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Story Archives: NCAA committee lost its glasses


NCAA committee lost its glasses
by Joey Martin - posted Thursday, March 25th, 2010 @ 8:18 amE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
Have you ever forgot where you put your glasses and cannot find them because you don't have your glasses on?

I think that's the case with some of the seedings for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, or better known as March Madness.

I used to think it was called that because of all the excitement surrounding it.

Now I know it's called that to describe me after my bracket gets nuked following the first two rounds.

There also some madness regarding the teams that get in and the teams that do not make the Big Dance.

It's time to put an end to some of the conference championship automatic bids.

I mean, the Mid-Eastern Conference has had 29 bids and Coppin State has made the final 32 once, but otherwise it's one-and-done.

The Northeast Conference had Monmouth win a play-in game. The Southern Conference had Davidson reach the Elite Eight in 2008 otherwise nothing from the 39 bids. Davidson was a No. 10 seed, so more than likely they would have gotten a bid.

The Southland Conference had Lamar in 1980 reach the Sweet 16. Otherwise, thanks for playing.

The SWAC had Alcorn win its play-in game in 1984 and lose to Kansas by one point in the first round.

But otherwise they've been a sacrificial lamb for teams like Duke, Connecticut, North Carolina, Syracuse and other overall No. 1 seeds.

I've never understood why a team's record at the end of a long season in which they win their league does not count more than possibly a five-game winning streak at the end of the year.

OK, if that team is hot and deserves to get win, put them in by invitation, not because they won their tournament.

And don't tell me they are a team playing well at that time because you just slapped Mississippi State in the face with that reasoning.

Do you really think Arkansas-Pine Bluff could have played Kentucky as well as Mississippi State did in the finals of the SEC Tournament?

Jackson State beat UAPB twice during the regular season and went 17-1 in the SWAC. They deserved more consideration than Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

And all that bad-mouthing of the SEC during the regular season and now the SEC has the same amount of teams in the Sweet 16 as the big, bad Big East.

The Big East, which had eight of its 16 teams playing in the NCAA tournament, has only Syracuse and West Virginia remaining. Big East teams went 6-6 in the first two rounds.And, for the third time in four seasons, only one ACC team (Duke) reached the Sweet 16.

Before this current stretch, the conference sent at least two teams to the regional semifinals in each of the previous 27 NCAA tournaments. ACC teams went 5-5 in the first two rounds.

There were some great first-round games this year.

There have also been some not-so-great games. Make the field more competitive by bringing in more deserving teams that have played the tough competition all season long. Now that would be maddening.

But I doubt it would help my bracket.
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