ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 11, 1996 TAG: 9603110061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B=1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
If Virginia Tech felt a different sort of March madness watching the NCAA Tournament men's basketball pairings unveiled Sunday, perhaps the Hokies should look at the bracket through Jerry Tarkanian's glasses.
The NCAA bubble burst for ``Tark the Shark'' when the 64-team NCAA bracket was announced. Did anyone really think the NCAA was going to let longtime nemesis Tark into the field, even if his address had changed from Nevada-Las Vegas to Fresno State?
Actually, the reason Tarkanian's club didn't get a third bid for the Western Athletic Conference was the same reason the Hokies ended up in Dallas, seeded in the bottom half of the field, meeting Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Since the last time the Hokies went to the Large Limbo, a decade ago, one factor in the selection process has become increasingly important.
It's the reason ninth-seeded Tech (22-5), ranked 15th before their Atlantic 10 Conference tournament tumble against Rhode Island, is the lowest-seeded NCAA team from the Associated Press' March 3 poll. It's the reason Tulane didn't gain Conference USA a fifth bid. It's the reason Fresno State is NIT-bound. It's why College of Charleston (S.C.) really had no chance. It's why Bradley and Santa Clara will go to the dance.
It's strength of schedule.
In the worst and most balanced bracket since the NCAA went to 64 teams in 1985, strength of schedule was crucial in selection and seeding. That's why Temple and Maryland received seventh seeds, despite 12 losses. It's why Arizona was seeded higher than UCLA, although the Bruins won the Pacific-10 Conference title over the Wildcats.
Some Hokies have spent the season trying to discredit the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), one of the measuring sticks the NCAA uses in its selection and seeding process. Strength of schedule is half of the RPI. Tech's schedule wasn't as good as it looked when it was made, when Virginia and West Virginia had losing seasons and North Carolina-Charlotte skidded to .500.
Tech is 7-5 against teams with winning records - and two of those were over Dayton (15-14) - and 15-0 against the rest of the schedule. The Hokies split with conference foe George Washington, and the Colonials split with Massachusetts. However, the Colonials received only an 11th seed in the West, because their schedule ranked in the bottom 100 in the country.
The bracket reflects the kind of season it was in college hoops. Because of the balance, more coaches than usual will be terrified of second-round matchups. However, thanks to upsets in conference tournaments, the bottom of the seed pool seems weaker than ever. One-fourth of the field was ranked lower than 70th in last week's RPI.
For only the second time in history, there are two teams with losing records in the field - San Jose State and Central Florida. The only other time that happened, Bradley and Oklahoma City made it in 1955 because District 5 needed to send two independents into the 24-team bracket, and that district had only two independents.
The Southeast Region appears the toughest. Connecticut, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Mississippi State, Indiana, Temple and Duke form the top half of that Sweet 16. Those first five all won conference regular-season or tournament titles. Half of the Midwest bracket was ranked a week ago, including the Hokies and Green Bay.
It appears the committee also tried to balance the regions by ignoring geography. In this NCAA field perhaps more than any in recent memory, there's no place like home for very few.
Texas Tech got a third seed, but instead of playing in Dallas, the Red Raiders go to Richmond. Indiana, Louisville, Cincinnati and Purdue all would have felt right at home in the first round at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Instead, they're spread from Orlando, Fla., to Milwaukee to Albuquerque, N.M. The Clemson-Georgia neighborhood rivalry tips off in New Mexico.
On the Road to the Final four at the Meadowlands, however, it matters not as much where you play as who you play. Obviously, who you play matters long before March, too.
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