Committee pleased with competitive tourney
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Craig Thompson stood out in the middle of the
Pit floor, observed Wisconsin cutting down the nets and immediately had an
answer before the question was asked.
"Nineteen games decided by five points or less," said Thompson, the
NCAA selection committee chair and Mountain West Conference Commissioner.
"This has been a great tournament."
|  | | Wisconsin proved parity is alive and well in college basketball. |
Thompson is sensitive to the complaints that too many high seeds were
eliminated before the Elite Eight. Only one No. 1, one No. 2 and one No. 3 made it to the regional finals.
Now, the Final Four has a No. 8 seed (Wisconsin) out of the West and
is guaranteed either a No. 7 (Tulsa) or No. 8 (North Carolina) in the South.
"That shows that we had a good, competitive tournament that reflects
the regular season," said Thompson. "There was plenty of parity in the
regular season, and that's what we have seen."
Thompson got at least one marquee team when No. 1 seeded Michigan
State beat No. 2 Iowa State in the Midwest to earn a trip to the Final Four.
The committee will see either a No. 3 (Oklahoma State) or a No. 5 (Florida)
come out of the East on Sunday.
Should the committee be concerned about CBS' reaction to potential
low ratings if the Final Four has an all-Midwest look with Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Wisconsin and Michigan State?
"Who cares?" Thompson said. "There are plenty of TVs in the Midwest."
The Spartans, kings of late-game heroics, didn't have to save
this tournament by beating the Cyclones. Thompson is right -- the tournament
was doing fine with or without Michigan State in the Final Four. Iowa State
had the top player remaining in the field in Marcus Fizer. But having
the Spartans in Indianapolis gives the Final Four a favorite, a charismatic leader (Mateen
Cleaves) and plenty of drawing power from the Spartan faithful, who won't find it difficult to get to Indy.
Putting two teams in the Final Four from the Big Ten, especially a
No. 1 and No. 8 seed, mirrors the regular season. The Big Ten, along with the SEC,
was the best conference during the season. The depth showed whenever the
league stepped out of conference play. The fact that Wisconsin could earn
its way to the NCAA Tournament by beating tough non-conference teams and finishing 8-8
in the league was another testament to the league's depth.
But it also shows that ugly is in right now, and finesse is out. The
Final Four will be physical, slow at times, but the fundamentals will be at
an all-time high.
Basketball fans, television networks and the selection committee should celebrate a
Final Four that gets back to the grass roots of the game.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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