Storyline: There’s ‘that day” — Monday hangover from being ‘left out.’ Teams that truly deserve to be dancing didn’t get an opportunity. But by the time Houston rolls around in April, few will remember that anger and bad decisions made by the ten NCAA shills on Selection Sunday.
The 2016 NCAA basketball tournament is all set with 68 teams getting their tickets punched to go on a three-week quest. The winner will be crowned champion on April 4th in Houston.
This year tournament, more than any other, seems to be wide open–with no clear cut team emerging as the favorite. In fact, the #1-seeds have more combined losses (23) than any other time in tournament history. If this season is any indication, when all the dust settles there could be no #1-seeds going to the Final Four.
Courtesy: LBJ.com
This is the time of year when college basketball junkies, casual fans, and even those who know nothing about any of the teams, fill out office brackets–online with friends, at sports bars–sometimes for their own edification, just to see how many wins they can get right when all is said and done. This tournament, and the excitement it generates, is rivaled only by the hype and buildup of the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. Betting on brackets and in pools happens at a frenzied level.
Leading up to Sunday’s two-hour ‘pull your hair out’ selection show (sanctioned by the NCAA) experts had been talking about who would receive the at-large bids, after what was one of the best week of conference tournaments in years. So many of the games went down to the wire–with awesome buzzer beaters, overtime thrillers, and many losses by #1-seeds. It was one for the books. But that’s what this season has been all about – any team, on any given day, winning a big game. Now it’s one and done – for all the marbles and glory.
It’s unfortunate that some teams had to be left out this year, while others got in, despite it making no rhyme or reason. Tulsa, Vanderbilt, and to a lesser degree, Syracuse are all great examples of what’s wrong with the selection committee of ten individuals, who sit in a room, all with different criteria, making decisions on who should be allowed to play, based on cyber metric rankings, strength of schedule, and other crazy stats. If you paid attention, it seems that some of the decisions on final seedings had already been decided prior to Sunday’s conference tournament championships.
Courtesy: fansided.com
It’s obvious that Michigan State deserved to be a #1-seed over Virginia, a team that didn’t win its conference tournament, as did North Carolina, Kansas, and Oregon.
How does anyone justify Kentucky getting a #4-seed after beating Texas A&M in the SEC Championship on Sunday, while A&M gets a #3-seed?
And how about Monmouth at 27-7, doing everything the NCAA asks teams to do, playing a large number of road games, against quality teams … but, now, on the outside looking in … NIT bound.
The NCAA Selection Committee has made this all about haves and have-nots. It’s telling the small, mid-majors that you’d better win your conference tournament, despite having a great regular season record and winning some really good non-conference games. It won’t matter at the end of the day.
No one is dumb – if you look at the brackets. You can see what statement the Selection Committee was trying to make to folks. Let’s face it – this is a popularity contest and there are just some programs, and coaches, that aren’t as popular as others.
Despite having a terrific season Bona is on the outside looking in (photo, gobonnies.sbu.edu)
This could be the first time ever that a #16-seed upsets a #1-seed in the first round. But with the way this season has gone would anyone really be that surprised? There’s always a team or two that makes an incredible run in the tournament. And that’s what this is really all about – smaller programs, with some really good players – get to show their talents on the biggest stage in collegiate sports. Unfortunately some schools will never get that opportunity because of the decisions of the selection committee.
Not everyone will agree with this assessment, especially if their team was lucky enough to get into March Madness. But there’s far greater numbers of fans that will feel slighted, yet again, by the arbitrariness of a committee of folks sitting in a room, deciding the fate of programs all around the country.
There may be a better way – but until that’s determined (and there’s widespread support for changes) there’s always going to be ‘that day” — Monday hangover from being ‘left out.’ Teams that truly deserve to be dancing didn’t get that opportunity. It’s a shame. But, as Kentucky Coach John Calipari said: “It doesn’t matter where you’re seeded or where you have to go: it’s all about winning the games.”
The fact is – someone is going on that magical run, winning six games, and bringing a national championship back to campus. Don’t be surprised by the twists and turns of the next few weeks. By the time Houston rolls around in early April no one will remember how angry they were about decisions made by the ten NCAA shills on Selection Sunday.
It’s time to dance!
