ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703130048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
The team that faces North Carolina tonight in the Tar Heels' 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament really isn't Cinderella.
Cinderella isn't that ugly.
Of the 64 men's basketball teams in this 59th edition, Fairfield (11-18) and Jackson State (14-15) have losing records. It seems to be a trend, an unwelcome one.
For the second consecutive year, there are two losers in the field. There have been six sub-.500 teams in the past five NCAAs. Is that what a national championship really wants?
Nothing against UNC foe Fairfield, which the last time it reached the NCAA - a decade ago - was 15-15 after winning three games in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. The Stags were 34-point losers to eventual champ Indiana in the first round.
Fairfield coach Paul Cormier had an NIT entrant last year, and the Stags were picked to win the MAAC this season. Deer hunting season began early. The Stags crashed to a 2-12, last-place MAAC finish.
They are No.252 (among 305) in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings. Their strength of schedule is in the bottom 50 in the country. Then, they had a big weekend in Buffalo and won the MAAC title.
Sorry to drop an anvil on the glass slipper, but three good nights shouldn't be worth more in a season than three good months. A team should have to be above .500 to get a ticket to the Large Lambada.
Even the New York cab drivers who run the NIT require a .500 record for that field. Shouldn't the NCAA have a higher standard? To play in a bowl game, an NCAA sanctioning committee says a football team must have at least six Division I-A victories and be over .500.
If a team wins its conference tournament and still has a losing record, the NCAA selection committee should have the option to select another team from that conference.
The so-called little leagues shouldn't lose their berths to the big boys. There is a certain charm to their participation, even if the Prince Charmings don't often get past the Sweet Sixteen before turning into frogs.
The Cinderellas this year are the College of Charleston, Princeton, Boston University and Pacific. They belong at the ball.
If a losing team takes a conference championship, well, that's a nice reward for that kind of season. They still had something to play for, right?
Those leagues, already underdogs, deserve a more representative NCAA representative, too.
The NCAA selection committee could base its choice for the berth on the regular-season championship, or use the same formula by which it picks the at-large schools.
Bring strength of schedule into play. It might encourage some of the lesser leagues to have their teams play stronger opponents. It will make for a more competitive NCAA field, too.
North Carolina coach Dean Smith has a different take on these ugly ducklings who seem to be sneaking into the field more often.
With only the Ivy League, Pacific 10 and Big Ten not having conference tournaments - and the Big Ten introduces one 51 weeks from now - these playoffs satisfy those who clamor for the NCAA Tournament to be open to all 305 Division I schools.
``In a way, it is,'' said Smith, who figures those conference tournaments are the early rounds. You lose, you go home, unless you're good enough to be considered for an at-large berth.
The four teams with losing records to reach the NCAA in the '90s - there have been 13 since 1955 - have lost first-round games by an average of 29 points. Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, No.16 seeds are 0-48.
These days, a weekend binge shouldn't be enough to get someone in the NCAA.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB