The nine members of the NCAA selection committee only began debating the 34 at-large invitations for the men’s tournament Friday. But the annual whining over the process has begun.
The selection committee is destined to leave off teams-most of them from lower-echelon conferences-with lustrous records. When borderline teams from conferences such as the Big 10 and Big East receive bids over smaller schools with better records, the committee will be charged with favoring larger media markets. It’s no secret that the cash flow the tournament generates from CBS is the lifeblood of the NCAA.
Selection committee chairman Tom Butters denies that TV appeal is a factor, but subconsciously committee members have to know that Boston College will attract more viewers than East Tennessee State. Some suggest a conflict of interest, which the NCAA could avoid by opening the field to all 298 Division I teams. But Butters discounts that suggestion.
Butters said he is opposed to expanding the field, largely because only the Big 10, Pac-10 and Ivy League do not have postseason tournaments. Since other conferences give automatic qualification to the tournament champion, almost every Division I school has a chance to play for the national title.
If the Big 10 wants to ensure that Northwestern and Penn State have a shot at the Final Four, let it conduct a postseason tourney. Twenty-seven of the 30 Division I conferences with automatic qualifications already have postseason play.
The at-large bids add significance to otherwise meaningless late February and March games in the Big 10, which is why the conference feels no need to stage a postseason tourney of its own.
More Top Picks Best Green Light Lamps For Light Sensitivity
East Coast presence? It’s going to be awhile before Penn State’s membership in the Big 10 gives the conference steady basketball coverage on the East Coast. Football is another story.
Neither the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette nor the Philadelphia Inquirer made mention in their Saturday papers of the Nittany Lions’ game that night against Minnesota. Sunday morning’s (State College) Centre Daily Times had this headline across the front of its sports section: “Paterno points to Miami game as Lions’ downfall.”
That’s Penn State football coach Joe Paterno reflecting on last season. Four paragraphs of the Gophers-Penn State basketball game story made the front page, in the lower right corner.
Syracuse factor: Syracuse’s participation in the Big East tourney could cost the conference a berth in the NCAAs. The Orangemen are banned from the NCAA tourney for rules violations.
If Syracuse wins the tourney, the Big East could end up with four berths, instead of the anticipated five. A Syracuse victory over borderline teams Connecticut, Providence or Boston College also might cost the league a berth. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has imposed a gag order on Big East coaches from discussing the decision to let Syracuse play this week.
Daylight only: Northeast Louisiana defeated Texas-San Antonio to win the Southland Conference tournament and an automatic NCAA berth. Northeast Louisiana is making an appeal to the NCAA to play its first-round game Friday afternoon.
Ryan Stuart, a 6-foot-4-inch senior who leads Northeast Louisiana with a 21.1-point average, is a member of the Worldwide Church of God and thus cannot play from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Northeast Louisiana (26-4) is 0-2 without Stuart. The NCAA has made exceptions for Mormon-affiliated Brigham Young in the past, seeding the Cougars to avoid Sunday games.
Mr. Modest: Indiana’s Bob Knight may not win a Mr. Personality award, but it’s hard to argue with his coaching abilities. The man is a great coach. Yet, Minnesota coach Clem Haskins apparently disagrees. He doesn’t hold Knight in the same high regard. At least not compared with himself.
“Give me the Indiana job, and in 10 years I’ll win the national championship,” Haskins said. “If I don’t, I’ll pay the money back. What I’ve accomplished in seven years at Minnesota is more than Bobby Knight has accomplished in the last 10 years at Indiana. But people don’t realize that.”
Three-pointers: “Every year at this time, you can count on death, taxes and Pac-10 basketball being ripped by Midwestern and Eastern writers,” says Arizona coach Lute Olson. . . . In four seasons under Tommy Joe Eagles, Auburn hasn’t had a winning record in the SEC and is eight games below .500 overall. In the six previous seasons, Auburn won 18 games five times, made the NCAA field five times, had three 20-win seasons and won the SEC tournament. Yet, Eagles said his rebuilding program is “right on schedule.” . . . How’s this for a first-round NCAA matchup: North Carolina, a probable No. 1 seed, against East Carolina, a probable 16. UNC beat ECU 79-66 in the 1952-53 season in the only game played between the two schools. As a rule, Dean Smith does not schedule non-conference games with in-state schools. . . . New Mexico State’s 12-man roster has players from 11 different states and one Canadian province. “We’re kind of like the Rainbow Coalition,” coach Neil McCarthy said. . . . If George Washington makes the field of 64, the Colonials will bring one of the best all-name teams to the show. They could put this collection of first names on the floor: Kwame, Adama, Yinka, Nimbo and Omo with Dirkk and Sonni coming off the bench. The coach’s name? Mike (Jarvis). . . . Holy Cross, winner of the Patriot League, is making its first NCAA appearance since 1980.