| | By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
For ACC teams, a top-four finish in the conference is no longer a free pass to the NCAA Tournament, especially if it follows an uneventful non-conference campaign.
|  | | Pete Gillen and Virginia could not signal "victory" on Selection Sunday. |
For the second consecutive season, only three ACC teams (Duke, North Carolina and Maryland) made the NCAA Tournament. Two years ago, the league didn't have a fourth team that could make the case that it had played its way into the field. Last year, Virginia had a strong argument that it should have been included with North Carolina.
But the selection committee snubbed the Cavaliers, despite finishing in a third-place tie with the Tar Heels (both were 9-7) and splitting six games against Carolina, Maryland and Duke.
"We thought if we were 18-8 and went 2-2 in our last four (regular-season) games we would have been in," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said.
The Cavaliers did just that, beating North Carolina and Maryland but losing to Florida State and Wake Forest. A first-round loss to N.C. State in the ACC tourney sent the Cavs to the NIT, not the NCAA.
Gillen believes the Cavs' 2-3 stretch in non-conference games against South Carolina, Providence, Arizona State, Minnesota and St. John's was a potential strike against their NCAA candidacy. The Red Storm was the only NCAA Tournament team and the Cavaliers lost by 22 points. One of the two victories came against ASU, an NIT team and the only other postseason team on Virginia's non-conference schedule.
"It's a Catch 22 trying to figure out the selection," Gillen said. "It's a guessing game. Maybe if we had 20 wins and we were 10-6 (in conference), we would have been in."
Instead of trying to soften the schedule, Gillen is taking his chances by beefing up his non-conference games.
The Cavaliers, who return four of five starters and are predicted to finish in the top four in the ACC again, play Tennessee (a top-10 team) in the Jimmy V Classic in New Jersey, host potential postseason teams Purdue (ACC-Big Ten Challenge) and Missouri and travel to a rivalry game at Virginia Tech. Even though Purdue and Missouri are reshuffling, both were in the NCAA Tournament last season and have a chance to get there again.
"Plus 16 ACC killers," Gillen said. "The schedule is good enough with high-profile games."
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom took scheduling even more serious. The Demon Deacons return one of the top point guards in the nation in Robert O'Kelley and should compete with Virginia for a top-four finish after winning the NIT.
Wake Forest will travel to Cincinnati, Temple and Michigan (ACC-Big Ten Challenge), and host Kansas and Georgia in its high-profile games. The Jayhawks will be a preseason top-10 team, and Cincinnati and Temple will be in the top 25. Michigan starts out as a potential NCAA bubble team, while Georgia looks like a preseason NIT team.
"Don't misinterpret this as a way to impress the selection committee," Odom said. "I made my schedule as I do every year, by looking at my team and the experience we have on it. You have to determine if your team can handle early-season setbacks or success, and hopefully that translates into tournament qualification."
A year ago, the Deacons hosted and beat Temple (an NCAA team) and Wisconsin (NCAA). They also won at Arkansas (NCAA), but lost to Georgia (no postseason). The Demon Deacons lost two of three games in the Rainbow Classic, but to two postseason teams, Oregon (NCAA) and Villanova (NIT). Losing at Davidson (no postseason) didn't help the NCAA Tournament cause of the Deacons (16-13, 7-9 in ACC).
But no one would have blamed Odom if he held out hope on Selection Sunday. Florida State got into the field in '98 with a 6-10 ACC record (17-13 overall) because of non-conference victories over Arizona and Connecticut.
"They jumped over us in fourth place from sixth," Odom said of the '98 selection. "And we had just beaten them. You can't figure out what the committee will do. But they do want you to play a difficult non-conference schedule. But they want you to play the games and win them."
N.C. State coach Herb Sendek doesn't think the NCAA Tournament has to define what is a good or bad season. The Wolfpack haven't made the NCAA Tournament since '91, regardless of their non-conference schedule. N.C. State, which won 10 of its first 11 games in 1999-2000, reached the NIT final four after a 16-11 regular season (6-10 ACC).
Instead of stacking the field in 2000-01, Sendek has kept it somewhat the same. N.C. State will play Fresno State in the Tipoff Classic in Springfield, Mass., host Syracuse (in February), play at Old Dominion, host Penn State (ACC-Big Ten Challenge), play Georgia in Atlanta and host the CoSIDA Classic with Penn, UNC Charlotte and Fordham (Nov. 17-18).
Every team on this list should compete for an NCAA or NIT bid, with the best team likely being UNC Charlotte. A year ago, N.C. State beat Purdue on the road and also topped Georgia and Arizona State at home in its only high-major non-conference games.
"As a general rule, ACC teams schedule competitively in non-conference," Sendek said. "We're the only major conference that plays a true round-robin league schedule and has a conference tournament. But there isn't one-type of non-conference schedule (to get a bid). But just because you didn't make the NCAA Tournament, it shouldn't cast a negative light on the season."
True. But the only certainty for the ACC is a soft non-conference schedule probably won't cut it for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Exempted issue alive and well
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany became the first commissioner to publicly back the elimination of exempted non-conference holiday tournaments like the Maui Invitational and Preseason NIT. Delany said the Big Ten's athletic directors and presidents are in favor of dumping the holiday tournaments, even though the coaches are against the measure.
"There are a certain class of games that would go away, and we would have to weigh that against everything else," Delany said of teams losing out on a chance at high-profile teams like Tulsa playing Tennessee in Puerto Rico last December. "Major intersectional rivalries in November should be administered by conferences, not a third-party promoter."
But the problem has been that most high-profile programs would rather play on a neutral floor in November, rather than going on the road. Delany also said "some schools are playing 37 games and some are playing 27."
But only teams that advanced deep in the NCAA Tournament (four to six games) and played three games in a conference tournament fall into that category. Michigan State played 38 games because it played three in the Big Ten, six in the NCAA Tournament, as well as four exempted (one in Great Eight and three in Puerto Rico). Take away the conference and NCAA Tournament and the Spartans would have played 29 games.
"We should play 29 or 30 games," said Delany, who was part of the majority among the 31 conference commissioners who suggested elimination of exempted tournaments at the CCA meeting in June. "In the NBA, some teams don't play 88 games and some 78."
But the Lakers played 82 regular-season games, plus 23 playoff games for a total of 105, while the Clippers played 82.
The exempted tournament matter will come up for a debate with the basketball issues committee, but probably wouldn't go before any voting block until April 2001.
In advance of possible legislation, the WAC is starting a campaign to save the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, even if this legislation were proposed. WAC commissioner Karl Benson said the league would offer legislation demanding that a Division I school off the mainland be given exemption for hosting a tournament.
"Some sort of relief has to be given to the University of Hawaii," Benson said. "If it isn't, then losing these tournaments would significantly damage the school."
Hawaii has averaged four exempted tournaments on its non-conference schedule, three in addition to the Rainbow Classic. Hawaii would struggle to get teams to play in Honolulu without the exempted clause.
Meanwhile, the Maui Invitational -- easily the top exempted field next season -- is going about its bracket the only way it should. The tournament, hosted by Division 2 Chaminade and run by an outside promoter, is seeding the field, but should do so, regardless of television concerns. The bracket will be released in two weeks. But the bracket could shake down like this: No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 8 Chaminade and No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 7 Louisville; No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 6 UNLV and No. 4 Connecticut vs. No. 5 Dayton. Maui has to be sensitive to one pairing. Illinois and Arizona are scheduled to play two weeks later in Chicago, but this bracket would prevent them from meeting before the final.
The top four seeds seem to be set, but there could be some movement with Dayton, UNLV and Louisville (although based on returning talent the above seedings seem to be most deserving).
The Great Alaska Shootout should look to Maui for the right way to seed a tournament. Alaska should have seeded Ohio State and DePaul at Nos. 1 and 2 in their field with Missouri and Syracuse at Nos. 3 and 4. The bottom four seeds should have been Rhode Island, Florida State, Valparaiso and host Anchorage.
Instead, Alaska will pair Ohio State vs. Florida State and DePaul vs. Syracuse in one bracket. That bracket will prevent a true 1-2 matchup in the final. The other side has Missouri against Rhode Island and Valparaiso vs. Anchorage.
The Rainbow Classic stacked its tournament too heavy on one side, too. St. Louis will play Texas A&M, while Hawaii will play Manhattan on Dec. 27. But the next night has four potential NCAA Tournament teams squaring off: Iowa vs. Detroit and Tennessee vs. George Washington.
Weekly chatter
America East athletic directors met Wednesday in New Hampshire to discuss expansion. The latest move has the America East annexing five of the six remaining Colonial Athletic Association members (George Mason, James Madison, Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth and William & Mary). The previous plan had four of the five (not William & Mary). If that were to occur, UNC Wilmington likely would try to move to the Southern Conference.
America East is looking at two and three divisions. While two divisions work best for basketball, three might be a better option for all 21 sports.
Meanwhile, the CAA isn't letting its three departed members off easy. East Carolina (off to Conference USA in 2001), Richmond (to the Atlantic 10) and American (to the Patriot) can't play in the CAA tournament next March. The CAA maintains this is a consistent policy, because East Carolina essentially volunteered its removal when it first bolted. Doing the same to American and Richmond is apparently following the same procedure. But the WAC is letting TCU participate in the conference tournament this year, even though the Horned Frogs are leaving for Conference USA.
The Sun Belt will take all 12 teams to its conference tournament in Mobile, Ala., next March. The tournament format will have crossover games between the two divisions. The Sun Belt added North Texas and New Mexico State from the Big West and Middle Tennessee State from the Ohio Valley and will look like this in the fall: East -- Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas State, Florida International, Middle Tennessee State, Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky; West -- Denver, Louisiana-Lafayette, New Mexico State, New Orleans, North Texas and South Alabama.
When Louisiana Tech leaves in 2001 for the WAC, the Sun Belt will stay with two divisions but might move a team between the divisions to maintain competitive balance.
The Big West said it would take eight of nine teams to its conference tournament in Anaheim, Calif., in March. The Big West will have one nine-team division (Pacific, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Long Beach State, Utah State, Idaho, Boise State, Cal State-Fullerton and Cal Poly) in 2000-01. When Boise State leaves for the WAC and the Big West adds Cal State-Northridge and UC Riverside in 2001-02, the Big West will keep the one division (this time 10 teams) format.
Wake Forest junior small forward Niki Arinze is still searching for a home. He has contacted Gonzaga and Xavier is interested. But schools probably won't give him two years of a scholarship for one season. Arinze still needs to prove he can shoot before he's worth the risk.
Rod Baker's move from assistant at Cincinnati to associate head coach at Rutgers shouldn't be viewed as odd. Baker can give head coach Kevin Bannon the experienced aide that he needs to get through a tough transition period over the next two years. Meanwhile, Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said he might stay within his family tree to replace Baker. If that's the case, look for former Bearcat Keith LeGree to leave Hartford and go to Cincinnati. LeGree joined former Bearcat assistant Larry Harrison on his Hartford staff last spring. If Huggins goes outside the family, he might call on former Illinois, Minnesota and Saint Louis assistant Derek Thomas. Thomas took a position with the Atlanta Hawks after he failed to land the Missouri-Kansas City head coaching job.
Meanwhile, Kentucky hasn't officially named a replacement for assistant Shawn Finney (who left for Tulane's head coaching job). Kentucky coach Tubby Smith is leaning toward promoting within his staff and hiring a former player to be his third coach.
Temple has no plans to replace assistant Dean Demopolous (who got the UMKC job) on the staff. Instead, Temple coach John Chaney promoted Nate Blackwell to top assistant, Dan Leibovitz to the second slot and heaped more duties on administrative assistant John DiSangro. Adding a new coach to the mix might upset Chaney's chemistry with the current staff. He would rather stay within the family, but the two candidates -- Jason Ivey and Mark Macon -- weren't available. Ivey went with Demopolous while Macon is still playing professional basketball.
The Owls are trying to trim their roster, but not in numbers. Leibovitz has been charged to get centers Ron Rollerson and Kevin Lyde into shape.
"These guys want to be in the NBA, but the average first-round big man was 6-10, 245," Leibovitz said. Rollerson has checked in at 6-10, 290. Leibovitz wants to get him down to 270. Lyde's 6-9, 240 frame is fine, but needs to be more tone.
Meanwhile, Temple guard Quincy Wadley is on track this month to graduate and earn his fourth season of eligibility back. The Owls aren't worried about Wadley not making the cut. Cal State-Fullerton coach Donny Daniels is going through the same thing with forward Ike Harmon. He's finishing up his course work to get eligible. Both Harmon and Wadley were ineligible as freshmen, but the NCAA allows players who graduate by the start of their fifth year of college to earn the fourth year of eligibility back.
Former Missouri-Kansas City coach Bob Sunvold is a finalist for the ABA Kansas City job. Sunvold was fired and replaced by the aforementioned Demopolous.
George Washington added one player for this season. Colonials coach Tom Penders said 6-8, 210-pound Marquin Chandler will be eligible. The former Newark Memorial High (Oakland, Calif.) forward was originally headed to Nebraska but switched when Danny Nee was forced out as coach. The Colonials also are expecting forward Patrick Ngongba to be ready for fall practice. Ngongba broke the middle finger on his shooting hand last season. The 6-8 senior played in only 12 games last season, leaving the Colonials without a power player.
"He couldn't catch or shoot after he broke it," Penders said. "There were two pins sticking out of his skin. He really couldn't do anything for two months and finally got going in late April."
Indiana has received a verbal commitment from Iowa Western JC forward Kei Madison, but Madison might stick it out until April before signing the national letter of intent. Madison, who originally signed with the Hoosiers out of high school, is a candidate for junior college player of the year.
Arizona walk-on Josh Pastner ended his summer coaching career on a high, winning the Nike World Global Challenge. Pastner, who will trade in his shorts and tank for a suit on the Arizona bench next year as an undergraduate assistant coach, coached the Houston Hoops to the title. Louisville-bound guard Carlos Hurt led the Hoops to the title in a tournament with some of the top Nike summer traveling teams.
Arizona center Loren Woods has been working out every morning at 8 a.m., running, lifting and shooting. Woods had back surgery in the offseason and is expected to be ready to go in October. Arizona assistant Jay John said Woods is expecting to hear next week whether he can be cleared for contact. "He has been a mad man in the weight room," John said. "He's working as hard as ever." If Woods is healthy, the Wildcats will have the frontcourt needed to challenge for the national title.
Minnesota coach Dan Monson is in Colorado this weekend for the hearings on the Gophers' academic fraud case under former coach Clem Haskins. Monson might not be asked to speak, but he should be given a voice. The Gophers might get one more year of a postseason ban (they imposed the first year) but anything else against this current team would be unfair. The school, not the team and new coaches, should be penalized. The best way to get at the school for past mistakes is money. Minnesota should have to pay for the fraud, but not with the present players' careers. Monson said the penalty won't be known for another six to eight weeks.
Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian turned 70 Tuesday and got a special birthday call from Mike Wallace. The "60 Minutes" reporter and Tarkanian battled over a famed report on the Bulldogs on the CBS News show three years ago.
Pepperdine assistant Damon Archibald moved across town for a similar position with USC.
Arizona State head coach Rob Evans is on a goodwill tour in Europe, conducting basketball clinics at U.S. Army bases.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball runs Thursdays throughout the year. | |
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