Here we go again.
The NCAA Committee that selects the 65 teams for March Madness
blew it big time.
Where’s the beef? Why, in Syracuse, N.Y., and Philadelphia, Pa.
Perhaps even in Springfield, Miss.
Here we go again.
The NCAA Committee that selects the 65 teams for March Madness blew it big time.
Where’s the beef? Why, in Syracuse, N.Y., and Philadelphia, Pa. Perhaps even in Springfield, Miss.
How can Syracuse, which went 10-6 in a power conference (Big East) get snubbed in favor of Stanford, which went 18-12 overall and lost seven of its last 10? And how can Drexel, which won 23 games and whose 13 road wins included triumphs at NCAA Tournament teams Villanova and Creighton, get snubbed in favor of Vanderbilt?
Did the fact that Stanford beat UCLA and Vanderbilt beat Florida weigh so heavily in their favors that they could do no wrong down the stretch? It appears that way.
Missouri State was another school that got snubbed for the second straight year. Of course, only six of 34 at-large bids went to smaller schools, which is two less than last year. That was cause for schools like Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Arkansas to rejoice. But not for Akron, who with 26 wins had more than any team in the country who wasn’t invited, or Appalachian State with 25 victories.
The beauty of March Madness is that a George Mason will upset the applecart and capture the attention of college basketball fans throughout the country. That’s not likely to happen. My guess is that Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth out of the same (Colonial) conference that gave us Mason will be a handful for any opponent. The same for Winthrop out of the Big South, but don’t expect a Mason-type run.
Amazingly, Drexel, which was so impressive as a road warrior this year, opened the NIT at home against big-name North Carolina State, which nearly knocked another worthy candidate out of the Big Dance with its amazing run through the ACC Tournament. No snide remarks about the Wolfpack winning the first-round matchup. Some teams just don’t get over the snub.
Some seeds in the tournament defy logic. How do Duke and Vanderbilt draw No. 6 seeds? And how does Mountain West Conference champion UNLV get a No. 7 seed? After all, the Rebels won 28 games, moved up to No. 18 in the rankings and then got a seventh seed in the Midwest. Go figure.
I am not sure there is an answer that will completely satisfy everyone. But I do believe that more than six of 34 at-large bids should go to smaller schools.
Even if a Drexel or Appy State or Belmont gets beat handily in the first round, let’s remember that there are 65 teams who make the tournament and that the sixth best team out of the Pac-10 should not be one of them.
Stanford and Vanderbilt have great academic reputations and their success on the hardwood is noteworthy. But it wasn’t worthy of an invitation to this year’s Big Dance or of Syracuse and Drexel being treated like ugly stepsisters.
