Wednesday, March 15, 2006

NCAA Committee Makes Extraordinary Error

By Mark Barnes

If I may be so bold as to quote bestselling author Nicholas Sparks, I am just an ordinary man. Of course, intuitive readers found Sparks' graceful Noah Calhoun to be truly extraordinary in the end of his hit novel, The Notebook. The chairman of NCAA Tournament Selection Committee should have opened his press conference last Sunday with this same line, because he and his comrades are as ordinary as white rice and vanilla ice cream. They are ordinary people who fail to understand extraordinary concepts.

This group sees absolutely nothing extraordinary in the George Washington Colonials. Not their two-month-long winning streak. And certainly not being victorious a mere 96 percent of the time, during the regular season. Their 16-0 mark in the Atlantic 10 conference? Ordinary, in the eyes of those who decide the fates of young men and leave them mystified at every team they cross off and every number they scribble next to those fortunate enough to be invited to the NCAA tournament.

These stat-mongers and puppeteers are the truly ordinary people. Their decision-making is as suspect as the American presence in Iraq.

The committee's biggest error this year was not one of omission, as most NCAA analysts and fans believe. Leaving Cincinnati or Michigan home may have been wrong, but this type of thing happens every year and can be debated endlessly, until a different system is concocted.

The far bigger mistake, which virtually all of my expert colleagues have neglected to discuss, was the seeding of George Washington.

If this were the old days, and a challenge was being made, GW coach Karl Hobbs might sashay up to tournament selection committee chairman Craig Littlepage, slap him squarely across the cheek with a white glove and say, "How dare you, sir," before drawing his sword and removing Littlepage's brainless head from his feeble body.

For his part, Littlepage pinned GW's low seed on a poor non-conference schedule. Of course, he didn't want to mention the Colonials' 26-2 record, best in the nation, which included 18 straight wins to end the regular season.

In spite of the ramblings of Littlepage or ESPN's Jay Bilas, who also vilified GW's schedule while sanctioning the seed, evidence that the Colonials deserve more respect is clear.

Not only did GW finish the season ranked sixth by the Associated Press, this in-your-face, non-stop pressure team was undefeated in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Colonials were an impressive 8-0 against the top five A-10 teams not named George Washington. These teams, including NCAA tournament qualifier Xavier, averaged 18.4 wins on the year.

If the selection committee considers players, GW should be appraised by its entire roster, not just one person. It's been suggested that the committee considered the injury to forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu as a detriment to its seeding. If this is true, they fail to realize that the whole of GW is far greater than the sum of its parts. Consider the stellar backcourt of J.R. Pinnock and Karl Elliott, both of whom average big points, rebounds, and assists and create huge matchup problems because of their size. The Colonials' three other starters all average double-figure points, a balanced scoring attack matched by few teams in the tournament.

Another angle to consider is how this decision destroys the integrity of the Atlanta bracket, and the tournament in general, creating a potential second-round matchup between Duke and GW. How happy do you think Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski is about this? Now, the No. 1 seed overall might be forced to play in the round of 32 against the sixth-ranked team in the nation — the team with the best record in college basketball. Shouldn't this be a Sweet 16 or even Elite Eight game? Won't this entire side of the bracket be skewed, should GW pull of the upset?

Last season, Gonzaga received a three-seed. The 'Zags finished 14-0 in the West Coast Conference, one of the weakest leagues in America. After Gonzaga, the remainder of the WCC finished 2005 at an appalling 78-95. Gonzaga's non-conference record wasn't much better than this year's Colonials. Gonzaga posted early wins against, ironically, Maryland and Michigan State. It lost to three other ranked opponents. Aside from having one of the nation's premier players in Adam Morrison, this year's GW team is clearly better on paper than last season's Gonzaga squad, heading into the tournament.

Back to this year's bracket and more eyebrow-raising decisions. What about Syracuse as a five-seed? Sure, the Orangemen marched through a very difficult Big East, but prior to the conference tournaments, they were slated to be on the outside looking in, according to every known pundit. Then, they steam roll the league. Sure, this puts them in, but how does it get them a higher seed than GW?

The final dagger in the back of the collective Colonial nation is Tennessee getting a two-seed. The Volunteers finished the season 2-4 in their last six games. Their overall 21-7 mark included losses to the likes of these unranked teams: South Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Alabama. These are tough teams in their own right, but the bottom line is they are not top-25 squads. Isn't this the same issue the committee had with GW — its schedule? And let's not forget that the Colonials won against their weaker opponents, to the tune of 26-2!

Something has gone horribly wrong on the hardwood floors of this year's Big Dance. Now, I'm not saying I think GW will win the national title or even make the Final Four. Hell, they may lose in the first round. So, before you start reaching for your four-letter-word dictionary, understand that I'm simply saying the decision to seed GW as a No. 8 is profoundly wrong.

Of course, this type of ignorance has been going on for decades. Twenty years ago, the Selection Committee seeded a 27-3 Cleveland State team 14th, based on a weak conference. The Vikings shrugged off the disrespect and promptly upset legendary coach Bob Knight and Indiana, before advancing to the Sweet 16. A buzzer-beating shot by Navy's David Robinson ended the fairytale run, or a 14-seed might have gone to the Elite Eight. No doubt, that committee breathed a huge sigh of relief when the feisty Vikings finally fell.

Nothing can change what has happened, though, 20 years ago or today. But real Bracketologists like me can hope that, like Sparks' Noah Calhoun and that old CSU team, the Colonials will align the stars and show how extraordinary some people truly are.

Mark Barnes is a novelist, regular contributor to fantasy football site 4for4.com, and NFL football radio analyst. He appears weekly on ESPN radio in High Point, NC and on WBAL in Baltimore, MD, where he discusses pro football and fantasy sports. Mark's novel, "The League," is the first-ever published work of fiction with a plot based on the dangers of a multi-million-dollar fantasy football league. Learn more about "The League" and Mark's work at NFLStory.com.