A basketball tournament only the NCAA would love
Arguably, there has never been a better NCAA men's basketball tournament than the one that ends tonight. From the very first games on the very first day there was one upset after another, one remarkable finish piling on another.
The championship game will be straight from "Hoosiers," the 1986 film based on the 1954 Indiana state championship won by tiny Milan High School over powerful Muncie Central. One finalist on Monday night in (naturally) Indianapolis is Butler. The other is Duke.
Duke is college basketball royalty, having competed in 15 Final Fours and winning three national championships. Butler had never been in the Final Four and came -- like Milan -- from virtual anonymity to compete for the championship. As luck would have it, Butler plays its home games on its campus at Hinkle Fieldhouse, which is six miles from the massive domed stadium where the Final Four was played but, more important, is the place where Milan won its title and where the movie was filmed.
In short, this NCAA Tournament is about as close to a perfect sporting event as happens in the jock pantheon.
So why is it almost certain that the NCAA will blow up a system that has worked so well for 25 years and completely change the landscape of college basketball?
The answer -- surprise -- is one word: money. A 65-team NCAA Tournament (the current format) cannot produce as much revenue as a 96-team NCAA Tournament (the likely new format) would, and no one at the NCAA seems to care how the tournament will be affected by expanding, even though expansion will mean more mediocre teams and, in all likelihood, fewer stunning upsets the first week of a watered-down event.
In short, this is the worst idea anyone has come up with since New Coke. It is also inevitable.
Men's basketball pays most of the bills for college athletics. The notion that football makes the most money is a myth. Because football teams at the highest level must fund 85 scholarships every year, only about 30 superpower schools make money. The rest struggle to break even. Basketball teams, with a fraction of the costs of football -- they fund a maximum of 13 scholarships -- and huge TV contracts for the tournament and for regular-season games, fund just about every other sport.
"We need to remember that the NCAA runs 88 championships every year," NCAA Vice President Greg Shaheen said here on Thursday. "We have an obligation to make certain they are all funded in the future."
That's about as close as anyone in the NCAA is ever going to come to admitting this is about money. Most of the time all you are going to hear is bluster about doing the right thing for "student-athletes." The NCAA is so obsessed with pushing the myth of the "student-athlete" -- a redundancy, of course, because a college athlete must be enrolled as a student -- that its tournament manual says the players must be referred to as "student-athletes" at all times.
The current CBS contract for the basketball tournament is worth about $700 million a year. The NCAA has the right to reopen the contract this summer. Since it is known that ESPN -- backed by Disney Dollars -- wants the tournament, there is likely to be a bidding war for the rights. CBS has taken on Turner Sports as a partner to provide more money and more outlets to televise games.
This is where the 96-team field comes into play. Under the current setup, to pull in enough money to make its $700 million investment viable, CBS has 10 TV timeouts for commercials built into every game, not to mention it adds five minutes to the standard 15-minute halftime to pack in more commercials. If the contract goes to, say $1 billion annually, the network that wins the bid is going to need commercial inventory. That will mean more games, as the 64 games played in today's format are already choked to the brim with commercial interruptions.
That's the real reason there will be 96 teams. Not, as NCAA propagandists say, to give more "student-athletes" the chance to play in the tournament. This isn't 6-and-under tee ball where everyone gets a trophy for participating. You're supposed to be good to have the chance to compete for a championship.
If 96 teams had been in this year's field, North Carolina, the defending national champion, would have qualified. The Tar Heels were 5-12 in games against their Atlantic Coast Conference competition. Connecticut, a two-time national champion, also would have qualified. The Huskies were 7-12 against teams from their Big East league.
In short, a 96-team field is guaranteed to reward mediocrity. Everyone who loves college basketball deserves better. Especially the "student-athletes."
(c)2010 The Washington Post Company
Seton Hall University's basketball team needs a cooler head to prevailSeton Hall University sports czar Patrick Hobbs is hunting for the college's next men's basketball coach. After the mess left by uber-abrasive Bobby Gonzalez - who recruited players of questionable character, then forgot to babysit them - Hobbs, dean of the law school, is looking for a coach who better embodies the college's Christian values:
Someone who doesn't believe profanity is a part of speech. Someone who won't need a bail bondsmen as an assistant coach. Someone the players and administration can trust. Someone of impeccable integrity who can win, too.
Seton Hall had a coach like that - Louis Orr. The soft-spoken Orr led the Pirates to two NCAA Tournament berths and a spot in the National Invitation Tournament, but he was kicked to the curb because, critics said, he wasn't fiery enough and he couldn't recruit.
So, Monsignor Robert Sheeran, Seton Hall's president - with state Sen. Richard Codey whispering in his ear - hired Gonzalez. Not surprisingly, Gonzalez, with the personality of a spitting volcano, racked up enemies faster than victories. He recruited castoffs and misfits who created trouble on and off the court - and in and out of the courts. Hobbs now must find a coach who will restore Seton Hall's good name.
If Orr's qualities weren't the right match for Seton Hall back then, one thing is certain: They are now.
(c)2009 New Jersey On-Line LLC
In the modern era, NCAA upsets aren't that surprising anymoreBUFFALO, N.Y. -- No one can identify for sure when exactly the term "mid-major" became a fixture in college basketball, but the 2006 NCAA tournament -- the year George Mason reached the Final Four -- was clearly its boiling point.
Years from now, here's hoping we'll similarly look back at the 2010 Dance as the event that rendered said phrase outdated, unnecessary and (this one's a long shot) extinct.
We've been conditioned to believe in some mystical distinction between schools that belong to the six power football leagues and those that don't, even when discussing a completely different sport. But if that's the case, how is it that 11 different conferences will be represented when this year's Sweet 16 commences Thursday night?
On the heels of Northern Iowa's second-round takedown of No. 1 Kansas and Cornell's demolition of Temple and Wisconsin; on the eve of Xavier's fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the past seven years and Butler's third in the past eight; isn't it about time we stop viewing certain basketball teams through the prism of their football affiliation and start seeing them as, you know, really good basketball teams?
"Everybody wants to make it seem like it's a big gap -- it's not a big gap," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Sunday after his team's second-round rout of Gonzaga.
"I watched Northern Iowa play. There's no doubt in my mind that [on Saturday] Northern Iowa was better than Kansas. Northern Iowa made four or five bad turnovers at the end of the game or it would have been a 10-point game. Saint Mary's outplayed Villanova. It's as simple as that. These are good teams."
The NCAA tournament is often two events packed into one. The first weekend is all about buzzer-beaters and Cinderellas; the rest is to determine a national champion. This year, however, the lines were blurred.
The outdated school of thinking would suggest that Ali Farokhmanesh and his Northern Iowa cohorts "exposed" the Jayhawks as frauds, but that would be silly. Kansas didn't win 33 games against one of the nation's toughest schedules by accident. Bill Self's team was unquestionably one of the nation's best this season.
But it's also no secret that the nation's best teams aren't nearly as dominant as in previous eras, which leaves them vulnerable to the nation's next-best teams. As we move into Stage 2 of this championship, the favorites will remain those schools with the number 1 in front of them -- Syracuse, Kentucky and Duke. None were remotely threatened in their first two contests, and surely, we must assume, the clock will run out at some point for our friends at Saint Mary's, Cornell and Northern Iowa. It always does.
It would be a mistake, however, to label any one team the new "favorite" in lieu of Kansas' ouster. It would be downright insane, in fact, because it would mean we didn't learn a darn thing this past weekend.
The Orange looked quite impressive in throttling Morgan State and Gonzaga. They looked far more like the team that originally inspired title aspirations back in November and December than the team that fought to stay afloat during February and early March. Wes Johnson, his hand fully healed, played his best basketball to date, showing an Evan Turner-like ability to take over a game. Syracuse's suffocating zone showed no ill effects from the absence of injured center Arinze Onuaku. It's easy to envision them cutting down the nets in Indianapolis.
But first, the Orange (30-4) have to get by a formidable foe from Indianapolis -- 30-4 Butler. Eventual national champ Florida endured its toughest test of the 2007 tourney against the Bulldogs -- and that Butler team didn't boast a single NBA prospect like this year's version does with Gordon Hayward. And this 'Cuse team doesn't start three top-10 picks like the Joakim Noah-Al Horford-Corey Brewer Gators did.
Butler is not going to win the national championship -- but it's fully capable of preventing someone else from doing so.
Many will understandably declare Kentucky (34-2) the new favorite, as the Wildcats are the closest thing in the modern era to the talent-overloaded UNLV teams of the early '90s. (Related aside: Would Jerry Tarkanian's teams have been considered a mid-major had the BCS existed then?) The talent "gap" which Boeheim downplays will be fully evident Thursday night when John Calipari's cast of soon-to-be-lottery picks meets Steve Donahue's cast of soon-to-be professional something-elses. But if athletic talent were the sole determinant of basketball games, Northern Iowa never would have beaten Kansas. The Big Red very nearly beat Kansas on the Jayhawks' home floor. Think they'll be intimidated by Kentucky?
And you've got to believe the consensus perception of Duke has changed considerably over the past week. On Selection Sunday, they were the Devils of bracketdom, the cheats who weaseled their way into someone else's No. 1 seed. But while sexier teams like Kansas, Georgetown and Villanova spit the bit last weekend, Duke went out and demolished Cal, which some may downplay due to the Bears' much-maligned conference, the Pac-10, but remember, the Bears, not Sweet 16 team Washington, won that league's regular-season crown.
Others felt back on Selection Sunday that Baylor would emerge from Duke's South regional, especially considering the two teams will face off in Houston if they meet. But who's to say the Bears will even survive Saint Mary's? Are you ready to dismiss a team whose center, Omar Samhan, rolled up 32 points on a team (Villanova) from the purportedly badass Big East?
That's the thing about the tourney these days: The talent is far more dispersed. Xavier swept past Minnesota and Pittsburgh on the strength of do-everything guard Jordan Crawford, who famously dunked on LeBron James and who, after averaging 27.5 points his first two games, will likely be playing in the same league as LeBron sooner than later.
Turner and Ohio State are as likely as anyone to emerge from the upset-riddled Midwest. Da'Sean Butler and West Virginia would love a shot at John Wall and the Wildcats in the East. And the third remaining No. 2 seed, Kansas State, may have cleared its biggest obstacle when three-time tormentor Kansas got eliminated.
Will any of the remaining ... you-know whats ... reach the Final Four? It's possible. It's also irrelevant. Only four conferences at most can send a team to Indy. Maybe the Horizon League will be one of them. Maybe it won't.
"This is different from football," Boeheim said. "We find out in this tournament who the best teams really are."
But when the "best teams" aren't all that different than "the next-best teams," upsets happen. Here's guessing we've hardly seen the last of them in this, the nation's most egalitarian sporting event.
Copyright (c) 2010 Time Inc
Today in the SEC tournament
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The coaches in this league bristle any time they hear it, but they've heard it often over the last two years.
The SEC just ain't what it used to be when it comes to hoops.
That's what happens when only three teams from the league make the NCAA Tournament, which was the case in 2009, and they manage a grand total of one win among them.
And let's face it. When Kentucky's down, the rest of the league is going to be accused of being down, whether it genuinely is or isn't.
This season, Kentucky has ascended back to the top of its Big Blue perch in the SEC thanks to John Calipari and his triumvirate of some of the most talented freshmen in the land.
The knock nationally on the league now is that it's Kentucky and then everybody else.
Perhaps so, but Saturday's SEC tournament semifinals should provide some riveting drama with more than a few compelling storylines. Here's a look:
Game 1: Kentucky (30-2) vs. Tennessee (25-7), 1 p.m. ET
What's at stake: Both teams are safely in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky's a lock for a No. 1 seed, and Tennessee is likely a No. 4 seed. But a second straight win over the Wildcats could push the Vols as high as a No. 3 seed. Tennessee handed Kentucky one of its two losses this season back on Feb. 27 in Knoxville. The Wildcats would love to exact a little payback for that loss. It's no secret these two coaches aren't pen pals and have traded barbs in the past, particularly when Calipari was at Memphis. But Bruce Pearl has held his own on the court. He's 3-3 against Calipari, and two of those wins came over Calipari-coached teams that were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country.
Scouting the game: Can either of these teams make a 3-pointer? Kentucky was 1-of-13 in its quarterfinal win over Alabama. Tennessee was 4-of-23 in its first-round win over LSU and a little better Friday in its quarterfinal win over Ole Miss. The Vols were 8-of-23 from 3-point range, although most of that was Cameron Tatum. He came off the bench to go 4-of-4 in the first half and keep Tennessee close. Everybody has been playing zone against Kentucky, including Tennessee in both of the earlier meetings this season. Kentucky freshman big man DeMarcus Cousins was a no-show Friday after getting into early foul trouble. It will be interesting to see if he got his bad game out of his system.
Wildcat to watch: Freshman point guard John Wall has been fabulous. For a guy who's not a pure shooter, it's uncanny how he can take over games. He has a sixth sense about him -- he knows when the Wildcats need him to go on one of his tears. And when he decides he's going to take the ball to the basket, there's nobody in college basketball who's any better. As for not being able to shoot it all that well, he huffs, "I can make shots when it's time to make shots."
Vol to watch: Senior forward Wayne Chism is making himself a lot of money right now. He's always been a good shooter for a big man, but he had 15 rebounds against Ole Miss and 11 rebounds against LSU. He's also an outstanding defender and can guard anybody on the floor because he moves his feet so well. He'll have his work cut out against the Kentucky tandem of Patrick Patterson and Cousins.
They said it: "You know they've been waiting on this one and would love to take us down, but we haven't rolled over for anybody all season and aren't going to start now." -- Tennessee senior guard Bobby Maze
Game 2: Mississippi State (22-9) vs. Vanderbilt (24-7), 3:15 p.m. ET
What's at stake: Not a lot for Vanderbilt, which played well in the second half against Georgia in the quarterfinals and should be a solid No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Still, the Commodores want to make sure they're playing their best basketball going into next week. Plus, they haven't won an SEC tournament title since 1951. Mississippi State has no choice but to win Saturday to have any chance to make the NCAA field. The Bulldogs were one of the last teams out of the field following Friday's play, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, which means there's hope. Beating Vanderbilt would be the kind of marquee win that could push the Bulldogs into the NCAA Tournament. They won four games in four days a year ago to play their way into the field.
Scouting the game: This is Kevin Stallings' best and most talented team since he's been at Vanderbilt. The Commodores have size, depth and can score a variety of different ways. When senior point guard Jermaine Beal shoots it well, they're really tough to beat. Mississippi State has been a difficult team to figure this season. The Bulldogs had played well until the end of the regular season, but lost at Auburn and then played terribly in a home loss to Tennessee on Senior Day. The good news for them is that they shot it well in their quarterfinal victory over Florida, going 10-of-20 from 3-point range. When Ravern Johnson and Barry Stewart get it going from outside, they're a whole different team.
Commodore to watch: Freshman guard John Jenkins came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points against Georgia and was 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He scored 12 straight points to help the Commodores pull away in the second half. The problem with Jenkins is that you simply can't leave him. But with Vanderbilt having so many other scoring options, teams are forced to make tough choices.
Bulldog to watch: Senior forward Jarvis Varnado is the NCAA's all-time shot-blocking king. When he's on the floor, nothing comes easy against the Bulldogs. The Commodores have good size and will throw several different bodies at him, but Varnado has to stay out of foul trouble if Mississippi State is going to make it to the championship game for the second straight year. For the season, Varnado has 152 blocks. As a team, Vanderbilt has 164.
They said it: "I feel like we have nothing to lose, you know. We just come out here to play hard and play together. We had success last year in playing together, and we wanted to keep that focus coming into this tournament. We ain't the deepest team, but we're going to fight hard." - Mississippi State forward Jarvis Varnado.
(c)2010 ESPN Internet Ventures
No. 1 Syracuse loses; Purdue wins share of Big Ten titleLouisville's 54-year run of basketball in Freedom Hall came to an end yesterday. And nobody in attendance could have dreamed up a better way to say goodbye to the soon-to-be-replaced arena.
The Cardinals (20-11, 11-7 Big East) smothered Syracuse (28-3, 15-3), the nation's No. 1-ranked team, with a dominating second-half run to post a 78-68 win that greatly improved their chances for an at-large NCAA bid.
"These seniors have never gone to an NIT," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "and now they never will."
Kyle Kuric, a 6-foot-4 sophomore averaging 3.5 points a game, was scoreless in the first half, but he went off in the final 20 minutes, scoring 22 points in a dizzying array of dunks and three-pointers.
"It's an unbelievable moment," Kuric said. "It's what every kid dreams of."
Neumann-Goretti product Scoop Jardine had 20 points for Syracuse.
Purdue 64, Penn State 60 - JaJuan Johnson had 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 7 Purdue (26-4, 14-4) clinched a share of its first Big Ten title in 14 years by holding off the host Nittany Lions (11-19, 3-15) in State College
Purdue led by as many as 13 points in the second half before Penn State closed to 61-60 with 18 seconds left with three foul shots by Chris Babb (17 points). But the Lions could get no more points.
For the sixth time in nine years, Penn State will be the lowest seed in the Big Ten tournament.
"Maybe luck will swing our way in the tournament, and we will be the ones out celebrating on the court," Lions guard Jeff Brooks said.
Georgetown 74, Cincinnati 47 - The scoreboard kept track of Austin Freeman's points. The trainer kept track of his blood sugar levels.
Both were fine, and so was No. 19 Georgetown. Six days after being taken to the hospital and found to have diabetes, Freeman scored 24 points as the Hoyas (20-9, 10-8 Big East) topped the Bearcats (16-14, 7-11) in Washington.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Freeman said after playing 30 minutes. "It was just good to be out there again, to be playing with my teammates and just doing what I do."
Kansas 77, Missouri 56 - The No. 2 Jayhawks (29-2, 15-1 Big Twelve) responded to a scary injury to Marcus Morris with a 20-4 run that destroyed the Tigers (22-9, 10-6) in Columbia, Mo.
Morris, a Prep Charter graduate, had 12 points and 10 rebounds. He was able to return to action after crashing his head into signs attached to a courtside table.
Duke 82, North Carolina 50 - The No. 4 Blue Devils scored their most-lopsided home triumph over their biggest rivals, humbling the Tar Heels in Durham, N.C.
Jon Scheyer had 20 points as Duke (26-5, 13-3) clinched a share of its 12th ACC regular-season title. The Tar Heels, fell to 16-15 and 5-11 as they had their lowest point total under coach Roy Williams.
Pittsburgh 83, Rutgers 54 - No. 17 Pitt took control early with a 19-2 run that sent the Panthers (24-7, 13-5) to a home rout of Rutgers (15-16, 5-13) and the No. 2 seeding in the Big East tournament.
Gilbert Brown had 19 points for Pittsburgh, and Roman Catholic grad Brad Wanamaker added 12.
Elsewhere: No. 5 Kansas State was taken down at home by Iowa State, 85-82, in overtime. . . . After falling behind by 18-4, No. 14 Brigham Young recovered for a 107-77 win over Texas Christian in Fort Worth, Texas. . . . No. 13 Vanderbilt was upset by South Carolina, 77-73, in Nashville as the Gamecocks ended a six-game skid.
No. 16 Tennessee held host Mississippi State scoreless for the first 6 minutes, 10 seconds on its way to a 75-59 SEC win. . . . Greivis Vasquez had 23 points as No. 22 Maryland beat Virginia, 74-68, in Charlottesville, Va. . . . LaceDarius Dunn scored 30 points as No. 21 Baylor wrapped up its winningest regular season in 64 years with a 92-77 victory over Texas in Waco, Texas. . . . No. 23 Texas A&M sent Oklahoma to its eighth-straight loss, posting a 69-54 win in Norman, Okla. . . . Patrick Christopher scored 23 points to help California win the Pac-10 crown with a 71-61 victory over host Stanford.
Jordan Crawford scored 22 points as No. 25 Xavier won a share of its fourth straight Atlantic Ten title by beating St. Bonaventure, 93-72. . . . David Gonzalvez had 29 points and 10 rebounds as Richmond scored an 89-84 win over Charlotte in North Carolina. . . . Rhode Island's hopes for an at-large NCAA bid took a hit with a 69-67 loss to Ricky Harris (28 points) and Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass. . . . St. Louis beat Dayton, 71-66.
In Luke Harangody's first game back from injury, Notre Dame edged Marquette in overtime, 63-60, in Milwaukee. . . . South Florida overcame a 14-point deficit and defeated Connecticut, 75-68, in Tampa, Fla. . . . Seton Hall beat host Providence, 92-80.
Big South Conference: For the fifth time in six seasons, Winthrop is headed to the NCAA tournament, having beaten Coastal Carolina by a score of 64-53 in the conference final in Conway, S.C. The Eagles (19-13) were led by 14 points from Mantoris Robinson.
Ohio Valley: Isaiah Canaan had 16 points as Murray State (30-4) joined the NCAA field with a 62-51 triumph over Morehead State in Nashville.
The Racers became the first Division I school to win 30 games this season.
Atlantic Sun: East Tennessee State (20-14) earned a return trip to the NCAAs with a 72-66 win over Mercer in Macon, Ga. The Bucs got 18 points from Justin Tubbs.
Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa reached today's final with a 57-40 win over Bradley in St. Louis. The top-seeded Panthers will face Wichita State, a 65-61 victor over Illinois State.
Horizon League: Wright State rode a 16-0 run to a 69-50 win over Detroit in a semifinal in Indianapolis. The Raiders advanced to Tuesday's final against Butler, a 68-59 winner over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Butler, ranked No. 12, has won 19 games in a row.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: Lenape graduate Ryan Thompson had 22 points as Rider beat St. Peter's, 69-57, in Albany, N.Y. Also winning were Siena and Fairfield.
America East: First-round winners were Stony Brook, Boston University, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
(c) 2010 Philadelphia Media Holdings
Hokies, Aztecs need W's
The picture for No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA tournament is beginning to come into focus. It's basically the Kansas Jayhawks (their loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday notwithstanding), the Syracuse Orange and the Kentucky Wildcats (who also dropped a game this weekend, to the Tennessee Volunteers). The fourth team on the top line will be either the Duke Blue Devils or the Purdue Boilermakers.
If both Duke and Purdue win out through the regular season and their respective conference tournament, the committee will have a very difficult choice. In that case I would expect both teams to be in the West Region as the respective 1/2 seeds (as was the case a year ago with the Connecticut Huskies and Memphis Tigers).
(C)2009 ESPN Internet Ventures
Balance helps key Adrian College's men's basketball winOLIVET, Mich. -- Led by Blair Ramsey's career-high 17 points, the Adrian College men's basketball team grabbed a 63-59 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association victory over Olivet College Saturday afternoon.
Ramsey's 17 points sparked a balanced scoring attack from the Bulldogs. Wesley Reed poured in 14 while Delano Collins chipped in 12. Chris Primley led the team in rebounds, grabbing six off the glass.
Despite 24 points from Olivet's Michael McClary, the Bulldogs were able to stop any type of offensive attack by the Comets, limiting just two players to double figures (McClary and Joe Post).
The Bulldogs found themselves down at the half and were able to etch their way back in the second half. They tied the game at 46 with 6:41 remaining in the game. They grabbed a slight lead but the Comets were able to stay cloe and eventually tie the game at 57 with just over a minute left.
The Bulldogs would put up six unanswered points in the final minute to secure the victory and guarantee a home-court game for the MIAA tournament.
Adrian will host Hope in an MIAA matchup on Wednesday.
Copyright (c) 2006-2010 GateHouse Media, Inc
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