NCAA Basketball Tournament: ACC and Big East Results Show Need for Change

It would be easy to forgive the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Committee for their selection of so many Big Ten and Big East teams. After all, most had been ranked throughout the season and many remained ranked at the year's end.

It might have been possible to forgive them for making Clemson play into the tournament and leaving Virginia Tech out.

As for selecting three from the Colonial Athletic Association but leaving off third-place Hofstra in favor of Virginia Commonwealth, we can almost give them kudos. After all, VCU beat USC then Pitt last night and... Wait a minute! 

Why all the breaks? The fact is that this is supposed to be serious stuff. A lot of money is involved. And relegating Virginia Tech and all the others to the NIT or worse is of course not only a big deal, but a really big deal. So big that the "committee" is supposed to do what is right, honorable and—above all—fair.

So in mulling this over, it's clear that the worst rule in the selection and seeding of the teams is the so-called rule that allows conference teams not to play each other early and certainly not in the first round.

This "rule," the annointing of so many Big Ten and Big East teams and the natural law of selection gave us the worst of the entire tournament. Kansas State against Utah State in the first round, for instance.

Wait a minute. These teams were both ranked in the Top 25 of both polls. Yet you ended up with them in the first round?

So let's go back and really examine what the selection committee decided, including the fact that despite "expanding" the tournament by a few more teams, six Big Ten and 11 Big East teams were selected. Over a third of those invited—to be completely accurate, 38 percent.

There is something fundamentally wrong with saying that a third of the basketball talent, players and coaches, are in these two conferences. In fact, as we have seen, this is clearly dead wrong.

On the other end of the spectrum are the teams that are not supposed to be here. VCU, Butler and almost certainly so many others left out of the equation.

Of course, we might try to act as if this has nothing to do with bias. After all, having the Athletic Director of Ohio State had nothing to do with all the Big East teams. And the fact that some rather pathetic teams made it in related to the rankings. But, again, wait a minute.

To begin with, there was no doubt to those of us who knew something about basketball that the "Super Conference" Big East had more to do with Bill Raftery, the shill for the conference all over TV, and his other former coaches from the Big East, than about talent.

Or, even more shilled, coaching. Sure, you can coach teams and your teams can have talent, but perhaps the Big East has more to do with some very terrible teams than about greatness. Just ask the ACC, which would have had all four in the Sweet 16 if it had not been for Clemson getting the royal screw by playing less than 24 hours after their "play-in" game.

But I regress.

Here is a quick take on what is wrong with the "Best 64" chosen by biased, one-sided people in a smoke-filled room. This is college basketball.

When money is involved in an association made up of all teams, either a lawsuit or more clarity is required. Certainly, not manipulatable people or a smaller group of those in the know.

Thus, the first requirement is that the exact discussions be recorded and publicly available. Yes, this is open government because a ton of these schools are public institutions. And they ostensibly keep their positions public and have to do so by law.

Second, the rule is set that no more than four teams are granted entrance to the "Big Dance." Does not matter how much the shills say their conference is worth. Period.

Third, no conference is entitled to have their "strength of schedule" or "RPI" count. Entry on pure record. You win more, you have a greater chance of getting in. Only thing is you cannot count wins against any team that is not in a collegiate conference.

Fourth, no more geographic manipulation. Teams play inside their geographic area. Period. If this means fewer in some locations, then so be it. If this means more games in the East and fewer in the Mountain states and West, so be it.

Fifth, no play-ins. No bias against teams someone deems unworthy. If they are in, no artificial First Four, as big a Madison Avenue invention as we have ever had "On the Road to the Final Four."

Finally, no athletic directors for any school or conference can choose the teams. Period. Who ever heard about allowing prejudice into a process. You think the Athletic Director of Ohio State is not biased? Give me a break.

So there are a few. I know we can all think of others. How about it? Let's get this straightened out once and for all.