Sunday, March 16, 2008
CONGRATS, MT. ST. MARY'S AND COPPIN STATE!
The Mt. St. Mary's Mountaineers overcame an 0-4 start to the season and won the Northeastern Conference title, beating Sacred Heart 68-55 for the NEC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Coppin State Eagles had a much worse start to their campaign: They were 4-19 at one point but rallied with a streak of 12 wins in 13 games, and then, as the #7 seed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, defeated the #1, #2 and #3 seeds to take home that conference's automatic berth into the Big Dance.
But oh yeah, there's just that little thing they have to do first: They both have to go Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday night to take part in the so-called "play-in" game, which makes the NCAA tourney field 65 teams in reality, not 64. The Selection Committee made that announcement a few hours before releasing the tourney bracket seedings and matchups.
And that's a complete sham. They've already "played in"; they won their respective conference titles and they did it fair and square. Why should they have to play one more game before getting their taste of the most exciting tournament in all of sports? The NCAA likes to say that the field for the Big Dance is 65 teams, and has officially called the "play-in" game the "Opening Round," but come on. Which of the poor sap teams that have to go to Dayton really believe that the extra game is part of the Tourney? Are Mt. St. Mary's and Coppin State celebrating their upcoming trip to Ohio? I doubt it. I'm thinking they won't celebrate much until one of them gets the win on Tuesday night and has that #16 affixed to their school's name and a guarantee, finally, that they'll get to play North Carolina or Memphis in the first round.
If the NCAA insists on having this "play-in" game, it should send to Dayton two schools that did not win their conference championships; teams that were "on the bubble", as they say. According to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, his Bracketology has Virginia Tech as the "last team in" to the field of 64, and Illinois State as the "first team out", that is, the closest to making the tournament without actually getting in. What would be the problem with sending those two schools to Dayton for the play-in game?
Or, how about Villanova and Ohio State? Or, even more enticing, imagine a play-in between Pac-10 rivals and bubble teams Arizona and Arizona State. With much higher-profile teams playing in the "play-in" game, the ratings might be higher than they would for two schools that a lot of people haven't heard of. There is always a lot of controversy when the tournament bracket is announced; teams that came close but got left out usually cry foul and say they got hosed. So why not use the "play-in" game to settle at least one of these scores? In the end, make the last team into the field earn its way, rather than forcing two conference champions to win an extra game to qualify. The Mountaineers and Eagles are truly the teams that got hosed. Come on, NCAA, fix this.
The Coppin State Eagles had a much worse start to their campaign: They were 4-19 at one point but rallied with a streak of 12 wins in 13 games, and then, as the #7 seed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, defeated the #1, #2 and #3 seeds to take home that conference's automatic berth into the Big Dance.
But oh yeah, there's just that little thing they have to do first: They both have to go Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday night to take part in the so-called "play-in" game, which makes the NCAA tourney field 65 teams in reality, not 64. The Selection Committee made that announcement a few hours before releasing the tourney bracket seedings and matchups.
And that's a complete sham. They've already "played in"; they won their respective conference titles and they did it fair and square. Why should they have to play one more game before getting their taste of the most exciting tournament in all of sports? The NCAA likes to say that the field for the Big Dance is 65 teams, and has officially called the "play-in" game the "Opening Round," but come on. Which of the poor sap teams that have to go to Dayton really believe that the extra game is part of the Tourney? Are Mt. St. Mary's and Coppin State celebrating their upcoming trip to Ohio? I doubt it. I'm thinking they won't celebrate much until one of them gets the win on Tuesday night and has that #16 affixed to their school's name and a guarantee, finally, that they'll get to play North Carolina or Memphis in the first round.
If the NCAA insists on having this "play-in" game, it should send to Dayton two schools that did not win their conference championships; teams that were "on the bubble", as they say. According to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, his Bracketology has Virginia Tech as the "last team in" to the field of 64, and Illinois State as the "first team out", that is, the closest to making the tournament without actually getting in. What would be the problem with sending those two schools to Dayton for the play-in game?
Or, how about Villanova and Ohio State? Or, even more enticing, imagine a play-in between Pac-10 rivals and bubble teams Arizona and Arizona State. With much higher-profile teams playing in the "play-in" game, the ratings might be higher than they would for two schools that a lot of people haven't heard of. There is always a lot of controversy when the tournament bracket is announced; teams that came close but got left out usually cry foul and say they got hosed. So why not use the "play-in" game to settle at least one of these scores? In the end, make the last team into the field earn its way, rather than forcing two conference champions to win an extra game to qualify. The Mountaineers and Eagles are truly the teams that got hosed. Come on, NCAA, fix this.
