The selection committee did a terrible job. They did so bad of a job, that completely screwing up the one task you have should now be considered pulling a “Selection Sunday.” Every year the pundits come out and bash and punish the committee for leaving one team or another out, so that should come as no surprise, but the overwhelming animosity against the picks of VCU and UAB over more-deserving teams leads one to wonder, who is correct?
Did the committee get it right? Are the pundits correct about how poorly the committee did? The answer lies with the Athletic Director for The Ohio State University, a man named Gene Smith, and he had the busiest week in America.
He had to deal with being the Chairman of the NCAA basketball tournament selection committee, debating and supervising the bracket-making, which coincidentally put his Ohio State Buckeyes atop them as number one overall. Afterwards, Mr. Smith had to field a series of questions on why Alabama-Birmingham, an underwhelming Conference-USA regular-season champion, made the tournament, but SEC West regular-season champion Alabama didn’t.
“I couldn’t point to one thing,” Mr. Smith said. “They’re a very good ballclub. We all know that.”
Pardon me, I must have missed the memo. And what about Colorado? And Virginia Tech? Why did Virginia Commonwealth, a third-place Colonial Athletic Conference get a bid over those snubbed?
For Gene Smith’s comments of the tournament-worthiness of VCU, please copy and paste his words for UAB, and add about thirteen more “greats.”
This man had no idea what the hell he was talking about, in respect to the quality of teams. Rumors of dissention in the ranks of the committee, hard and hurt feelings, plus serious disagreement was evident in his words, though he was far too-political to say anything aloud, yet.
While celebrating his team’s Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship, Mr. Smith seemed
Was somebody trying to make sure the under-represented mid-majors got their fair share of the pie?
Possibly. The newly-expanded field of 68 (up three from 65) includes three more at-large teams, setting up an opening round including two matchups between what are dubbed “the last four in.” The matchups for those two games are Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference) versus Alabama-Birmingham and Southern California (Pac-10 Conference) against Virginia Commonwealth.
Major versus mid-major; major versus mid-major. It seems far too coincidental that the two mid-majors whom nobody thinks should be in the tournament over two power conference teams in order to have a more politically acceptable opening round slate of games? Imagine if Virginia Tech and Colorado had made the field over VCU and UAB. The “last four in” games would then consist of four power teams fighting over the two spots. And the media would have killed them for under-representing the mid-majors because, even with the inclusion of VCU and UAB, mid-majors had one fewer at-large bids than last year.
Factor in the fact Mr. Smith had a whole lot more on his plate than the political games being played behind the scenes with the tournament, Mr. Smith had more political intrigue brewing at his own university. Mr. Smith had to punish his BCS Championship-winning head coach Jim Tressel for two meaningless games due to his mismanagement stemming from his students selling their memorabilia to persons involved in a federal drug case.
While the players got suspended for five games for failing to follow the rules, though many won’t ever serve them because they won’t be in school next season anyway, Coach Tressel, the man who should know better, knew about it, and didn’t do anything about it. This is also the man who coached Maurice Clarett. Tressel, normally a man held in high esteem in the college community, has lost a bit of his luster. One wonders what is next for OSU?
Mr. Smith had a lot on his plate, that much is true. Did he slack a little, get lazy and not run as tight a ship as possible? Did he and his crew overlook some teams over others to appease the masses? Did they do a good job? I have a reasonable doubt.
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