If it manages to be mostly sold out that would be a good thing. There is no use trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Boeheim believe me wishes the old Big East never broke up. Calhoun either if he was still there.