Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas Have Heated Argument Over St. Mary's

Say what you will for Dick Vitale, he's certainly passionate about college basketball. But does his passion get in the way of his ability to analyze the sport objectively? His colleagues Digger Phelps and Jay Bilas seemed to suggest so on ESPN Sunday night.

Asked to name a team that didn't deserve its NCAA Tournament berth, Vitale named Arizona. And then he launched into an impassioned defense of a team that he believes should have been invited to the Big Dance in Arizona's place.

"I look at St. Mary's of California," Vitale said. "I've gotta believe it's heartbreak hotel. When you lose a total of two games when you have your roster intact. You lose four games of your six without [Patrick] Mills. He's back now. I think they got a raw deal. I think the committee went to the power conferences, obviously. They went that route instead of rewarding the little Davids."

But Bilas shot back, "Do you think, Dick, that St. Mary's is better than Arizona head-to-head?"

Vitale said, emphatically, that he does believe St. Mary's is better than Arizona, adding that big schools wouldn't play against St. Mary's. But Bilas was having none of it.

"Mid-majors can get people to play them," Bilas said. "You're wrong. St. Mary's can get games if they want them, and they chose not to play the big shots. ... The idea that they went out and challenged themselves like Gonzaga did, or like some other mid-majors, I just don't think that's the case."

The argument then grew more heated. Vitale said, "I know you went to Duke," and Bilas accused him of "playing the Duke card."

Phelps jumped in to support Bilas's side of the argument, and with that, Vitale threw up his hands and said, sarcastically, "OK, you guys are right." Score one for Bilas and Phelps.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-16-2009 @ 9:14AM

sergeantruss said...

I agree with Vitale. St. Mary's got screwed and the people who decide who gets in puts too much emphasis on the big conferences.

3-16-2009 @ 10:51AM

gfg7180 said...

I can't stand Vitale, but he is 100% right!! I am sick of big conferences getting all the bids when the mid-majors are what make the tourney exciting. Everybody forget George Mason and Cleveland State among others. We all like a upset and if Arizona wins a game, who cares. If St. Marys wins, everyone watches them the next game.

3-16-2009 @ 12:03PM

tpbhome said...

I strongly agree with Vitale. He hit the nail on the head. The so called "major conferences" are built up by ESPN and CBS because they televise their games. The big conferences don't schedule home on home series with mid-majors because they would get beat on the road and they know it. Everyone knows it. The NCAA should put a premium on teams that schedule home on home series with mid-majors. Also there should be some kind of limit (e.g. five or six teams) placed on the number of teams that can make the NCAA's from each conference.

3-16-2009 @ 12:07PM

bkilmartin said...

Saint Marys got the shaft. Their non conference sos ranking was 67th. The number 1 seeds were, Louisvilee #72, North Carolina #81, UConn # 153 Pittsburg # 97. Arizona at #65, Michigan at #101, Wisconsin # 79 and Marylanat #124 were at large teams selected over St Marys and San Diego State at #69. The argument that they don't play a tough non conference schedule doesn't hold water.

3-16-2009 @ 1:48PM

cruxer said...

Gonzaga (same conference as St. Mary's) played UConn in Washington, so mid-majors can play the big boys at home, though it doesn't happen that often. Davidson played UNC and Duke in Charlotte last year and Duke in Cameron this year. Bottom line: 22 or 23 wins against good competition is better than 25 or 26 wins against weak competition.

St. Mary's best win this year was against Providence and they just lost by 25 to a Gonzaga team that Arizona beat. The 'cats also beat Kansas. Unfortunately for St. Mary's they got squeezed by some surprise automatic qualifiers, but they don't have any real argument that they should have gotten in over any of the 34 at large teams that made it. Are they deserving? Maybe. But who are you gonna take out?

3-16-2009 @ 5:39PM

Cruxer, how can you say they don't belong. St Marys played 8 road games in a row against good teams and won seven of them. Name me one team that did that this year. They're non conference sos was betterr than wisconsin, maryland and michigan. Look it up. It was also tougher than all #one seeds. And most of them were road games. The difference is sos was conference games, which they have no choice. IN three games against gonzaga, they were ahead by about 8 ponts (on the road) when Mills got hurt. They lost to them at home by two without Mills. They beat Utah State in a bracket buster game, what in the hell what that about? They wanted a home and home with Arizona and they refused? Personally I feel that if you can't do ahy better than 6th in your conference you shouldn't go. Maybe they should do away with conference tournaments, which solves the problem, but thats too much money lost.

3-16-2009 @ 5:54PM

Kevin said...

While we're at it, I'd rather watch Stephen Curry than anyone on Arizona too.

St Mary's does seem to have gotten a bad deal, but Dick just wouldn't shut up (like that's new.)

He actually complained that Digger wouldn't come play him back in the good old days. I was hoping Digger said "That's right, cause I was NOTRE DAME and you were detroit mercy."

3-16-2009 @ 6:03PM

If we're lucky, one of the most entertaining games might be this weekend if Davidson and Saint Marys both win, they will play each other in round 2, I'll be there for sure. Curry vs. Mills.

3-17-2009 @ 1:02PM

misenplace4 said...

I very seldom agree with Dick Vitale but on one point he was absolutly right and Jay Bilas was dead wrong. Bilas was deriding St. Mary's OOC schedule saying they should play tougher teams and Vitale replied that it was hard to schedule the teams in the big six power conferences and sighted his expeirence as a mid major coach.Bilas, who's only college coaching job was as an assistant at Duke, shot back that was 30 years ago and not true today. BS. The only way the big boys want to play is at home against the little guys, not home one year and away the next which is the norm when a major plays another major out of conference. A quick glance at the majors early season games prove Vitale right and Bilas wrong. The majors want canon fodder for their early season records and will not play the mid majors on a level playing field. But at tourney time the majors complain SOS. At this time of year there is always going to be a couple of teams with a valid complaint about not getting a bid. Expand the tourney and you will still have the same complaints.The solution is to run the table at the NIT and prove the committee wrong.

3-17-2009 @ 1:44PM

hibanx said...

St. Mary's got screwed period. Jay Bilas is a sperm gargling rump ranger!

3-20-2009 @ 10:16PM

joe said...

VITALE is right.... they go way to much to the power leagues... NO conference should be allowed to have more then FOUR (4) teams in the big dance.... PARITY is what is needed & the only way to get great parity is to allow MORE teams from non power conferences to get into the game.... GONZAGA is a true example -- once they got to the big dance, they began to get BETTER players ( no disrespect to anyone ) to attend their school etc etc.. since then the ZAGS have done well.... ST. MARYS & other fine NON power schools would & could do the same.... once that happens -- then we have TRUE PARITY.... joe

3-20-2009 @ 11:08PM

Matt Snyder said...

What you are suggesting isn't parity ... it's socialism.

It should be a meritocracy. The best teams should make the tournament, regardless of conference. I don't care if all 16 Big East teams make it. If they deserve to be there, they should make it.