Thoughts of a tournament junkie

By Eric Williams Sports Central Columnist

As always, there were many intriguing story lines as this year's tournament got underway. The major one had to be the inclusion of SEC also-rans Auburn and Alabama, at the perceived expense of Big East teams Boston College and Seton Hall. All of the talking heads whined about the snubs, and suspected, and even intimated, that there was some sort of Big East bias at work. It was unfathomable to them that, in Boston College's case, a team that won its division in one of the so-called "power" conferences, didn't make it into the Big Dance, while two teams with subpar records in their respective conference did make it.

Auburn, especially, caught the brunt of the verbal fire. With non-conference games against heavyweights the likes of Wofford, Denver, and North Texas, many believed that Auburn wasn't worthy of a tournament bid. All the while, however, coach Cliff Ellis pointed to the strength of Auburn's SEC conference schedule, and the fact that they had finished second in their division, as evidence of his team's tournament-worthiness.

Then, playing with a huge chip on their shoulder, and with a chance to prove the pundits wrong, the Tigers went out and summarily dismissed St. Joseph's and the No. 2-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons from the tournament. Once the Wake Forest outcome was determined, one can only imagine the dance of vindication that the tournament Selection Committee members must have performed. And now, it's on to the Sweet Sixteen, where the Orangemen from Syracuse await.

But, on the other hand, it may be that the committee members just lucked out with Auburn. Because if you were to examine another major potential story line of this tournament, it almost makes you wonder if the committee members watched any games toward the end of the season. Everyone in the country, with the apparent exception of the Selection Committee members, would agree that Kentucky and Arizona were the two best teams in college basketball this year. And, if you were to poll most college basketball fans as to which two teams they would want to see play for the National Championship, those two teams would most likely come out on top.

So what does the Selection Committee do? Right, they seed the tournament so that the two best teams in the country will potentially meet in the national semifinal.

It's almost as if they forgot what the regional matchups would be in the Final Four. And it makes you wonder what exactly was going in that locked, super-secret meeting room all weekend. However, there's no truth to the rumor that Cheech & Chong, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, and Redman were all seen leaving the hotel early Sunday morning. Nor is there any evidence of empty pizza boxes, potato chip bags, and cookie wrappers being strewn about the room and red light filtering under the door into the hallway at 3 AM.

However, the committee members did the tournament a great injustice by potentially matching up the two best teams in the Final Four. Taking nothing away from the other teams left in the tournament, but if those two teams do indeed make it to the Final Four, the championship will be anti-climactic. And that's a shame.

The same type of scenario already exists in pro basketball, where everyone almost concedes the NBA title to whichever team survives the Western Conference playoffs. But, it shouldn't be so in this tournament, especially when the pre-tournament favorites are so clear-cut. But, the committee members gave themselves some wiggle room.

One look at Arizona's region, the West, and it's obvious that the committee didn't do them any favors, even though they'd been ranked No. 1 for most of the year. Kansas, the Big 12 regular season champion, Duke, the ACC's newly-crowned five-time defending conference tournament champion, and Illinois, the Big 10 tournament champion, were all placed in their region. Not to mention a dangerous Notre Dame team, a hot Memphis team and a tournament-tested Creighton team. This all leads to the last major story line of the tournament: the strength of the Western region as opposed to the other regions.

All would agree that Kentucky has a virtual cakewalk to the Final Four, while Arizona's road is filled with more land mines than Saddam Hussein's driveway. The Selection Committee must be hoping that one of the teams in their region is able to take Arizona out before the Final Four, so that they won't have to endure another week of second-guessing and ridicule. And although Arizona is still favored to come out of that region, they will no doubt be battered and bruised once they get to New Orleans.

We still have one more weekend to go before we get to New Orleans, though. And now, instead of worrying about teams that deserved to be in, regions that are too strong, etc., we can concentrate more on the games. And, what games they are sure to be. Duke vs. Kansas in the Sweet 16? Marquette and Dwayne Wade vs. Pitt and Brandin Knight. And arguably the most intriguing matchup of the round of 16, Texas, with T.J. Ford vs. UConn, with Emeka Okefor and Ben Gordon. Whew. At least the committee members couldn't mess that up.

However, no matter what the controversy is, it all comes back to the games. And that's really what this tournament is all about. The games are what keep everyone coming back every year. Once the games begin, all of the talk about teams that should have, and should not have, gotten in, the relative strength of the regions, and whatever else the experts didn't agree with, is forgotten.

The games become the focal point of all the attention, as they should. Because, face it, if it weren't for the games, there would be no Jimmy Valvano's running around the court like a madman looking for someone to hug after a halfcourt pass/shot is dunked to win him a national championship. There would be no Thomas Hill's crying like a baby on the sideline after a miracle shot from the top of the key. No one would ever know who Bryce Drew is. Or Tate George. Or "Never Nervous Pervis."

The NCAA tournament is where Michael Jordan's star first began to shine. And where millions of basketball fans witnessed the birth of one of the great rivalries in all of professional sports history, Magic vs. Bird.

No matter what controversies there are at the outset of the tournament, the games always manage to overshadow them. And that's what makes this tournament the most exciting championship in sports, and three of the most exciting weekends of the year. And to think, we've got two more weekends to go!

Article courtesy of Sports Central.