NCAA Basketball Tournament

Gonzaga's Sweet Dash

Chas Rich — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:16:00 EST

Gonzaga and Western Kentucky are two programs outside of the power conferences that have had a profound influence on the NCAA tournament and college basketball.

Appropriately, and as it turned out dramatically, the two schools finally met.

The Zags have become one of the marquee mid-major programs, thanks in large part to their tournament success. Western Kentucky has been the launching pad for many coaches, including Gene Keady, Clem Haskins, and last year, Darrin Horn.

Ultimately, this showdown went to Gonzaga in the final seconds, but not without a bit of controversy.

No. 4 Gonzaga 83, No. 12 WKU 81: AP Recap | Box Score | Bracket | Scores

Gonzaga held a two-point lead with under 25 seconds left. The Hilltoppers ran a play that freed Orlando Mendez-Valdez for a three-point look. The shot was off, but Steffphon Pettigrew was there for a put-back to tie the game with 7.2 seconds left.

Gonzaga did not waste any time, though, on the inbounds. The Bulldogs took the ball and gave it to freshman Demetri Goodson, who took off down the length of the court. Western Kentucky could not get anyone in place to even foul Goodson before he laid it in for the lead with 0.9 seconds left.

As soon as the ball dropped in, Western Kentucky coach Ken McDonald started signaling for a timeout. The problem was the officials never looked back or heard him as the Rose Garden went crazy.

Western Kentucky inbounded the ball and heaved a shot well short as time expired. You could see McDonald running to the officials, still making the timeout signal as the Gonzaga players celebrated. It was too late, of course. McDonald. in an interview after the game, did say that the officials should have looked back at him. At the same time, he conceded that his players inbounded the ball too quickly and never looked at him or called the timeout on their own.

It is tough to believe that it would have made a difference. Setting up an inbound play and tossing up a prayer with 0.9 seconds left is not exactly a high-percentage play. It always has a chance, so it stinks that Western Kentucky did not get a chance to try.

Stunning Tournament Finishes

Thanks to Demetri Goodson, the Bulldogs are moving on to the Sweet 16. Goodson streaks the length of the court and drains a running bank shot with 0.9 seconds left to lift Gonzaga over Western Kentucky in the second round. Click through to see more incredible finishes from past NCAA tournaments.

Jonathan Ferrey, Getty Images

2008 Ty Rogers, Western Kentucky - The Hilltoppers blew a big lead in the second half to fifth-seeded Drake, but Rogers made that a footnote when he drilled a 26-foot 3-pointer in between three defenders for the 101-99 overtime win. Watch the Play

John Raoux, AP

1990 Tate George, Connecticut - As time expired, George's jump shot slipped through the rim to give Connecticut a 71-70 victory over the Clemson, moving them to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1964. Watch the Play

Getty Images

2000 Mike Miller, Florida - Miller scored the game-winning leaner in overtime to send an upset-minded Butler home. Watch the Play

Chuck Burton, AP

1990 Christian Laettner, Duke - Laettner made his first of two tournament buzzer-beaters in 1990 when he sunk a final-second shot to sent Connecticut home and Duke to the Final Four. Watch the Play

Susan Ragan, AP

1995 Tyus Edney, UCLA - With only 4.8 seconds left in the game, Edney takes the ball the length of the court and makes the game-winning layup as the Bruins top Missouri 75-74. Watch the Play

Getty Images

1981 U.S. Reed, Arkansas - Reed hit a 49-foot halfcourt shot to send Louisville, the defending champions, home in the second round. Watch the Play

James D. Smith, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images

1998 Bryce Drew, Valparaiso - In perhaps the ultimate father-son team-up, Homer Drew draws up the final shot for his son, Bryce Drew. Bryce hit the game-winning three-point shot to stun Mississippi 70-69 in the first round. Watch the Play

John Gaps III, AP

1983 Lorenzo Charles, North Carolina State - Charles collected an airball and dunked it as time expired to give N.C. State a 54-52 win over heavily-favored Houston. Watch the Play

1992 Christian Laettner, Duke - Just two years after his previous buzzer-beater, Laettner shoots another one. Laettner dribbled once, turned and hit a jumper as time expired for the 104-103 win. Watch the Play

Charles Arbogast, AP

Gonzaga's Sweet Dash originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Western Kentucky 'Upsets' Illinois

Matt Snyder — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:00:00 EST

Filed under: Big Ten, Sun Belt

We knew Western Kentucky was dangerous. We knew a 12 seed was destined to upset a five, just as at least one manages to do nearly every NCAA tournament. We knew Illinois was a worse team than all four No. 6 seeds, and we knew the Illini were also without their emotional leader and best defender (Chester Frazier).

So -- while it's still newsworthy, being an upset and all -- it was hardly shocking when Western Kentucky completed their triumph over the Fighting Illini in the wee hours of Friday morning.

No. 12 W. Kentucky 76, No. 5 Illinois 72: Box Score | Bracket | Scores

The Hilltoppers actually built a stout 17-point lead in the second half. A late -- in fact, really late -- surge by the Illini made this thing interesting. A 17-3 Illinois run from the 4:06 mark to 33 seconds remaining brought the Illini to within three points. They even got a little help from the officials. With 1:21 to play, Mike Davis clearly batted an inbound pass from Western Kentucky out of bounds, and the officials didn't see it. They rewarded the ball to Illinois, who promptly scored another two points, trimming the deficit to five.

Regardless, it was not to be for the Illini. Losing Frazier was a bad piece of fortune, sure, but they were controlled from the get-go by Western Kentucky. You can't just blame that embarrassing 36-minute showing on the absence of Frazier. The late, desperation Illini surge notwithstanding, the Hilltoppers were the better team, and they were the ones deserving to move to the second round. They will face off against Gonzaga Saturday in a game that should interest the legions of fans clamoring for some mid-major flavor.

Illinois' Trent Meacham, however, should hold his head high. The senior guard went for 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting -- including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. He also had four steals and displayed the type of heart down the stretch you'd expect from a senior.

Western Kentucky put together an incredibly balanced attack, as five players scored between 10 and 17 points. The stars were Steffphon Pettigrew with 17 points, Orlando Mendez-Valdez with 11 points, 7 rebounds and six assists, and Sergio Kerusch with 14 points and 11 boards.

NCAA Tournament Action

Western Kentucky forward Steffphon Pettigrew, right, shoots over Illinois' Dominique Keller, left, as Calvin Brock watches during the second half of their game in the first round of the men's NCAA college basketball tournament in Portland, Ore., Thursday, March 19, 2009. Pettigrew scored 17 points to lead Western Kentucky as they beat Illinois 76-72. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Illinois' Jeff Jordan (13) shoots against Western Kentucky's Jeremy Evans (40) during the second half of a first round men's NCAA basketball tournament game in Portland, Ore., Thursday, March 19, 2009. Western Kentucky beat Illinois 76-72. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

UCLA's Alfred Aboya (12) is fouled by Virginia Commonwealth's Joey Rodriguez (12) in the second half of a first-round men's NCAA college basketball tournament game in Philadelphia, Thursday, March 19, 2009. UCLA won 65-64. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Western Kentucky guard A.J. Slaughter (R) drives to the basket against Illinois guard Jeff Jordan (13) during the second half of their NCAA basketball game in Portland, Oregon, March 19, 2009. REUTERS/Steve Dipaola (UNITED STATES SPORT BASKETBALL)

Reuters

Illinois' head coach Bruce Weber argues with officials during the second half of a first round men's NCAA basketball tournament game in Portland, Ore., Thursday, March 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

Western Kentucky forward Sergio Kerusch, left, scores against Illinois forward Dominique Keller during the second half of their game in the first round of the men's NCAA college basketball tournament in Portland, Ore., Thursday, March 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Western Kentucky forward Steffphon Pettigrew, right, high fives teammate Anthony Sally after Western Kentucky wins their game against Illinois in the first round of the men's NCAA college basketball tournament in Portland, Ore., Thursday, March 19, 2009. Pettigrew led Western Kentucky in scoring with 17 points to beat Illinois 76-72. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Illinois' Chester Frazier watches from the bench during the closing seconds of a 76-72 loss to Western Kentucky in a first round men's NCAA basketball tournament game in Portland, Ore., Thursday, March 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

Illinois' Dominique Keller (23) looks on as Western Kentucky's Sergio Kerusch (1) dunks in the second half during a first-round men's NCAA college basketball tournamentÊgame Thursday, March 19, 2009, in Portland, Ore. Western Kentucky defeated Illinois 76-72. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Western Kentucky 'Upsets' Illinois originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teams Pay $60K to Host Third-Tier Tournament Games

Chas Rich — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:34:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Big East, Pac-10, SoCon, Sun Belt

So you were not quite good enough to make the NIT. No extra exposure on ESPN. Instead you are given the chance to be in the College Basketball Invitational. Maybe you get to appear on HDNet. Maybe not. The important thing, is you get to keep playing, and hopefully the Gazelle Group will put you in one of their better exposed non-conference tournaments in any upcoming year.

Oh, and if you want to be the host team for the game, you have to toss in another $60,000. What a bargain.
If you can make at least $60,000 in ticket and concession sales, then you have to split every dollar after that with the Gazelle Group. Definitely not a guaranteed money-maker for the schools that host. Especially if you lose in that opening game.

Troy, for example hosted the College of Charleston. The Trojans only had attendance of 1045 and they lost. It is unlikely the even recovered their $60,000 outlay. Add in the operation costs at the facility and that one additional game at home really cost Troy.

A visiting team, does not stand to make money. They also, though, do not stand to lose money. They get expenses for travel costs.

Teams Pay $60K to Host Third-Tier Tournament Games originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seed-By-Conference Analysis: Committee Loves the Big East and ACC

Matt Snyder — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, America East, A-Sun, Big South, BSC, BWC, CAA, C-USA, Great West, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, MVC, MWC, NEC, OVC, Pac-10, Patriot League, SEC, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, Sun Belt, The Summit, WCC, WAC, Big Sky, Big West, Midwest Region, West Region, South Region, East Region

Among the big story lines from Sunday's filling out of the NCAA basketball tournament field, discussions of conferences who are "overrated" and "underrated" dominated the discussion. Specifically, fans of so-called mid-major teams cried foul, and the masses proclaimed the selection committee was biased in favor of the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences.

The biggest issue I have with this instant "analysis" is that it's not analysis at all. Saying the NCAA thought the Big Ten was on-level with the ACC and Big East simply because they were allotted the same number of teams is -- with apologies to Bob Knight -- just plain stupid.

You see, it's easy to just look at the number of bids and act like that's how the NCAA views individual conferences. It's simple, and people like simple. Thus, it's the approach simpletons take, because they aren't capable of more analytical thought. Dive deeper, though. Do you really think the committee thought the Big Ten was on-level with the Big East when the Big East got three number one seeds and the Big Ten only received one Sweet 16 seed? Does that really, honestly sound even to you?

So here we are, with your guide on judging how the selection committee seriously judged conference strength. I went through every game and just picked the favored seed to win. Meaning eight beats nine, but then loses to one. And so on. We'll call the figure the "expected record," and this will give us a gauge on how strong the selection committee truly felt a conference was.

Big East

Number of teams: 7
Seeds: 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 6, 6
Expected record: 20-6 (including three Final Four teams and one National Champion
Comments: See, this is far and away the strongest conference according to the committee. Look at those seeds. The seventh entrant from the league was awarded a six-seed. In fact, this has to be the best conference of all-time in terms of what they received from the committee -- as long as you don't get hung up on the number of bids. Their average seed is a three.

ACC

Number of teams: 7
Seeds: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 7, 10
Expected record: 13-7
Comments: Another conference that impressed the NCAA enough to get lots of favorable seeds. An interesting discrepancy -- which Seth Davis pointed out on the Selection Show -- is seeing Maryland receive a 10-seed while Wisconsin garnered a 12. How about Boston College landing a seven-seed despite an RPI of 60? These are just two illustrations of how highly the committee favored the ACC to other conferences (aside from the Big East, of course).

Big 12

Number of teams: 6
Seeds: 2, 3, 3, 7, 8, 9
Expected record: 9-6
Comments: They received less teams than the Big Ten and equal to the Pac-10, but got much better bang for their buck with three Sweet 16 seeds and an Elite Eight.

Big Ten

Number of teams: 7
Seeds: 2, 5, 5, 8, 10, 10, 12
Expected record: 6-7
Comments: Seriously? This is an overrated conference? They finished 2nd in conference RPI, and only got one Sweet 16 seed. Three of their seeds are of the one-and-done variety. Knowing this, can you seriously tell me the committee had bias toward the conference? The strength of the conference this year was the depth, but there was an admitted lack of elite teams. The seedings accurately reflected this. By the way -- Minnesota (42), Michigan (44), and Wisconsin (45) were all a bit better than Maryland (55) in the RPI. They were all seeded equal to or worse than the Terrapins. If Penn State made the tourney, the Big Ten haters would have a case. Instead, they don't.

Pac-10

Number of teams: 6
Seeds: 4, 6, 6, 7, 10, 12
Expected record: 5-6
Comments: Arizona (62 RPI) is the one team in the whole tourney that seems egregiously invited. Other than that, though, the conference didn't get a ton of credit. Only one Sweet 16 seed, and a four at that.

Mountain West

Number of teams: 2
Seeds: 5, 8
Expected record: 2-2
Comments: Well, they liked the teams they allowed in the tourney. Obviously, it's tough to imagine San Diego State sporting a 34 RPI in a "major" conference and not making the Dance. I'm actually very surprised they gave BYU an eight and then dropped everyone else off the board. It's not like BYU and Utah were playing at such a different level than New Mexico, SDSU, and UNLV.

Atlantic 10

Number of teams: 3
Seeds: 4, 11, 11
Expected record: 2-3
Comments: Again, a head-scratcher. Was Xavier really seven whole seeds better than Dayton?

SEC

Number of teams: 3
Seeds: 8, 9, 13
Expected record: 1-3
Comments: Simply put: The committee believes the SEC sucks this year. In fact, had Butler won the Horizon League tourney, it's conceivable to think they would have flipped seeds with LSU and the SEC would have come away with zero expected wins. If you want to proclaim power conference bias, you better look elsewhere.

Everyone Else

There are only six wins left from teams not in the above eight conferences. Memphis, as a two-seed, is expected to win three games before bowing out. Gonzaga, a four, is slated to take two. The lone remaining win? Well, someone has to win the play-in game. Every other team in the field, 21 of them from non-"power" conferences, has a worse seed than their first-round foe.

And yes, though I'm a Big Ten fan, it's really easy for me to admit St. Mary's got jobbed. We're talking about a 48 RPI from a team who was missing their best player for a decent chunk of the season. He's healthy enough to play now, so they should have included them in the field. This is the type of error (Mary's and/or SDSU vs. 'Zona and/or Maryland) that makes people believe the committee is biased.

Final Thought

This is how you should judge conference performance in the tournament. Don't be a simpleton. To illustrate the point, here's an example: If the Big East goes 14-7 and the Big Ten goes 10-7, I'm guessing there will be a bunch of people hanging their hats on the superior performance by the Big East. In actuality, as outlined above, the Big Ten would be exceeding expectations with a 10-7 record. Thus, they were underrated. The Big East would have fallen short of the lofty expectations, which means they were overrated.

We'll see how everything shakes out, but just remember -- it's not all about the number of teams per conference, and it's not necessarily about the won-loss record when judging if the committee was biased or "overrated" someone. It's much more complicated than that.

Seed-By-Conference Analysis: Committee Loves the Big East and ACC originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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