Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503140075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Despite owning the nation's 36th-best RPI ranking, Virginia Tech was left out of the 64-team NCAA men's basketball tournament field announced Sunday.
According to the RPI ratings released Sunday night, the Hokies (20-10) had the highest RPI rating of all teams failing to make the tournament. The next best was St.Joseph's (17-11), which was 41st in the RPI, the computer power rankings used by the NCAA's tournament selection committee.
After being shunned by the NCAA, Tech was one of 32 teams that accepted an NIT bid Sunday night.
Tech will play host to a first-round game against Clemson (15-12) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Cassell Coliseum. If the Hokies win, they will play the winner of the Providence-College of Charleston matchup. Time and site of the second-round game have yet to be determined.
Despite having an argument because of the Hokies' high RPI ranking, coach Bill Foster refused to criticize the NCAA selection committee. The RPI is derived from three component factors: Division I winning percentage (25 percent), schedule strength (50 percent) and opponents' schedule strength (25 percent).
``What this says to me is they don't count on those [RPI] ratings too much,'' Foster said.
``The bottom line is we had chances to get ourselves in better position the last two or three weeks and we didn't get it done, so there's no use harping on not getting in. We're not the only one who didn't make it.''
The Hokies hurt themselves late, losing five of their final eight games. Included were a two-point loss at South Florida, a five-pointer at Virginia Commonwealth and a one-pointer to Virginia in Richmond. Tech then bowed out of the Metro Conference tournament in the first round, losing 82-66 to Southern Mississippi.
``If we win one or two of those games, things would have been different,'' Foster said. ``From the looks of things, we might have had to win two games in the Metro tournament. That would have hurt even worse if we had beaten Southern Miss, then still didn't get in.''
Tech's shot at one of the 35 at-large bids wasn't helped by a rash of upsets of top-seeded clubs in conference tournaments across the country last week.
``I thought we had an outside chance, at best,'' Foster said. ``I knew it was going to be tough.''
Tech had a higher RPI ranking than Metro members UNC Charlotte (37th) and Tulane (42nd), which received at-large bids. Metro tournament champion Louisville was an automatic qualifier.
In Clemson, Tech will be facing a school Foster coached from 1975-84.
``I'm glad we're playing a team out of a high-profile conference [the ACC] that the kids respect,'' Foster said. ``Hopefully, our kids can get excited and accept the challenge.
``Making postseason play is another step in the right direction for our program. We've got all these kids coming back next season, so this gives us a chance to win four or five more games and build on this next season.''
The NIT, which snubbed 18-10 Tech last year, gives the Hokies their first postseason bid since 1986, when they went to the NCAA.
Tech will be playing in its seventh NIT. The Hokies' last NIT was 1984, when they finished third. Tech won the tournament in 1973.
One Tech that won't be playing in the NIT is Georgia Tech. After being left out of the NCAA Tournament field for the second consecutive year, coach Bobby Cremins said Sunday night his Yellow Jackets (18-11) would not play in the NIT.
Tech finished 8-8 in the ACC, in fifth place, and the league received only four bids for the first time since 1983. The Yellow Jackets, who made nine consecutive NCAA trips from 1985-93, were eliminated in the first round of the ACC tournament by Virginia.
``Another disappointing moment,'' said Cremins after the brackets without the Jackets were revealed. ``Last year I didn't feel so bad [after a 16-12 regular season and 7-9 ACC mark], but this year I feel like an injustice has been dealt to us. We have no recourse. We play in a great conference, four teams in the top 10.''
Asked about the NIT, Cremins said, ``Our season is over right now. We will not be playing in any postseason tournament. We have exams coming up this week and have decided to go ahead and take our exams.
``I noticed last year when the NIT selection was made, there were a lot of teams that should have been in the NIT that did not get in. So, I would like to give those other teams an opportunity.''
Georgia Tech lost its NIT first-round game to Siena last year.
Ticket information
Tickets for Friday's 7:30 p.m. game go on sale at 9 a.m. today at the Cassell Coliseum box office or by phone at 703-231-6731 or 1-800-VATECH4 (828-3244). Tickets are $10 each for the general public and $5 for Tech students.
by CNB