Pittsburgh gets snubbed

This year the term "March Madness" seems to refer to the NCAA Tournament Committee losing their sanity when deciding the fate of the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Not only were the Panthers snubbed of a deserved number two seed, but there is a strong possibility they will have to play a second round match-up against Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI. Pittsburgh players, coaches and fans have to be scratching their heads and wondering what went wrong.

The Panthers entered the Big East Tournament ranked sixth in the nation in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. They lost in the finals by three points to a Connecticut team ranked ninth in the nation.

The Panthers looked like a lock to be a number two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Wrong! The Panthers were given a number three seed, while the likes of Gonzaga and Mississippi St. were given number two seeds.

In addition, the Panthers will likely have to play an "away" game in the second round against a Wisconsin team that won the Big Ten regular season title.

Even though the Big East placed six teams in the tournament, the Panthers were apparently snubbed based on "schedule strength." This term, as used by the tournament committee, really means we have no rationale for this decision, so we needed to come up with something that sounded acceptable.

The Panthers have played nine games against Big East teams that made the NCAA tournament. That's nine games against teams seed number eight or higher in the NCAA tournament. They have four losses byf a total of 10 points. Put St. Joe's in the Big East and they would have at least eight losses.

If losing the conference title game gets you dropped, how about Duke? They lost to an unranked Maryland team. The committee must have made a deal with the "Blue Devils," because Duke has faded fast down the stretch.

St. Joe's lost to an Xavier team that lost to Duquesne in the regular season, not once but twice. Actually, St. Joe's did not lose to Xavier. They were embarrassed in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

How about Mississippi State? They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament.

Gonzaga? Now there's a team with a strong schedule!

Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon has done an incredible job with the Panthers this season. They have great leadership in seniors Julius Page and Jaron Brown. More importantly, they are a tough, physical, and talented team.

The Panthers will prove that the committee was watching "Gigli" in the "war-room" instead of watching tapes of the Panthers all season. After this slap in the face, I would hate to be in their way when the madness begins.